The Rake Magazine

Author: Cristina Córdova

  • Double Whammy

    FILM
    Double Feature Picture Show

    Back when double features were standard fare, one good film would get paired up with a more questionable one. Granted, sometimes the second billing wasn’t so bad. I saw movies like The Brood and Barracuda like this — great B movies I never would have otherwise known. But tonight the Edina Cinema brings us a double whammy of a double feature: Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis in Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959), and Peter Sellers and David Niven in Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther (1963). I must say, these are probably two of the best comedies of their time (if not of all time). Some Like It Hot has Tony Curtis and Billy Wilder dressing as women to join a girls’ band in order to escape the mob. And The Pink Panther, well, what can I say? Peter Sellers is probably the best physical comedian of all time. And who doesn’t love a good heist movie?

    7:30 p.m., Edina Cinema, 3911 W. 50th
    St., Edina; 651-649-4416.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Waiting for the Hearse

    Mixed Blood Theatre brings you their tenth bilingual production, a Theater All Year production at Stepping Stone Theater. Esperando la Carroza, directed by Jerry Ruiz, is a class system family satire that finds everything about the human condition laughable. A needy octogenarian with three adoring, married sons becomes increasingly burdensome to her three daughter-in-laws — one poor, one middle-class, and one affluent. English supertitles will translate the Spanish dialog for all to understand.

    7:30 p.m., SteppingStone Theatre, 55 N Victoria St., Saint Paul; 651-225-9265;

    MUSIC
    Two Options

    You have two great musical options this evening. For some baritone wonder, see Welch Bass-Baritone Bryn Terfel at the Landmark Center (8 p.m.). And if you’re feeling a little down on yourself, or a little down on your luck, find a little comfort in the company of Newton Faulkner at the Varsity (9 p.m.). "I need something to believe in / cause I don’t believe in myself / and
    I’m sick and tired of getting nowhere / guess it’ll all work out." With a last name like Faulkner, you might expect a touch of the gothic, but the British-born singer-songwriter is actually best known for his unique guitar playing habits: interesting finger picking techniques, and percussive use of the guitar’s whole body.

  • Happy Earth Day!

    MUSIC
    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. Enjoy his music this evening as he warms the stage for Phil Solem, one half of the sensational Rembrandt’s, and Fran King and Duncan Maitland (on tour from Ireland). —KM

    8 p.m., 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-332-2903; $8.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Read Me the Riot Act

    Join hosts Paul Dickinson and Laura Brandenburg this evening for their monthly Riot Act Reading Series. I have no idea what author(s) they have in store for us tonight, but whoever it is will likely have their touch of punk rock history.

    9 p.m., 331 Club, 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-1746; free.

    WINE & DINE
    Capital Grille

    Enjoy a five-course Wine Dinner with Chefs Jeff Ansorge and Christian Ticarro at The Capital Grille tonight.

    The Capital Grille, 801 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-692-9000; $85.

  • Thanks for All the Years

    This is easy.

    I read in the Pioneer Press that your magazine is going online.

    So, I wanted to thank you for all these years of the print version, for including the Colleen Kruse columns, and for the coverage of books and writers. 

    Cheers 

    Stephen Borer, St. Paul
    Letter

  • It's Wages, Stupid!

    I’ve been watching this debate raging on my television screen over how America got into this economic mess. Am I the only person out there who understands why? It’s wages, stupid!!! Our nation’s No. 1 export is jobs, and every job that leaves drives wages down on a half dozen other jobs that don’t leave. Combine that with the fact that the super rich are taxed at a lower percentage rate than people who actually work for a living. It was Warren Buffet himself who recently reported that he pays about 17 percent income tax, while his secretary, whom he pays $60,000 a year, pays 33 percent.

    Do you want to solve our fiscal crisis? It’s simple: People who "EARN" eight to nine figure incomes need to pay 50 percent or higher income taxes.

