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The Fruits of Discontent
The Butcher’s Daughter is a modest and vibrant gallery in Ferndale that popped up out of nowhere, landed in a nice spot just above Woodward Percussion and became an instant favorite with this column after Monica Bowman explained that the name was a tribute to her family rather than an outre reference to something else. Ms. Bowman is now inviting us to an exhibit called No Vacancy, a group effort that takes art’s eternal abhorrence of the vacuum as its pivotal point of reference — that is, the creative impulse itself and its constant urge to reshape and renew the fabric of our surroundings. The show (curated by Valaire Van Slyck) has a roster featuring a number of names new to us: Sam Bassett, Shannon Lucy, Johannes Vanderbeek, Brock Enright and Wendy White to list only a few. Mr. Bassett, by the way, was featured in a moving NYT story that helped bring belated recognition to an artist of an earlier generation. You can start checking in on January 9. They’ll leave the light on for you. More: thebutchersdaughtergallery.com

Another Monica Pops Up ...
The MonicaBlaire Experiment is an ongoing lab project for the ears that has already produced one “volume” of spectacular results and is now on the verge of opening up a second. Bridging the Gap: Adventures in Sound Vol.2 may be the best intro to avant-garde music you’ll experience — especially if Edgard Varese, John Cage, Laurie Anderson and Spike Jones are not yet integral to your cultural literacy. Glorious colors and intriguing sounds — picture perfect if you ask us. Volume 2’s volume will be modulated nicely at the DIA on January 8 with special guests Jon Bibbs, MarvWon, RoSpit and Ortheia Barnes helping to turn the pages. More at dia.org.

Five / One ( and no comment re: Fred Noonan’s “skills” as a navigator)
Faina Lerman has been singled out and praised in this column on more than one occasion, so an opportunity to start the New Year with a directive to see her latest works (as well as those of four equally talented peers) is to us a pleasant omen for the coming months. Presence / Absence is a group show at Paint Creek with a quintet investigating “questions of mortality, exile, displacement, memory, love and the delicate balance between thought and emotion.” The answers provided — by Ms. Lerman’s abstract constructions, Luzhen Qiu’s drawings, Sun You’s watercolors, Alison Wong’s formal renderings from pop culture and Amy Sacksteder’s interpretive collation based on and inspired by “the last moments of Amelia Earhart’s life” — prompt a tumult of other questions in other directions. And other answers. Let’s just call it "Challenging / Refreshing" and leave it at that. Starts January 15. More at pccart.org.

Cabin Fever
The Planet Ant Late Night Series is opening 2010 with a sterling example of that most (unfairly) maligned form of theatre known as melodrama. We use the term respectfully — especially since Snowbound, Margaret Edwartowski’s take on the territory first cultivated by Sophocles and then perfected by O’Neill, is a compelling bit of catharsis and one worth a nocturnal visit to Hamtown regardless of weather conditions.

We’re in Colorado in 1870 and Sara Adler’s destiny has manifested itself in the form of a dissolute brother, a motherless niece and a matriarch slipping fast into the deep drifts of dementia. Sara’s impatient beau is waiting in the wings, of course, with his wings eager to fly her away from this frozen landscape. Will she leave or stay? You can see for yourself starting January 8. They shovel the sidewalk outside, by the way, so no worries there. 2357 Caniff. 313.365.4948.

Yes, Valli — Not Vivaldi
Yes, Jersey Boys is at the Fisher. Yes, we saw it. Yes, we liked it and you will too — especially since this candid account of the Four Seasons is more than a nostalgic portrait of doo-wop castrati or another “back in more innocent times” whitewash. This is how it was and is, children — sweat, tears, spit, polish, prayers and all those people expecting a favor or two. And big guys don’t cry on their way to the top. More: nederlanderdetroit.com.  | RDW



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