Unwigged and Unplugged

The names Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest might not mean anything to you, but they should. Individually, each man has an impressive resume (McKean was Lenny from Laverne & Shirley; Shearer voices Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders and Otto Mann on The Simpsons; and Guest has appeared in the films The Princess Bride and A Few Good Men), but it’s the combination of the trio that produces the funniest results. Whether it’s in 1984’s This is Spinal Tap or as the Folksmen in 2003’s A Mighty Wind, the threesome create music that is both incredibly hilarious and, from a songwriting standpoint, pretty damn good. Spinal Tap and the Folksmen have played live, but the group’s latest tour finds the three men performing material from both bands as themselves and not characters. This is not only a chance to see the men behind the comedy, it’s also a safer way to tour—for the drummers, anyway.
Thu., April 23, 7 p.m., 2009