Music
Weekend What's What: The pre-holiday spirit
As we delve into November, we bid adieu to any possibilities of running around sans jacket—and we've come to terms with that (the first real snowfall, however, is another matter entirely). And what better to turn our focus to than the holidays? Thanksgiving is right around the corner, followed directly by the gifty season, and the Twin Cities artsy types seem to be easing us slowly but surely into the spirit of, um, buying their cool stuff. This weekend, hit up the Northrup King Building to peruse and purchase local art and related wares during Art Attack; check out The Affair at the Convention Center for festive tastings of chocolate, wine and the like; or stop into local boutiques such as Drama and Cliche to catch deals on fancy frocks for all the swanky parties that approach.MORE »
Arts Orbit Radar: 11/5/09
What's Happening This Week
On the radar: For most of human history, no one ever said, "Fo shizzle, my nizzle." Then Snoop Dogg said it, then everyone said it—and now, thank God, we're back to no one (except your awkward uncle) saying it. The West Coast drawler will be at Epic tonight, playing to a crowd of former frat boys, aging gangstas, and hipsters who face a tough choice between Snoop and A Fine Frenzy.
Under the radar: Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble isn't coming to Minnesota in the near future, but tonight we have the next best thing: Robaybat and Güvenç and Burk Orchestra, an all-star cast of local musicians who promise to lead "a musical journey through Greece, Turkey, into the Balkans, through Central Asia and Persia."
On the radar: This weekend's Art Attack gives you a chance to see the work of Northrup King artists without having to fight the Art-a-Whirl crowds. If you're looking for a crowd, try to squeeze in to the Paramore show at Roy Wilkins.
Under the radar: Lowertown has been pushing hard to compete with Minneapolis as an entertainment destination, and at least according to Sean McPherson, it's working. Tonight, the newly-anointed Lowertown Entertainment District hosts its first monthly First Friday open-studio event.MORE »
He comes from Iowa with a banjo on his knee
The banjo has a place of honor in Dan Mackerman's art. Not that the award-winning Lauderdale-based painter and sculptor features banjos in his canvasses. Music rarely figures as a subject of his art. But without the banjo, Mackerman probably wouldn't be the artist he is today.MORE »
MUSIC | Willie Murphy: So hot he could burn asbestos
Willie Murphy's new album A Shot of Love in a Time of Need/Autobiographical Notes (Red House Records) is going to fly off shelves like stores are giving it away.MORE »
MUSIC | Tiësto thrills 3,000 clubgoers with an Epic multihour set
For anyone who saw Tiësto's show at Epic last Friday, one thing was certain: he proved his talent and brought the crowd's energy to a whole new level. The Dutch disc jockey, mixer, and producer is touring the U.S. promoting his new album Kaleidoscope. With 3,000-plus fans, this was bigger and better than any electronic music event I've ever seen in the Twin Cities.MORE »
MUSIC | Yasmin Levy enchants at the Ordway
The Ordway is a classically beautiful place to see a show and Yasmin Levy is a passionate beauty with a classically trained voice: the two are a perfect fit. Levy is an Israeli singer who enchants the audience with songs in Spanish, Arabic, and the dying language Ladino. Her mission is to spread this language through her songs to aid in its survival. The artist explained at the concert that fewer than 150,000 people speak Ladino worldwide. With the help of Levy's poignant singing, this language may be around a lot longer.MORE »
MUSIC | "These songs are the best we have ever written": Steve Duder and Lyle Anderson of Sweet Gravitii
You have to hand it to R&B rocker Steve Duder for sticktoitiveness. Hard luck dogs him like a lovesick suitor, but Duder keeps shrugging it off, pulling himself back together and getting on with the business of making music.MORE »
MUSIC | Saul Williams and friends rock out before an unmoved audience at the Varsity
Saul Williams's "Niggy Tardust Experience" tour made a stop at the Varsity last Sunday, in a jam-packed roster of musicians from the Afro-Punk collective. The spoken word artist is touring in support of his 2007 album The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust, for which he worked closely with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The tour is a sampler of acts affiliated with Afro-Punk, a movement seeking to break black musicians out of the stereotypes the industry has placed on them. Such an ambitious cause is sure to find mixed results, as was the case with a skeptical predominantly white Midwest crowd, who didn't seem to understand what was going on for most of the night.MORE »
Arts Orbit Radar: 10/29/09
What's Happening This Week
On the radar: Unbelievably, there are still Miley Cyrus tickets available for tonight. This is going to leave her with no choice but to follow the Britney route and start getting skanky. Speaking of skanky, those man-whores Jim James, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and M. Ward have all put their steady bands on hiatus to jump into a wild foursome at the Orpheum as Monsters of Folk.
Under the radar: Artist Lucia Hwang, writes the curator of her show opening today at Augsburg, "brings up the conflict that occurs when people cannot entirely accept or reject the world around them." Specifically, she does this with 365 rolls of toilet paper. They're right...I can neither entirely accept nor entirely reject that.
On the radar: Tiësto, the world's #1 DJ (more or less), is at Epic tonight with several celebrity collaborators "joining" him on video.
Under the radar: Alarmel Valli, one of the greatest living practitioners of classical Indian dance, performs at the O'Shaughnessy tonight. If you go, expect to rub elbows with the Twin Cities' most passionate dance connoisseurs.MORE »
Weekend What's What: Oh, the horror!
Halloween Weekend is officially here! Some of us are still trying to figure out what to wear, while others have their blood-soaked Lady Gaga suits primed and ready to go. The most whimsically terrifying day of the year is upon us and we simply can't wait to take it all in! Whatever you do this Halloween, be fearless and feel free to go completely overboard—that's what it's all about!MORE »
