50 MORE THINGS WE WANT TO DO THIS MONTH
APR. 1 | ROCK
Mdou Moctar
■ If you think comparing Moctar, a Tuareg guitarist, to Jimi Hendrix is far-fetched, consider that he is left-handed, plays a white Fender, and unravels supernaturally frenetic solos that sound like the spirits of deceased bluesmen being transmitted through electric currents.
Details Empty Bottle. Ukrainian Village. 8:30 p.m. $20–$22. eventbrite.com
APR. 2 | ROCK
Stephen Malkmus With Qais Essar and the Magik Carpet
■ The singer-songwriter and guitarist has lent his dry wit to Pavement (his most famous affiliation), Silver Jews (his most admired affiliation), and a grab bag of side projects (his most questionable affiliations). For his latest solo release, last month’s folksy Traditional Techniques, he enlisted Essar, an Afghan composer known for mesmerizing arrangements featuring the rebab, an Afghan stringed instrument dating back 2,500 years; Essar and his band the Magik Carpet provide support for Malkmus’s quick spring tour.
Details Thalia Hall. Pilsen. 8:30 p.m. $25. eventbrite.com
APR. 2–4 | PERFORMANCE ART
The Formaldehyde Trip
■ Mexico City–based writer and director Naomi Rincon Gallardo dedicates both an otherworldly art film and a live music concert to Alberta “Bety” Cariño, a Mixtec human rights activist who was killed in a 2010 ambush while delivering food to indigenous communities in Oaxaca. Feminist and social justice themes revolving around Cariño’s life and work are intertwined with psychedelic images referencing Mesoamerican mysticism and vintage Mexican sci-fi flicks.
Details Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Streeterville. $30. mcachicago.org
APR. 2–MAY 17 | THEATER
The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington
■ In James Ijames’s playful dark comedy, the nation’s first first lady lies on her deathbed, attended to by house slaves who eagerly await her passing, as it will trigger their own freedom according to the terms of George Washington’s will. Saturday Night Live alumna Nora Dunn plays the widow Washington.
Details Steppenwolf Theatre. Lincoln Park. $35–$93. steppenwolf.org
APR. 3 | COUNTRY
Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers
■ Simpson has bucked traditional country conventions for the better part of his career, to fascinating effect. (Case in point: The singer-songwriter busked — forgoes country for sleazy ’80s rock with song titles like “Make Art Not Friends.” Get there in time to see Childers, an old soul and the new face of Appalachian bluegrass.
