Brazilian band Cansei de Ser Sexy (otherwise known as CSS) will make a
stop at First Avenue on July 30th to promote their new album *Donkey*,
which will hit stores July 21st.
The Go! Team with Matt and Kim and Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head will
be appearing with the up-and-coming South American group, sponsored by
89.3 The Current. The show starts at 8 pm in the Main Room. Tickets are
$20 and can be purchased in advance at www.first-avenue.com.
The best of the 48 Hour Film Festival will be showcased at Bryant Lake
Bowl when Jenny Dalton takes the stage for her second annual
performance. She will be joined by former Cloud Cult members Dan
Greenwood on drums and Maria Stemm on bass. Local folk heroine Eliza
Blue and El Perdido will also appear at the show, which starts at 7 pm
July 24th.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Advance tickets are
recommended. Sponsored by Radio K. For more information, visit www.bryantlakebowl.com.
Just about anyone can be an artist when the Center for Independent
Artists hosts the Midsummer Festival on Wednesday, July 23 in South
Minneapolis. The festival will feature welding, Afro-Cuban drumming, a
T-Shirt studio, performances, free ice cream and more.
The fun begins at 6 pm in Bancroft Meadows Park on 42nd and Bloomington
across from the Center for Independent Artists/El Colegio Building.
Sponsored by the Center for Independent Artists, the Bancroft
Neighborhood Association and the Midtown Farmer’s Market. Come act up
for a creative evening! For more information, visit www.c4ia.org.
A glimmering Minneapolis night on the water. And fireworks. What could
be more perfect? Attitude City’s Third Annual Yacht Club sets sail July
26th for a night of dancing and celebration on the Mississippi River.
Boarding begins at 9:15 pm at Boom Island Park. Pre-boarding drinks
will be served at the Northeast Yacht Club starting at 7 pm. After the
largest charter yacht sets sail, music by DJs Karl Frankowski and Jeff
Dubois with special guest Mike the 2600 King will rock the night away
until the Aquatennial fireworks light up the sky.
Tickets are $30 and can be bought by e-mailing attitudecity@gmail.com or in person at ROBOTLove and Cliché. Fashion dress is strongly encouraged. Act fast, as the event will be a sure sell-out.
Less than twelve hours after Nine Inch Nails wraps up, you can roll out of bed and head out to Canterbury Park for VWT, the extravaganza all the snarly-snarky-kewl skate-punks love to disdain. And there’s plenty to curl your lip at, what with 76 bands on the docket (no lie) and a much broader cross-section than the original thrash gatherings. You’ve got the gamut from commercial pop breakthroughs like Katy Perry, to rappers like MURS to ska-punkers like Reel Big Fish to earnest (and must-see) rockers such as Against Me! (ride that tiger logo!) to locals-made good Motion City Soundtrack. So, for every band you love to hate—put me down for poseurs like Gym Class Heroes and the insufferable Angels and Airwaves—there’s bound to be a couple capable of turning your crank who are grinding it out elsewhere on the grounds. Wear comfortable clothes and pray for dry shade, dude.
The new Trent Reznor isn’t for everybody, including a large portion of his established fan base, who cherished the obsessive perfectionist who pushed the industrial-punk envelope with vintage stuff like Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral. But after waiting at least five years apiece to put out his first three discs, the sex symbol of brutal gloom has ripped out four or five (decide for yourself if Remix qualifies) since 2005, and two this year alone. The latest, The Slip, continue his plunge toward power-pop, albeit with plenty of angst, dreamy-doomy sound-swoops, and corrosive beats, a fabulous collection to bring into the Target Center with a full-fledged band. The quintet will include guitarist Robin Finck (back from his bit with Guns ‘n’ Roses), Beck bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson and drummer Josh Freese, who is a rhythmic blowtorch on The Slip. According to nin.com, there will be a handful of relatively obscure, also surprisingly poppy, opening acts, the best of whom is A Place To Bury Strangers, whose “To Fix The Gash In Your Head” is industrial-surf-thrash, like a Dwane Eddy/Marilyn Manson mash-up.
