The Rake Magazine

DANCE
Zenon Dance

It’s a big month for Zenon Dance Company. For one, they hop aboard the holiday treadmill with their premiere of The Nutcracker According to Mother Goose on December 15. But the company’s signature aesthetic—athleticism and precision, not to mention sophisticated musical tastes—will be better displayed this weekend, at its twenty-fifth anniversary program. Five works by Zenon’s favorite choreographers, including Danny Buraczeski, Doug Varone, and Wynn Fricke, are set to music by Marianne Faithfull, Steve Reich, and Jelly Roll Morton, to name but a few. The highlight is likely to be a reprise from Zenon’s Spring 2007 program: “Catching Her Tears (44°N, 93°W)” is a stark, abstracted meditation on loss from New York choreographer Colleen Thomas, who was inspired in part by the plight of a local friend (the title includes the coordinates of Minneapolis). —Christy DeSmith

Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 1 & 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m., Guthrie Theater, 818 South 2nd St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; $22-34.

AWARD SHOW
The Best in British TV Advertising

Everything’s better with a British accent, including television commercials, right? The Walker Art Center sure seems to think so; in fact, accented advertising art has even earned its own set of award shows. Today marks the first of 15 screenings of the 2007 British Television Advertising Awards, which last year attracted almost 17,000 people and has become one of the most popular annual showcases over the last 19 years. Many of the shows are already sold out, but if you act fast you can still get tickets for Sunday. —Kate McDonald

Sunday at 1 & 3 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; $10 (members $8).

 

STYLE
Wrap Up Something Special

If fashion defines the person, what kind of person are you? From whips and leather, to pearls and embroidered couture fabrics, this weekend showcases fashion finds from distinct corners of the designing world.

First, local designers from Joynoelle, Penny Larsen Jewelry, and Apiary Design come together for a holiday gift party that features handbags hats, coats, dresses, jewelry, personal stationary and notecards — all of which can be custom made by Christmas. Joynoelle, headed by fashion designer Joy Teiken, creates couture designs which have appeared in numerous local magazines and stores across the nation. Her Fall 2007 line was featured at New York Fashion Week. Penny Larsen’s local bridal and eveningwear jewelry is influenced by Larsen’s travels in Asia and her love of Renaissance and Celtic creations. Apiary Design creates stationary, holiday and announcement cards, and custom wedding invitations inspired by decadent wallpaper and textiles.

Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Joynoelle Boutique and Atelier, 312 W. 42nd St. (42nd & Grand), Minneapolis; 612-209-7822.

However, if less bridal and more burial is what you are after you might want to turn instead tonight to Ground Zero nightclub for Zirkus: A Dark Carnival of Fashion, with local designs by Zum-spietal, Velluto Nero, Blasphemina's Closet, and Faux Face Fashions. The designers each feature urban gothic and fetish designs, with a futuristic feel of mesh, plastic, and leather sure to bring out the dark side of you. And if that's not enough to turn you on, stay for the fire-eaters and belly dancers. —Kate McDonald

Friday at 9 p.m., Ground Zero, 15 N.E. 4th St., Minneapolis; 612-378-5115; $8.

 

MUSIC
Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara have a quirky combo of high-concept modifiers to grab your attention—they’re lesbian twin sisters from Calgary—but their strengths are much more mundane and potent than that. Their latest, The Con, retains a handcrafted, DIY spirit, but the vocals are less girlish and the arrangements less cheesy than their 2004 breakthrough, So Jealous. In terms of songwriting, Sara’s tunes are more brainy and assertive, Tegan’s more emo and introspective. Their confessions are vague—“I’m not unfaithful/but I’ll stray,” and “Nobody likes to/But I really like to cry,” for examples—but the sincerity is straightforward enough to carry such lyrics past preciousness, where they become verbal hooks that are as catchy as Tegan and Sara’s spare but memorable melodies. Some people call it folk-punk, but it’s really a couple of impish Canucks flying by the seat of their considerable intuitions. —Britt Robson

Friday at 8 p.m., Pantages Theater, 710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-339-7007; $25-$27.50.