    Now, before you kick down my front door to see if I have a "commie flag" hanging in my living room, consider this: People who "make" tens or hundreds of millions, or even billions, per year don’t "EARN" that money by working a day at a time, as you and I do. It is procured through control of savings, stocks, bonds, and other ways of monopolizing financial resources both here and abroad. My point is this: the working class people are being squeezed by high taxes, stagnant wages, and run-away inflation. Letting local bazillionaires keep 100 percent of the profits they make by shipping our jobs and industrial base over seas is just going to enable them to do more and more of the same.

    Ronald Regan once said, "A rising tide raises all ships." That may be true, Ron; unfortunately, they’re all going to China! If the rich won’t bail us out with more jobs and higher wages then they are going to have to do it with higher taxes. After all, they have all the money!

    T. J. Posthumus, Morristown, MN
    Letter

  • Twin Cities Live Goes on the Air Today

    There’s a new show in town. Twin Cities Live starts airing today, from 3 to 4 p.m. (5 Eyewitness News), highlighting great places to visit, eat, and play. Sure, the press release makes it sound like something that’s never been done before; but let’s face it, this is nothing terribly new. Nonetheless, let’s give it a try. It might yet be a good source of information about life in the Twin Cities, and hell, if they’re starting out with the RollerGirls, how bad can it be?

    Here’s some info from the press release:

    TWIN CITIES LIVE is a show about Minnesotans created by Minnesotans. The effort to get the show on the air began last July with a public casting call at Mall of America. Standing in long lines for the opportunity to audition, over 500 people turned out for the chance to become one of the co-hosts of TWIN CITIES LIVE. We met many people with big personalities and unique backgrounds, but one person in particular stood out.

    John Hanson, a Burnsville native, had been living and working in
    Las Vegas, but was looking to return to the Twin Cities. His mother, a longtime viewer of 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, heard about our casting call and encouraged her son to attend. She even drove him to the auditions herself! From the beginning, we loved his quick wit and down to earth personality. It took a few more months of searching to find a co-host for John. But, as soon as we met Rebekah Wood, a small town gal with a gift for gab, we knew she was the perfect fit. Rebekah left the anchor desk in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to join the TWIN CITIES LIVE staff. Both John and Rebekah are thrilled to be home and are looking forward to bringing viewers a show that highlights the best of what our state has to offer.

    During the first few weeks of the show, you’ll quickly learn what TWIN CITIES LIVE is all about. The Minnesota RollerGirls stop by to show us why they are one of the most popular roller derby leagues in the country. We’ll put the spotlight on the latest theater offerings from the Guthrie and the Fitzgerald. Rebekah and John fly high at a local circus school. Our local experts demonstrate the perfect spring grilling techniques, how to get started with yoga and other unique exercise programs, quick and effective self-defense moves, and tips for gardening on a budget. Throw in details for a perfect Minnesota getaway, the return of the Super Bargain, and musical performances from The Hopefuls and the Summit Dance Shoppe and you’ve got the perfect recipe for of TWIN CITIES LIVE. And that’s just the beginning!

    TWIN CITIES LIVE will be the only locally built weekday afternoon show, highlighting unique happenings in your backyard. Every Friday, the show will host a LIVE studio audience. So whether you sit back and relax from the comfort of your couch or grab a group of friends and join the live audience – either way you won’t want to miss everything that
    TWIN CITIES LIVE has to offer!

  • It's All Survival

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Pen Pals Author Yann Martel

    If any an author has been influenced by his travels, I’d say it’s Yann Martel. If any an author can weave stories of gold from scraps of tattered garments, I’d say, too, it’s Yann Martel. The Spanish-born Canadian has traveled the world over, collecting fodder for his tales: Costa Rica, Mexico, France, Iran, Turkey, India — the world in an ink well. But Martel’s world is etched from a philosopher’s stone. He studied philosophy at Trent University, in Ontario, and his earlier stories reek of existential angst. While his interest in the philosophical, as well as the spiritual has waned little, however, his writing has matured significantly as he has pushed the storytelling to the forefront and left the storyteller behind (in other words, a little less navel-gazing). Martel is best known for his second novel, Life of Pi — an epic survival story about a son of Indian zookeepers shipwrecked with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. See what I’m saying? This is story-telling at its finest. I hear his upcoming novel, about the Holocaust, features two talking animals on a man’s dress shirt. Sounds like a Tom Robbins novel to me. Did you hear the one about the sock and the spoon on a hejira to Jerusalem?

