October 2006

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City Planner: Tuesday 10/31

Filed under: Local Nightlife

From today's A-List: "Nobody owns Halloween like First Avenue. Their annual costume bash in the Mainroom brings out the sexiest, funniest, and most elaborate outfits you'll see all day, complete with $1,000-plus in cash prizes and 2-4-1 deals all night long. (Nostalgics will remember First Avenue ownership of Tuesdays as well.) Parties in the smaller rooms flank the main event: "Hallowiener" in the 7th St. Entry features great bands that treat every show as Halloween, so expect them to take it up a notch: Faggot, Wrath, Brother & Sister, the Future, and Diesel on the Rocks. In the VIP Room upstairs, dance to hip hop, reggaeton, R&B, and reggae spun by DJs Verb X, Bodhisatva, and Defiant."

18+, $6 in the Mainroom w/ free crossover to the VIP Room; 21+, $3/$6 without costume in the 7th St. Entry. 8:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Sonny Rollins @ Ted Mann
Barebones @ Hidden Falls Park
Velella Velella @ Turf Club
Halloween Party @ Triple Rock
Glenn Danzig tribute @ Big V's
Trail of Terror @ Ren Fest Grounds
World's Largest Trick or Treat @ MoA

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 31, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Monday 10/30

Filed under: Local Nightlife

GWAR @ First Avenue

From today's A-List: "How do you celebrate Halloween when your average day consists of dressing up in grotesque foam rubber costumes, drenching people in fake blood (among other bodily fluids), and singing songs about death, dismemberment, and demented sex monsters from outer space? Only GWAR knows. After 11 albums, five full-length videos, countless personnel changes, and two decades spent touring the world with their scatological circus, GWAR trudge on with the stamina of the intergalactic barbarians they claim to be. Their latest release, this year's Beyond Hell, is a concept album about the band's quest through the underworld to defeat Satan in an "eviler than thou" pissing contest. Few bands have the talent, guts, manpower, or sense of humor to pull off this kind of spectacle; GWAR's done it for 20 years and the schtick still isn't old. Bring safety goggles."

With Red Chord and Municipal Waste. All ages. $15/$18 at the door. 5:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

James Blunt @ Northrop
Meg Tilly @ Amazon and Borders
Sparta @ Fine Line

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 30, 2006 1:06 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Weekend Edition (10/27-28)

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Trail of Terror @ Ren. Fest Grounds

From this weekend's A-List: "Brought to you by the Minnesota Renaissance Festival (though not nearly as creepy), this annual event is so obviously a labor of love and creativity that the communal vibe endures even as the long wait for the haunted hayride becomes its own kind of horror. The haunted maze consumes less time, but go through both lines anyway—the shocks are freshly reimagined every year, and the cold sweetens the anticipation of hot cider and a bonfire."

$14.95. 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. For more info call 1.800.966.8215 or go here.

Elsewhere

Saturday

Gang Gang Dance @ Walker
Islands @ First Avenue
McCoy Tyner Septet @ Ted Mann
Pet Shop Boys @ Orpheum
Shattered (closing) @ Playwright's Center
Barebones @ Hidden Falls Park
Haunted Housewarming @ 331
The Deaths @ Hexagon
Elected @ Triple Rock
Xiu Xiu @ Triple Rock
Radiators @ Trocaderos
Dracula @ State
Paul Shambroom (closing) @ Weinstein
Chris Pureka (CD release) @ Acadia
Frank Morgan & George Cables @ AQ

Sunday

Bob Dylan @ Xcel
Del tha Funkee Homosapien @ First Avenue
Jerome artists (closing) @ MCAD
Sylvia (closing) @ Pantages
Moonspell @ Station 4
Anathalo @ Varsity
Indigo Girls @ State
The Ark @ 7th St. Entry
Angie Stevens @ 400 Bar
Hockey Night @ Triple Rock

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 28, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Friday 10/27

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Stones Throw 10th Anniversary Tour @ Triple Rock

From today's A-List: "There's indie rap, and then there's Stones Throw. The imprint that gave us Madvillain and Quasimoto also released a good number of rare funk reissues (from The Funky 16 Corners to Kashmere Stage Band's high school blowout Texas Thunder Soul), outsider weirdo-soul (Gary Wilson, Dudley Perkins), new-school underground East Coast hustlers (Roc 'C', MED), and the best sample-based record in the last five years (J Dilla's final epic, the overwhelming Donuts). You can pick up the recent comp Chrome Children for a good cross section of where Stones Throw's at in '06, but it's also worth catching this live show. Label founder Peanut Butter Wolf serves as tour guide on the turntables, with appearances from Madlib (article here), Percee P, and other top-flight underground MCs."

