SHOPPING
Christy’s Recommendations for Black Friday
Roam (811 Glenwood Ave.)
corridor of
you’ll find it next to Ligne Roset. Featured lines include
Scandinavian-designed minimalist wares, like those from Alessi.
Fashion Avenue (4936 France Ave. S.) Actually, I was just there last weekend and spotted
a half rack of vintage couture, like a gorgeous ‘60s-era emerald-green Yves
Saint-Laurent sweater. Of course, I can’t think of anyone on my list who might
want such a thing. But I’ll be shopping with my mother; and FA is fertile
ground for dropping hints.
Letterbox (2741 Hennepin Ave.) Again, there’s nothing used to be found
(unless you count recycled paper). However, this repository of fine stationery—the
best in the cities, if you ask me—is conveniently located near my house. I plan
to snag a few reams for the smart-ass chicks on my list; those crazy bitches just
lurves fancy stationery. And I suppose I’ll pick up wrapping paper while I’m there, too.
P.S. Letterbox will be serving free hot cocoa to all customers on Saturday and
Sunday.
Local Motion (2813 Hennepin Ave) Again, it’s right in the neighborhood, and I’ll
be dropping more hints. Love those elbow-length leather gloves!
ROBOTlove (
2648 Lyndale Ave. S.) My lucky niece might be getting one of
the locally-made plush dolls above. These are by a Minneapolis-based artist named Curster, or Erin Currie.
they won’t let me buy a gift certificate, redeemable for one of their family-friendly
book-making workshops, then I can at least pick up some supplies for the budding, ten-year-old
author on my list.
—Christy DeSmith
Of course, if you leave it up to me, I say stay at home, avoid the crowds, serve yourself a glass of wine (or coquito), and buy your gifts online.
MUSIC
Against Me!
How many anarchist punk bands from Gainesville, Florida, actually
get better with age? The only one that matters thus far certainly has.
Worthy heirs to Bad Religion if not The Clash, Against Me! have always curlicued their snarl with a knowing smirk—“Cliché Guevara” is a song title from back in 2003. But this year’s New Wave, their major-label debut adorned with big-time producer Butch Vig (of Nirvana’s Nevermind
fame), invites the ire of the righteously betrayed skateboard brigade,
ups the ante by ranting against the ineffectiveness of protest songs in
the middle of a protest song (against the war in Iraq), and laces
together a rapid-fire collection of tunes that are too pretty and yet
too harsh to make anyone feel completely comfortable. Sage Francis opens. —Britt Robson
Friday at 5:30 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., 612-332-1775; $16/$18.
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Stuck In The Manger With You; or Carol On, My Wayward Son
Check that holiday-themed theater production off your annual to-do list. Just this past weekend, the Brave New Workshop Theatre opened its annual Christmas show. The opening night performance was chalk full of biting, acutely perceptive satire: Joe Bozic performed as a hell-on-wheels UPS driver, speeding through the night to deliver a single package on time for Christmas; Lauren Anderson reprised her riff (first performed at the 2007 Ivey Awards) on drunken office holiday parties; Josh Eakright and Mike Fotis rendered a Brokeback Mountain-inspired love story starring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and his cohort, Blitzen. Taken together, these bits and sketches make the perfect holiday outing for family and group of friends not taking Christmas so seriously this year. —Christy DeSmith
Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 7 and 10 p.m., and Sunday at 7 p.m. (through Jan. 26); Brave New Workshop, 2605 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-332-6620; $23-29.
Hormel Girls
After World War II, when most U.S. businesses emphasized hiring male war veterans, Hormel Foods
hatched an unusual plan to employ women. Of course, these women tended
to be less needy than attractive—not to mention talented. In fact, from
1947–53, a troupe of sixty female employees from the Austin-based
company, known simply as the “Hormel Girls,” served both as
door-to-door sales force and drum-and-bugle corps. The Girls are
credited with doubling sales of their employer’s packaged foods,
especially Spam, with such tactics as traveling stage shows, parades,
and a weekly CBS Radio show in which product names were liberally
dropped. The “Hormel Girls” make for fascinating history; but they’re
likely to make even better musical theater. —Christy DeSmith
Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., History Theatre, 30 E. Tenth St., St. Paul; 651-292-4323.
SPECIAL EVENT
Our Very Own Rockefeller Center (or death of a 76-year-old tree for your viewing pleasure)
While
I’ve often heard Minneapolis referred to as the Mini Apple, I have to
give St. Paul some credit here, as they’re the ones with our version of
Rockefeller Center, a city-defining asset after Thanksgiving. You’ve
seen it in a hundred movies — the ice skating rink, the giant Christmas
tree, the crowds, the love, the broken hearts and broken bones. This
weekend truly kicks off the holiday season with the opening of the Wells Fargo WinterSkate
and the official tree lighting at Rice Park. I’m not a big fan of
buying the Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving (by the time
Christmas rolls around, the darn thing is dead and dry), but there’s no
reason not to celebrate the season with the lighting of a 78-foot tall
Christmas tree with 60,000 lights, and a lovely skate around the rink.
Take the kids. Take your lover. Start those sleigh bells a’ringing in
your head. The Wells Fargo choir will help get things rolling, and the
marching band will lead in Santa on his sleigh. A little premature
perhaps, but so much fun.
Saturday at 4 p.m., Rice Park, Saint Paul; 651-291-5608; $2 skate rental, all else is free.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Michael Tisserand with the Southside Aces
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, displaced Big Easy journalist Tisserand, the former editor of the estimable Gambit Weekly, has produced a truly inspiring and moving testament to the power of perseverance in the face of unimaginable exile. Sugarcane Academy: How a New Orleans Teacher and His Storm-Struck Students Created a School to Remember
is an account of teacher Paul Reynaud’s heroic efforts to turn an
abandoned New Iberia office into a one-room schoolhouse for a group of
evacuee children. Tisserand will be joined by local traditional-jazz
purveyors, the Southside Aces. —Brad Zellar
Sunday at 7 p.m., Magers and Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-822-4611.
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