The Rake Magazine

Category: Blog Post

  • ¡Viva la Música!

    SPECIAL EVENT
    ¡Vive Minnesota!

    The first-ever annual Vive Minnesota…El Festival® — a three-day Latino music, art, and food festival — hits Harriet Island this weekend with some seriously hot local acts performing salsa, reggaeton, Latin Jazz, and more, on two stages. The line-up, which consists of 30 musical acts spiced with Latin dance performances, includes Salsa del Soul (with two of the hottest percussionists in the region), Ticket to Brazil, Maria Isa, Andrés Prado, Desdamona, and Michael Hauser. (Co-founders Mario Duarte, Michael Robles and Alberto Monserrate hope to bring in national acts as well in the coming years.) An elevated Corona VIP skybox includes VIP parking, food, beverage, and a perfect view of the Main Stage. A dedicated kids’ play area features a Titanic Thrill Slide®, a 65’ Rock Climb Challenge Obstacle Course, a Moonwalk, Hoop Shots, and all sorts of fun and games for the little ones. And everyone is invited to enjoy (and gorge on) the eclectic mix of Latin American food and culture.

    Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Harriet Island Regional Park, downtown Saint Paul, free.

    MUSIC
    Bella Sol Music Festival

    The free love floweth in Harmony Park this weekend! Well, perhaps it’s not
    exactly free, but $90 gets you three full days of music, live art installations,
    sun ceremonies, fire dancing, camping, camaraderie, and much, much more.
    A ridiculous number of bands are set to rock the park, including Buckethead
    (yes, that guy that wears a KFC bucket on his head), God Johnson, Desdamona (who clearly has a busy festival-hopping weekend in store),
    the North Mississippi All Stars, The Big Wu, and Dance Band — to name
    a mere few. This yearly Festival is the perfect kick off to summer,
    so pack up your patchouli oil, practice saying "Hey Man,"
    and head to Geneva, MN for a memorable celebration of the
    Sun. —Kate Iverson

    Friday 9 a.m. – Sunday 9 p.m.,
    Harmony Park, Geneva, MN, $90-$145.

    And of course, don’t forget Minnesota Sur Siene. The Fine Line presents A Night in Ethiopia, with Mahmoud Ahmed, on Saturday night.

    Pierre-Laurent Aimard Directs His Final Program of the Season

    French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard will direct The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra this weekend in his last concert of his second season as an SPCO artistic partner. Aimard will conduct Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 in D, The Clock and Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists (not included in Jazzed-Up Friday) from the podium. Then, from the piano, Aimard will direct Beethoven’s Concerto in C for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Triple with performances by Associate Concertmaster Ruggero Allifranchini and Principal Cello Ronald Thomas. The May 23rd evening performance is a Jazzed-Up Friday. While Ligeti will not be performed, audience members can choose to return to the concert hall after intermission for Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Archduke, featuring Leslie Shank, Joshua Koestenbaum, and Lydia Artymiw. Or, they can listen to live jazz in the Marzitelli foyer with The Laura Caviani Trio.

    Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. [Jazzed-Up Friday], Saturday at 8 p.m., Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St, St Paul; 651-224-4222. Sunday at 2 p.m., Benson Great Hall, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul; 651-638-6333. Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, 651-291-1144; $10-$48.


    Gordon Johnson GJ4 CD Release Party

    Gordy Johnson is a connoisseur of jazz piano trios, and not
    coincidentally the format is his metier as a bassist. As its title
    implies, GJ4 is the fourth time Johnson has mixed and matched trios
    from his impressive connections with national stars and local
    luminaries who are drummers and pianists, and it is arguably his best
    foray into this self-defined realm thus far. My favorite songs on the
    disc are the pair with Johnson musically astride the restless,
    harmonically acute ivory stylings of precocious local Tanner Taylor and
    the surprisingly restrained yet simmering beats offered up by
    ex-Journey and current Vital Information drummer Steve Smith. Don’t
    miss Matt Wilson’s innovative drumming on the Dewey Redman tribute,
    "Joie de Vivre" and the Alec Wilder composition, "I’ll Be Around," or
    the hushed delicacy of Johnson with Bad Plus timekeeper Dave King and
    the exquisitely pensive ex-pat Minnesotan Bill Carrothers on piano on
    the closing "Sleep Warm." Taylor will be on board for this CD release
    gig at the Dakota, along with Monkish pianist Laura Caviani, who
    contributes the gently burnished "The Return" on GJ4, and pianist Bryan
    Nichols    , who is featured with Johnson and Wilson on those Redman and
    Wilder numbers. The beats will be ably rapped out by Phil Hey, who has
    pretty much set the gold standard for local jazz drummers the past two
    decades. But most of all, these trio CD releases are the rare occasions
    when Johnson’s penetrating bass lines and solos are as much the star as
    the character actor complement to the prevailing music, an
    assertiveness that both rewards and reminds us of his talent. —Britt Robson

    Sunday at 7 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $5.

    Also on Sunday night, Dave Brubeck at Orchestra Hall.

    THEATER & PERORMANCE
    The Ugly One Makes U.S. Premiere

    A hilarious, yet reflective
    tale about a man named Lette who suddenly discovers that he’s ugly — and
    subsequently his life, job, marriage, and self-esteem begin to unravel.
    However, beauty can be bought, and Lette comes face to face with his
    identity, and the consequences of giving it up. The Ugly One is a last minute and welcome addition
    to the Guthrie’s 2007-2008 season. Written by rising star Mariu s von Mayenburg of Berlin, and directed by Benjamin
    McGovern, this production makes its U.S. debut on Saturday, and runs through June 1st. —Kate Iverson

    Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m., Dowling Studio, Guthrie Theater, 818 2nd Ave. S, Minneapolis, $18-$34.