18+. $15. 8:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Electric Six @ First Avenue
Halloween Hootenanny IV @ the Garage
Ann L. Burckhardt @ Cook's of Crocus Hill
Winter Blanket (EP release) @ Turf Club
Maureen Ogle @ Coffman Union
Frank Morgan & George Cables @ Artists' Quarter
Dracula @ State Theatre
Amy Rice (closing) @ Augsburg
O.A.R. @ Target Center
Vince Gill @ O'Shaughnessy
Kid Dakota @ Nomad
The Radiators @ Trocaderos

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 27, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Thursday 10/26

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Negativland @ First Avenue

From today's A-List: "While they've sidelined the spectacular antics that earned the ire of sundry recording-industry bigwigs back in the 20th, plunderphonics pioneers Negativland haven't stopped challenging consensus notions of 'intellectual property'--and being engaging as fuck about it. Built entirely from appropriated sounds, last year's No Business finds the California-based sound artists and media pranksters exploring copyright issues with the help of Ethel Merman, the Beatles, and former National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences president Michael Green, whose anti-downloading speech at the 2002 Grammy Awards ceremony finds its way into the unsettling 'Downloading' (with a few changes here and there, of course)."

18+. $12/$14 at the door. 7:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

L.A. Guns @ Myth
Chooglin' @ Turf Club
Grassy Knolls @ Cedar
G8 (CD release) @ Varsity
Katherine Lanpher @ Fitzgerald
Friends Like These @ Triple Rock

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 26, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Wednesday 10/25

Michael Franti & Spearhead @ Trocaderos

From today's A-List: "I'll put Michael Franti's last three CDs up against the most recent trio from any other contemporary musician out there--they're that good. Accompanied by his ace band Spearhead, he's the Gil Scott-Heron of the 21st century, wielding a sound that encompasses the warm quilt of neo-soul, the brisk edges of hip hop, the thomp of rock, and the cool hitch-in-stride of reggae. But it's his serrated political science--cant-free and aggressively pacifistic--that sends him to the head of the working class. If his latest, Yell Fire!, is less enthralling than Everyone Deserves Music (2003) and Stay Human (2001), it's only in comparison to those desert-island keepers." Read the rest here.

With State Radio. 18+. $18/$20 at the door. 7:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Cafe Accordion Orchestra (CD release) @ Dakota
Hold Steady @ First Avenue
9' x 22': A Dance Lab @ BLB
Transmission @ Hexagon
The Gleam @ Triple Rock

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 25, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Tuesday, 10/24

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Hold Steady @ First Avenue

From Nate Patrin's review of the new Hold Steady record: "There is a point on Boys and Girls in America that marks the line the Hold Steady have apparently crossed. It's the chorus on the second track, a churning anthem dubbed 'Chips Ahoy!,' where it's a bit hard to tell just what Craig Finn is singing (...singing?) because he can't quite shout loud enough to be heard over a traffic-jam racket of 'oh-oh-ho-oh-oh-hohhhh-oh' backup vocals and monolithic rhythm/piano/organ/guitar/guitar/guitar/guitar! noise. Welcome the new(ish) Hold Steady: slicker, more obvious (if more relatable), more riffs, more force, more exclamation points, more debt to the classic-rock company store, more backup singers, and more melody from one Craig Finn, owner of rock's greatest hectoring narrative yell. If 'less is more'--as guitarist Tad Kubler described the formative structure of this record--this album must've been made with practically nothing." Read the rest here.