 

Ben Glaros

Ben Glaros’s music is that of the familiar: songs about falling in and out of love; shoutouts to familiar local uptown hotspots like Spyhouse Coffee and the Mayday Cafe; a folk rock blend that includes harmonicas, cellos, and mandolins; and a stint in the local indie pop rock scene since the mid 1980s. In his debut full-length album, Lovesong Roulette, Glaros proves the preeminence of the familiar as he teams up with other local greats, including Michael Ferrier and Greg Schutte. Expect more great collaborations this evening as Glaros shares the stage with none other than the familiar local legend Slim Dunlap, formally of the Replacements. —Kate McDonald

Saturday at 8 p.m., The Cedar, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-2674; $15.

And don't forget to swing by the Uptown Theatre tonight for a little Blade Runner action — the Final Cut. Woohoo!

FILM

The Orphanage

After falling more and more in love with Pan's Labyrinth every day for the past year, I'm fairly certain I'd go see anything with Guillermo del Toro's name behind it. Yet I do have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed when I finally realized that he didn't actually direct the soon-to-be-released film, The Orphanage. While Del Toro is, in fact, executive producer, the film holds true to his style, his beautiful dream-like quality. Juan Antonio Bayona's "chilling first feature" reflects many of the same preoccupations: "the dream-life of children, strong but broken female characters and, most importantly, the modernization of gothic horror." Taking Del Toro's seemingly classic tales into more unstable terrain, Bayona manages to surprise and scare us. The story takes place, of course, in an abandoned orphanage — the site of fascist "horrors" during Franco's reign — where a former resident returns to live with her family. Well, you can only imagine, and then you can share in the imagination of a upcoming master. This is one sneak preview you don't want to miss — and free at that.

7:30 p.m., The Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis, 612-331-3134, free.

FILM
All City Youth Film Showcase

As a supplement to their March Girls in the Director's Chair film festival, which only features work done by female filmmakers, The Walker Art Center has opened up its director’s chair to the boys for an All City Youth Film Showcase, featuring over 20 short films by Minnesota youth (under 18) of any gender. In partnership with Twin Cities Youth Media Network (TCYMN), the event is free to the public and includes a question and answer session with the young filmmakers following the screenings. —Kate McDonald

7 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; free.

 

BOOKS & AUTHORS
The Tallest Radical Humorist in the Midwest

At this point Bill Holm probably qualifies as a literary lion. He looks the part, certainly (Garrison Keillor has described him as “the tallest radical humorist in the Midwest”), and has a pretty unconventional lifestyle by Minnesota lit standards. Holm is an outsized personality, yet he’s also something of an outstate recluse and a rambler. When he’s not hunkered down in his little hometown of Minneota, Holm’s generally … well, somewhere exotic else. He’s capable of writing about anyplace—and anything, really—in an amiable yet erudite style in which, time and again, his sui generis personality comes through loud and clear. His latest book, Windows of Brimnes: An American in Iceland, is a dispatch from his favorite summer retreat, an Icelandic fishing village, and is a sharp and often very funny study in cultural contrast. —Brad Zellar

7 p.m., Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-630-6170.

 

MUSIC
Pierre-Laurent Aimard Conducts Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony

Artistic Partner and world-acclaimed pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard will conduct The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra this evening in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, Webern’s Concerto for 9 Instruments, and Schoenberg’s Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra. After intermission Aimard will perform and conduct from the piano on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor. If you like what you see, you can return in January for Aimard's performance with soprano Dawn Upshaw.

8 p.m. (Friday at 10:30 a.m. & 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m.), Ordway Center, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; 651-224-4222; $11-$59.