    FILM
    Standard Operating Procedure

    How much of a story can be told by looking at a photograph? What is
    considered fact and proof? Is seeing truly believing? The documentary
    film Standard Operating Procedure breaks apart these questions by delving into the lives of soldiers stationed at Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. Academy Award winning director Errol Morris
    uses photographs and stories of American soldiers to depict the stained
    and corrupt system within the interrogation centers in the Middle East.
    Although it may feel uncomfortable and gut wrenching at times, this
    documentary is an important exposé on the war. The 118-minute film
    leaves you with some unanswered questions, but like the photographs,
    the documentary is up for some interpretation from the audience. —Hannah Simpson (read full review and interview with Errol Morris)

    Opens Friday, May 23rd at Landmark’s Lagoon Cinema.

    DANCE
    Celebrate National Tap Dance Day at MOA

    In 1989, Congress passed a bill declaring May 25 National Tap Dance Day. I bet you didn’t know that. Why May 25th, of all days? It’s the the birth date of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who began performing in saloons at the age of six and went on to become one of the best-known vaudeville tap acts of his era. Celebrate his legacy and National Tap Dance Day at the Mall of America this Sunday with Keane Sense
    of Rhythm     and various dance schools around the Twin Cities. Guests are invited to enjoy live tap dance performances presented in a historical context.

    Sunday from 12-4 p.m., Mall of America Rotunda, Bloomington.

  • What Fresh Hell Is This?

    Sidney Ponson?

    Come on, seriously: Sidney Ponson?

    You have to be kidding me.

    Truly, there is very, very little that could give me more displeasure than seeing that fat Aruban hump toss a complete game gem in the Metrodome.

    My displeasure wouldn’t be much diminished even if he had been wearing a Minnesota uniform.

    (Here’s an aside from the Department of Incredulity: You all surely know that Sir Sidney Ponson was knighted in 2003 by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Still, though, that fact continues to boggle my mind, and I must confess that I didn’t even know that the Netherlands had a Queen, let alone a Queen named Beatrix. A year after being knighted, of course, Ponson slugged an Aruban judge and spent eleven days in jail. Five years later he should have been out of baseball and working in an Aruban Arby’s; but, no, there he was, the human grease trap, once again making a hazardous waste dump of the pitching mound and throwing a complete game against the Minnesota Twins, the team for which, in 2007, he posted a 2-5 record with a 6.93 ERA. Sometimes baseball sucks so much it can make you throw up your microwave burritos.)

    As for the Twins, well, fellow fans, things aren’t exactly looking cheery for the local nine of late.

    You all want to get your panties in a bunch about Delmon Young? Come on. We’ve got a whole lot of big problems that are a whole lot bigger than Delmon Young. Has he been a disappointment? Sure, but why pick on the new kid when there are so many of the old kids (Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, for starters) deserving of your ire? The bottom of the order is –just as I feared– even worse than last year’s bottom of the order.

    It seems like every day there’s another mangled or broken thumb or finger, and there are an awful lot of guys on that pitching staff of late who would look right at home in a Sid Ponson mask (the 2004-2007 model).

    For years we’ve been spoon fed a party line that insisted the Twins played the game the right way. Something about that always struck me as 80% unreconstituted horseshit, but I’ll be damned if this current outfit hasn’t gone and kicked in the additional 20% and made me almost miss Tom Kelly. The defense and the bullpen –regarded as the strength of the team throughout the Gardenhire era– have been mostly brutal, and night after night we’ve been subjected to fundamental lapses that would give even a Legion coach fits.

    Right now this team is next to last in the AL in homeruns, first in homeruns allowed, 12th in OBP, last in walks, and next to last in fielding percentage. They have a leadoff hitter who’s fifth in the league in strikeouts, ahead of Richie Sexson. All of those numbers would sure as hell seem to be a recipe for disaster.

    Yet somehow the Twins are hanging in there at .500 and holding on to second place in the Central. If they’re going to maintain even a .500 pace, however, they for damn sure are going to have to stumble across some good news that’s a whole lot better than the bad news they’ve been running into on an almost daily basis.

  • The Greatest Gift: The Unknown

    It should come as no surprise at this point, to regular readers of my blog, that I am not shy about sharing with you what makes me… ME.

    This morning I saw a DVD that I had been waiting for, sitting on my counter in the kitchen — images from my family’s Zip Lining experience in Mexico four months ago.

    What got to me were these two photos:

    These pictures were taken 350 feet up in the air, with nothing more than our trust in the guides that supplied us with the equipment and our belief that we could enjoy the beauty of what was beneath — Rocks, Trees, Rain, Bugs, and god forbid… the unknown — all at just $35 per person. 🙂

    Is it not the greatest gift to watch the people you brought into the world through love, make choices that you wished you had had the guts to make, but never did?

    In My case… well… it took me until now (at 40 years old). But in my kids case… well… you can see from the pics that they don’t have the legs of a 40-year-old. 🙂

    There is only one area in which I still have to work really hard on at this point with my kids—who understand that everything their Mom and Dad do is simply a byproduct of Dad doing what he has to do and Mom doing what she has to do. We are who we are.