    7:30 p.m. (tomorrow at 11 a.m.), Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins; 651-209-6799; $35, $45.

    BENEFIT
    The Kidney Kabaret

    Janet Paone has been entertaining Twin Cities audiences since she graduated from Ausburg in 1983. She was one of the original cast members
    of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, a comedy at the Hey City Theater in
    Minneapolis that set records as the city’s longest-running theatrical
    production. She spent two years in Nunsense. She played Mrs. Vivian Snustad in Church Basement Ladies. And for 24 years she served as Irondale High School’s Director of Theater. On November 27, 2007 Northwest Airlines pilot and fellow actor John Vaughn gifted Paone with a life-saving kidney. Tonight, the Twin Cities community honors her with a Kidney Kabaret
    benefit to help cover the costs. Join Dale Conelly and Frank Vascellaro as they host a gathering of Twin Cities talent lending their support. Scheduled performers include: The Church Basement Ladies, Those Lutheran Ladies, Christine Karki & David B. Young, Dennis Curley & Katy Hays, Martini & Olive, Andrew Wilkowske, Drew Jansen & Jimmy Martins, Irondale High School Drama Department, Tod Petersen, Jim Cunningham, Tim Sparks, Lori Dokken, Judy Donaghy, Patty Peterson, and Erin Schwab.

    Silent Auction at 6:30 p.m.; show at 7:30 p.m., Augsburg College Foss Center, 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis; suggested donation of $25.

    WINE & DINE BENEFIT
    Minnesota’s Night of 1000 Dinners

    Also tonight, help raise funds to remove landmines in Afghanistan. Da Afghan will be hosting a fundraising dinner featuring stuffed grape leaves, hummus, kabli palow with sautéed chicken, chicken tandoori, kofta kabob, chalow, and other delights.

    6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Da Afghan Restaurant, 929 West 80th St., Bloomington; 952-888-5824; $30.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)

    "What’s so funny about a handkerchief?" asks the plays promo, making clear the shift from tragedy to comedy in Ann-Marie MacDonald’s play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). If we paid attention in our high school English classes, then we know by now the importance of the Fool in Shakespeare’s plays. But where was the Fool in Romeo and Juliet? Where was he in Othello? MacDonald’s play centers on Constance Ledbelly an academic basing her thesis on the premise that both of these Shakespeare plays were written as comedies until the author removed the Wise Fool from the list of characters. Enjoy this Theater Unbound production, directed by Genevieve Bennett and starring Delta Rae Giordano, Anna Sundberg, Rick Logan, Nicole Devereaux, and Nicholas Crandall. It’s sure to be be full of wild surprises.

    7:30 p.m., The Neighborhood House at the Paul & Sheila Wellstone Center, 179 Robie Street East, St. Paul; 612-721-1186; $18, but tonight is a Pay-What-You-Can performance.

    FILM
    The Whole Town’s Talking

    Best known for his Westerns and war stories, John Ford brought us one great crime comedy in 1935. Watch as the life of an ordinary man, played by Edward G. Robinson, is turned on its head after a simple act of oversleeping. (Yes, it appears I’m in grave danger then.) Ever upholding the classics, The Parkway brings us The Whole Town’s Talking tonight. And believe you me, the town shall be a’talkin’ with the likes of Jean Arthur on screen.

    7 p.m., Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis;
    612-822-3030; $5.

    LECTURE
    The Case for Impartial Courts in Minnesota

    Join Former Governor Al Quie and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson tonight as they outline an amendment to the state constitution that would deflect
    threats to the fairness and impartiality of Minnesota’s judicial
    appointment system. The two distinguished statesmen will discuss the issues on the proposed constitutional amendment, suggest solutions, and answer questions. Key components of the proposed constitutional amendment would focus the selection, appointment, evaluation, and election process on a judge’s qualifications and performance, rather than political factors. It would also ensure that voters have the final say on retaining or removing judges.

