What’s happening this week
On the radar: When Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis the country’s #1 bike city, our collective biking enthusiasm exploded into a fanatical frenzy. Put the word “bicycle” in front of just about anything, and you’ll draw a crowd. Bicycle…coffee shop? Bam! Done. Bicycle…underwear? On the Fourth of July, people couldn’t strip down fast enough. Bicycle…film festival? OBVIOUSLY.
Under the radar: Local singer-songwriter Aby Wolf, who’s been quietly building a following over the past few years, has recently been doing so a little less quietly. This spring she was a show-stopper in futuristic knitwear at the Soap Factory’s New Land of Milk and Honey, and then she was Dessa’s stylish backup vocalist at the 2010 City Pages Best of the Cities bash (having been herself honored by the publication as best female vocalist the previous year). Tonight, she plays in the courtyard of the Mill City Museum; bring a picnic dinner, and get there early.
On the radar: We don’t need Rivers Cuomo to tell us that Minneapolis is named after its liquid resources—no, not Town Hall and Rock Bottom, the lakes. The Aquatennial, the City of Lakes’ annual ten-day celebration of its bodies of water, kicks off today.
Under the radar: For a state with only the nation’s 28th-largest African-American population, Minnesota has an impressively broad and deep black music scene. Heiruspecs, the Sounds of Blackness, and The New Congress will be among the acts performing tonight at the 2010 Minnesota Black Music Awards.
On the radar: With local art on display in its galleries, the Weisman hosts local bands Solid Gold and Lookbook to play its last installment of WAMplified! before shutting down for a year-long expansion.
Under the radar: In the wake of recent books and documentaries like Food, Inc., a lot more people are wondering where exactly their food came from before Chairman Bob had his way with it. This morning in Lowertown, Real Food Minnesota hosts an informative, free gathering with coffee and beer on tap. It’s all about making smart choices.
On the radar: The music industry is not what it was in the 90s, and neither is Lilith Fair—slow ticket sales across the country have forced venue changes, including a local move from Canterbury Park to Target Center. With top ticket prices approaching $250, the event does look a lot like an Eagles concert for the #summerofdresses—but while it may not be the best time or place to see Mary J. Blige, Heart, Metric, and Kate Nash, it is nonetheless a time and a place to see Mary J. Blige, Heart, Metric, and Kate Nash, plus local favorites Bella Ruse and that one woman who sang that “Possession” song.
Under the radar: Okay, so meat raffles are done—stick a fork in ’em. But what to replace them with? How about a record raffle? Ha ha…no, really! The Electric Fetus, Hymie’s Vintage, and (natch) Pabst Blue Ribbon are conspiring tonight at Sauce to raffle off some vinyl, as well as some samples of that obsolete medium people used to use to listen to music back when Lilith Fair was in its heyday. Is it time for CDs to make a hipster comeback? If PBR can’t make it happen, no one can.
On the radar: Mr. Tebbutt was one of those high school teachers who takes his mandate to be education not just in his subject matter (art) but in life. He took kids skeet-shooting so we knew what it was like to hold a gun, he showed us movies like Black Orpheus, and he played jazz by the likes of Art Blakey. I once brought a Preservation Hall Jazz Band tape in to impress him, but he just scoffed. “They play jazz like it’s dead,” he said. “They belong in a museum.” Maybe so, but that could also be taken as a compliment. Tonight at the Dakota (rather than at their more typical venue, Orchestra Hall), hear the men from the French Quarter play Dixieland jazz at its most traditional—and at its best.
Under the radar: “Into Temptation is a haunting, carefully crafted movie about a woman with mile-wide rips in her soul and the flawed priest who aims to save her,” wrote the Star Tribune’s Colin Covert about the locally-produced 2009 feature, which is playing tonight at the Trylon. The screening benefits Spirit in the House—a local organization promoting the expression and exploration of faith through the arts—and writer/director Patrick Coyle will hang around afterwards to discuss the film.
On the radar: After four bars of a Bear In Heaven song, you know they’re from Brooklyn. The indie rockers are out to make prog music danceable; have they succeeded? Decide for yourself tonight at the Turf Club.