    But it’s hard to explain to them how a 40-year-old woman who has experienced so much can topple under the weight at times — how my brain goes into overdrive to the point where eating, sleeping, and functioning do not come to me in the same way they do to most. This is a difficult thing to explain to my two most important reasons for living, to my two most important and loving gifts — my son and my daughter — to whom I am so lucky to be Mom.

    Last night on 60 Minutes I watched a report that kept me up most of the night.

     

    The report was about a sacred area, foreign to most of us in America. A part of the world where nature is untouched by all things we think we can’t live without. A place where the sounds of the rain hitting the leaves cannot be duplicated with musical instruments, where a never-before-seen male bird turns from a little shy guy into fricken BATMAN to woo a female bird — and to top off the whole incredible experience the male bird gives the female bird 20 minutes on a small dark branch in the middle of nowhere after spending 23 hours building a stack of branches and laying out a variety of colorful rocks just to get her attention. And if he’s lucky…

    It was too much for my brain to handle — and also too much for me to try to explain to my son and daughter that no matter what happens in life and how many chances we make, we should always look forward to the unknown. The one thing about nature that will never change is that it will always be the one place that we all, as humans, can’t control but can admire.


    To the Men and Woman that will not understand this short story:     I have no comment.
    To the Men and Woman that do get this short story: it’s about time!
    To my Son: If you have to wear a colorful coat and dance for the girl of your dreams, it’s worth it.
    To my Daughter: If you have to wear a colorful coat and dance for the man of your dreams, it’s worth it.

     

  • Bye Bye, Gallbladder

    As I bare my flesh to the knife today and have an evil, pesky organ removed from its familiar home-turned-battleground, I shall come in and out of consciousness thinking about the pool opening today in my courtyard. I shall be thinking about the sun, beating on my belly, rather than a knife. Truth is, I’m more disturbed by missing the first pool day than by losing an organ. I mean, you can take the organ to the pool, but you can’t take the pool to the organ. (And they haven’t even given me the good stuff yet.)

    MUSIC
    MOSAIC International Marketplace

    I love summer in the Twin Cities! OK, it’s not summer. Not technically — technically not until the end of June. But socially — socially it’s summer. Unofficially, it has reached its official start (heh): Memorial Day Weekend is at our fingertips. What does this mean? It means
    outdoor music, outdoor movies, outdoor dancing, outdoor, outdoor,
    outdoor — free! Lovely. Yesterday afternoon, we had free live music at
    Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, and — you know how it is — the other plazas don’t want to be outdone. This afternoon, enjoy the Jawaahir
    Middle Eastern Dancers     at Xcel Energy Plaza as part of the Minneapolis Mosaic preview series.


    11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Xcel Energy Plaza, corner of 5th Street and Nicollet Mall, downtown Minneapolis; free.

    SPECIAL EVENT
    PA. PA, PA. PA-PA — Gallery Grooves

    Groovy as our Gallery Grooves nights usually are, we seldom have live percussion. Oh, yeah. Now that’s groovy — bringin’ down the beat. Grab your black beret — whether donning the beatnik or revolutionary flavor — and strut your way down to granola town (Ok, Seward) to sample and savor: art, jazz, wine, and even food. What could be greater? Contemplate The Figure and the Landscape (artwork by Nick Legeros, Brant Kingman, Roger Junk, Will Agar, Doug Beasley, Chris Faust, and Jeff Korte). Massage the brain a bit with an artists’ discussion panel. And then get the blood pumping with a performance by the Progressive Percussion Ensemble, led by Wallace Hill, in the Drums & Art studio. Crash Bam Boom with Red Alarm wine sampling from Artisan Vineyards and food samplings by—mmmm—Be’wiched. And of course, enjoy the riveting conversation of KBEM’s Kevin Barnes.

    6 – 9 p.m., Vine Arts Center, 2637 27th Ave. S., Minneapolis; free.

    THEATE & PERFORMANCE
    Pulitzer Prize Finalist Makes Area Premiere

    It’s opening night at the Pillsbury House Theater tonight, and this one has all the makings for success — a Pulitzer Prize-finalist drama, a Tony Award-nominated director, an awakening that’s impulsed by a strong social message — race, family, love. Tada! Frankly, I’m just turned on by the idea of a character who can "read the future through water" — especially when it’s somehow a product of being abandoned to the river as a child (like Moses). Bulrusher, written by Eisa Davis, tells the story of a young African American woman coming of age in a small Redwood country town in the ’50s. Under Marion McClinton’s direction, actors John Catron, Christiana Clark, Jodi Kellogg, Sonja Parks, Mark Rosenwinkel, and James A. Williams bring to life a powerful story about the possibilities of love.

    7:30 p.m. (May 22-June 14), Pillsbury House Theatre Mainstage, 3501 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-825-0459; $18 (students/seniors $13).

  • Eastern Conference recap, Western Conference preview, draft babble

    Let’s start with the Celts disposing of Detroit in Game One of the Eastern Conference finals. The ESPN color crew was clearly in the tank for the Pistons during the pregame, on the supposition that having a week off after playing a numbskull Orlando Magic team was better than finishing off a grueling seven-game battle with the Cavs just 48 hours before. They were wrong, of course: If the Celts are going to be hurt by the war with LeBron and company, it will be later, ’round about Games Five, Six and Seven, and the erosion will be as much mental as physical. I expect the Pistons to play much better in Game Two. I also don’t think the world will end for the Celts if they lose at home. They’ve never *had* to win a game on the road yet, and if they do I think, at least in this series, they will.