    7-9 p.m., Opus Hall, Room 201, University of St. Thomas Minneapolis Campus; free.

  • What Is a Blogger

    I just got this email from the Center for Media Research, outlining demographics on bloggers. Who is out there? There don’t seem to be any real surprises.
     

    What’s A Blogger?

    Bloggers are younger and higher percentages are Hispanic &
    African American than the general population. A higher percentage of
    Democrats than of Republicans are blogging.

    Now that Blogging might better be called a market segment rather
    than a market niche, it’s useful with regard to positioning the
    marketing message to understand what a Blogger looks like, as
    distinguished from the rest of the
    population. According to the BIGresearch Simultaneous Media Survey, 26%
    of all adults say they regularly or occasionally blog. Of those:

    • 53.7% are male
    • 44.7% are married
    • 28.4% hold a professional or managerial position
    • 10.4% are students.

    Bloggers tend to be younger, averaging 37.6 years old, compared to 44.8 for adults 18+ (the "general population").

    Ethnically:

    • 69.7% of Bloggers are White/Caucasian (vs. 76.1%)
    • 12.2% are African American/Black (vs. 11.4%)
    • 3.7% are Asian (vs. 2.0%)
    • 20% of Bloggers are Hispanic, compared to 14.8% of adults 18+

    In addition, Bloggers report a lower income ($55,819 vs. $56,811) and are better educated (14.3 years of education vs. 14.2).

    Political blogs are becoming increasingly common, especially in this
    election year, where 24.6% of registered voters say they regularly or
    occasionally blog. Political affiliation of regular/occasional Bloggers
    look like this in
    2008:

    • 37.6% of Libertarians regularly/occasionally blog
    • 26.9% of Democrats
    • 25.7% of Independents
    • 22.9% Republicans

    Analysis of Bloggers shows that they are using most forms of new media significantly more than the average market.

    Regular/Occasional New Media Usage (Top 5) 

     

    % of Regular/Occasional Bloggers

    % of Adults 18+

    Cell Phone

    93.0%

    87.5%

    Instant Messaging

    75.3%

    49.3%

    Download/Access Video/TV Content

    72.2%

    45.0%

    Video Gaming

    66.9%

    47.5%

    Text Messaging 

    65.5%

    45.2%

    Source: BIGresearch, January 2008, N=15,727

    Although Bloggers are more likely to use new media, the analysis
    finds that more conventional forms of media trigger their Internet
    searches. Magazines, at 51.6%, rank highest, followed by:

    • 48.8% reading an article
    • 46.1% broadcast TV
    • 44.5% cable TV
    • 42.5% face-to-face communication
    • 39.7% newspaper

    Gary Drenik, President of BIGresearch, concludes: "Bloggers are a diverse group and not who you would expect…"

    For
    more information    , please visit BIGresearch here.

     

  • Third Saturday in April

    CRAFT
    The American Craft Show

    More than 250 craft artists from across the country will come together in St. Paul this weekend to exhibit and sell their handmade jewelry, clothing, furniture, and home décor. Peruse the exhibits, learn about their craft, and take home a little something to remember them by. The American Craft Show will include on-site demos of mokume jewelry making with George Sawyer, ceramic demonstrations on the wheel with Northern Clay Center, “New Wave Craft” with Minneapolis artist Tia Keobounpheng, and haute-couture knitting with Steven Berg.

    Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., St. Paul RiverCentre, 175 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul; $12 one day, $18 two days.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Dancing with Contagion

    Expect bizarre, if nothing else. "Come to the meeting hall where an itinerant family of obsessive drifters and codependents invite you to step over the line, embrace your inherent weaknesses, become a little foolish and dance with the joyous contagion." This weekend marks the start of puppetmaster Michael Sommers’ new work, Dancing With a Contagion, directed by George Sand and composed by Eric Jensen. This is one puppet show that won’t be for kids.

    Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m., Open Eye Theatre, 506 East 24th St., South Minneapolis; 612-874-6338; $15 (students/seniors $12).

    Have You Seen Steve Steven?

