By Caroline Palmer

There’s no holding back when you dance the Argentine Tango. And on a recent Saturday night in the Minnehaha Park pavilion next to Sea Salt restaurant, instructor Lois Donnay makes sure the couples in her class preparing for the evening’s “Milonga Under the Stars” understand the specific spacial relationship in tango. “We don’t dance like this,” she demonstrates, holding her partner at arm’s length. “We dance like this, up close.” After all, as she explains later, “Tango is the dance of one heart and four legs."

More >>

Dosh
First Avenue, June 27

Even though I was kicking myself for having missed openers Kill the Vultures, I still managed to arrive in time for P.O.S. and Mike Mictlan. The duo traded off raps for the first part of their set, but after a while Mictlan left the stage. P.O.S. briefly fiddled with his iPod, and then proceeded to engulf the room with his raw, powerful rhymes, showcasing his ability to entrance an entire room with little more than an mp3 player and a microphone.

The stage was set-up differently for this show; a wall of Plexiglas lined the front of the Main Room stage, and a smaller, lower-set stage had been set up out in the audience. This allowed the crowd to gather around the performers and get a better view of the action, which ended up being the ideal setting for watching Dosh play.

More >>

If my 13–year–old self had known that I would be attending an En Vogue concert 16 years later, my tween self would have been impressed. Fortunately, I didn't have to rely much on nostalgia in order to enjoy the show, and my 29–year–old self genuinely enjoyed the performance.More >>

Please watch this:

And read this:

Dancing With the Universe, by Jim Walsh at MinnPost

Thank you.

San Francisco author and stagehand Nick Baker sent me a copy of his Christmas horror story, Santa's Rapture, today. In Baker's tale, Santa, decides that the world is a bad place filled with people who will only continue to ruin it. So, he does what any quasi-governmental leader would do: he buys a lot of lasers and bombs and stuff.

More >>

Some of you may have seen the video of Josh Homme going into a homophobic tirade against an audience member who purportedly threw a shoe at him.

While I sympathize with Homme's sentiment--I've never understood why people throw shit at bands they paid good money to see--his use of "faggot" and threat to "buttfuck you in front of all your friends" is just a wee bit, uh, disturbing?

More >>

According to the National Wildlife Federation, the average child spends around 44 hours a week sitting in front of a television screen watching TV or playing video games, and sitting in front of computer screens. That’s more than a full–time job.More >>

Orlin and Mandy Ostby are more courageous than most parents planning a summer trip with four children. They aren't going to fly to Disneyland or drive to Mount Rushmore. They're walking along side an oxcart with the kids for more than 400 miles from near the Canadian border down to the State Fair grounds. The Ostbys will begin their march in St. Vincent, Minn., a town of 117 in the extreme northwest part of the state. They'll travel the historic Pembina Trail which was one of the early trade routes that led to the Twin Cities' formation and development. Orlin knows all about the Pembina and the laborious task of traveling. Fifty years ago, during Minnesota's centennial celebrations, Orlin trained the ox that another man used to traverse the Pembina.

More >>

Our Flyer of the Week this week comes from Magic Castles, who will be celebrating the release of their album Lore of Mysticore this Saturday at the Kitty Cat Klub.

See also: Ward Rubrecht's CD review comparing Magic Castles' Lore of Mysticore with the new Fleet Foxes full-length album.

Two weeks ago, when Kanye West's "Glow in the Dark" tour rolled through town, fans and critics salivated over West's enigmatic stage presence and high-caliber show. But the bigger story for local music fans was that hometown singer-songwriter Matthew Santos, a Minneapolis native now living in Chicago, was performing for his first time on the Target Center stage with opening rapper Lupe Fiasco. Santos sings vocal melodies on several of Lupe Fiasco's tracks, including the hit single "Superstar," and has been touring with Fiasco as part of the "Glow in the Dark" entourage of supporting acts.

Santos took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his musical background, his discovery of hip-hop, and what it's been like living on the road.

More >>