    As for Game One itself, let’s understand that the dynamic has shifted for the boys in green since the Cavs’ Game Seven: Paul Pierce is the clearcut igniter on offense, be it passing, shooting, tempo, whatever. This is all to the good for Boston because it gives their next two offensive threats, Garnett and Rondo, the freedom to play off Pierce’s decision-making. For KG it is a welcome luxury–he can concentrate on defense, where he almost never makes a bad decision, never mind choking, and still remain a guy you have to double-team in the low block at the other end. As Jeff Van Gundy pointed out last night, the pick and roll with Pierce and KG was very effective, and unless Jason Maxiell hits that extra gear like Paul Millsap occasionally achieved in Utah, it can be a Celtic bread-and-butter throughout, freeing up Pierce and KG for jumpers and drives, and almost guaranteeing the availability of safety valve dishes to Rondo. For Rondo it is luxury not to have to handle the ball all the time, which likewise frees him up for stellar defensive energy and open outside looks. You know all those shots Ray Allen is either missing or turning down? Give them to Rondo and Eddie House, especially if Billups is dinged up.

    It was a joy to read Doc Rivers proclaiming his faith in Rondo in Marc Stein’s Daily Dime at ESPN.com today. I’ve been waiting for people, but especially Rivers, to lavish praise and heavily massage Rondo’s ego, rather than that idiotic comment he made in the Cavs’ series about avoiding "heroic shots." But I understand I’m repeating myself here, so I’ll let it go at that. Ray Allen? Lose all expectations for the guy, because he is pressing, and pressing hard. He is intelligently doing the other things to minimize his inability to stick the outside jumper, including ball movement, penetration, and decent defense. The Celts just have to consider him a 4th or 5th option right now, and muck along. And consider this: If the law of averages works itself out and Allen returns to vintage form with a vengeance, Boston has a viable shot at a championship. In fact that about the only way I see them beating either the Spurs or the Lakers.

    Before we get into Lakers-Spurs, I want to harp back on the original point: Cleveland did Boston an enormous favor by pushing them to the brink and forcing them to configure different options and adjustments, and, most importantly, to determine a pecking order. These post-Cavs Celts are no longer democratizing the Big 3, and if the question were posed to them about who should take the game-ending shot to win or lose, both Pierce and KG wouldn’t simultaneously say "Ray" as they did before the Atlanta series. Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins is no longer having to fend off tag teams of bigs like Z and Wallace and Smith and Varejao and coping with LeBron knifing down the lane. Detroit can still win this series, of course: They are experienced and resilient and synergistically talented. But this Celtics team has found its groove through adversity, which makes it a lot tougher, and more complicated, for the Pistons to triumph than it was a couple of weeks ago.

    Breaking down the Spurs versus the Lakers, it looks to be an immensely enjoyable, high-scoring affair. How does LA defend Tim Duncan, with Gasol, Odom, or mix-and-match? (This is when a healthy Andrew Bynum would really come in handy.) Do the Spurs really think Bruce Bowen is going to contain Kobe? Derek Fisher doesn’t have the foot-speed for Tony Parker (and doesn’t know the Spurs’ sets and tendencies the way he knew Deron Williams and the Jazz), and at the offensive end, Odom will be his usual matchup nightmare. Lots of points are to be had here, especially considering that both teams are very adept at turning turnovers into buckets.

    After watching the Spurs the last three or four years, plus the regular season this year, I made up my mind I’d pick them in every series until they lost or held the trophy. Before the playoffs began, I realized that if any team was going to test that faith, it would be the Lakers. They’ve got a cold-blooded closer in Kobe, a beautiful mixture of size, speed, and depth, and one of the few very coaches as wise and playoff-wizened as Pops. In my eyes, this is the real finals.

    It’s a cliche to say about any close, competitive series between two very deep teams, but the role players really do have a chance to tip the balance here. Ime Udoka seems to be as viable an option on Kobe as Bowen, and when Bowen inevitably gets toasted and/or in foul trouble, it will be interesting to see how Udoka fares. On the other side, Sasha Vujacic seems like the latest in a long line of players to pattern his game after Manu Ginobili, and if Vujacic can indeed hit those dagger treys and become the foul-drawing pest that is Manu the Great, it is a big lift for the Lakers. It is also not that far-fetched.

    Kobe and Duncan are not only going to get theirs, they’ll make sure their teammates share in the wealth. But can the Thomas/Oberto tandem stop Gasol, or hold him to mid-teens in points? How aggressively will Phil Jackson wield the Odom mismatch–I’d pound Odom off the dribble and in post-ups until San Antonio makes clear their response, then freelance off of that via Kobe and the three-point shooters. If Odom goes into one of his mental funks, it will be a huge problem for the Lakers; he really is the biggest wild card either way in this series.

    San Antonio in 6 or 7. But the Lakers in 6 or 7 wouldn’t exactly shock me.