    Marketed as a scromedy — a scary kind of comedy — Ann Marie Healy’s new play, Have You Seen Steve Steven?, is a disconcerting comic drama that questions the places we call home. Set in Midwest Suburbia, the play shows how a couple of new neighbors can upset the entire order of people’s lives by transforming the familiar to something frighteningly unrecognizable. Artistic Director Steve Busa joins long-time design collaborators Ron Albert (lights) and Liz Josheff (costumes and set decoration), set designer Erinn Huntley, and cast members Bruce Abas, Ariel Dumas, Katrina Hawley, Lief Jurgensen, Lisa Kindall, John Lilleberg, Miriam Must, Ross Orenstein, and Maggie Scanlan.

    Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Red Eye Theater, 15 West 14th Street, between Nicollet and LaSalle, Minneapolis; 612-870-0309, ext. 1; $18 ($15 on Sunday), Saturday is a pay-what-you-can performance.

    Also this weekend, the Minnesota Dance Theatre joins forces with Nautilus Music-Theater to present Orpheus and Euridice at the Pantages Theater (April 18th through 27th).

    MUSIC
    Brenda Weiler

    After four years, Brenda Weiler
    is finally at it again with her new album End The Rain.
    Weiler’s sultry
    voice and melodious guitar work come together in this collection to
    form songs that sing
    right to the heart — perhaps a result of the recent loss of her sister.
    During the last four years, Weiler has focused on healing, using her
    writing
    and music as therapy. When she finally got into the studio, she turned
    out her album in one week, and it’s
    no surprise she’s recieving rave reviews. Joining her for her 400 Bar
    show this month are David Huckfelt (the Pines) and Michael Rossetto (S/Mother Banjo). —Hannah Simpson

    Friday at 9 p.m., 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, 612-332-2903.

    Also this weekend, Holly Long at Bunkers on Saturday, and Pictures of Then at the 400 Bar on Sunday.

    FILM
    First Saturday in May

    The First Saturday in
    May     tells the story of six
    contenders for the 2006 Kentucky Derby. The most impressive part of
    this documentary is the well-told personal stories of the relatively
    anonymous trainers, jockeys and owners that toil in the stables and
    racetracks of America, with the common goal of qualifying for the Kentucky
    Derby. With the pomp and circumstance of
    such a huge event, you would expect to hear about superstars and the
    thrill of victory. But with 19 of 20 participants destined for disappointment,
    most of the stories surrounding Kentucky Derby end in defeat. While
    filmmakers John and Brad Hennegan were fortunate enough to document
    the journey of 2006 Derby winner Barbaro and his trainers, for the most
    part they exercised restraint from making this a Seabiscuit-esque biopic, and spread the story line
    across all six featured teams. —Christopher Kelleher

    Opens Friday at the Lagoon Cinema.

    Also this Friday, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? opens exclusively at the Uptown Theatre.

    BENEFIT
    Hard Hat and Black Tie Gala
    Support Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity this Saturday with an evening of dinner and dancing. Emceed by Kare-11 News anchor Julie Nelson, the event includes a VIP party and dinner, live and silent auctions, free casino games, and the music of local band Heartbreaker.

    Saturday from 5 to 11:30 p.m., Minneapolis Hilton, 1001 Marquette Blvd., Minneapolis; $200, $149, & $30.

    EARTH DAY
    Green, Green, Green Green

    Celebrate Earth Day in any number of ways this weekend. On Saturday (10 a.m.-4 p.m.), head over to the Midtown Global Market Earth Day Celebration for local food samplings, cooking demonstrations, children’s activities, and music. Or head over to the Minnesota Zoo for Earthfest. And on Sunday, make Wishes for the Sky. Inspired by the ancient Chinese tradition of flying wishes on kites — and incorporating music, sculpture, poetry, interactive sound collage, and visual arts — this free event promises to be a most beautiful display — kites and all.

    Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Harriet Island Regional Park, downtown Saint Paul.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    What the Vatican Didn’t Say about the New Deadly Sins

    Meet author/philosopher Austin Dacey this Sunday at Nina’s. You may have heard that the Catholic Church recently released an upgrade to the Seven Deadly Sins. Appropriate to the age of globalization and biotechnology, the new list includes such supposed social vices as contributing to extreme poverty, accumulating extreme wealth, trafficking in or consuming hard drugs, despoiling the environment, and engaging in "morally debatable experiments" or "genetic manipulation." But can morality be equated with a list of Shalls and Shall Nots? According to Dacey’s new book, The Secular Conscience, a list cannot anticipate future moral quandaries, and a list cannot tell you why you should follow it rather than some other list. For that we need conscience.

    Sunday at 2 p.m., Nina’s Coffee Cafe, 165 Western Ave., St, Paul; 651-292-9816.

  • Big Moments with Ryan Montbleau

    Ryan Montbleau’s shoes may
    need a shine, but that’s a tough thing to do when you’re a travellin’
    man. Montbleau and his band play an average of 200 shows a year, bringing
    their eclectically influenced soul across the country and back again
    on a nocturnal circuit only the hardest working bands feel compelled
    to journey.

    Perched on a stool, tapping
    a foot wildly to the beat, Montbleau seems poised and natural in this
    setting. Performing didn’t come about so comfortably from the start, however.

    "For me to cross that threshold,
    I was really nervous at first and I kind of didn’t want to, but I
    knew I had to for some reason," Montbleau says. "So you just keep
    forcing yourself to get up there. Now being on stage makes more sense
    to me than anything else."

    His strength came from a source
    terrifying to any normal adult: a classroom of teenagers.

    "I used to teach for a little
    while. I was a substitute teacher. If you can face a class full of high
    school kids at seven in the morning…" Montbleau erupts into laughter.
    "I was scared shitless. That helped me to be able to face a crowd."

    Montbleau is the male equivalent
    to Fiona Apple. He sings stark, emotional tales that leave listeners
    laughing or dancing or standing rigid, lost in personal reflection.
    He also has this amazing ability to turn "love" into a five syllable
    word, partly due to his R&B-soaked vocals.

    Montbleau’s musical inspirations
    are all over the map. Growing up he listened to as much of fellow Bostonians,
    New Edition, as he did AC/DC.

    "They kind of just blended,"
    he says. "I got some of my vocal stuff from this cheesy R&B stuff
    growing up. I’m not ashamed of it. Some of that led me into Sam Cooke
    and Stevie Wonder."

    In addition to R&B, elements
    of blues, jazz, and pop reflect in his music. Visually, the band is overtly
    American, with an appropriately nerdy-looking key boardist and a viola
    player wearing a baseball cap. Musically, the band also has a strong
    national influence, with rhythms at times delightfully bordering on
    rag time and a strong focus on folksy story-telling.

    One such story-telling highlight
    comes in "Quickie," a very an honest and dangerously heartbreaking
    tale of, well, a quickie. Old couples and ones meeting for the first
    time filled the floor with slow-dancing, before returning to their bopping
    and beer drinking during Montbleau’s more lively numbers, such as
    "City," with its thumping guitars and beaten-to-death bongos. "75
    and Sunny" is unabashedly cheery with lyrics like "You better believe
    I’m living for the moment/ but my moment’s growing bigger by and
    by."

    Montbleau is open and unassuming
    onstage. He leaves any rock and roll posturings to the front men with
    egos twice the size of their Telecasters. But, breaking down those barriers
    has left him sometimes clouded with misconceptions.

    "People get all kinds of
    funny ideas when they see you up onstage," he says. "I try to be
    very open and honest and revealing with my lyrics. So people from that
    might think they’ve got a complete picture of who I am and attach
    their own expectations to that. And some people approach me as if I’m
    going to be a total dick or something, and I really try not to be. I
    try to be cool with everyone. But people kind of brace themselves. They
    assume I’m one way and that’s it."

    On both sides of the curtain,
    Montbleau is pleasant and charming. It seems it would take quite a statement
    to get him riled up. An easy way is to start in with the comparisons.
    Call him the new Paul Simon. Call him a Beatles junkie. Just don’t
    say he’s like Dave Matthews.

    "I really believe in my heart
    of hearts that we don’t sound like that. We’re certainly not trying
    to," he says.