With Sean Na Na. $15. 18+. 8:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Figurines @ 400
Dan Israel @ 331
Barry Lopez @ Borders
Dave Holland @ Dakota
Barbra Streisand @ Xcel
Choplogic/Parts for All Makes (dual CD release) @ Turf Club

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 24, 2006 6:29 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Monday 10/23

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Joan Jett @ First Avenue

From today's A-List: "Though it's true that she never really went anywhere, Joan Jett is back. Sinner, the tough new studio disc she released earlier this year, kicks as hard as anything she did in her early-'80s heyday—maybe harder, if you don't have a terribly high opinion of George Bush or Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom she nails on "Riddles." Jett's live show remains sharp, too: Dangerously svelte in a leopard-print bikini top onstage at CBGB this past summer, she sent nostalgia trippers packing with a fresh guitar snarl and undimmed queer-core fury. Openers Eagles of Death Metal, a self-consciously sleazy groove-punk act featuring Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme on drums, love rock 'n' roll."

With Valient Thorr. 18+. $25. 7:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Edie Brickell @ Fine Line
Roe Family Singers @ 331
Punk Bowling @ Memory Lanes

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 23, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

R.I.P. Runaways drummer Sandy West

Monday's Joan Jett show at First Avenue took on added significance when Jett's former Runaways bandmate Sandy West died Saturday after a long battle with lung cancer. The Runaways made their debut Twin Cities appearance in 1976 at the State Theatre, sandwiched between the Suicide Commandos and The Ramones.

Wrote Christy Lindsay for the Runaways website:

"(Sandy) left an indelible mark on rock music as a founding member of The Runaways, which featured fellow rockers Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Cherie Currie, and as a leading inspiration for a number of notable musicians, both male and female. Many young musicians can trace their inspiration directly to the first time they heard 'Cherry Bomb.'

"The Runaways toured the world several times, often headlining with opening acts like Tom Petty and Cheap Trick. Their discography includes over 60 albums, singles, bootlegs and compilations. Their music has been included in dozens of rock and punk collections, has appeared in several feature films including Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway and Detroit Rock City, and has been covered by numerous bands, from The Street Walkin' Cheetahs to Guns 'N' Roses. They were nominated for the Hollywood Rock Walk, and bootlegs of Runaways performances are still highly prized amongst rock and roll collectors around the world.

"After the band broke up, Ms. West continued to perform as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist with The Sandy West Band. As a solo artist she recorded a highly collectible EP CD and numerous videos, and continued to enjoy the adoration of a dedicated cult following.

"She will be remembered by more than one generation of fans as a strong part of their musical landscape, but her impact was felt far outside of the music industry as a loyal friend, loving confidante and strong defender of those she loved most. Her strength as a player, passion as a person, and dedication as a friend will be remembered always by friends, fans and fellow musicians alike.

"Runaways vocalist and life-long friend, Cherie Currie had this to say: 'Sandy West was by far, the greatest female drummer in the history of rock and roll. No one could compete or even come close to her, but the most important was her heart. Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault. She would do absolutely anything for the people she loved. It will never be the same for me again to step on a stage, because Sandy West was the best and I will miss her forever.'"

Sandy West and Joan Jett

The Runaways: Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Vickie Blue, Sandy West.

Clockwise: Ford, West, Blue, Jett, Cherie Curry.

Posted by Jim Walsh at October 22, 2006 10:54 PM | Comments (15)

 

City Planner: Weekend Edition (10/21-22)

Filed under: Local Nightlife

David Sedaris @ Orpheum

From today's A-List: "Besides the hilariousness of David Sedaris, I can't think of anything in the cultural world that my four parents, sundry friends, and all my cousins (Republicans and Democrats alike) agree on. He's a point of American consensus free of a 'point,' so naturally there's a backlash. But even if you suspect that the memoirist and public radio commentator has been blessed with unusually good material in his too-weird-for-sitcom family (and judging from his sister, Strangers with Candy star Amy Sedaris, he has), there's a real art to his gliding irritability. His version of real people, even himself, can't be the whole story, yet he rarely seems to fudge for anything but a focused laugh (he reaches for those punch lines). Sedaris enjoys his own smallness and discomfort without celebrating it. Like a quieter, literary version of Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, he's a man of the people--just on his own, very specific terms.