    Longtime readers know I basically punt the draft lottery and defer to other, wiser, observers of the college, high school, and international game. My guess/advice for the Wolves in the last column was to prioritize their draft options as Rose/Beasley/Mayo/Lopez/trade down. Now that the ping-pong balls have given them a #3 pick, my excitement and interest goes up a notch. Taking a player you think will be at least the third best performer who is eligible for the pros this season is a big, big chip. I know the conventional wisdom is that it is a two-player draft, and I have no reason to dispute that. But here are the #3 picks from 2000-2007:

    2000  Darius Miles

    2001  Pau Gasol

    2002  Mike Dunleavy

    2003 Carmelo Anthony

    2004 Ben Gordon

    2005 Deron Williams

    2006 Adam Morrison

    2007 Al Horford

    The only flop is Morrison, and he still has a shot at redemption. Miles was a chucklehead, but when healthy, oh could he play. Dunleavy showed signs of becoming a player this year, while the stock of Gordon and Melo fell a bit from some lofty heights. Gasol, Williams and Horford are cornerstones. That’s a pretty good historical record. And remember, that’s just the #3 pick. If we look at the third best player taken in the first round from 2000-2007, it goes like this:

    2000: K-Mart of Mike Miller (behind Pryzbilla and Turkoglu, bad draft)

    2001: Gasol (behind Tony Parker and Tyson Chandler)

    2002: Tayshaun Prince or Caron Butler (behind Amare and Yao)

    2003: Bosh or Melo (behind LeBron and Wade)

    2004: Luol Deng or Iguodala (behind D Howard and Jefferson)

    2005: Bynum (behind Paul and Williams)

    2006: Rudy Gay o
    r Rondo (behind Roy and Aldridge)

    2007: Kevin Durant (behind Horford and Oden, although you can flip ’em)

    Okay, enough covering up my lack of detailed knowledge about these picks with thumbnail history. The abiding point is, this third overall pick is a very valuable commodity. It is hard to totally screw it up, and possible to resurrect your franchise. Kevin McHale says he likes eight people in this draft and others have said it is very deep. If true, the Wolves should consider a trade, especially if the guy(s) they like is somewhat under the radar. With that, I’ll let my smart commenters take over.

  • A. Pope's Special Day

    True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
    As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance.
    ‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
    The sound must seem an echo to the sense.

    —Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism: Part 2, 362-365

    English poet Alexander Pope was born 320 years ago today.

    First things first: Tickets go on sale today at 8 a.m. for the highly anticipated Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Tickets are available online, via phone at (651) 221-9444, or in person at the Science Museum’s Box Office. The Science Museum hopes to welcome more than 250,000 visitors during the exhibit’s eight week run (June 13 – August 24).

    MUSIC
    Percussion at Peavey

    If you work in downtown Minneapolis — or at least close by — you’re in luck today. It’s going to be a beautiful, sunny day, so pack up a lunch, or pick one up, and spend your lunch hour at Peavey Plaza with the Minnesota Orchestra. The free concert, brought to you by Target, kicks off the Orchestra’s three-week Percussion Festival with a program of Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, selections from Bizet’s/Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, III Allegro. Drums Unlimited and Mu Daiku will warm up the stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Cities 97 DJ Brian Oake will serve as host.

    Noon-1 p.m., Peavey Plaza, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; free.

    Also tonight, White Rabbits, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Humanboy play at the 400 Bar (9 p.m., $12).

    DANCE
    Saint Paul City Ballet Spring Gala

    What’s the Saint Paul City Ballet up to lately? As so many talented dance students thoughout the Twin Cities practive their art and hone their skills, we so often miss their moments of glory. Don’t miss this one. The Saint Paul City Ballet’s Spring Gala showcases students of all classes and levels. Start at 5 p.m., with the young children’s performance, and stay on for the more mature 7:30 performance — Jazz, Sacred Arts, and Coppelia with pre-professional and adult students.

    5 & 7:30 p.m. (tomorrow at 7 p.m. only), E.M. Pearson Theatre, Concordia University, 275 Syndicate St. N., St. Paul; 651-690-1588; $10-$15.

    FILM
    Midnight Cowboy and Manchurian Candidate

    The Landmark Edina Cinema serves up another double whammy double feature tonight. First, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight play down-and-out hustlers/drifters in the 1969 classic, Midnight Cowboy, directed by John Schlesinger. And as if that weren’t enough, John Frankenheimer’s 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate follows. You certainly can’t go wrong with Frank Sinatra and brain-washing conspiracies (even communist ones). Toss in an evil Angela Lansbury and the typically lovely Janet Leigh, and you’ve got yourself quite a treat.

    7 & 9:30 p.m., Edina Cinema, 3911 W. 50th
    St., Edina; 651-649-4416.


    It’s also time for another IFP Cinema Lounge at the Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater (7 p.m., free).

    SPECIAL EVENT
    The Second Quadrennial Worst Political Advertising in America Awards

    Have some fun at politics’ expense tonight; make fun of everything political. Former CNN reporter and Hopkins native Aaron Brown — who has brought us news on 9-11, the Iraq War, the Columbine High School shootings, the O.J. Simpson trial, Mandela’s election — will host the Second Quadrennial Worst Political Advertising in America Awards this evening — live in Minneapolis. A number of local celebrity presenter/politicians will participate as well, among them St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Sarah Janecek, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak

    8 p.m., Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis; 612-339-7007; $32.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Cult Author Chuck Palahniuk

    Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, is in town tonight promoting his new book, Snuff, a story about an aging porn star who tries to revive her career by "doing" 600 men on screen. The book jumps from character to character as they mingle about, waiting for their moment of fame.

    7 p.m., Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-333-7399; $30.

  • Barnes & Ignoble

    For summer reading, Barnes & Noble recommends The Diary of Anne Frank. So here’s the presumed scenario: The sun is out, you’re under your candy striped umbrella at the beach, children in the near distance are making sandcastles on the shore, and you are immersing yourself in the magical world of WWII-era Amsterdam, through the eyes of a 13-year-old Jewish girl whose family was forced into hiding, and who later perishes in a concentration camp. If this is a bit light for you, Barnes & Noble suggests Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales as a summertime alternative, so you can brush up on your Middle English, like you’ve been meaning to. Or if Objectivist philosophy is your thing, an anthology of Ayn Rand’s previously unpublished writings – The Early Ayn Rand (only 508 pages)- is a welcome member of the B & N "Summer Reading" display.

