Five guide for the weekend

FIVE ALBUMS

1. David Kilgour, Frozen Orange (Arch Hill): The Clean guitarist's fifth solo album finds him in Nashville with members of alt.country outfit Lambchop for psychedelic pop, epic grooves and artful guitar jangles, and some gently unsettling excursions.

2. Nick Cave, Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (Mute): Double disc which has Neeek and the Bad Seeds on a beguiling, witty, literate and sometimes uplifting collection which touches gospel, Elvis, dirty rock'n'roll, blues and even spaghetti western soundtracks. A journey.

3. Interpol, Antics (Rhythm Method): New York quartet comes off as the sons of Joy Division, albeit more hydraulically uplifted, on a collection of monochromatic and atmospheric songs with slow-fuse dynamics that can be gripping.

4. Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette, The Out-of-towners (ECM): Pianist Keith Jarrett and trio on songs which touch bases with blues and bop and ends with glistening balladry.

5. Tinariwen, The Radio Tisdas Sessions (Wayward): These desert rebels from the Sahara put down their Kalashnikovs and picked up guitars. They sound like the Mississippi Delta singers of the 40s with wiry guitars and a campfire revolutionaries' sound.

FIVE STAGE SHOWS

1. Caligula: Scottish writer David Greig's acclaimed adaptation of Albert Camus' portrayal of the last mad days of the infamous Roman emperor. Starring Oliver Driver ("appalling and appealing," said our reviewer); directed by Colin McColl. The Maidment, to Oct 23.

2. 4.48 Psychosis: The British playwright Sarah Kane knew about suicide - she killed herself in 1999 at the age of 28. This drama provides a rare and clear glimpse into the suicidal mind from the inside out. With Anna Hewlett. The SiLo, to Oct 9.

3. Proof: David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a woman whose brilliant mathematician father struggles with insanity, then dies, leaving her to grapple with the possibility of the same fate. With Sarah Wiseman. Maidment Studio, to Oct 2.

4. Quills: Doug Wright's daring drama about the final phase of the Marquis de Sade's life in Charenton Asylum. Starring Paul Norell as de Sade. The Pumphouse, Takapuna, to Oct 3.

5. Tempo Dance Festival: Citywide showcase of dance talent; opening tonight with Michael Parmenter's solo Nightingale Fever at Tapac; Pointy Dog Dances also at Tapac; and Kanan Deobhakta's The Masked Maiden at Centennial Theatre, Auckland Grammar School.


FIVE VIDEOS/DVDs

1. The Station Agent: Gem of a film about a lonely dwarf who inherits an abandoned railway station, and what happens when he meets two other loners.

2. Spellbound:Oscar-nominated documentary about the 1999 US national spelling bee that becomes a thriller with many touching and funny moments.

3. Goodbye Lenin! German film about a young man in former East Berlin protecting his frail mother from the news that the country has reunified. Part comedy, political satire, and love story

4. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen: Teen comedy with Lindsay Lohan starring as a 15-year-old attention-seeker forced by her mother to leave the bright lights of New York for suburbia.

5. Miracle: True ice-hockey story about the US team's path to the podium at the 1980 Winter Olympics, with Kurt Russell as the uncompromising coach.

FIVE GALLERIES

1. New Gallery: Walters Prize exhibition. Installations by the four finalists - Ronnie van Hout, Daniel von Sturmer, Jacqueline Fraser and et al - make provocative viewing that will stimulate some and have others scratching their heads.

2. Artspace, 300 K Rd: Asian Artspaces. Ten Asian artspaces were invited to send a box containing work that illustrates their policies. The result reveals a struggle for acceptance of the avant-garde.

3. Gow Langsford, Kitchener St: Recent bronze sculpture, by Paul Dibble. Outstanding collection of "soft geometric" bronzes by one of the country's leading sculptors.

4. PR Gallery, 361 K'Rd: Oils on Canvas, by Saffron & Sola Laurence-Bade. Sisters showing for the first time. Sola exhibits photography and oils with a strong Maori affinity; Saffron's oils reveal a love for plants .

5. Lane Gallery, 12 O'Connell St: If Wishes Were Horses, by Faith McManus. Artist who has returned to her childhood home of the Far North responding to memories and the landscape.