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The Big Ticket

Actors Co-op Birthday Fundraiser
Music, stage show, gourmet treats and more. Saturday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m. Black Box Theatre. $50 suggested donation.

Einstein Simplified’s 10th Anniversary Show
Celebrate a decade of laughs with more laughs, snacks and door prizes. Saturday, Aug. 21, 9 p.m. Patrick Sullivan’s. $5 adv., $7 door.

Old Union
Original Southern rock-blues. Saturday, Aug. 21, 10 p.m. Barley’s. Free.

Early Day Miners w/ How Things Work
Orchestrated Low-core from Indiana. Saturday, Aug. 21, 10 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Copper w/ Breaking Point, Crippled Nation and Lotus
Four times the rock. Saturday, Aug. 21, 9 p.m. Prince Deli. $5.

Chick Graning w/ Black Velvet Dogs
Local rock legends. Saturday, Aug. 21, 9 p.m. Urban Bar. Free.

Black Diamond Heavies w/ Randall Brown
Mississippi juke joint blues. Monday, Aug. 23, 9 p.m. Preservation Pub. Free.

Mark Hummel & the Blues Survivors
Blues harmonica virtuoso. Wednesday, Aug. 25, 9 p.m. Brackins. $10.

The Gourds w/ Roddy Branch Bluegrass Band
Noun: A rounded kind of strung-up traditional folk with a good beat. Wednesday, Aug. 25, 8 p.m. Blue Cats. $10 adv., $12 door.

Feast with the Beasts
It seems peculiar that one of the finest restaurant samplings K-town has to offer takes place amid lions, tigers and bears. The Knoxville Zoo’s annual Feast with the Beasts has been dependably superlative, with participation sought by area eateries and attendees alike. The animals provide an occasionally awkward backdrop with meerkats and penguins leering longingly through the glass at plate after plate of hors d’oeuvres and mini entrees. Admission includes alcohol, which taunts the occasional habitat and causes wonder amid the merriment. Elephants fill their mouths haphazardly with hay, when what they really want is a drink to make them forget. Red wolves wonder why the music is so damn loud, and reptiles hiss with jealousy. Imagine a circus without clowns and an excess of restaurants without the confines a building. Feast with the Beasts is an event for both socialites and animal lovers, but, despite the heavenly bodies above, the real stars are behind bars. (Clint Casey)
Feast with the Beasts • Saturday, August 21, 7-11 p.m. • Knoxville Zoo • $60 in advance; $70 day of event.

Benefit Concert & Auction at The Spot
This weekend, a few frequent fliers from The Spot’s patio stage will step up and rock out for a good cause. Marking its sixth year of hosting a fundraiser for a variety of causes, the homey little dive on Kingston Pike will auction a variety of donated goods and services, proceeds from which—as well as tips and the $5 cover—will go to the American Diabetes Association. Highest bidders can receive items like a football signed by Phil Fulmer, passes for whitewater rafting, tickets to Blue Cats, free massages, restaurant gift certificates and lots more cool stuff. Plus, the night is chock full of music from Short Bus, Brendan James Wright, Labron Lazenby and friends, Dave Landeo and the MacDaddies—players who are generously giving of their talents to raise funds for an important non-profit. Tip generously and buy those players a beer. (Paige M. Travis)
Sixth Annual Benefit Show & Auction • Proceeds go to the American Diabetes Association • Saturday, Aug. 21, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. • The Spot • $5.

Michael Raedecker
Beginning Aug. 20 and running until Dec. 5, the Knoxville Museum of Art adds the unique and haunting artwork of Dutch painter and London resident Michael Raedecker to its acclaimed “SubUrban” series.In his first solo exhibition in the United States, Raedecker gives East Tennesseans an interesting glimpse of how he views his world. Applying layered combinations of thin, dull lines of color, knotted thread, heavily poured paint, odd embroideries (and sometimes even clumps of nappy wool) to his typically large-scale canvases, Raedecker’s finished products are, at first glance, difficult to describe. Pieces like “Breakaway” and “Mirage” tend to evoke in the viewer’s mind dark memories that are both long forgotten and disturbingly surreal. His subjects, generally ambiguous images of empty interiors, indistinct landscapes and obscure portraits, appear created from random scenes taken from the vague dream of a mysterious stranger. (Noah Bowman)
Michael Raedecker • Opening Friday, Aug. 20, continuing thru Dec. 5 • Knoxville Museum of Art • $5 adults and seniors, free to members and children 17 and under. Free Tuesdays 5-8 p.m. • Call 525-6101 for info.