The Rake Magazine

Author: Cristina Córdova

  • Good Riddance, March

    FILM & AUTHORS
    Ali Selim and Will Weaver Discuss Sweet Land

    St. Paul filmmaker Ali Selim’s Sweet Land,
    a Minnesota-made indie labor of love that garnered critical acclaim and
    spawned a minor cult, was adapted from Bemidji writer Will Weaver’s
    1989 short story “A Gravestone Made of Wheat.” The Rake’s Cristina Córdova will moderate the latest installment of The Talk of the Stacks
    series, as the auteur and the author discuss the long journey Weaver’s
    story took from the page to the screen. Both Selim and Weaver have
    interesting back stories (Selim has had a high-profile career as a
    director of television commercials, and in recent years Weaver has been
    working on a series of successful young adult novels and teaching at
    Bemidji State), so there should be no shortage of topics for
    discussion. —Brad Zellar

    Friday at 7 p.m., Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-630-6174; free.

    SOCIAL EVENT
    Grown Up Spelling Bee

    It has probably been quite a while since any of us have actually participated in a spelling bee — and I’m guessing most of us weren’t drinking back then, but maybe I’m wrong. Nonetheless, leave it to the 331 Club to introduce an event like this one. Test your spelling skills, have a beer between each round (or even a shot), and see how you make out. There is great fun to be had by all.

    Friday at 7:00 p.m., 331 Club, 331 NE 13th Ave., Minneapolis; 612-331-1746, $7.

    MUSIC BENEFIT
    Dan Jass and Others Rock the Alex White Plume Family Benefit

    According to Rake writer, John Ervin, Dan Jass is "a walking encyclopedia of the
    rock-and-roll canon. In addition to possessing a record collection that
    would make most DJ’s drool, as a performer he can match the guitar
    stylings of every master from Eddie Cochran to Eddie Van Halen. After
    working a day job for twenty years at Schmitt Music’s warehouse, Dan returned to singing and songwriting full-time." See him this weekend at the Alex White Plume Family Benefit — with John Munson, Nate Dungan, Red Ponie, Dana Thompson, Patches and Gretchen, and Shit-Fi.

    Saturday at 6 p.m., Wolves Den Native Coffee, 1201 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis.

    Also, on Sunday catch Lalgudi Krishnan & Vijayalakshmi at the College of St. Catherine or soprano Kathleen Battle at Orchestra Hall (2 p.m.).

     

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Graphic Novel Release Party

    Lars Martinson is leaving for Japan in just a few days, but before he goes he’s due for a little celebration. Join him and his friend Tim Sievert this weekend, for a double book release celebration: Tonoharu: Part One and That Salty Air. Rumor has it there will be an after party of some kind, too

    Saturday from 4-7 p.m., Big Brain Comics, 1027 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis612) 338-4390; free.

     

  • A True Cultural Ambassador

    I’ve spent the last year or so lauding the Dakota at every chance I get, but I have to admit that, until this week, I had never just gone there on faith, without first checking to see who was playing. The beauty of the Dakota, though, is its consistency. Go there any night, for any show, and while you might not be as fortunate as I was this past Wednesday, you won’t be disappointed.

    As luck would have it, I caught the Irvin Mayfield Quartet from New Orleans, now among the best jazz shows I’ve seen here in the Twin Cities.

    Not having started in the best mood for an evening out — and struggling to get comfortable in a small semi-circular booth directly in front of the stage — I have little to say about the show’s opening. It was pleasant, but perhaps lacked the energy required to jolt me back into my own skin after a most discomforting day.

    We ordered a bottle of Cava — a Dakota ritual at this point — and a lineup of the Chef’s features from the kitchen in hopes that this would help set the mood and ensure the fabulous evening we have come to expect from the Dakota. But, to be honest, the first course — Chicken Fried Quail — did nothing to the effect. I still wonder who would betray the delicate nature of the quail by cooking it with the clumsy boorishness of a chicken fried steak. But let me not dwell on one minor infraction that did little to taint a most excellent evening.

    As I pushed the quail aside, Irvin Mayfield presented the next number, from Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue. Ok. You have my attention. Now, please, oh please, let it be… Yes! "So What." Unbelievable!

    And unbelievable it was indeed. Carlos Hennriquez was exquisite on bass. And Mayfield’s trumpet echoed with Miles-ian coolness. I’m in!