$22-$37. 8:00 p.m

Elsewhere

Saturday

Laura Harley @ Acadia
Rollergirls @ Roy Wilkins
Gin Blossoms @ Fine Line
Big Ditch Road (CD Release)@ Hexagon
Plastic Constellations @ Triple Rock
G.S.T. @ Fusion (formerly French Press)
The Hook Up (fe. Black Blondie) @ Dinkytowner
Todd Norsten (closing) @ Midway Contemporary Art

Sunday

RatDog @ Fitzgerald
ARENA @ Southern
Bouncing Souls @ First Avenue
A Whisper in the Noise @ Triple Rock
Widespread Panic @ Northrop (with this dude opening!)

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 21, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

3Qs with apple scientist David Bedford

Filed under: Food

For David Bedford, a fruit crops research scientist at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center, a single apple has all the power of Google and all the health benefits of a nicotine patch. At least according to the Association of University Technology Managers' "Better World Report," which listed the Center's signature invention, the Honeycrisp, among those other world-changing innovations of the last decade. The U's Apple Research Exhibit is up now through October 31 at the Landscape Arboretum.

City Pages: The U of M has crossbred such famous apples as the Zestar!, SnowSweet, and Honeycrisp in the last few years. Are there any ethical dilemmas to consider while playing Apple God?

David Bedford: As nice as it is to be called an "Apple God," we don't really wield that kind of power. When we develop new varieties by crossbreeding or hybridization we are actually doing the same thing that occurs in nature, except that we are choosing specific parents. Ultimately we can't determine how the genes from each parent will be combined in their offspring, however. That is determined by a "higher" Apple God.

CP: The U of M's Honeycrisp apple was honored in the "Better World Report." Aside from the fact that it has "explosively crisp flesh," how did an apple really change the world?

Bedford: As proud as we are of Honeycrisp, it's hard, even for us, to say that it is comparable to Google, the V-chip, and the nicotine patch. But maybe in the smaller context of the apple world its effect has been fairly important. For apple growers in the U.S., especially in the East and Midwest, it has been a shining star for a struggling industry. Has it really changed the world? Maybe not in the same sense that Google has, but until you try one yourself you'll never know for sure!

CP: Is it good luck if I find a worm in my Honeycrisp?

Bedford: Honeycrisps are best eaten worm-free. Save the worms for your tequila.

"Apples with A-Peel," the apple research exhibit at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, is up now through October 31. 3675 Arboretum Dr., Chaska; 952.443.1400. Weekend apple tastings noon to 3:00 p.m.

--Molly Priesmeyer

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 20, 2006 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Friday 10/20

Filed under: Local Nightlife

After Hours @ the Walker

From today's A-List: "The return of Walker After Hours means one thing: The return of the Targetini! Okay, that was a bit facetious. Glasses filled with those things never really hit the, uh, bull's-eye for our refined tastes. But there is a handful of other less Target-y and big box retailer-y elements that make the return of Walker After Hours an event to celebrate. First, there's the preview party for "Heart of Darkness," a surreal and mythical maze of coded environments created by artists Kai Althoff, Edgar Cleijne, Ellen Gallagher, and Thomas Hirschhorn. It's a world of nightmare fairy tales, cryptic allegories, and cultural conflicts that includes what's been described as 'subterranean anarchist passageways.' We imagine the passageways are similar in design to our intestines, which will be loaded up with goodies cooked up by Wolfgang Puck. On top of that, films by 'social theater' artist Cameron Jamie will be shown, and local musician Mike Gunther and his Restless Souls will perform their unholy hits."

$20. 8:00 p.m. to midnight.

Elsewhere

Califone @ 400 Bar
Dosh (CD release) @ Triple Rock
Keith Sweat @ Trocaderos
Zappa Plays Zappa @ Orpheum

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 20, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

She's Got Those Bones Brigade Videos

Filed under: Gaming , Gaming

The Hold Steady's been given props from the New York Times, a 9.4 on Pitchfork and a reasonably positive review here, but critical success might not be quite as heartening as their latest feat: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is on the soundtrack to upcoming sure-to-be-blockbuster video game Tony Hawk's Project 8. Nothing beats Craig Finn singing over polygonal Bam Margera faceplants.

