There’s a lot to see this weekend, films from the Solstice Film Festival, performances at the Twin Cities Improv Festival, the GLBT Pride Parade — even the first ever Twin Cities Trans March tonight; but when your eyes have had enough, find yourself a dark corner and just listen to some music. Relax. You have some incredible options — and they’re sure to give you a second wind.
MUSIC by Eeva-Liisa Waaraniemi
Funky Cha-Cha-Cha
It’s nine years old, it’s free, and it’s a big deal. (There’s no arguing that point at 75,000+ attendees.) The Twin Cities Jazz Festival kicks off tonight at 6:30 p.m. in St. Paul’s Mears Park. Local musicians will dominate the stage, but out-of-towners are featured as well. Among the performers: Irv Williams, who’s still creating stellar homophony at 87 years old on his tenor sax; Connie Evingson, who happens to be the voice of Rainbow’s ‘Great Meals Start Here’ commercials but is better known for her versatile vocal renderings; and Jon Weber, a world-acclaimed pianist. Latin Caribbean flavor is in the mix with Chucito Valdes, son and grandson of Cuban jazz legends, and Salsa del Sol — a Twin Cities 10-piece orchestra devoted to dance music.
Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at noon, Mears Park, 6th & Sibley Streets.
At 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the Artists’ Quarter will host jazz trios at a $10 cover charge. Jazzophiles should find pleasure in the wide variety of jazz music offered, and people-watchers in the diverse hordes this music will attract.
Watch a short clip of Irv Williams playing.
The festival continues next week as well.
MORE MUSIC
And That’s Not All
True, the Indigo Girls concert at the Minnesota Zoo is sold out, but there’s more interesting fare.
Break out your dancing shoes — or at least be ready to bounce a bit. The New York City-based Brazilian music group Rob Curto’s Forró For All will be performing at the Cedar Cultural Center on Sunday. This is beautiful because they’ll actually be performing here on São João Day (St. John’s Birthday), which is quite the holiday in Brazil, so the energy ought to be through the roof. Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-2674 ext. 2; $17.
Of course, you can cheat and catch a short set in Northfield tonight, before he even gets to Minneapolis. Head over to Carleton for The Bad Plus concert. This will be their first performance in Minnesota since the release of their new, critically acclaimed album PROG. Rob Curto’s Forró For All will open the concert with a short set, and after their concert, The Bad Plus will be signing CDs at the ArtOrg Gallery, where a group of artists will be kicking off their Summer Solstice Exhibit. Now that’s a packed evening. 8 p.m., Carleton Concert Hall, North end of Winona St., Northfield; $18.
And if you’re too young and frivolous to appreciate any of the above, then maybe you should just go to the Stacy B. Show at the Suburban World Theater this Sunday. Apparently, she’s looking for actors for a music video, so she’s hosting auditions right there at 6 p.m. Woohoo! I wanna be a Stacy B. Girl!
GASTRO-ENTERTAINMENT
Gastro Non Grata
If your ears aren’t the only organ you choose to exalt on Sunday — don’t get fresh, you know how important our food is to us — give Gastro Non Grata a try. There’s only one thing I’d need to top off a good mix of chefs, drinks, and music. I sure hope Craig Drehmel is not too handsome. And beware of chefs Steven Brown and Don Saunders. All that delicious flavor!
6 p.m., 331 Club, 331 N.E. 13th Ave., Minneapolis.
ART by Ann Klefstad
A Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840-1910
Paintings by Edvard Munch, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Carl Larsson, August Strindberg, Harald Sohlberg, Akseli Gallén-Kallela, Eero Järnefelt, and Fanny Churberg will shimmer on the walls of the MIA. The show explores Nordic attitudes toward nature and the past and present significance of landscape in Nordic culture and thinking. Expect a beautiful show — rampantly pretty as well as expressionistic and emotional. In the face of full-on loveliness, there’s not much to say — so why not go with someone you’re squabbling with? All that stuff will melt away. (Painting: “The Boy with the Willow Flute” by Christian Skredsvig – June 2007)
11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 612-870-3000; $8 (seniors/students $6, children $4).
THEATER & PERFORMANCE by Christy DeSmith Hunger
Emigrant Theatre prefers to stage edgy, often enigmatic new plays by living writers. Therefore, the troupe makes a point of getting to know all the winners of the prestigious Jerome Fellowship, an honor that attracts a national congregation of top dramatists to Minneapolis, where they work in one-year residencies at the Playwrights’ Center. Recently, the folks at Emigrant read a Jerome playwright they particularly liked — New Yorker Sheri Wilner. Equal parts comedy, fantasy, and drama, Wilner’s multifarious Hunger concerns the story of Diana, a woman with a seemingly charmed life. But on the night of her engagement — when she’s spending the night with her fiancé, Adam, in his seaside cabin, and the perfect circumstances of her life seem only further cemented — Diana is left confronting some pretty monumental what-ifs. Does she stick with trustworthy Adam? Or does she strike out on her own in an effort to fulfill her deepest desires? A Prince Charming (of sorts) actually materializes in this instance, so Diana’s quandary isn’t as easily solved as it might seem.
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., Mixed Blood Theatre, 1501 Fourth St. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-6131; $14 (students/seniors $11).
FILM
Lies, Deception, and Spin? Never!
Meet me for a flick on Saturday morning? I’ll be at the Riverview bright and early. Yes, I still consider 10:30 a.m. bright and early on a Saturday. Only on a Saturday. Saturdays are for late breakfasts. Don’t worry; there’s plenty of time for a late breakfast after the movie, and the conversation will be far more interesting. 9/11: Press for Truth documents the stories of six family members of 9/11 casualties as they push for an investigation that fails to deliver. And as is typical of socio-artistic projects with a heart, there’s a touch of personalization. The screening will be introduced by a Minnesota resident who lost a family member in the September 11th calamity.
Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave S (E 38th St & 42nd Ave S), Minneapolis, 612-729-7369; free.
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