 

BOOKS & AUTHORS, AND MUSIC TOO
Muldoon Rocks the House

Paul Muldoon is a curious character, even by artistic standards, and he’s been on a serious roll of late. To his growing list of accomplishments — including ten collections of smart, allusive, and often very funny poetry, as well as a Pulitzer Prize — he recently landed the prestigious (and influential) gig as poetry editor at The New Yorker. That’s all impressive scuttlebutt in the poetry world, but the Irish-born Muldoon also fronts the rock band Rackett, and collaborated on a song (subsequently recorded by Bruce Springsteen) with the late Warren Zevon. Muldoon has also penned librettos for three operas, authored four children’s books, and published numerous poetry translations. One way or another, it seems highly likely that poetry’s 21st century Renaissance man will rock the house. —Brad Zellar

7:30 p.m., University of Minnesota, Coffman Union Theater, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-625-3363; free.

FILM
The Truth about Nanking

On the cusp of World War II it seems preposterous that a Nazi businessman would be one of 22 Europeans and American expatriates who fought to save the lives of 250,000 Chinese refugees during the Japanese 1937 invasion of Nanking, China. However, Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's new documentary Nanking (showing tonight as part of The Walker Art Center’s Premieres: First Look series) sets out to expose this and other startling and unknown facts surrounding the Japanese raid and occupation of China’s capital. Based on Iris Chang's book The Rape of Nanking, Nanking uses first-hand accounts of Chinese survivors, archival footage, letters, and diary entries to weave together a detailed portrait of the events and atrocities that occurred during the six-week Japanese invasion. The Sundance-winning film's national premiere this December coincides with the 70th anniversary of the invasion itself. —Kate McDonald

7:30 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; $12 (members $10).

THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Bringing Our Town to Yours

It is plain to see that Normandale Community College’s hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota has little in common with the small 1930’s New Hampshire town that is the focus of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. However, the play’s major themes, which celebrate the human interactions and experiences of everyday life, make Our Town accessible enough to be brought to the Lowry Lab stage almost 70 years after its original 1938 Broadway debut. Tonight's performance is directed by Anne Byrd. —Kate McDonald

7:30 p.m., Lowry Lab Theater, 355 Wabasha St. N., St Paul; park in the Lowry Ramp, enter on Wabasha, between 4th and 5th; 651-290-2290; $8.

MUSIC
Big D and the Kids Table

It never ceases to amaze why the punkification of multiple brass instruments is dominated by coastal metropolitan centers rather than the vaguely geek-friendly Midwest. To help fill the void left by cruel reality, Boston’s Big D and the Kids Table’s smallish but fiercely loyal fan base beckons thee to the Varsity Theater tonight for some serious East Coast ska punk bliss. A perennial opener in the Midwest for bands such as Catch 22 and side stages at Warped Tour (where they must compete with local names like Atmosphere and Motion City Soundtrack), Big D’s live show is guaranteed to deliver loud and intense fun. This septet gem should be nothing short of wicked. —Danielle Cabot

5 p.m., Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-604-0222; $12.

THEATER & PERFORMANCE
I and I: The Sense of Self

Worried about getting old? Worried about being old? Why don't we respect age like we used to? Haven't we earned these years? Shouldn't we wear them proudly? Tackling the problem of aging, actor Charles Keating presents a one-man show tonight at the Guthrie. I and I: The Sense of Self draws from W.B. Yeats, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, Alfred Einstein, and other great masters, forming a collage of poems, opinions, essays, and insights on the subject of age and ageing. “Mark Twain best described age as an issue of mind over matter,” says Keating. “If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

7:30 p.m., Guthrie, Dowling Studio, 818 South 2nd St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; $10.