Posted by Nate Patrin at October 19, 2006 1:13 PM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Thursday 10/19

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Umar Bin Hassan @ Fine Line

From today's A-List: "One of the seven members of the Last Poets and one of the three to appear on the group's jolting 1970 eponymous debut, Umar Bin Hassan helped create rap music, and his 'Niggers Are Scared of Revolution' went on to be sampled by N.W.A., Brand Nubian, and A Tribe Called Quest. But the former Omar Ben Hassan (born Jerome Huling in Akron, Ohio) went missing during hip hop's '80s ascendance, battling homelessness and drug addiction before fellow Poets tracked him down for a cameo in the 1993 film Poetic Justice. Until the long-delayed Last Poets tribute album comes out, this is the kind of listening experience that only the Minnesota sur Seine festival can bring (the entire underrated Franco-Minnesota jazz-funk-whatever program continues through Sunday; see www.surseine.com for a complete schedule). Openers Ursus Minor are an international fusion band fronted tonight by local rapper Brother Ali, with Mint Condition's Stokley Williams on drums, Jeff Beck collaborator Tony Hymas on keyboards, Philadelphia's Jef Lee Johnson on guitar, and France's François Corneloup on sax."

18+. $18. 8:00 p.m

Elsewhere

Vijay Iyer @ Walker
400 Blows @ Nomad
Bobby Bare Jr. @ 400 Bar
ARENA Dances @ Southern
Tenor Madness @ Ted Mann
Copperheads @ Famous Dave's
Kris Kristofferson @ Grand Casino
Mobius Band @ 7th St.
Kid Congo Powers @ Triple Rock
Andrew Bird @ the Whole
Fran King & Duncan Maitland @ Hex
Found @ Creative Electric

Every Thursday

Ritmo Caliente @ First Ave
The Bungalow @ VIP Room
Cinnamon Thursdays @ Fahrenheit
Free Thursdays @ Walker

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 19, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

DIY: The Michele Bachmann Halloween Mask

Clip and paste and scare the kiddies!

Posted by Jim Walsh at October 18, 2006 7:40 AM | Comments (4)

 

City Planner: Wednesday 10/18

Filed under: Local Nightlife

The Dresden Dolls @ First Avenue

From today's A-List: "Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Dresden Dolls. It would be as dreary as if there were no vaudevillian cabarets, no plunkety toy pianos, no raunchy burlesque shows. The Boston-based duo's latest release, Yes, Virginia, sounds more affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age than the eponymous 2004 debut that put them on the punk-cabaret map--just compare the new single 'Sing' ('Sing for the president/Sing for the terrorists/Sing!') to their first hit, 'Coin Operated Boy' ('Made of plastic and elastic/He is rugged and long-lasting/Many shapes and weights to choose from/I will never leave my bedroom'). Still, the Dolls' homemade YouTube video for 'Backstabber,' which pits them in a knife fight against black-mascara coverboys Panic! At the Disco, is proof enough that they haven't completely abandoned fun as an aesthetic principle. That you can't hear it does not mean it isn't there; the serious stuff just gets more MTV2 play. And really, pianist Amanda Palmer wears black-and-white Beetlejuice stockings. Is anyone surprised she has two sides?"

With the Red Paintings. 18+. $16/$18 at the door. 8:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Buddy Guy @ Fine Line
Magnolia Electric Co @ 7th St. Entry
DJ Vadim @ Triple Rock

These events and more fun at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 18, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Tuesday 10/17

Filed under: Local Nightlife

ADULT. @ 7th St. Entry

From today's A-List: "If Devo had formed a couple of decades later and were more interested in destruction than devolution--well, they'd probably call themselves Destro, and then Hasbro would sue them for infringing on G.I. Joe copyrights. But they'd also sound a lot like Detroit's ADULT.: cro-mag electro-punk more interested in hostility and paranoia than aloof decadence, led by a visual artist and singer in Nicola Kuperus who Lydons spectacularly. Last year's Gimme Trouble saw a slight shift in direction when the group added guitarist Sam Consiglio, but his presence only made the record bristle even more. Hearing him play against Adam Lee Miller's spitting retro-electronics was like the audio equivalent of a scorpion-versus-tarantula fight. Consiglio left the group earlier this year, so expect the recent material to have a different bite."

