If you took advantage of the good weather and the good humor yesterday, and you weren’t one of those poor souls stuck working while everyone else was on parade, then maybe it’s time for something a bit low key. (Pardon the excessive use of “ifs” all the time, but I am all too aware that mood and circumstances dictate our desires.) No fireworks tonight. Leave the pretty, bright lights behind and get your head into something good. It needs to be exercised.
BOOKS by Brad Zellar
Digressing in the Best Possible Way
Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Dirda is something of an endangered species: a professional book critic. At a time when daily newspapers are shrinking their book sections or eliminating them altogether, Dirda soldiers on at the stalwart Washington Post Book World. His criticism has always been marked by real passion for reading — that’s maybe too fancy; the guy obviously just loves to read — and his reviews and essays are thoughtful, expansive, and occasionally digressive in the best possible way. He’s also the author of a number of books (including Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life), all of them offshoots of his literary rambles.
7 p.m., Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-630-6174.
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Celebrate Cynicism
Alright, yesterday you were feeling all patriotic and you even forgot about “the state of things” for a while. But today is another day. Let the cynicism and the criticism begin. Now you can ponder all of the previous day’s events and begin to feel bad about things. Transition slowly out of your haze. Take a couple steps back, sit yourself down, and observe the insanity, rather than living it. Laugh as much as you did yesterday, but from the sidelines. America:aciremA offers the perfect satirical view of American culture to follow the foolish rantings of the night before. Let loose and laugh at yourself a little. Hell, at least you had a good time.
7 p.m., Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 West Lake St., Minneapolis; 612-825-3737; $12.
MUSIC
Keep Bringing It On
If you got riled up yesterday and are still in the mood to party, then relax. You’re trying too hard. But if your evening simply never climaxed and left you frustrated, then what you need is spontaneity. It’s off to Fatfest with you. No, I’m not saying you need to lose weight, and it’s not one of the shooting locations for the new season of The Simple Life. Something tells me Paris Hilton won’t be anywhere nearby. If the show were still in its first season, maybe. After all, it’s in Wabasha, Minnesota. Doesn’t that qualify as the boondocks? I don’t really know. But I managed to make a moronic Paris Hilton reference, so it all seems irrelevant now. (For those of you with the good sense not to know what I’m talking about, the new season of The Simple Life has Paris and Nicole visiting weight-loss camps and such. Yes, these are the role models we should be presenting our insecure children with in their vulnerable moments.) Thankfully, Fatfest has absolutely nothing to do with these girls. It’s a rip-roaring three days of music and fun. The thing to do is pitch a tent and stay a while, so pack up the gear and make a weekend of it. Take in the funky, southern rock blues of Fat Maw Rooney, the jazzier blues of Oteil & The Peacemakers, the bluesy rock of Ray White & Friends, the folksy bluegrass of Cormeal and Pert Near Sandstone, the bluegrass rock of Stealin Strings, the country-touched alt rock of Freshwater Collins, the “Grass n’ Roll” of the Smokin’ Bandits, the improvised electronica of EOTO, the techno trance of The Space Rangers, the wild fusion of Gypsyfoot, and more music from some of our local favorites like God Johnson, The Big Wu. The icing on the cake? Winona’s own Northwoods.
5 p.m. (through Saturday), The Coffee Mill Ski Resort (pick up shuttle at Bridge St. parking lot), Wabasha; $25, $75 with camping.
Of course, if you’re not up for a weekend deal, there are always other options.
MUSIC by Britt Robson
Mister MC
The Providence, R.I.-based MC Sage Francis hops topics with a cerebrally voracious fervor reminiscent of Slug. It’s no surprise, then, to see Ant (Slug’s cohort in Atmosphere) laying down the beats on the sports-themed “High Step” from Sage’s May release, Human The Death Dance. While it’s more autobiographical and less overtly political than his previous three recordings, Human retains the ingeniously whorled phrases and dense vocabulary that made Francis a champion of freestyle contests, and a slam poet at heart. But it’s the production’s flourishes, like the strings on “Waterline,” that make the biggest difference here. Still, I expect that the bulldozer force and nonstop flow of “Keep Moving,” the career primer “Underground for Dummies,” and the blues-drenched “Got Up This Morning” (for which he cut a video) will be more the emphasis at First Ave.
5 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-1775; $16.
MORE MUSIC
Perhaps the Best Options
Give a quick listen to Ours and April Bauer. I had never heard of either, but they both sound interesting enough to warrant a visit. Ours is in from New York, touring before the release of their third album (so I guess I should have heard of them), and they’ll be playing tonight at the Fineline.
9 p.m., Fineline Music Cafe, 318 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-338-8100; $15.
For a nice, early night, go hear Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers play in the Mill City Museum courtyard. Visit the Daniel Corrigan exhibit, have a drink, and enjoy some D’Amico’s eats.
6-8 p.m., Bell Ruin Courtyard, Mill City Museum, 704 S. Second St., Minneapolis; 612-341-7555; free.
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