    When they were done with that number, Mayfield joked about his bassist. "He just learned to play it last week," said Mayfield, "at the public library." This was the first of many jokes about the greatness of the New Orleans public library and their 25-year plan to rebuild New Orleans. It was also the start of the jokester jazz to follow — you know the kind, the kind where they actually have fun on stage.

    By the time our Surf & Turf got to the table — a lobster tail, a gloriously tender steak atop a risotto cake, and a few pieces of perfectly cooked asparagus with what I can only guess was a delightful béarnaise sauce — the band had picked up steam and the energy in the room was soaring. A perfect time to introduce the guest artist.

    Leon "Chocolate" Brown took the stage, with trumpet in hand, and after only a few notes of accompaniment to Mayfield’s intro, made his way to the mic to sing "Down on Burbon Street" with the beautifully melodic voice of a young Nat King Cole. Yeah! Now, we’re talking.

    After this, they started the real jam, and the real joking. Each musician took his turn, and each tried to top the previous one, while the others cried out in amazement, amusement, and wonder. "Oh, put your elbow into it," chided Mayfield as drummer Jaz Sawyer delivered his schtick, placing his elbow on the drum to hone the sound most masterfully. Sawyer stayed serious as he played, but broke out in laughter as soon as he passed the buck.

    "Let’s fly down, upside down, to New Orleans." Brown took the mic once more, bringing it back full swing as the audience roared.

    When trombonist Vince Gardner came back in, I confess, my hair stood on end (the hair on my arms, that is, which is plentiful) — a sure sign of sheer perfection, as far as I’m concerned.

    Then Mayfield and Brown put in the finishing touches, still smiling as they blew their final notes.

    These guys were having fun. And, man, were they good!

    From here you might say the show degenerated in the most perfect way. Or you might say this is where the show took root and really took off — into a true jazz show, in true New Orleans style.

    Mayfield took the mic to sing this time, a FEMA song, no less. The FEMA blues. "It cost us 650 million to rebuild," sang Mayfield, " then the government acts like we did something wrong." Brown chimed in for the second verse — about water, of course. And back and forth they went starting with FEMA, the flood, New Orleans, the library; ending with "your sister," who is really "your brother," who is really "your governor," who is really "your daddy" named Sarah. What an unholy mess! A most beautiful unholy mess! This is what jazz is all about.

    Finally, the two singers came together for a final chorus: "Meet me. Meet me. Meet me with your black drawers on. Meet me. Meet me. Meet me with your library card." Take it away trombone man!

    "You better pay your dues," cried Mayfield. And I couldn’t help but think about our own libraries here in Minnesota — about the shift from Minneapolis Public Libraries to Hennepin County Libraries, about the chaos, about the closed libraries and reduced hours, about the presentation I’m moderating tonight at the Central Library. "You better pay your dues." Yeah, I’ll swing by on Monday.

    I took the last bite of asparagus — still trying to figure out how exactly they managed to cook it to such perfection — and the drummer went mad. Holy shit! Never had I seen arms move so fast and with such precision. Beautiful. Most beautiful sound.

    Jaz "the animal" Sawyer, Mayfield calls him. "He won’t date you unless you have a library card."

    "Get up. Get on up." They went off on their next number, their last, and the horns came down into the audience as I got teary eyed. I’m lame like that, I admit. But when I’m moved my eyes inevitably water.

    As the horns made their way through the audience, everybody on their feet, clapping along, I realized that I had somehow lost my discomfort, that the table was no longer the wrong shape or size, and that the uneaten quail was worth every penny.

    The Dakota had done it again.

    Look for the Mayfield Quartet’s new album (which I purchased that night and haven’t stopped listening to since), available on April 1st.

  • One Heck of a Classy Evening

    WINE & DINE
    Dinner with The Rake

    Join us tonight for a Dinner Party at Via’s Cafe. Meet Ann Bauer and Jeremy Iggers, as well as other Rake
    staff and readers, and enjoy a wonderful meal of warm cheese,
    apricot chutney, roasted garlic, braised baby artichoke salad, organic
    garden greens, smoked coffee-rubbed Kobe beef brisket, fingerling
    potatoes, roasted baby vegetables, chocolate pot de creme, and sour
    cherry biscotti.

    6 p.m., Via Cafe & Bar, 6740 France Ave. S., Edina; 952-928-9500; $60.

