Take Your Chances

AUDITIONS
Ready to Rock!

Have you always dreamed of being a rock star, but somehow life kept getting in the way? Ready to Rock! wants to give you a second chance “to be the rock star you know you are!” I’m not a big fan of reality TV… (Actually, that’s a lie. I’m totally hooked, appalled, and mortified.) But a show with Lizz Winstead behind it is nothing to scoff at or ignore. Minnesota-born and probably one of the best political satirists out there today, Winstead has a slew of admirable credits to her name, not the least of which is co-creating The Daily Show. That’s right, the woman responsible for the original Daily Show is right here in town this evening, looking to cast a new music-oriented show for Fuse music television. (Actually, she’s in town casting two shows, but I’ll tell you about the other one later this week.) Ready 2 Rock is looking for the kind of guys we all know — over 40, probably settled into a comfortable job, but never got over having to give up the dream of being a rock star. Sound familiar? Why not give it a try? Still unsure? Watch this video: Lizz describes for us what she’s looking for.

5 p.m., Java Jack’s Coffee Shop, 818 W 46th St., Minneapolis; 612-825-2183.

MUSIC
Spoon Mixes It Up

The best pop-rock music is also the most difficult to explain. It saunters and bolts and trots along with the occasional dropkick, stub-toe, or click of the heels, instantly recognizable in its rhythms and attitudes, yet feeling so fresh it makes you giddy. After turning out a handful of very good pop-rock discs, Spoon, from Austin, Texas, has cut a great one in Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. It nods to the Beatles and Motown and Steely Dan and Dion, dapples in some ambient repetition, drum ‘n’ bass, Clash-style ragamuffin, and ’80s alterna-rock. Britt Daniel sings with a timbre of fine sandpaper, and his arch but sweet lyrics likewise leave their little abrasions. Do you still remember giddy? –Britt Robson

6 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-338-8388; $22.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

The University of Minnesota Bookstore has really been doing a bang-up job maintaining a steady stream of interesting author events, and today they’ve got two — one in the afternoon, another in the evening: fire in the afternoon, Vikings at night.

Under a Flaming Sky

On Saturday, September 1, 1894, with only two inches of rainfall since May, a massive fire broke out in Hinckley, Minnesota, destroying 350,000 acres and killing more than 418 people. One life claimed by the great fire was that of writer Daniel James Brown’s great-grandfather. More than a century later, Brown set out to document the second deadliest wildfire in American history in Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. Head out this afternoon to hear Brown talk about the 300 people who survived the fire by crouching knee-deep in mud, and the 100 people who survived by hiding in a gravel pit. His book explains how man and nature conspired to create the nearly perfect fire conditions as he relates the experiences of ordinary citizens who, when faced with danger, performed extraordinary acts of courage and kindness.

2 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.

No One Tells a Viking Woman What to Do

If fire is not your thing, perhaps you’d prefer a tale of a Viking woman who traveled to the New World 500 years before Columbus. This is no made-up tale, my friends. Through exhaustive research and archaeological studies, Nancy Marie Brown has managed to reconstruct the life of Viking woman Gudrid in her latest book, The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman. “Sailing west across the Atlantic from Norway, Gudrid and three Viking crews in open boats sailed to Vineland, where she lived and bore her first son before sailing home to share her story.” Now the story lives on as Brown unravels the mysteries that surround Gudrid’s life, and Viking society — “a society where women could marry or divorce at will, who ran their households and insisted on sexual freedom.” Sounds interesting enough to me. Of course, Brown also looks at why the Viking colonies eventually collapsed, alongside the larger issue of how histories are forgotten. It promises to be a very interesting presentation, if not a bit intimidating for the men.

7 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.

SHOPPING
Storm Sister

Just under a year ago, longtime stylist and esthetician Becky Sturm opened her own hair, skin, nail, and body care business. Actually, she began the business online a couple years prior to this, but she now has her own brick-and-mortar boutique. It’s a cute little shop, and Sturm is a fascinating lady. Stop on by and have a look, peruse the products, pamper yourself a bit — winter is coming, and our skin is going to need some serious help once it falls victim to the dry heat — and get some great tips from Sturm herself. If you can’t make it in person, you can still enjoy her wisdom on her blog at StormSister Spatique.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m., StormSister Spatique, 635 S. Smith Ave., St. Paul; 651-221-4668.