Longfellow
FRIDAY PICK | Memory Lanes Block Party: Is there such a thing as too much rock?
The Twin Cities' summer block party season gets fuller and fuller each year, and the Memory Lanes Block Party has firmly claimed pole position as the season opener. In the spirit of Prince's guitar solo on "Let's Go Crazy," the Memory Lanes fest leads with excess: this year, 30 artists play over the course of three days on three stages. Headliners include Needles (Friday), the Hood Internet (Saturday), and Los Straitjackets (Sunday). Bring open ears and an iron stomach: event sponsors include Jameson, Absolut, Summit, PBR, Malibu Rum, Red Bull, and—for the win—Hormel. Pink slime for everyone!
The Defenders series: Surprise films lead to unsurprisingly great discussion
On Wednesday, May 16 at the Trylon Microcinema, there will be one question on everyone’s mind: what film will Twin Cities Daily Planet arts editor Jay Gabler unveil for his selection at the 12th "Defenders" screening? While at the moment, I know the title and obviously, so does Jay and the projectionist at the Trylon, aside from the three of us, nobody will know until the lights go down in the theater. Hopefully, everybody will be excited and surprised.MORE »
WEDNESDAY PICK | A mystery movie screening to benefit the Twin Cities Media Alliance
The Trylon Microcinema's "Defenders" series is like the grab-bag of filmgoing: you pay first, then see what you got. That's part of the fun, and you know you're likely to fare better than I did one summer when I bought a grab-bag at a local store and ended up with a sack of old jelly beans, because what you do know in this series is who's picking the movie. And who better to select a film for your viewing pleasure than me? You must trust my opinion, or else you wouldn't be reading this...right?MORE »
MONDAY PICK | Accordo play classical music in a modern landmark
It might be going a little far to call Minneapolis "a great chamber music town," but classical music played by small ensembles is enjoying a local renaissance with the opening of St. Paul's Baroque Room and the happily busy crack team who call themselves Accordo. The group, which includes top players from both the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, can handle a wide range of music; on May 14, they're presenting a program that ranges from the classical period (Haydn) to the modern period (Ingolf Dahl), with a stop in the late Romantic era (Brahms). The venue for the concert is unmistakably modern: the Saarinens' landmark Christ Church Lutheran.
WEDNESDAY PICK | Return to the Cedar Tavern via the Trylon Microcinema
In the 1950s, the Cedar Street Tavern in New York City was home to some of the most pivotal meetings and discussions in the history of modern art: regulars included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and Phillip Guston—not to mention writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. You can't visit the Cedar bar any more (the original bar was torn down in 1963, and its successor was lost to condominium development in 2006), but you can see Alfred Leslie's 2001 documentary The Cedar Bar, which screens at the Trylon Microcinema on May 2 as part of the Every Hundred Feet series of movies about art and artists.
WEDNESDAY PICK | "The Peanut Butter Solution" makes for a sticky situation at the Trylon Microcinema
Sometimes you're watching a movie and you start thinking about all the people involved in it. There must have been a writer, and a director, and a set designer, and an entire production team. Did any of them realize just how...weird this movie is? With the strangest movies, it's hard to know. Such is the case with The Peanut Butter Solution, a 1985 Canadian film that Jezebel calls "the most horrifying film of all time"—despite the fact that it's intended to be a light family comedy. (Maybe the songs by Celine Dion had something to do with it.)MORE »
NEIGHBORHOOD NOTES | 3rd Precinct Property Court Watch Meeting
The 3rd Precinct Property Crimes Courtwatch meeting took place on March 12 as normally scheduled. CPS Sue Roethele chaired the meeting in the absence of Marcy Tollefson.MORE »
Longfellow's coffee houses
I think by now I've frequented practically every coffee cafe in Longfellow. And I've concluded we are exceptionally well served in this particular area. They are all nice to go to, but I think I'm getting a sense of personal hierarchy. And today I might have found my number one choice.MORE »
Lake Street Council annual award winners
Have you purchased your advance tickets for our Annual Members Meeting yet? Join us on March 13 for a board slate presentation, our annual awards to vital Lake Street businesses and community members, and to see guest speaker Gregory Stubbs.MORE »
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