    FILM
    Spotlight on Naomi Kawase

    Naomi Kawase was only 27 years old when she won the Camera d’Or award for Moe no Suzaku, a film she both wrote and directed. Now, eleven years later, we have a rare opportunity to see two of her more recent films, Birth/Mother (Tarachime) — a documentary about the traditional Japanese birth of her son — and The Mourning Forest (Mogari No Mori) — another award-winning film about an unlikely friendship between an old man with dementia and his young nurse. The best part, of course, is that in great Walker tradition, Kawase will be on hand to introduce her film.

    5:30 and 7:30 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; the first film, Birth/Mother, is free, the second is $8 (members $6).

    MUSIC
    Dvorak and Rachmaninoff

    Dvorak’s Cello Concerto is a romantic work of unabashed
    grandeur, with a lush and lyrical first movement, a pensive and
    ethereal middle, and a swelling, pile-driving, rondo-form finale that
    briefly pauses to dredge up elements of the first two movements before
    coalescing into a passionate crescendo. Sommerfest artistic director
    Andrew Litton will conduct Scandinavian cellist Truls Mork, who
    recorded the work with the Oslo Philharmonic for Virgin two years ago.
    Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances is the perfect
    after-intermission refresher, a neat mixture of romance, rhythm, and
    modernism. Like the Cello Concerto, it benefits from being one of the
    later works of its composer. Walton’s fun, quirky and deceptively
    difficult Scapino Overture leads the program. —Britt Robson

    7:30 p.m., Orchestra Hall,
    1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-371-5656; $25-$72.


    Bach, Vivaldi, Sierra, and Telemann — Oh, My!

    Guest conductor Paul Goodwin will lead the The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra tonight — and for the next three nights — for a performance featuring Bach’s Brandenburg No. 1 in F, with SPCO concertmaster Steven Copes on violin. But the clincher is guest guitarist Manuel Barrueco — probably one of the world’s greatest living guitarists — performing on Vivaldi’s Concerto in D for Guitar and Orchestra and Sierra’s Folias for Guitar and Orchestra. Also on the program is Telemann’s Ouverture in C.

    Tonight at 8 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater; Friday at 8 p.m., Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie; Saturday at 8 p.m., Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ, Saint Paul; Sunday at 2 p.m., Benson Great Hall, Bethel University, Arden Hills; 651-291-1144; $10 and $25, kids $5.

  • Desire to See an Arab Perform

    Recently, I saw The Syringa Tree at the Jungle Theatre and then two
    days later I saw 9 Parts of Desire at the Guthrie. Both shows designed
    and directed by Joel Sass.  When I sat watching The Syringa Tree I
    forgot that Sarah Agnew was performing the text playwright/actor Pamela
    Gien had written to perform herself. A white European American playing
    a white European South African didn’t make me flinch. On the other hand
    I could not forget during the entire show of 9 Parts of Desire that
    Katie Efirig was not Arab American. She was performing a show
    playwright/actor Heather Raffo had written for herself. Heather Raffo
    is an Iraqi American.

    As an Algerian American I wanted to be able to look up on stage and see
    a North African or a Middle Eastern sister looking back at me. Then
    again, why shouldn’t we be able to tell other people’s stories of other
    places and languages? Why should we confine casting to race and
    ethnicity? I imagine Efrig and the entire creative team of 9 Parts…
    have learned a lot about Iraqi people, about straddling two worlds; and
    isn’t that useful in building a stronger society? Getting deeper into
    each other’s humanity so that we understand each other and are less
    likely to kill one another or point fingers or jeer or assume things
    that are just not true?

    But. But. But.

    What about subject position? Perspective? Would you cast a white
    American woman as someone half Japanese and half white American? Or
    Indian? Or Jamaican? Is it okay to have an actress who could pass? Who
    has, like Sass said when speaking to Dominic Papitola of the Pioneer
    Press    , "the right look." We could say, okay, I buy she’s part Arab cause
    she’s got dark features. Ironically enough Heather Raffo has blond
    hair. So does my Algerian step mom.  In the history of theatrical
    performance we have in our vocabulary "black face," "yellow face," "red
    face." Now it seems we have entered into… olive face?

    Under the current political conditions Arab Americans are
    being profiled, ridiculed, and blamed for most of the world’s problems.
    All of a sudden being Arab, and especially Arab American, has weight and
    meaning for mainstream America. So what does that mean when a white
    American creative team produces a play about an Arab American
    experience?