    Really?

    By now it’s old news, if it was ever news at all, but in this year’s edition of City Pages‘ "Best of the Twin Cities," Barnes & Noble Booksellers took "Best Bookstore (New)" in the reader’s poll. In a city with as many funky community bookstores as ours, this was a bit surprising to me, because in terms of customer experience, I’ve always found B & N a bit lacking.

    I don’t want to rant about how B & N is bad for the universe and promotes global warming and cannibalism and pedophilia. We’ve all heard it all before. So I’m going to try and make a good, old-fashioned pro/con list consisting of the chain’s merits (which it certainly has) and demerits, and see if maybe one outweighs the other.

    I assume there might be some crossover in readership between City Pages and The Rake – possibly even some with this blog – so I invite anyone and everyone to comment with why they like (or don’t like) Barnes & Noble, and to educate me as to what I may have missed – probably a substantial amount.

    So here goes:

    PROS

    Squatter’s Rights – You can sit in a Barnes & Noble for as long as you want, without feeling guilty. (I tend to start feeling guilty after about fifteen minutes in Magers & Quinn if I don’t find anything I want.) It’s kind of like a library, but with newer, better smelling books.

    Bathrooms – I’m pretty sure that most B & Ns have bathrooms that are functionally, if not explicitly, open to the public.

    Author Events – Probably the biggest benefit B & N brings to its communities is their ability to get big-name authors in otherwise-skipped-over towns. The branches Downtown and in the Galleria are especially good at getting some writers of note to Minneapolis and St. Paul. To name a recent few: Keith Gessen, Darin Strauss, and, thank God, Mario Lopez.

    Discounts – When it comes to the bottom line, B & N is the best on giving us fairly significant price cuts on our favorite magazines and books.

    Kids’ Sections – I suspect this may have had a lot to do with its City Pages ranking. Maybe the one thing that many indy bookstores lack is a decent children’s section (though check out Birchbark Books in Kenwood). It seems B & N caters as much to youngsters as to any other demographic, fully aware that they still have imaginations to be stoked and exploited.

    Har Mar – More than any other B & N I know of, the branch by Har Mar mall serves as a neighborhood hub. They have one of the corporation’s rare ‘used’ sections, and are willing to host a Chinese conversation group. Also, I’ve heard it’s a good spot for singles to meet.

    And the CONS.

    Before I start, I want to say that I’m going to try and keep the cons to problems encountered within the actual bookstores. Whatever B & N‘s global ramifications may be, the CP poll was about user experience, not where we shop with the cleanest conscience, or where we shop because everywhere else has been mysteriously put out of business.

    More Discounts – No, I don’t want to save another ten per cent today by signing up for a new credit card. Nor give you my zip code in order to buy a magazine.

    Selection – It’s often hard to find the book I’m looking for. Despite their vast shelving space, B & N‘s management mandates that branches constantly cycle through their shelves, weeding out the books that don’t sell as well as they’re supposed to. Because of this, it’s difficult to come across older books. A lot of the time they’ll have an author’s best-seller, but none of the rest of that particular author’s output. Perusing the Calhoun Village branch, I was unable to find any books by Celine or Bernard Malamud, and they had only one book each of Chekhov, Grace Paley, and Proust. The poetry section is even more barren – a sort of Blockbuster video approach to stocking. Only one collection each by local heavyweights Robert Bly and Louis Jenkins, and several omissions (There were, however, several copies of the poetry collections by Jewel and Ani DiFranco.)

    Books, but not Reading – This is my biggest beef: B & N promotes books, and the selling of materials bound in traditional book form, but only minimally and incidentally promote any actual reading. Their ‘Summer Reading’ display, for example, is simply preposterous, and shows the company’s complete lack of attention to their readers.
    As is now well-documented, the books that appear up front and on the chain’s various ‘favorites’ tables aren’t selected by staff; publishers pay to have their books in those spots. This means that advertisers determine what we see, not people that care about what we’re actually reading.
    Because of this, some mismatching authors appear linked together. I especially liked how the new cardboard Ernest Hemingway display is next to the display with Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson’s books. It’s kind of like putting Skittles next to the organic fruits.
    Call me condescending. But I assure you there is no way in Hell I’m more condescending than the Barnes & Noble executive who commands that there be a rack for "Magazines America Loves" in his stores.

    I think that’s all I’ve got. It seems the list is weighted toward the pros, though I have to say the last two cons are really the clinchers for me (I don’t live anywhere near Har Mar, nor do much shopping for kids, which effectively mangles my personal pros). Again, we here at The Rake are all about opinions, we thrive on them, so if you’ve got one, or many, throw it out there, yo.

  • Healing from Talk Radio Rage

    The sad truth about the Secrets of the Day is that the last-minute nature automatically rules out the hottest (most publicized and most popular) events, because they sell out. Unfortunately (though it is, in fact, a very good thing), such is the case with The Rake’s RestauranTour: Belgian Beer Night at Barbette this evening. I hope you got your ticket already, because it sounds like it’s going to be one great meal.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Terri Persons’s Blind Rage

    Local author Terri Persons is celebrating the release of her new book this evening with a reading and signing at Once Upon a Crime. Blind Rage, the second in Persons’s Bernadette St. Clare series (following Blind Spot), continues the adventures of an FBI agent with unusual powers of sight — the ability to see through the killer’s eyes. This time, Agent St. Clare is determined to get to the bottom of a slew of apparent suicides. Of course, it’s a crime novel — a psychological thriller, in fact — so I’m guessing they’re not suicides at all, but the work of some poor, twisted soul.