Maybe the best thing about Maher is his refusal to be pigeonholed, his keen negotiation of the difference between unorthodoxy and hypocrisy. He’s variously proclaimed himself a libertarian and voted for Ralph Nader for President (after supporting Bob Dole in 1996), aligned himself with PETA and NORML, and was the first to bring Ann Coulter into the limelight via his Politically Incorrect show—which became a victim of our post 9/11 hysteria when Maher was vilified and PI cancelled when he said lobbing cruise missiles from 2000 miles away was more cowardly than flying airplanes into the World Trade Center. That’s Maher, for better and (occasionally) for worse a fearless slayer of shibboleths of all persuasions, at once a notorious skirt-chaser who was a regular at the Playboy Mansion, a staunch supporter of gay marriage and an unremitting critic of the Catholic Church for looking the other way while pedophilia was taking place within the clergy. Along with Jon Stewart and a few others, he’s in the vanguard of a current wave of social commentary that is simultaneously hilarious and astute, as anyone who checks out Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO already knows. He’s also extremely topical, so expect a few zingers on the stories in this week’s newspapers—and perhaps a few words about his friend and mentor, the late George Carlin.
Mahogany’s resemblance to Turner is more physical than vocal. While matching Big Joe’s large, expansive frame, Mahogany is more dulcet crooner than blues shouter, closer in spirit to another vocalist he feted four years ago on his Mahogany Music label, Johnny Hartman. But Mahogany did play a Turner-Jimmy Rushing composite in Robert Altman’s film, Kansas City, and as recently as last year was playing Turner tribute gig at Birdland in New York with the likes of saxophonist Red Holloway and pianist Cyrus Chestnut. While not quite so star-studded, the lineup at the Dakota includes a gloriously gutbucket rhythm section of Blue Note and Groove Merchant recording artists Reuben Wilson on the B-3 organ, Grant Green’s son, Grant Green Jr., on guitar, and renowned session and ex-Living Colour drummer JT Lewis—and vocalist Kathy Kosins to boot. But the main attraction remains Mahogany who in addition to the Turner material has done albums devoted to romantic ballads, big band standards and Motown hits, and unearthed the essential strengths of every style while showcasing his own silky baritone. Listening to this ace band launch into “Roll ‘Em Pete,” “Shake, Rattle & Roll,” or other standards associated with Turner will likely open the spigot on the more freewheeling side of his nature.
July 21st & 22nd, 7pm & 9:30pm, Dakota Jazz Club, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Downtown Minneapolis, $20-$25
The affect of the changing world on typography will be on display when
the Minnesota Center for Book Arts presents *Face the Nation*, a new
exhibit that begins July 12 in the Star Tribune Foundation Gallery.
The changes in typography between 1900 and 1960 – a period that
encompassed two World Wars – will show how the desire to reinforce,
redefine or transcend national identities shaped their design thanks in
part to changes in technology. Two coordinating exhibitions will
feature the work of two designers who explore typography in
contemporary graphic design. There will also be several presentations,
workshops, discussions and screenings included throughout.
*Face the Nation*, presented by MCBA and the University of St. Thomas
and curated by Dr. Craig Eliason, runs July 12 – September 21 in the
Star Tribune Foundation Gallery in the Open Book Building in downtown
Minneapolis. A free opening reception will be held Saturday, July 12
from 6 – 9 p.m. Visit www.stthomas.edu/facethenation or www.mnbookarts.org for a complete schedule and other information.
*Get stARTed*, an exhibit featuring the works of 10 Minneapolis College
of Art and Design MFA students, will give local audiences a taste of
new and emerging artists beginning July 10 at the Burnet Art Gallery in
Chambers Hotel.
The
exhibit will showcase new works available for purchase. The event is
part of the hotel’s stART program that supports new local artists. The
exhibit runs July 10 – August 17, with an opening night reception on
July 10 from 6 – 9 p.m. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The
Burnet Art Gallery is located in the Chambers Hotel at 901 Hennepin
Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.