    Many of the audience members were white middle-aged women. They
    reminded me of the women who often ask about the origin of my name and
    struggle to see where Algeria is on a map. What a wonderful thing art
    is when stories such as 9 Parts of Desire are told at a classy place
    like the Guthrie for these women to see the complexities and strength
    of Arab women. Iraqi women.

    Finally, our story is starting to be told on the big stage. Finally, the mainstream is interested in listening. But wouldn’t it be better if a mainstream audience could see an Arab perform?

    Taous Khazem, Minneapolis
    Letter

  • Ladies' Night

    Girls, ya’ll got one
    A night that’s special everywhere
    From New York to Hollywood
    It’s ladies night, and girl, that feeling’s good

    Oh, yes, it’s ladies night
    and the feeling’s right
    Oh, yes, it’s ladies night
    Oh, what a night

    Nothing like starting out with a little Kool & the Gang, eh? (I’ll bet you thought I was going to say Tom Jones.)

    Ok, ladies, we have some special events for you tonight, so get out your Girl Power t-shirts, with your matching pink purses, and get ready to take over the world. Or… just dress comfortably, relax, and enjoy the evening.

    WORKSHOP
    Front Runners: Women with Political Ambition

    Has Hillary Clinton gotten votes simply due to her gender? Probably. Has she lost votes due to her gender? Certainly. I have no big arguements to make here — or candidates to support — but… it’s always a gender issue. Gender is an issue; what can I say? (As is race, of course.) And for women it’s still an uphill battle on the political front. Tonight, Front
    Runners     is offering a leg up in an effort to even the playing field a bit, or at least get women more engaged. Interested in electoral politics? Join this evening’s workshop for women at the
    State Capitol. Meet women members of the Minnesota House and Senate and take the Women’s History Tour of the Capitol.

    6 p.m., State Capitol Rotunda, St. Paul; free, but RSVP to Debra Fitzpatrick.

    WINE & DINE
    Women & Wine Party at the Guthrie

    Sure, I’m no girly girl. I love a cheap whiskey in the grimey shadows of a good dive. But every now and then, a girl has just got to go out in style: a little class, a little wine, a host of beautiful people — you know the kind, the good kind, the kind with brains. Ahh. And who doesn’t like a late night happy hour? Head over to the Guthrie’s Target Lounge tonight for a glorious evening of wines, cocktails, music (by local female DJs, no less), and great company all around.

    9-11 p.m., Target Lounge, Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; free.

    FILM
    The Wild Wild North

    "The law of the land is the gun in your hand…the Further North you go…" reads the tagline for writer/director James Snapko’s latest film. And Further North takes this pretty seriously as it explores murder through the lives of five people. Perpetrator, victim, conspirator, avenger, bystander — each one of the characters has some relationship to murder, and all of them, though traveling different paths, end up on the same road in Northern Minnesota. See the advanced screening this evening, hear from the director himself, as well as cast and crew, and follow it up with an after party at Stubb & Herbs.

    7 p.m., Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-3134; $9, students $7, MFA members $5.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Literary Trio

    Minnesota Literature has three literary events listed for tonight that all sound rather interesting, so take your pick:

    The Voice of Poetry reading features Minnesota writers reading poems in Korean, Swedish, Japanese, Yiddish, Vietnamese and Spanish. 7 p.m., Loft Literary Center, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis.

    The S.A.S.E. GLBT Reading Series features Elizabeth di Grazia and Lyda Morehouse, with hosts John Medeiros and Andrea Jenkins. 7 p.m., Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis.

    Playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and musician Suzan-Lori Parks will read from her work, provide commentary, perform songs on guitar, and answer questions from the audience. 7:30 p.m., Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 Fourth St. S., Minneapolis.

  • Pawlenty as McCain's running mate?

    Well. Pawlenty is a great governor in the same way that Bush is a great president.

    Dave Walbridge, WSP
    Letter

  • Suburban World: The Norling Photos

    "Where is Brad Zellar?" you might ask, as his hiatus from The Rake has created quite a void. Happily, he’s been busy promoting his new book, Suburban World: The Norling Photos, from Borealis Books. Zellar discovered Irwin Norling in 2002, when he unearthed Norling’s neglected negatives from the Bloomington Historical Society archives. Struck by the breadth and depth of the subject matter — everything from family portraits, Shriners, and donkey baseball games, to car crashes, drug busts, and murder scenes — and by the "astonishing and remarkably comprehensive record of life in one American community," Zellar unknowingly began his quest to compile his first book. The result is an extraordinary photo essay book featuring Bloomington, MN, circa 1950-1970.

