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The Big Ticket

First Friday
The second installment of this downtown-wide arts open house. Friday, Nov. 7, 5:30 until doors close. Various galleries and shops on Market Square, Gay Street, downtown and the Candy Factory. Free.

The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
Multi-IBMA winners, formerly of the Lonesome River Band. Friday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m. Palace Theater. $10 advance, $12 door.

All the Way Home
The stage version of James Agee's A Death in the Family, directed by Steve Fitchpatrick. Opens Nov. 7, 8 p.m. Erin Presbyterian Church. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors.

Steel Magnolias
Southern broads weep and crack wise. Nov. 7-14, 8 p.m. Clarence Brown Lab Theatre. $5 general, $3 students.

The Elephant Man
The moving story of John Merrick and his rise from freak show to fame. Weekends thru Nov. 23, 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $10 general, $5 students w/ ID.

Donald Brown
Grammy nominated pianist plays among the books. Saturday, Nov. 8, 7-9 p.m. Lawson McGhee Library. Free.

Malcolm Holcomb
Saturday, Nov. 8, 10 p.m. Barley's.

Laura Blackley Band
Blues rock from Asheville, NC. Saturday, Nov. 8, 9:30 p.m. Sassy Ann's. $5.

The Slip
Jazz-infused jam rock. Monday, Nov. 10, 9 p.m. Blue Cats. $8-$10.

Foothills Craft Guild 2003 Fall Show
This year marks the Foothills Craft Guild's 37th fall show, which is a testament to the organization's longevity and its consistency in presenting some of the best crafters and artists in the region. Works of pottery, wood, jewelry, basketry, furniture, hand-woven linens, and other creations and concoctions will fill the Jacobs Building. It's like a huge art gallery and a great alternative to the mall for holiday gift shopping—with better music too. Some of our area's most talented traditional musicians will perform on each day: Evan Carawan and Friends (including David Lovett and Greg Horne) on Friday; Sean McCullough and Evergreen Street on Saturday; and Bill Mize on Saturday. Several crafters will demonstrate at their booths, giving visitors a chance to ask questions and find out the stories behind their creations. Imagine giving your friends and family presents that have stories and significance. Kinda makes the holiday season seem a lot more fun and meaningful. (Paige M. Travis)
FOOTHILLS CRAFT GUILD 2003 FALL SHOW * A FINE CRAFTS MARKETPLACE * JACOBS BUILDING, CHILHOWEE PARK * NOV. 7, 8 & 9, 10AM-6PM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, AND 10AM-5PM SUNDAY * $5 FOR ADULTS, $4 FOR STUDENTS AND SENIORS, FREE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 6.

Andrew W.K. and Hoobastank
At first sighting, Andrew W.K. seemed like he might have been a meathead rocker in the grand Detroit tradition. In his press photos he was always bloodied or soiled; he used "party" as a verb; and the title track on his major-label debut, I Get Wet, is reported to be about getting so fucked up you piss your pants. But his music—a mash of arena rock, speed metal and new wave—is nothing like that produced by his Motor City forbears. Early on, it worked (I picked I Get Wet as one of my favorite albums of last year), but does he mean it? Is it some kind of post-ironic comment on the state of rock? Like, what's going on? Is this guy for real?
After a while, though, it's become pretty clear that there's no "meta-" in AWK's rock. It's rock of the most straightforward sort, and the gentle shift in his philosophy away from enlightenment-through-hedonism and toward some sort of message of cosmic self-improvement has revealed that maybe he's a much more benign—and less interesting—meathead. In recent interviews he's sounded more like a hippie than G.G. Allin. He's started shaving, and there's no more blood. He looks refreshed instead of dissolute. His new album, The Wolf, treads the same ground as I Get Wet, but now it sounds more like a refined, big-budget version of electroclash—a '00s version of The Knack, perhaps—than anything else. Still, "My Sharona" ain't a bad hook, if you're in the car and your CD player's busted and there's nothing else on the radio. (Matthew Everett)
ANDREW W.K. WITH HOOBASTANK AND DIE TRYING * SUNDAY, NOV. 9, DOORS 7 P.M. * BLUE CATS * $15.

Rob Russell & the Sore Losers
Rob Russell & the Sore Losers play "hand me another beer" rock n' roll. Their unapologetic, punchy twang is loud, three-chord attitude at its unrefined-est with the good ol' plug, play, and get out of the way mantra. "Smokin' and a drinkin', drinkin' and a drivin', the girl is gonna kill me or we'll both die tryin'." The band is also perhaps Johnson City's closest answer to Knoxville's V-Roys. In the early '90's, Russell even played bass for Scott Miller before Miller started the V-Roys. The four-piece outfit plays the Thinq Tank on Friday with or without you. (Clint Casey)
ROB RUSSELL & THE SORE LOSERS * FRIDAY, NOV. 7, 10 P.M. * THE THINQ TANK * FREE.