    7 p.m., Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th Street, Minneapolis, 612-870-3785; free.

    TOUR & MORE
    Radio’s Drive Time Divas

    Did you happen to read Rake blogger Melinda Jacob’s post on Lori and Julia back in December? She certainly talked up the talk radio duo. "Lori and Julia are not afraid to put themselves on the line, be
    self-deprecating, and most important, have the confidence and gift for
    gab that it takes to pull off a national radio show!" Lori Barghini and Julia Cobb host The Lori and Julia Show, Hubbard
    Broadcasting’s popular drive time program on FM 107, the women’s talk
    radio station. And this afternoon, if you’re a fan (of theirs, of the show, of talk radio, or of women anywhere), you’re in for a very special treat. Arrive at Hubbard Broadcasting at 4:30 p.m. — sharp — for a tour of the facility and a chance to see the audacious duo live, and on the air. Get an inside glimpse into the nuances of the station and learn how women’s talk radio evolved from concept to reality.

    4:30 p.m., Hubbard Broadcasting, 3415 University Ave. (a few blocks west of Hwy 280), St. Paul; free.

    CLASS
    Introduction to Esoteric Healing

    While I know what healing means in a literal sense (you know… you get cut, it heals), I have to admit, I get a bit skeptical when people speak of healing on a broader, spiritual and emotional level — when they talk about healing, awareness, and energy. But you’ve got to love the term "esoteric healing." You’ve just got to. Regardless of any claims made by the Grand Ole Dictionary, we have come to associate "esoteric" with things that are beyond understanding. Funny thing, really, considering the word’s true meaning comes from "inner" knowledge, or "enlightened" knowledge. Should we not all look inward and strive to be enlightened? Why would we associate this with something more obscure and unattainable? Perhaps we need healing after all — esoteric healing. This evening, Well Within will show you how to access and work with the human energy system to affect healing shifts and balance. Class activities will include centering mediation, a Soul Awareness Chart, and exercises to sense energy.

    6:30-8:30 p.m., Well Within, 1880 Livingston Ave., Suite 103, West St. Paul; 651-451-3113; $15 suggested donation.

  • Hoops Delirium: Hit and Run

    (AFP/Getty Images/Chris Graythen)

     

    In just a few hours, the San Antonio Spurs will either add another bullet point on their dynasty-like resume, or flip the championship torch toward the winner of the Hornets-Lakers series. I called the series for the Spurs in 6 or 7 and will gladly ride my choice-is-made-for-me decision to pick San Antonio until I see an opponent drive the stake through their enormous heart.

    Have six relative blowouts in a row ever been this much fun to watch? Whoever owns home court seems to exert their will over the other team–to the tune of double-digits. Here’s why I think that changes tonight:

    * The Spurs have three guys who come up huge at crunchtime. In what order does New Orleans seal them off? If I’m Byron Scott, I try and single-cover Tim Duncan with Tyson Chandler and pray for lenient refs. If the Hornets can limit perimeter ball movement and force Ginobili to put it on the floor rather than pop treys from outside, the odds of victory rise in their favor. If Ginobili is the Spurs’ leading scorer and gets more from behind the arc than he does in the paint, I don’t see how the Hornets win. And that’s what I think is going to happen.

    * David West’s aching back. Chris Paul is becoming as reliably spectacular as LeBron or Kobe, but if West is at all compromised, Paul will need a game for the ages–say, 35-40 points and 12-18 assists–to put his team into the conference finals. Peja has been a pleasant surprise a couple of times in this series–more than just a catch and shoot guy–but I don’t think he exerts his will over Bowen in a Game 7. If West doesn’t get his usual 24-38 points, it will have to be Pargo or MoPete or maybe Julian Wright, plus elevation in Paul’s numbers. BTW, the Spurs fans chanting for Horry after he put an extra nudge into West’s sore back the other night, plus all the flopping and bitching and Pops hack-a-whoever, plus the innate charm of West, Paul and Chandler, has this confirmed lover of Spurs style basketball not minding very much if New Orleans short-circuits that San Antonio legacy tonight.

    * Veterans off the bench. It still blows my mind that the Spurs have Kurt Thomas. When teams are as closely matched as these two, having a tough, smart vet who knows when to shoot and when to pass, when to foul and when to concede the hoop, when to show hard on the pick and roll and when to stay home–and he’s either playing beside Tim Duncan or giving Duncan a precious breather–is huge. Then there are the outside gunners: Finley, Barry, Horry, and even Udoka is no spring chicken. The pressure is really on the Hornets bench, especially Pargo and Wright, to negate that advantage. It might happen, but a better case can be made that it might not.

    Of course Hornets’ fans have some nice cards to play in their game-winning scenario. Paul consistently gets in the paint and drives the Spurs nuts. Chandler and the oddly timed double team frustrate Duncan. West has enough pain-killers and will-power to work his marvelous midrange game, a platter of foul line jumpers and left block left handers mixed with the occasional transition hoop off turnovers. Parker gets joustled off his game. And this young and very talented team doesn’t know from pressure, expects and then experiences their four straight home thrashing of the older, finally vanguished Spurs.