    Reception and book signing on April 1, from 5 to 8 p.m.; author presentation on April 8th at 7 p.m.; Minnesota History Center.

    April 9, at 7:30 p.m., Richfield Borders Books and Music.

    April 16th at 7:30 p.m., Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

  • The Best Jazz Club in the Midwest

    While I appreciated the long-overdue article on Lowell Pickett and the Dakota ("Planet Pickett," February 2008), I did not like the implication that St. Paul jazz fans won’t cross the river. As someone who’s been attending Dakota shows since 1988, I don’t care if it is in St. Anthony, Sauk Centre, or Staggerford—it is the best jazz club in the Midwest.

    Stephen Borer, St. Paul
    Letter

  • Covering the Goods and Grooving My Soles

    The
    billing was Ray Bonneville with Tim O’Reagan: Blues for a Good Friday
    or Good Blues for a Friday. Good grief, anyway you phrase
    it, the show covered goods and grooved my soles.

    A
    flock of roughly 200 audience members braved a spring snowstorm to hear
    Tim O’Reagan, former drummer for the Jayhawks, morph into a solo guitarist as the opening act at the Cedar on Friday,
    March 21st. O’Reagan took his seat on stage. He picked
    up his flossy red electric guitar and struck the strings. His amp sounded
    disgruntled, coughing back some congested noise. "The amp’s cooking
    up," O’Reagan said. (The imagery of a gleaming guitar and a finicky/rickety
    amp would even bring a grimace to Oscar the Grouch’s face.)

    Out
    of nowhere, a second later, the opening rock guitar notes pounded atop
    the audience, like random diagonal snowflakes. Then O’Reagan squinted
    and laid down a high puissant pop vocal, holding the last word of the
    phrase — "time" — as a temperamental youth would after a fierce argument
    about toys. No clowning around, O’Reagan’s rendition of "Tinseltown"
    blended elements of rock and pop, fusing it into a masterful opening
    song.

    O’Reagan
    simply said of the second song, "This one’s written by a friend
    in Topeka." The harmonica droned, adding a calming Neil Young-ish texture
    to the music. Again, the vocals were sung in a carefree fluttery fashion,
    perfect pop for the shower (more commonly
    known as the poor man’s recording studio).

    O’Reagan, decked in dark blue jeans and a chunky block striped shirt,
    had that special quality; he looked like a regular guy. Yes, he played plenty of good music, but he seemed like he could play a stand-up
    comic routine just as well. For instance, before the third tune, O’Reagan
    said, "I’m going to do a song I’ve wanted to do for awhile, a
    cover song. I’ll bet you someone out there remembers Tim Harden."
    The middle-aged audience responded, "Yeah."

    While
    most nodded, my thirty-year old mind thought Who?

    The song started
    with a strong emphasis on the first word "gone" before fading out. O’Reagan stopped playing and singing altogether. "This
    is a John Sebastian song. I was going to do a Tim Harden song, but I
    wussed out. Well, we all know John Sebastian has done a lot of good
    songs." The audience laughed politely. "Go ahead. Yuk
    it up," O’Reagan said before diving into an era of decades past.

    While his self-titled Lost Highway album has gained
    critical acclaim, one couldn’t help but wonder why O’Reagan didn’t cover his own songs. A couple covers later, he said, "I’ve
    got a CD here, and…"

    "Why
    don’t you play some?" a man’s voice puled.

    "Bored.
    I’m tired of playing them. There were so many good pop songs before
    1980," answered O’Reagan before breaking out into a Badfinger song.

    The set of covers wound to
    a close. O’Reagan finished the night by inviting his friend Mike to the stage. Sadly, Mike lost a whole song to a pick "incident." With his pick stuck underneath
    the strings of his banjo, he fumbling wildly, like ex-Viking Troy
    Williamson     fumbling a perfect pass. Fortunately, he made up for it by skillfully
    plucking the hell out of the last song for a home run.


    On with the Show

    Whenever Dylan’s name is uttered, especially in Minnesota, you must pay attention.
    Like an amber alert, it’s the law. Ray Bonneville, blues poet, draws
    the Dylan comparison based on wordsmithing: one line ends a chapter,
    and the next line begins one. On this note, the comparison rings true.
    (Bonneville has no odd phonetics or speech abnormalities, so Dana Carvey won’t be salivating with an over-the-top impersonation
    opportunity.)

