Pop Music (Winter Events)

Best Bet: Double dose of Phish

Cincinnati becomes the center of the rock-concert universe on Feb. 21-22, as the hottest tour of the winter - the reunited Phish, back from a two-year "hiatus" - plays sold-out, back-to-back weekend shows at U.S. Bank Arena. The tickets sold out in minutes, but the real hysteria hits in February, as Phish phans phlock here from all over the country to see the only jam band that has come close to equaling the drawing power of the original jam gods, Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.

Classical music (Winter Events)

Best bet: Lockhart with the CCO

Keith Lockhart - Boston Pops conductor, international celebrity, maestro of Super Bowl XXXVI - returns to his roots (well, sort of) when he conducts the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Jan. 26 and 27. The CCO's former music director, best known nationally for the PBS' show Evening at Pops, will bring an interesting program: Faure's Masques et Bergamasques; Ravel's Mother Goose; Haydn's Symphony No. 70 in D Major and Commedia for (Almost) 18th-Century Orchestra by William Bolcom. Concerts are at 3 p.m. Sunday in Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine, and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Greaves Concert Hall, NKU. Tickets: $22 Sunday; $18 Monday (student/senior discounts available): 723-1182 or www.cincychamberorch.com.

Film (Winter Releases)

Best bet: 'Life of David Gale'

Feb. 21 brings a release that has been on the watch-list for movie fans for months: The Life of David Gale stars Kevin Spacey as an anti-death-penalty activist who is accused of rape and murder and ends up in a Texas prison on Death Row. Kate Winslet plays a reporter who starts investigating his case just three days before his scheduled execution. Alan Parker (Evita) directs.

Theater (Winter Events)

Best bet: Prize-winning 'Proof'

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof is, not surprisingly, the most popular play across America this season. It will have two professional productions regionally this winter. David Auburn's drama explores the many meanings of the word "proof" as troubled 25-year-old Catherine grapples with a haunting past and an uncertain future. Proof begins previews at Playhouse tonight and will be produced by Human Race Theatre Company in March.

Playhouse: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 14. (Jan. 14 preview at 7 p.m.) Tickets $31-$43, previews $28. 421-3888.

Human Race: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, March 13-30, Loft Theatre, 126 N. Main St., Dayton. Tickets $28. (937) 228-3630 or (888) 228-3630.

Dance (Winter Events)

Best bet: Sizzling Jazzdance

Danny Buraczeski doesn't just dance to jazz music - he inhabits it. He gets inside the rhythms and interprets them as few choreographers can, with equal amounts of sophistication and charm. Whether to the familiar sounds of Duke Ellington or the latest from vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Philip Hamilton, his works sizzle. JAZZDANCE by Danny Buraczeski; 8:30 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1; Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Aronoff Center; 241-7469.

Visual arts (Winter Events)

Best bet: Dig into CAC archive

Take a look back at the the Contemporary Arts Center's 64-year history through a collection of rare archival materials - photos, news clips, catalogs - drawn from collections at the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Public Library. (The photo below is from the 1975 Denim Art exhibit.) The new exhibit is curated by Owen Findsen, former Enquirer visual arts reporter. Free admission and catalog. Through April 30. 115 E. Fifth St., downtown. Info: 345-8415.