Viki opens. 21+. $10/$12. 8 pm

Elsewhere

Knol Tate @ Nomad
Tatsuya Nakatani @ Acadia
30 Seconds to Mars @ Myth
Your Loving Tiger @ Turf Club
Heavy Heavy Low Low @ Varsity
Didier Petit, Michael Lewis & Benoit Delbecq @ Creation Audio

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 17, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Monday 10/16

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Ian Anderson @ Fitzgerald Theater

The uncontested king of rock flautists--not that there are any challengers. From today's A-List: "Anderson hits the Fitz with a rock quartet and chamber orchestra for a program dubbed the Orchestral Jethro Tull, captured last year on disc with the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt doing the classical bits. Always on the eccentric fringe of the prog-rock crowd, Anderson and Tull juggled old English folk, blues, and classical like a jester, all while climbing the charts. Full orchestrations of the Tull canon come naturally, if they do little to change the minds of skeptics who consider Tull--and all prog-rock, for that matter--unredeemably pretentious. For those of us who have the first six notes of 'Aqualung' branded on their cerebral cortex, this will be fun." $49. 7:30 p.m.

Elsewhere

Gomez @ Fine Line
Charles Mann @ Magers & Quinn
Bernard Lubat @ SPCO
Cat Empire @ Varsity

Every Monday

Roe Family Singers @ 331
Punk Rock Bowling @ Memory Lanes

Find out about all the city's goin's-on at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 16, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

Turf Club bartender Stefan Olson ( 1960-2006)

Filed under: Obituary

Longtime Turf Club bartender and doorman Stefan Olson was found dead in his apartment Saturday afternoon. Cause of death is unknown, but friends say Olson's body had been decomposing in his St. Paul studio for six days before it was found. A memorial service for Olson is scheduled for Monday evening starting at 5 p.m. at the Turf. For more information, call 651-647-0486.

Posted by Jim Walsh at October 15, 2006 6:46 PM | Comments (2)

 

City Planner: Weekend Edition (10/14-15)

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Saturday: Beirut @ Triple Rock

Here's one that slipped through the A-List cracks, so I wanted to be sure and pimp it here. Beirut is a 10-piece orkestar from Albuquerque, fronted by Zach Condon, a precocious 19-year-old dude with a milky Stephen Merritt voice and a serious Balkan brass fixation. Fans of Devotcha, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Magnetic Fields, et al should really try to make it down to the Triple Rock for this one. Here's some video of them playing last week in Cleveland:

With A Hawk and a Hacksaw; Animal Hospital. 21+. $10/$12. 10 pm

Elsewhere

Saturday

Luther Vandross tribute @ Cabooze
Cameron Jamie (closing) @ Walker
Jeremy Ackerman (closing) @ Creative Electric
India.Arie @ State Theatre
Charlie Parr @ First Avenue
TC Book Fest @ MCTC
The Places @ Turf Club
MN sur Seine @ Southern Theater
Jeremy Messersmith @ Club Underground
American Head Charge @ the Rock

Sunday

Hassan Hakmoun @ Cedar
Evanescence @ First Avenue
MN sur Seine @ French Press Jazz Café
MN sur Seine @ Turf Club

This events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 14, 2006 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Friday 10/13

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Electro Couture Culture @ First Avenue

From today's A-List: "Except for the fact that she isn't much of a singer, Mackenzie Labine is like the Gwen Stefani of Minneapolis: obsessed with Harajuku, and often looking like she just waltzed off the pages of an anime comic. Labine is usually busy injecting color into this city via her longtime post at Hairpolice, but she's taking a darker route now with a project that began eight months ago as a desire to showcase her own Japanese-inspired fashion collection. That soon expanded to include dozens of local designers and stylists and more homegrown models than you can shake a carrot stick at. The show appropriately takes place within the grimy confines of First Avenue, and features, in Labine's words, 'black, textures, and exaggerated silhouettes' set to the creepy tunes of Ghostly International's Ectomorph."