LECTURE
The Way Things Are

Those of us with only a basic understanding of Buddhism might be just a bit confused as to how a Lama manages to justify physical pleasures. After all, doesn't Buddhism guide us away from self-indulgence? Yes, but it also directs us toward the "true nature of reality." (Hmmm... the true nature of reality, eh? Well, that doesn't sound so good if you take a look around you.) What better way to escape the pain and danger of existence than to confront it head on — look it dead in the eye? Perhaps this is what compels Lama Ole Nydahl to jump out of airplanes and take fast curves on his motorcycle. Perhaps it's just his joy of life, his ability to appreciate the "true nature of reality" in ever nook and cranny of the world, underbelly and all. Lama Ole Nydahl, a Buddhist master from Denmark, offers guidance that is both modern and practical, relevant to our lifestyles. Sure, he appreciates extreme sports, but for three decades he has dedicated himself to traveling the world (with his wife), sharing his wisdom and "guiding people towards deep, enduring stability and freedom." We could all use a little bit of stability these days.

8 p.m., Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-825-5055; $15, students $10.

PANEL
Isn't It Time to Learn about the Hmong Community?

What do you know about your neighbors? The Twin Cities is home to the largest Hmong population in the United States. Did you know that, at least? How many of them do you know? What do you know about them? About their culture? Do you ever even read Hmong Today? (Did you even know it exists?) Isn't it time? Tonight, you can learn about the Hmong culture from a panel of community leaders and journalists. Learn a little about what it means to be Hmong in Minnesota. Gain a little insight into the challenges of covering the community in both the mainstream and ethnic media.

7 p.m., The Hmong Cultural Center, 995 University Ave. W., Suite 214, St. Paul.

BOOKS & AUTHORS
Jim Walsh

To celebrate the publication of his labor of love/oral history, The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting, longtime Twin Cities music critic and columnist Jim Walsh will be undertaking his own blitzkrieg, book-tour version of the Mats’ legendary ’85 five-night stand at the Entry. In the course of the week you’ll have a couple of chances to share the love and relive the glory and ignominy of one of the greatest bands ever to tear up local stages. —Brad Zellar

7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Galleria, 70th & France Ave., Edina; free. Tomorrow at Electric Fetus/7th St. Entry (two separate events); get more information.

 

 

FILM
Terror's Advocate

Jacques Vergès is probably one of the most controversial attorneys in history. When asked if he would have defended Hitler, he responded, "I would even defend George Bush, if he would plead guilty." Throughout his very public career, Vergès has defended Klaus Barbie (the "Butcher of Lyon"), Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal; 1994), the Kelkal faction, Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, and President Slobodan Milošević. How has he done this? With what convictions? Director Barbet Schroeder asks these questions and more in L'Avocat de la Terreur (Terror's Advocate), a documentary about the enigmatic figure. "Schroeder explores and questions the history of ‘blind terrorism’ through his penetrating investigation of this compelling man and leads us towards shocking revelations that expose long-hidden links in history." French & English with English subtitles.

7:30 p.m., The Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis, 612-331-3134, $8.


MUSIC
Roy Hargrove

Just about a couple of decades ago, Wynton Marsalis was traveling through Texas, when he discovered an impressive Jazz trumpet talent at a local high school. Since then, Roy Hargrove has established himself as one of America's greatest Jazz trumpeters. "Everstretching into more challenging and colorful ways to flex his musical chops, Hargrove has left indelible imprints in a vast array of artful settings." He is also the leader of The RH Factor, a progresive group combining elements of jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, and gospel music. See him tonight flying solo.

7 & 9:30 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $40 & $25.


THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Mr. Marmalade by Noah Haidle

If last month's feature on the death of the american imagination sparked a desire to bring it back to life, you might want to head out for the Red Eye Theater tonight for Noah Haidle's dark comedy on the power of the imagination. "Four-year-old Lucy wants to have tea with her imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade. But Mr. Marmalade is too busy at the office… and with his darker pastimes. Enter five-year-old Larry, the youngest suicide attempt in the history of New Jersey, plus the babysitter, a talking cactus, and Mr. Marmalade's personal assistant, a much put-upon man who can sing like an angel." Now that's imagination!

7:30 p.m., Red Eye Theater, 15 W. 14th St., Minneapolis; 612-870-7531; $16.