    Fresh off his latest CD, Goin’
    by Feel    , on Red House Records, Bonneville has put his foot down and
    left his mark as the tremendous God of Groove. I don’t know if the
    roughly 275 audience members could feel it, but I felt something hit
    me in my fourth-row seat that night. It started from the moment Bonneville
    took the stage and lasted throughout his performance. The man’s kinetic
    blues is something you feel. It clamors, and if you care to notice,
    it tinges your toes. A moment later, another jolt hits your feet, traveling
    slowly into your soul. Again, the vibrations ripple your feet, and your
    head bobs with the groove, making you smile. Over and over, until you
    realize you’re heeding the beat of Bonneville’s foot pounding the amplified
    plywood floor. Yes, it resonates. (By the third song, "Goin’ by
    Feel," an empty beer bottle tips itself over and rattles onto the
    floor.)

    Most mainstream artists’ songs let themselves be heard, then quickly fade into the air. It’s a slippery slope to be musically political and achieve
    class, rather than something crass. But when it is done right, you’re left with substance. Not one to shy away from the present day influences in the media, and having been a
    New Orleans resident in the ’80s, Bonneville touched on the Katrina travesty
    and evoked a sense of forgotten pride. "I was
    born in the levy, centuries ago. My daddy was French. My mother Creole,"
    said Bonneville.

    The passion behind his new CD made for a spellbinding performance. Bonneville blew every ounce
    of breath he could muster into his harmonica, almost swallowing and
    consuming it in the process.

    His cause doesn’t end in New Orleans, however. "Carry Them Home" has blatant
    imagery of the Iraq conflict. "It’s been five years, now,"
    said Bonneville. Excited onlookers tried to provoke more from him, calling out, "Bush. Bush."

    Bonneville simply played the song.

    In
    an age of bullhorns and blaming, what more do you want? Bonneville wrote a
    whole song about boxes with flags coming home.

    He is the hope from the sun. Enough said.

  • From Minnesota to Italy to Vegas — I Do!

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    The Natural Wonders of Our State

    Learn about the natural wonders of Minnesota and explore the human and environmental characteristics that define our home. Join University of Minnesota geography professors John Fraser Hart and Susy Svatek Ziegler this afternoon for a discussion of their new book, Landscapes of Minnesota: A Geography. Illustrated with hundreds of maps and color photographs, the book traces the development of the state’s natural environment through the lives and livelihoods of its people. Learn about "the growth and decline of Minnesota’s small towns, the expanding urban arc of the Twin Cities, and the surprising growth of a baby boomer retirement belt."

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

    WINE & DINE
    The Legendary Wines of Piedmonte, Italy

    Well-known as one of Italy’s great wine-growing regions, Piedmonte is home for two of the best reds in the world: Barolo and Barbaresco. But it also produces fantastic Barbera, Dolcetto, and Moscato. Join the Wine After Work crowd for an evening of legendary wines, and learn about the culture and food of Piedmonte, Italy.

    5:30 – 7 p.m., W.A. Frost and Company, 374 Selby Ave., Saint Paul; 651-224-5715; $40.

    FILM
    Blackjack: 21

    Anybody that gambles dreams of finding a way to beat the house. Sure, we’ve all heard of counting cards. But who among us has dared (or been able) to pull it off? Throughout the 1990s a group of math students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the tutelage of a professor, took Vegas casinos for millions through the art of counting cards. Now director Robert Luketic has taken their story to the screen in 21, starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, and Laurence Fishborne. See an advanced screening tonight.

    7:30 p.m., Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-3134.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    The Drowsy Chaperone

    This is the last week for The Drowsy Chaperone, and I’m thinking a Tuesday trip to the Chapel sounds like a novel idea. "A totally original new musical within a comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone has ‘more laughs per minute than any new show on Broadway’ (WWCR-TV), the most Tony Awards® of any musical on Broadway, and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle and Drama Desk awards for Best Musical" How can you go wrong? Of course, last Satuday’s show included a real life wedding!

    8 p.m., Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., Saint Paul; 651-224-4222; $25-$60.

    MUSIC
    Keston and Westdal

    Today also marks the release of electronic duo Keston and Westdal’s latest album, One Day to Save All Life (ODTSAL). The album is clearly quite a bit different from their previous two, but the precision and the funky guiding beats let you know who you’re dealing with. "Westdal’s bass is beautifully morphed and Keston’s keys and digi work have stepped over the horizon with a definable expertise," writes Chris Lindsey, of Slackline Radio.