Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 02.16.06

Here's an unusual reason to get up before noon: Air America host Al Franken will be broadcasting his show live from the LCC Performance Hall bright and early on Friday. Tickets to the live taping are available at Smith Family Books and the local Air America affiliate. We're not exactly sure what happens at a live radio broadcast — Do you hoot and holler? Ask questions? Try not to mutter too loudly, lest the microphones pick it up? But we're guessing that, one way or another, this will be an interesting way to start your morning. See Friday Calendar.

For the third time in the last year and a half, Eugene is graced with another performance from country diva Lucinda Williams. She caught the ear of the nation in 1998 with her Grammy-winning Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, and followed it up with a number of amazing releases including the heartrending World Without Tears and a live album. Infamous for her haunting lyrical style and her gritty intensity, she is one of today's most complex artists. She pours her heart into her music but is legendary for being cold, even rude, to reporters trying to get to know her. That's because you can read about her all you want, but the best way to get to know Lucinda is to see her in concert. And the intimate atmosphere of the Jaqua Concert Hall suits her perfectly. Of all the times I've seen her play, it was a small, outdoor show in Bend that blew me away. The crowd was amped and the screaming and cheering was deafening. Feeding off the crowd's energy, Lucinda opened up like I've never seen before or since, grinning, laughing and talking to the audience. So even though the Shedd was once a church, don't hold back. See Friday Calendar. — Melissa Bearns

Los Angeles-based Will and Company brings Portraits of Courage: African-Americans You Wish You Had Known to the UO's EMU Ballroom this week. Written by actor, playwright and director Colin Cox, who was surprised at the absence of African-Americans in today's history books, the play introduces audiences to unsung heroes of African-American history, including journalist and activist Ida B. Wells (portrayed by Cristy Joy Wilson, left); electrical engineer Lewis Latimer; Colonel Young, commander of the 9th Cavalry; entrepreneur C.J. Walker, who became America's first female millionaire; Bass Reeves, the first black marshal west of the Mississippi; and Fannie Lou Hamer, co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, who was jailed and beaten by police for exercising her right to vote in 1962. Following the performance the actors will do a Q&A session with the audience. See Tuesday Calendar.

The 21st Oregon Asian Celebration, the largest Asian cultural event between Seattle and San Francisco, takes over the Lane County Fairgrounds this weekend for two days of dancing, entertainment, art, crafts, martial arts and cooking demonstations, educational exhibits and displays, food and much more, all representing more than a dozen Asian cultures. The Sushi Showdown, popular last year, returns in two forms: professional sushi chefs compete on Saturday, and on Sunday high school culinary teams try their hand at sushi creations. This year, the inaugural DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon runs concurrently with the Asian Celebration, offering screenings at the festival, the Bijou and DIVA. The film festival kicks off with the Oregon premiere of Only the Brave (left), an historical film about the all-Japanese-American 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, who sacrificed more than 800 lives to save 211 Texan soldiers during WWII. For full schedules and more information, see www.disorientfilm.org,www.asiancelebration.org and Calendar.