With Naughty Wood and Amir. 18+. $10/$13 at the door. 8:00 p.m

Elsewhere

My Valkyrie @ Uptown Bar
Creole Stomp @ Polish American Hall
Madeleine Peyroux @ State Theatre
Shooter Jennings @ Cabooze
Andrew Bird @ BLB (sold out)
Ballet Minnesota @ St. Paul Student Center
Wellstone! @ History Theatre
Oujia Radio (CD release) @ Turf Club
Chooglin' @ Hexagon

These events and more at the A-List.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 12, 2006 11:23 PM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Thursday 10/12

Filed under: Local Nightlife

J*DaVeY @ Foundation

From today's A-List: "Funkier than electroclash, grittier than most Prince homage, J*DaVeY's "Dirty Love" is neck-deep in the kind of synths that Van Halen once deemed macho. The L.A. duo dubs itself "the black Eurythmics" on MySpace (though mohawked female singer Jack Davey sounds closer to Bow Wow Wow's Annabella Lwin). The sound is enough to justify interest, if not hype, but tonight's cover is justified by hot locals in a similarly murky milieu: rapper Muja Messiah, with a new album featuring collabos with Black Thought and Slug on the way; and Black Blondie, a live-instrument soul/jazz/rap group that came one point away from winning the recent Picked to Click best-new-band poll in City Pages."

With Don Cuco and Tarik. 21+. $10/$12 at the door. 10:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Paul Simon @ Northrop
MN sur Seine @ MMAA
Secret Machines @ First Ave
Will Weaver @ Barnes & Noble
Prof & Rahzwell @ Triple Rock
Gazillion @ 7th St. Entry
Jenny Dalton @ 400 Bar
Mazta I @ Dinkytowner
Hello Blue @ Turf Club

Every Thursday

Ritmo Caliente @ First Ave
The Bungalow @ VIP Room
Cinnamon Thursdays @ Fahrenheit

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 11, 2006 5:13 PM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Wednesday 10/11

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Get Up Johns @ the 331

Local old-time country duo the Get Up Johns pay tribute to such sibling soul-savers as the Louvin Brothers and the Stanley Brothers with sweet tenor harmonies and well-plucked Appalachian waltzes. The decades-old material--not to mention their matching black suits--would cast the Johns as a gimmick act if they weren't so damn sincere. The fact that guitarist Josh Wenck is an honest-to-God preacher man certainly helps. Their debut album is Trouble in Mind (Mercy).

City Pages: You guys play the tunes of old-time brother acts, but you aren't related. Neither of you is even named John. What gives?

Josh Wenck: We were at a crossroads and we made a deal with the devil to make our voices blend like brothers. The contract stipulated that our band name include a subtle double entendre. We came up with the Get Up Johns.

CP: In the song "Cluck Ol' Hen," why does the hen stop laying eggs?

Wenck: The hen still lays eggs. She just lays them for the preacher men and the railroad men and not for us. The primal yelp in the song is meant to express our angst at the resultant egg shortage.

CP: Can the Get Up Johns save my soul?

Wenck: No. No one can. And it's not just you.

The Get Up Johns perform with the Mill City Grinders. Free. 7:00 p.m. 331 Club, 331 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis. Photo courtesy of Mordac.org.

Elsewhere

Jerome artists @ MCAD
Kaki King @ the Varsity
White Light Riot @ 7th St.
Hudson Falcons @ Triple Rock
Julie Roberts @ Fine Line
Middlepicker @ Turf Club

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 10, 2006 4:23 PM | Comments (1)

 

City Planner: Tuesday 10/10

Filed under: Local Nightlife

George Jones @ Mystic Lake Casino

He's got one of the greatest voices in country music, he was once married to Tammy Wynette, he was called the world's "second best white singer" by Frank Sinatra, and the only thing more unlikely than his nickname ("The Possum") is the fact that he's still alive. From today's A-List: "Country legends don't loom much larger than George Jones. Often considered the greatest country singer ever, Jones is responsible for dozens of hits, somewhere in excess of 250 albums, a memorable series of duets with ex-wife Tammy Wynette, and some of the most spectacularly excessive behavior in the history of country music--or any other kind of music, for that matter." Read the rest here.

