MUSIC
Bad, Beautiful Women with Big, Bad Voices
What do you say about a woman who describes herself as a Japanese classic music, Christian rap, regional Mexican artist? Holy crap?! Well, if anyone merits this phrase, it’s Meshell Ndegeocello. Or is it Me’shell Ndegéocello? Or Michelle Lynn Johnson? Who knows. And who cares. She’s utterly fascinating. The German-born American singer, songwriter, rapper, bassist, multi-instrumentalist packages herself, as well as her voice, in a beautiful, bald and bold androgeny. It’s hard to believe she started out in the go-go circuit in the ’80s. Or is it? She does it all: soul, funk, hip hop, reggae, R&B, rock, jazz. And who better to open the show than Black Blondie, of whom we’ve already written plenty. This is going to be one hot show.
9 p.m., Fine Line Music Café,
318 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-338-8100; $25.
MORE MUSIC
Stravinky’s The Firebird
In Russian folklore, firebird literally means ember bird, derived from the word for ember, flameless fire — a magical, glowing bird from a faraway land, which is both blessing and curse to its captors. Try as I may, however, I can find no curse in Stravinsky’s Firebird, and it has often been my captor. Perhaps my only curse is that I cannot capture it and reverse the roles, hold it in my hands, devour it, as I would like to do. I will continue the attempt, however. Will you join me? Let’s feast on the Firebird tonight. The Minnesota Orchestra will prepare the meal. Sarah Hatsuko Hicks will serve it. And Sam Bergman will give a special blessing.
7:30 p.m., Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-371-5656; $20-$45.
DANCE
Pichet Klunchun and Myself
It’s
never an easy task to carve out a new path, or embark on an old one
only to redirect it into as yet uncharted territory. Regardless of its
merits, there is always resistance and doubt. Such was Jérôme Bel’s
experience with his conceptual dance work across Europe in the 1990s.
But when the "Parisian
provocateur" finally got around to his first U.S. tour in 2005, The Show Must Go On
was met with great praise — a true success. Maybe it was the many years
in between. (Does it still take us that long to catch up?) Or maybe it
was his fabulous French accent. (We still value the European ideal over our
own. Do we have one?) I’d like to think it was his bold
approach, his innovative style, his wit. And I’d like to think he
hasn’t stopped pushing those boundaries. From the looks of it, he
hasn’t indeed. Tonight, he teams up with Thai dance master Pichet Klunchun for a "fascinating exchange of ideas and movement in an understated conceptual performance that revels in our common humanity."
8 p.m., McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; $22 (members $18).
ART
Home for the Holidays
If you do a search for Jennifer Davis on our website, you’ll find at least twelve references to her work. What can we say? We love her. A search for Andrea Carlson reveals six articles. You will find Samantha French’s art in our magazine and on our website, as well as work by several of the other artists featured in the Soo Visual Art Center’s new group show, Home for the Holidays. Last April, in fact, we contacted SooVAC in search of information on Deuce 7‘s New York graffiti.
(I heard of some controversy that arose, but was able to confirm
nothing.) What can I say, this is an interesting group of artists — a
group show with a little for everyone. You’re bound to find something
you like. And what they heck, with the biggest consumer season right
around the corner, you might even find something to take "Home for the
Holidays."
Noon-6 p.m., SOO Visual Art Center,
2640 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-871-2263.