MUSIC
Learn about the Bird and the Bee, LA Style
The middle of January may be the best time to warm up to The Bird And The Bee’s stylish,
airy continental pop sounds. Steeped in bossa nova, solid-gold AM pop and classic
new wave, this fetching boy/girl duo from LA are favorites of both critics and
crowds. They also don’t ignore the nearly forgotten art of the succinct,
economical EP — as of September they have eclipsed their ratio of EPs to albums
by 2:1 with the release of Please
Clap Your Hands. It’s a five song document of simple, sexy retro-pop that comes
off something like the prodigal kid siblings of the Brazilian Girls or Nouvelle
Vague, minus the pretentious clubbiness and the sophomore slump, respectively. Also
performing is Charlie W.
—Christopher Hontos
8 p.m., Varsity Theater,1308 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-604-0222; $12.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Fight: Or, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking
Well, the title is a mouthful, but it certainly has that fabulous Fight Club appeal. Who can resist? I mean, really — who amongst us hasn’t wanted to kick some ass at one point or another? Even if you don’t use it, it would be nice to know you could. Trigger any interest? In his new book — Fight: Or, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking But Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking — Eugene S. Robinson exposes an underground world of hand-to-hand combat — knife fighters, soccer hooligans, mobbed-up boxers, prison yard pugilists, and mixed martial artists — and he among them. "When Robinson and his fellow fighters mix it up, they live completely for the moment: absorbed in the feel of muscles slippery with sweat; the metallic tang of blood mingling with saliva in the mouth; the sweet, firm thud of taped knuckles impacting flesh. They fight because it feels good. They fight because they want to win. And even if they lose, they fight because they love fighting." Yup. Sounds pretty Fight Club-y to me. Maybe after this evening’s presentation, Robinson will give you an ass-whooping of your own.
7:30 p.m., Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-822-4611.
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Raw Stages
The History Theatre has
hit its share of fouls lately—last fall’s production based on the life
of Kirby Puckett was uniformly blasted, and the recent Hormel Girls
had a lackadaisical score and a script wholly reliant on stereotype.
But this institution also boasts a singular and noble characteristic:
It commissions more original works by living, local playwrights than
any other Twin Cities theater. Its annual Raw Stages
series bundles four samplings of works-in-progress, each with a certain
destiny for the History Theatre mainstage. This year’s lineup includes
the chronicle of a haunted Summit Avenue mansion, by the edgy
Minneapolitan Deborah Stein (see “Heavy Rotation”); and the story of Tyrone Guthrie and Ralph Rapson’s collaboration building the landmark Guthrie Theater at Vineland Place—by the prolific, Minnesota-based playwright and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher. —Christy DeSmith
History Theatre, 30 E. Tenth St., St. Paul; 651-292-4323; $10/show or $25 for a full pass.
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