    With the band’s fiddle and
    viola and rambling keys, it could be easy on face value to put the Ryan
    Montbleau Band in the same box as the jam rockers. Only, Montbleau has
    more heart than could fill any of Matthews’ arenas. But if he has to
    be in a box, you can be sure he will open a door and invite you in.

  • The Visitor Kicks Off the Film Festival

    FILM
    International Film Festival

    The 26th Annual Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival begins today (through May 3rd) and features over 100 films from over 40 countries. Tonight’s kick-off film is The Visitor, by director Tom McCarthy — who, by the way, got his start at the Guthrie. McCarthy’s new film follows an economic professor to suburban Connecticut, where he first startles and then befriends a young couple before one of them is carted away to an immigration detention center. If it’s half as good as his previous film, The Station Agent, it’ll be well worth your while. Be sure to check out the full film listing for the varies venues. Among the visiting luminaries due for the festival are cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, & more than 15 titles), director of Dry Season (Daratt) Mahamet-Saleh Haroun, director Lance Hammer (Ballast), Chinese independent filmmaker Jian Yi (Bamboo Shoots), Somali actress Sam Sam (Family Motel), former Minneapolis filmmaker Mirek Janek (Citizen Havel), and veteran Russian director Valery Pandrakovsky (Full Breath).

    7 p.m., Kerasotes-Block E Theater, 600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-338-1466.

    WINE & DINE
    Opening Night Gala

    Once the movie has come to a close, take the celebration into full swing with a carnivalesque Opening Night Gala at Bellanotte. Treat yourself to a free dinner buffet, $3.50 to $5 festival happy hour prices, plus half-price bottles of wine. Dinner options include: pastas, salads, and wood-fired pizzas. And entertainment will be provided by the Secrets Circus, complete with stilt walkers, jesters, and jugglers. Following dinner, the Secret Circus will light up the night with a fire dance and juggling act on the Bellanotte outdoor Patio, which will finally be open tonight.

    9 p.m., Bellanote, 600 Hennepin Ave., corner of 1st Ave & 6th St., Minneapolis; 612-339-7200; $10 (free with opening night film ticket).

    MUSIC
    Refreshingly Tart

    The singer Somi, who will be performing at the Dakota
    tonight, is like a cool glass of pink lemonade, a titch
    more sweet than citrus, yet still refreshingly tart on the tastebuds.
    Born in Illinois to parents of Rwandan and Ugandan heritage, Somi
    (actual name L. Kabasomi Kakoma) is a smooth cultural-musical polyglot,
    sinuous like Sade, with some of the breathy restraint of Cassandra Wilson, yet cognizant of the African vocal tradition of long, extended coos that gradually fade in the ether. —Britt Robson

    7 & 9:30 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $20 & $15.

    The Man Playing the Man

    When one musical genius pays tribute to another musical genius, you don’t want to miss that. And that’s just what you’ll see tonight if you make your way to Orchestra Hall for Deleayo Marsalis’s Tribute to Louis Armstrong. Marsalis will be on Trombone, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Victor Goines on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Bill Charlap on piano, Reginald Veal on bass, Herlin Riley on drums, Kermit Ruffins on vocals and trumpet, and Charmin Michelle on vocals.

    7:30 p.m., Orchestra Hall,
    1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-371-5656; $45-$65.

    ART
    Lisa Pahl Paintings

    Former Rake Production Manager Lisa Pahl is exhibiting some of her fabulous artwork for the next ten days, and while the opening reception is not until this Saturday (5-7 p.m.), I suggest a sneak peek today, so you can get dibs on the paintings for sale. Her beautiful broad stroke and wonderful use of colors will make it well worth your while. Check out her work here.

    10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mezzolago Art Gallery, 5255 Chicago Ave S., Minneapolis; 612-824-1570.

    Also tonight: Exhibition Preview, Performance, and Reception for Trisha Brown (7 p.m.). Watch the modern dance legend improvise movements across a large piece of paper placed on the Medtronic Gallery floor as it is simulcast in the Cinema and online on the Walker Channel. Then join a reception in the Bazinet Garden Lobby preceding the opening of the exhibition Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing.