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Welcome to Minnesota: A Conversation about Immigration and Human Rights

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workaround

MUSIC | Bon Iver return to Milwaukee, in style

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

Place has always been of profound importance to Bon Iver. From the rustic Wisconsin cabin in which most of For Emma was written to the cities and landmarks that lend their names to tracks on Bon Iver’s new self-titled album, it’s clear that lead singer, songwriter, and man at the heart of Bon Iver, Justin Vernon, draws inspiration from where he is and where he’s been.MORE »

THEATER | Kevin Kling's "Tales From the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log" entertains, proudly, at the Guthrie Theater

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

I've always been jealous of memoirists who can remember moments from their past with razor-sharp precision. Humorous stories about childhood are at their funniest and most charming when they include details about Uncle Bob's crazy attire and the exact look on Dad's face when he accidentally breaks your Christmas present.MORE »

THEATER | In the Heart of the Beast's "La Befana" is a warm, rich story on all scales

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

Up until very recently, my exposure to puppets was mostly limited to preschool years spent immersed in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe (rest in peace, Mr. Rogers). This gave me the mistaken impression that puppets are for kids. After seeing Harry Potter in IMAX 3D, how much "wow" factor can a puppet show have, right? In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre is quickly turning me around. They're the folks behind many of the fantastic puppets and masks at the annual MayDay Festival in and around Powderhorn Park, and also host shows and classes year-round for children and adults alike.MORE »

THEATER | Penumbra Theatre's "Black Nativity: Now's the Time" keeps family in focus

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

I admittedly wasn't in a very Christmasy mood as I headed to St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre for opening night of Black Nativity: Now's the Time last Friday. It wasn't even December yet, after all, and leftover Thanksgiving turkey was still occupying space in my fridge. But I dare you to sit through even just 15 minutes of this annual musical celebration and not feel at least a little Christmas spirit sneak into your soul.MORE »

MUSIC | Free Energy cause the 400 Bar to collapse upon them (almost)

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

It always seems like a slight miracle when a band puts on a fantastic show at the 400 Bar and the ground doesn't cave in. The venue is small enough for you to be among a closely-knit audience, but big enough to pack in a sufficient number of stomping legs to make the floor feel like it's bouncing up and down three inches below your feet. During Thursday night's Free Energy show, the legs and fists were pounding as enthusiastically as I've ever seen them: this is a band who knows how to energize their audience.MORE »

MUSIC | Free Energy's Paul Sprangers: "We see ourselves as being a Minnesota band"

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

There are a few Minnesota bands whose live performances have a reputation for being especially electrifying. City Pages' 2009 Picked to Click winner Red Pens are one; garage-punk rockers the Goondas (on this year's list) are another. And while not technically local, Philadelphia-based band Free Energy also fit squarely in this category.MORE »

MUSIC | Gorillaz escape to Plastic Beach—that is, to Target Center

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

Most truly great frontmen (and frontwomen) are so natural at what they do, it's hard to imagine them being anything other than rock stars. Mick Jagger as an accountant? John Lennon as a park ranger? It feels blasphemous just to entertain those possibilities. But spend some time studying Damon Albarn, and you'll see that while rock star is a natural hat for him to wear, he could just as easily be a statesman or a professor, ready to spread messages of peace and cross-cultural understanding to his disciples. On Sunday night, he found his disciples while wearing the rock star hat: in the audience of Gorillaz fans packed into the Target Center, eager to witness the spectacle that is the band's first world tour, "Escape to Plastic Beach."MORE »

Louis CK gets serious (but not too serious) at the State Theatre

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

As stragglers settled into their seats Friday night at the State Theatre, a nervous-sounding female voice came over the loudspeaker to deliver the standard turn-off-your-cell-phones-and-don't-use-flash-photography pre-show warning. But this was a comedy show, so when the voice started improvising, the audience stared chuckling. "Do you understand why you can't use your phones for anything but pictures? No texting. Because it'll just be your one stupid face looking down at the glow of your phone, breaking up the oneness of the audience."MORE »

MUSIC | Local Natives at First Avenue: Doing it again, with less feeling

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

When I spoke with bass player Andy Hamm last month, he said that small sweaty clubs are probably where Local Natives belong as a new band. After Friday night's show in the First Avenue Mainroom, I have to agree. Their music is solid and their stage presence better than most, but the elements just didn't click as they played through the twelve songs on their debut album Gorilla Manor in a set that lasted a little over an hour.MORE »

MUSIC | Eels and Jesca Hoop stir up the right kind of trouble at First Avenue

By Leslie Kruempel, TC Daily Planet

It's always a nice surprise when a concert turns out to be much more fun than you expected it to be. Sunday night's Eels and Jesca Hoop show in the First Avenue Mainroom fit that bill all around.MORE »