    Just before yesterday’s Celts-Cavs Game 7 I had decided to pick Detroit over Boston or Cleveland over Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then I saw the game. Hey, the Celtics have a go-to guy, and with it, a genuine pecking order! Okay, give me the Celts over the Pistons.

    I understand that going with Boston at this juncture is as shaky as picking the Spurs tonight. And I know the Pistons have formidable matchups for each one of the big three–Prince on Pierce, ‘Sheed on KG, Rip on Allen. Plus Jason Maxiell might be a tad too quick for Kendrick Perkins and Chauncey Billups a tad too large for Rajon Rondo. But in retrospect, I’m sort of amazed the Celtics survived two series without having established alphas and betas among their stars. That’s an incredible amount of uncertainty that no longer exists: This is Pierce’s team on the offensive end as much as it is KG’s on the defensive end. I know Prince did a nice job on him in the three games they played this season; that the numbers favor KG being the man. But Pierce just got through with seven games against LeBron James; Prince is going to feel like balsa wood after that.

    That said, the Pistons have a big edge in the backcourt. If Eddie House drinks the same crate of adrenaline he swallowed for Game 7, I’d stick him on Billups for a little rubber hose action. Even so, it is time for Rondo to step up his consistency; he needs to stick more open jumpers (and take more treys to open up the floor), and either get more steals or draw more charges–generate turnovers on Detroit, in other words, to be truly effective. As for Rip Hamilton on Ray Allen, well, hopefully Allen sleptwalked through the Cavs series to store up energy to chase Hamilton through multiple picks. And that Game 7 plan of putting House and Rondo and Allen into a rotation, until Allen’s shooting eye warrants more minutes, should remain in effect.

    All the games during the regular season were low scoring affairs, but I expect that to rise some this time; the Celts are freed from uncertainty and the Pistons should score plenty from midrange according to Flip’s fat playbook. Who knows, the winner might even hit 100 one of these times.

    Celtics in 7, with each team winning once on the road.

    Quick hits…

    Aside from Kobe, the most valuable Laker in the Jazz series was obviously Derek Fisher. How classy is the Utah franchise for letting Fisher go so he could have a better place to take care of his daughter? The Jazz were not only deprived of a gutsy, cool-headed crunchtime performer, but Fisher spent the previous two years helping Deron Williams learn the offense Fisher wound up defending. That was a huge advantage.

    But we’ll get into the Lakers during the Western Conference Finals preview in a day or so.

    Count me among those who think Mike D’Antoni in New York is idiotic. Hey, it’s not too late for a coaching swap: Scott Skiles to the Knicks, where he knocks Curry’s and Zach’s heads together and gets Balkman and Lee excited about real 94-foot basketball; and D’Antoni to Milwaukee, where Redd and Mo Williams and Yi and Bogut are tailor made for his flash and pass go-go ball.

    Last and least, my uninformed preferences on Wolves’ draft picks:

    Rose/Beasley/Mayo/Lopez/trade down

  • Beat your ploughshares into pens

    Employing a tactic I’m pretty sure I’ve picked up from the current presidential administration, I’ve decided to take a new approach to truth. Namely, I’m going to make it up. And make it up in such a way that justifies every decision I decide(r), and in such a way that makes me feel better about my life, and the enveloping society thereof.
    So here goes: Everyone is reading.

    And because everyone is reading, there is a high demand for poetry.
    And because there is a high demand for poetry, once a week, possibly on Mondays, but certainly not limited to Mondays, I’m going to try really hard to post a Poem Worth Reading on this blog.

    I know I know I know, this is supposed to be a blog about books, and probably shouldn’t contain any actual literature, unless it’s hyper-linked. Nevertheless, poems are great. They’re (often) short, and powerful, and sometimes they even rhyme, which makes you feel happy for reasons you probably can’t define very well. And people should read more of them. More, even, than they already are. Which is lots. Because everybody is reading. Obviously.

    This week’s Poem Worth Reading is by Marie Vogel Gery. It’s part of a collection entitled Penchant – an anthology comprised of poems written by women from Northfield, Minnesota. Though I can’t quite put my finger on it, there is definitely a quality that unites the verses of these poets. "The eleven writers gathered here show an easy abundance," notes Scott King in his introduction. And I think that’s as close to a definition as one can get – a vague yet precise "easy abundance" – a lovely ability to meander, paired with the certain (Minnesotan) simplicity that underlies each stanza

    Read it. Everyone else is.

    "Sleepover"

    My son and I battle weekly over whether he can sleepover there
    or they can sleepover here, he has a lust for places
    filled with smells other than my cooking
    for rooms without his stepfather’s voice
    even for places without his brother’s scent
    still soft like his, like their cheeks when I kiss them goodnight

    He longs for that future when the telephone is his
    the refrigerator, the stove, the car, the front door
    when he can have makko boards on all the walls
    and Samurai swords in place of umbrellas

    He longs for staying up all night at a party
    where something wonderful happens and everyone knows
    he is grown up and popular and everyone wants him to sleepover
    be their best friend and they’ll live on pizza and Mountain Dew

    He wants that freedom not to get lonesome
    as the dark comes in through the house
    things he doesn’t want to think about
    slide down the chimney and hiss in the rooms
    fear, like a cat, comes and sits near him
    follows him into his room, plays under the bed

    Each week by Wednesday we screech in tangled logic
    magic and hope that he will sleepover there this time
    or they will sleepover here for a whole weekend
    and something wonderful will happen