What’s happening this week
On the radar: The Minnesota Orchestra performs Mozart’s Magic Flute, one of the most beautiful musical compositions ever written. Papageno! Papagena! Papagenopapagena!
Under the radar: Filmmaker Pamela Nice approached average Minnesotans in coffeeshops and asked their views on the Middle East. The resulting film, Desert in the Coffeehouse, is screening tonight at Second Moon Coffee Cafe, with—naturally—a discussion to follow.
On the radar: The Current’s annual birthday bash at First Ave is becoming one of each year’s hottest tickets, quickly selling out as soon as tickets go on sale. Tonight’s show features Brother Ali, Free Energy, Jeremy Messersmith, Roma di Luna, and Cloud Cult.
Under the radar: Collectors of vinyl, achtung! Hymie’s is having a big record sale today at the Cedar, with live music by Buffalo Moon, Rope Trick, and Annandale Cardinals.
On the radar: Generally I try to keep this simple: here’s the thing to do tonight, go. But some days you have to acknowledge that different people might have different ideas about what’s most exciting on any given day. Case in point: today we have the new Children’s Theatre production of Babe the Sheep Pig, and also “Sleazy and Easy” at Club Jäger. Guess which event features free Jell-O shots at midnight.
Under the radar: There’s an art show opening at Umber Studios. What’s the big deal? There are no shortage of art openings on any given weekend. Well, this one is a little different—it’s a collaboration between Natalie Gallagher (a Daily Planet contributor) and photographer/artist/GIF-wizard Sohail Akhavein. The show doesn’t just have its own hashtag, it has its own Twitter account. And a Tumblr. And a DJ. And a photobooth. And “complimentary bevvies.” And cupcakes. And sparkles.
On the radar: Dessa presents a new piece commissioned by the Cedar Cultural Center and the Jerome Foundation: “Laws and Appetites,” featuring bassist Sean McPherson, pianist Kahlil Queen, and (!) a flamenco percussion quartet.
Under the radar: In what they’re advertising as “the ultimate hangover cure,” the Loring Theater is screening movies on Sunday afternoons with mimosas, coffee, beer, and wine available at the lobby bar—$10 buys admission and one mimosa. Today’s feature: Blake Edwards’s sublime masterpiece Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
On the radar: Spirit of 76! In honor of the 76th anniversary of the sale of the first can of beer, Grumpy’s NE is hosting a daylong celebration of canned craft beers.
Under the radar: The wintry months of January and February are the perfect season to curl up with a good noir. Today, the Heights’s series of Humphrey Bogart noir films begins with the definitive Maltese Falcon.
On the radar: “For all the Snoop you may have inhaled,” writes The New Yorker‘s Sasha Frere-Jones, “you still need to see him do it live, and he doesn’t often play small venues.” Today is an exception: the D-O-double-G plays a pair of shows at the Cabooze.
Under the radar: “He doesn’t even bother with talking,” said my friend Nalini when Tony Jaa came flying vertically onscreen in Ong Bak. “He just goes straight for the kickin’!” Expect the Thai badass to waste even less time in Ong Bak 3, playing tonight at the Trylon.
On the radar: For people who care about what’s new and nifty on the local music scene, First Avenue’s annual Best New Bands showcase is an essential event. Seven bands (BadNraD, BNLX, the Goondas, Grant Cutler and the Gorgeous Lords, Hastings 3000, Phantom Tails, Pink Mink), seven bucks!
Under the radar: Similarly, dance aficionados know better than to miss the monthly 9×22 dance showcase at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, where the stage is…you guessed it, 9′ x 22′. Performing tonight: Jeffry Lusiak, Jenna Johnson, and Ben Kreilkamp.
Daily Planet arts roundup
• The Green Hornet: A 2007 conversation about a 2011 movie (review by Jay Gabler)
• Tapes ‘N Tapes at the Electric Fetus (photos by Stacy Schwartz)
• Natalia Kills on music, film, snow, and nakedness (interview by Jay Gabler)
• HUGE Theater opens in Uptown (feature by Phyllis Stenerson)
• Dreaming of farming (blog entry by Amy Doeun)
• Peace Coffee Part II: Evolution of a green coffee shop (feature by Sara Radjenovic)
• 2011 CSA information (blog entry by Amy Doeun)
• Hot stuff on cold days at NE Minneapolis farmers’ markets (feature by Margo Ashmore)
• A change of pace (blog entry by Teresa Boardman)
• Lose waste! (feature by Sarah Sponheim)
• Snow Sculpture Contest at last year’s City of Lakes Loppet (photos by Alan Wilfahrt)
• Top 10 ways to entertain your dog this winter (blog entry by Meredeth Barzen)
• Home organization continues (blog entry by Amy Doeun)
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