ART
CHICAGO ART OPEN
Works by 311 midcareer and emerging artists; closes Sunday; National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave.; $6; 312-670-2060.
FEMININE ABSTRACTS
“Air, Earth, Water: Feminine Abstracts from Eastern Spain — Yolanda Martin, Amalia Martinez & Guadalupe Masa,” works on paper presenting a metaphysical view of the elements; opens Friday; Instituto Cervantes, 875 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2940; free; 312-335-1996.
`JUST GOOD ART’
Works by more than 100 artists will be auctioned at the close of the exhibition; opens Friday; Hyde Park Art Center, 5307 S. Hyde Park Blvd.; free; 773-324-5520.
— Alan G. Artner
CLASSICAL
DANIEL BARENBOIM
The CSO music director opens the 2004-05 Piano Series with one of the landmarks of the keyboard repertoire, J.S. Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier,” Book I. Barenboim’s recital takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $21-$43; 312-294-3000.
CONCERTANTE DI CHICAGO
The venturesome chamber orchestra begins its 20th season with a salute to 20th Century French composers and musicians associated with Lille, Europe’s 2004 cultural capital. Artistic director Hilel Kagan will conduct works by Albert Roussel, Jacques Deregnaucourt, Robert Casadesus, Marc Lys and Georges Delarue, with violinist Deregnaucourt and pianist Lys as soloists. 3 p.m. Sunday at DePaul University Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden Ave.; $5-$35; 312-346-9006.
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CONTEMPO
The Contemporary Chamber Players has a new name, a new venue and an unusual double bill to mark 40 years at the cutting edge of modern music. Conductor Cliff Colnot will bring resident ensembles the eighth blackbird and the Pacifica Quartet to its new North Side venue, Rubloff Auditorium, Chicago Historical Society, Clark Street at North Avenue. The season opener, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, will comprise works by George Crumb, Jonathan Harvey and Chen Yi; $35-$40; 773-702-8068.
— John von Rhein
JAZZ
BRAD MEHLDAU
The innovative pianist appears on a double bill with the Chicago-based ensemble Contempo; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Chicago Historical Society, Clark Street and North Avenue; $35-$40; 773-702-8068.
RUFUS REID
The formidable bassist steps to the forefront to lead his own quintet; Tuesday through Oct. 31 at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20; 312-670-2473.
— Howard Reich
MOVIES
GREEN’S DEEP SOUTH
“Undertow” is the most accessible movie yet by the gifted David Gordon Green (“George Washington”): another naturalistic, poetic look at the lower-class modern South. But it’s also a riveting genre chase thriller about two boys (Devon Alan and “Billy Elliot’s” Jamie Bell) fleeing their murderous uncle (Josh Lucas) through a magical rural Georgia terrain of freedom and fear. Esquire, 58 E. Oak St., 312-280-1205; Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark St., 773-509-4949.
— Michael Wilmington
ROCK
LAURIE ANDERSON
The avant-garde performance artist debuts a new work, “The End of the Moon,” about her NASA experience; Wednesday at the Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave.; $35; 312-559-1212.
THE DELGADOS
Co-ed Scottish band blends sweeping orchestral-pop melodies with dour lyrics, Tuesday at Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave.; $13; 773-489-3160.
DRIVE BY TRUCKERS
Southern rock returns in all its guitar glory, but with a shot of fatalistic introspection, Saturday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St.; $15; 312-559-1212.
CLINIC
The lab-coated UK band delivers seething understatement, then puts the hammer down, Saturday and Oct. 31 at Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St.; $21; 773-478-4408.
— Greg Kot
THEATER
`PYRETOWN’
John Belluso’s comedy-drama is two plays intersecting. The first is a beautifully acted romance between a single welfare mother of three (Elaine Rivkin) and a younger man in a wheelchair (Aaron Roman Weiner). The second, less compelling play concerns the spiritual and moral crisis of an HMO doctor (Melissa Carlson), given to quoting poetry of others and spouting plenty of her own. Concentrate on the good stuff and you’ll be amply rewarded. Rivkin and Weiner are an unusually appealing couple; through Nov. 14 at Victory Gardens Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.; $25-$28; 773-871-3000.
— Michael Phillips
`BELFAST BLUES’
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Neither blarney nor romantic blather is found in Geraldine Hughes’ powerful 80-minute one-woman reminiscence about growing up in Belfast. Hughes, the daughter of a sometime cabinetmaker, grew up in a notoriously dangerous public housing complex just feet away from what functioned as a perverse composite of family neighborhood and battlefront. And although leavened by humor, the story is one of poverty and struggle confounded by a child’s resistance to illogic; through Nov. 28 at the Mercury Theatre, 3745 N. Southport Ave.; $28.50-$33.50; 312-325-1700.
— Chris Jones