​No matter how accustomed to Minnesota winters that you are, they eventually take their toll on everyone. The shortened days, the bitter cold, the treacherous roads all wear on all of us to varying degrees as winter just drags on.

But in the case of Tasha Pruitt, last winter was especially cruel. While Pruitt was leaving her apartment building, a large chunk of ice fell off the awning of her complex and struck her, leaving her with a spine injury and numerous recovery disabilities -- all of which have left her unable to work at a normal level or ride her bike at all for the past year. Her good friends in the Twin Cities music community have rallied behind Pruitt and arranged a benefit concert and auction for her at the Turf Club Friday.
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​Earlier today, the concert tour industry trade publication Pollstar announced their listing of the world's Top 100 Club Venues for 2011. Three Minneapolis clubs made the worldwide list, with First Avenue ranking 6th, the neighboring 7th St. Entry finishing 82nd, and the Cabooze coming in 94th. The yearly rankings are based on total 2011 ticket sales for clubs and venues throughout the world.

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​As we briefly alluded to yesterday, the venerable First Avenue Mainroom is getting a bit of a makeover, as renovations are currently underway to not only increase sight lines but also allow for more room to freely move around the main floor. The stairway leading directly up to the bathrooms has been knocked out, as has the small bar located at the bottom of the stairs, leaving a much more accessible, open area as well as improved sight lines to the stage from many different vantage points throughout the main floor. Without question, the club will have changed quite a bit next time you head downtown for a show. More >>

​Those of you who saw Jane's Addiction's tour announcement yesterday probably asked the same question that many other local residents did when they saw the venue listed next to the Minneapolis date on March 19th -- What the hell is the Brick? It turns out that the Brick is a new Minneapolis rock club owned by concert promoter AEG Live which is opening in March in the former Christian oriented venue Club 3 Degrees on 5th Street (directly across from Epic). The capacity of the club is said to be around 2,000, but other than the Jane's show, no other events have yet to be announced for the forthcoming new space. More >>

Photos by Dave Wiegardt

​Downtown St. Paul is about to get a whole lot cooler. In just a week, the new restaurant and music venue Amsterdam Bar & Hall, which is a new venture by the 331 Club's Jon and Jarret Oulman, will be ready to open its doors to the public for the first time. In addition to bringing in Zoo Animal frontwoman Holly Newsom and songwriter Martin Devaney as bookers, we've also just learned that former Turf Club manager Dave Wiegardt will be on the staff at the new club -- all of which seems to bode well for the vibe of the new place.More >>

Photos by Dave Wiegardt

​Downtown St. Paul is about to get a whole lot cooler. In just a week, the new restaurant and music venue Amsterdam Bar & Hall, which is a new venture by the 331 Club's Jon and Jarret Oulman, will be ready to open its doors to the public for the first time. In addition to bringing in Zoo Animal frontwoman Holly Newsom and songwriter Martin Devaney as bookers, we've also just learned that former Turf Club manager Dave Wiegardt will be on the staff at the new club -- all of which seems to bode well for the vibe of the new place.More >>

​The Crave takeover continues this month as the restaurant brand expands to open its fourth location, this time in downtown Minneapolis where Palomino once operated.  This afternoon it was officially announced that the popular Communion rooftop parties will move from Solera to Crave starting on opening day, Sunday, May 29.

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Photo by Denis Jeong Plaster

​You might remember a few years ago when City Council all but threw the book at downtown nightclubs and all the underage drinking they perceived to be going on at hot-spots there.  Super-venues like Epic and Spin were targeted and the owners banded together to decipher how they could make the city happy while retaining their business.

Now, several of those owners -- namely John Barlow and Ned Abdul of Epic and Karma -- are proposing a new super-club in place of Spin at 5th St. and Hennepin, and they're getting out in front of any potential drama by adopting an ID-scanning system that would keep repeat offenders out of all three clubs.


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​Spin Nightclub will be closing its doors to re-open as a new establishment, City Pages learned Thursday. Ned Abdul and John Barlow, who also own Karma and Epic nighclubs in the same vicinity, will re-open the doors at 10 S. 5th as Pearl Night Club & Ultra Lounge and have applied for a Class A liquor license for the new venture.

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Photoset by Tony Nelson

​ As of 4 p.m. on Friday, the Robyn show at First Avenue is still on, but that could change as we move into the weekend. The pop star has been sick all week and has canceled shows from Columbus and Detroit to, most recently, last night's gig in Chicago.

And Minneapolis is up next.
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