Under the radar: When local brewery Surly releases a new brew, there’s no suspense about whether it will be delicious and distinctive; the only question is whether they’ll be able to come up with yet another badass moniker. Having previously unleashed Furious, Bender, Cynic, Abrasive, Bitter, and Smoke, tonight at Sea Salt Surly pops its summer offering, providing yet another sense in which the dog days are Hell.
On the radar: With drama involving frozen assets, risky restaurant launches, showy real estate purchases, and money-lending among lovers, the family drama Commuters is this summer’s Dallas for the literary set; you can read it at Hidden Beach and not feel self-conscious, because its title appears on the cover in all-lowercase letters (none of which are raised or gilded) and its author Emily Gray Tedrowe has been published in Other Voices. She’s at Magers & Quinn to read from the book, her debut novel, tonight.
Under the radar: Every once in a while, I recommend an act strictly for their name. Tonight at the Red Stag: Jack Klatt and the Cat Swingers.
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Daily Planet arts roundup
• All Politics is Local (blog entry by Erik Hare)
• Zinesters and their zines at Twin Cities Zinefest 2010 (photos by Jay Gabler)
• You have to claim the American dream, says Project Runway finalist Korto Momolu (feature by Faiza Abbas Mahamud)
• [Rec] 2: A good movie for anyone who wants to see people getting their faces bitten off (review by Jim Brunzell III)
• Michael Moore, Kathryn Bigelow, Anne Coates among new governors of the Academy (feature by Barb Teed)
• Fugitive child rapist freed on technicality (blog entry, about Roman Polanski, by Jeff Fecke)
• Atmosphere, P.O.S., Dawes, and Retribution Gospel Choir strike chords at Taste of Minnesota (review by Leslie Kruempel, photos by Meredith Westin)
• Forest City Lovers at the Nomad: Good sports (review by Jay Gabler, photos by Meredith Westin)
• Basilica Block Party 2010: Weezer, Spoon, Eric Hutchinson, Grace Potter, and a hip-hop trio raise the roof on Friday night (review and photos by Jay Gabler and Meredith Westin)
• I scream, you scream, we all scream for BadNraD at the Entry (review and photos by Jay Gabler)
• The Wailin’ Jennys drop a trio of winning discs on Red House Records (review by Dwight Hobbes)
• Fringe 2010: Returning favorites—Joking Envelope (Joseph Scrimshaw) (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• Fringe 2010: Returning favorites—Partizan Players (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• Theatre Pro Rata’s Traveling Light: Ends upon ends upon ends (review by Matthew A. Everett)
• Fringe 2010: Returning favorites—Ben Egerman and Rachel Teagle (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• Fringe 2010: Fringe preview season is upon us (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• A Streetcar Named Desire at the Guthrie: Tennessee lite (review by Jay Gabler)
• Blinded by the “Tennessee lite” at the Guthrie (blog entry by Jay Gabler)
• Run, run as fast as you can to SteppingStone’s Stinky Cheese Man (review by Nonie Osendorf)
• Fringe 2010: Fringe-For-All #1—The first three minutes were great (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• Fringe 2010: Fringe-For-All #1—Man in love with chair, Version 2.0 (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• Fringe 2010: Fringe-For-All #1—Sometimes the unscripted moments are the best (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• Guthrie Experience actors take aim at BP oil spill (feature by Sheila Regan)
• Fringe 2010: Fringe-For-All #1—Love among the coffee grounds (blog entry by Matthew A. Everett)
• The Sweet Stuff is a small wonder at Yellow Tree Theatre (review by Becca Mitchell)
• At Intermedia Arts, 40 x 5 spotlights neighborhood communities (feature by Oliver St. John)
• Project M lays out the welcome mat(s) in Whittier (feature by Justin Elston)
• Open Arms opens its doors (feature by Dick Saunders)
• Coming soon: Wanderers Wonderous Azian Kitchen (blog entry by Amy Rea)
• Not quite “Strawberry Fields Forever,” but how about “Melon Fields for the Summer”? (feature by Stefan Meyer)
• Walkable neighborhoods (feature by Conrad DeFiebre)
• Peapods: Natural parenting mecca (blog entry by Amy Doeun)
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