Elsewhere

Nell Freudenberger @ Barnes & Noble
Tracy Kidder @ Cowles Auditorium
Ladyslipper @ Turf Club
Angela Strassheim @ MCP
Ferry Corsten @ Myth

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 9, 2006 5:28 PM | Comments (1)

 

City Planner: Monday 10/09

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Tilly and the Wall @ Triple Rock

From today's A-List: "It's not just the tap dancer, not just the Bright Eyes connection, not just the ache of high school memories that make this sweet-and-sour indie-pop group great. But it could be all three combined... Their newest album, Bottoms of Barrels, goes from straight-ahead rock to jittery electro-pop ("The Freest Man") to revved-up tango ("Bad Education"), while covering teenage cross dressers, super-powered runaways, and a boy whose frail heart crystallizes. You just might give up your own as you sing along." Read the rest here, and check out this video of the band performing "You and I Misbehaving":

18+. $10/$12 at the door. 9:00 p.m.

Elsewhere:

Bettie Serveert @ 7th St.
Cyndi Lauper @ O'Shaughnessy
Roe Family Singers @ 331
Punk Rock Bowling @ Memory Lanes

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 9, 2006 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Weekend Edition (10/07-08)

TV on the Radio @ First Avenue

From Sunday's A-List: "Even when they're singing 'Cover your balls/'Cause we swing kung fu,' there's something hymn-like and high-minded--sacred, even--that results from the falsetto wailing and layered electronic loops of Brooklyn-based TV on the Radio. Will their noise-drenched cascade of percussion and hushed choral crescendos turn First Avenue into an avant-garde Crystal Cathedral of indie rock? They definitely have the raw material for it--their latest release, Return from Cookie Mountain, has been topping charts and top-10 lists all over the universe. If their complex mix of overlapped vocals and multi-tracked samples sounds as good onstage as they do coming out of the stereo, First Avenue might have to be desanctified afterward." Check out video of TVotR with Trent Reznor and Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus) here. With Grizzly Bear. 18+. $13/$15 at the door. 8:00 p.m.

Elsewhere

Saturday:

Junior Boys @ 400 Bar
Martin Devaney (CD release) @ Turf Club
Karrin Allyson @ the Fitzgerald
Scissor Sisters @ Myth
Requiem for a Heavyweight @ Mixed Blood
Willy Porter @ the Cedar
Yo La Tengo @ First Ave
FallCon @ the Fairgrounds
Beatifics @ Uptown
Faux Jean @ 7th St.
Gilded Age @ Stevens Square
Your Loving Tiger @ the Church
Long Winters @ Triple Rock

Sunday:

Anti-Columbus Day @ Fine Line
Irv Williams & Peter Schimke @ the AQ
"Downriver" @ Minnesota Center for Photography
Mark Kozelek @ 400 Bar
Detroit Cobras @ Triple Rock

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 6, 2006 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

 

City Planner: Friday 10/06

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Cardinal Sin (last show!) @ the Triple Rock

Tonight's your last chance to see the Cardinal Sin, the latest branch to fall from the punk family tree that included Song of Zarathustra, the Crush, and Cadillac Blindside. Here's what I wrote about the band a year and a half ago: "'I have begun to whine,' James Russell sings on Oil and Water's best track, 'Quarter-Life Crisis' (cuing emo-haters everywhere to respond, 'No shit'). But Russell, finally stretching his vocal talents after four years of playing backup in Cadillac Blindside, is airing some real concerns about his growing pains. And he's doing it with a refreshing degree of self-criticism--I'm only 25, he's saying. What the hell do I have to complain about? Jawbreaker disciples, usually too self-absorbed to be self-incriminating, are rarely blessed with such perspective." Read the rest here, and listen to "Quarter-Life Crisis" here. With Colonial Vipers Attack, One for the Team, and Fits of Fury. 9 pm. $6. 21+.

Elsewhere

World Karate Championships @ RiverCentre
Joseph Arthur @ the Fine Line
Pimienta Negra @ Trocaderos
Neal Pollack @ the Fitzgerald
Ben Kweller @ First Avenue
Bill Mike Band @ the Nomad