Friday: “Girl Walk // All Day”
Where: First Avenue, 701 N. First Ave., Minneapolis
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $8 in advance, $10 at the door, 18+
Part of the Minneapolis films-on-music festival Sound Unseen, First Avenue is hosting a screening and dance party for the feature-length music video “Girl Walk // All Day.”
The film, soundtracked by Girl Talk’s latest mash-up opus “All Day,” follows three singers as they dance in public spaces around New York. The whole thing is available to stream online, but it should be way more fun to dance along with the film while the music blares from First Ave’s new sound system.
We humbly suggest creating some mash-ups of your own before heading to the dance party. Eat a taco pizza! Make a blanket out of T-shirts! You are truly the DJ of your own evening.
Saturday: Rock the Garden
Who: The Hold Steady, tUnE-yArDs, Doomtree, Howler and Trampled by Turtles
Where: Walker Art Center Sculpture Garden, 726 Vineland Place, Minneapolis
When: 3 p.m.
Cost: Sold out
The Walker Art Center’s annual Rock the Garden event sold out in record time this year, and for good reason. Local presence is strong with the whole crew from Doomtree, buzz-magnets Howler and Trampled by Turtles.
TUnE-yArDs, the solo project of Merrill Garbus, played one of the best shows to come through Minneapolis last year, and Garbus’ joyous, danceable intensity should be even better out in the open air. Ditto for The Hold Steady’s bar-rock grandeur. “Heaven is Whenever” might have been a letdown, but Craig Finn and company have a vast catalog of Minneapolis-based songs with big hooks and glorious sing-alongs.
Sunday: The Weeknd
Where: First Avenue
When: 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $30, 18+
The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, added a show at First Avenue to his tour a little more than a week ago, but there’s a strong chance that this last-minute performance will sell out.
The creepy crooner came out of nowhere last year with a trio of mixtapes that took the internet by storm. His distinctive voice and spacey, ambient production caught the attention of fellow Torontonian Drake, who brought Tesfaye on to help produce “Take Care” and feature on album highlight “Crew Love.”
Thirty dollars is steep, but it’ll definitely be worth it if Drake makes a surprise appearance like he did back in May in Hollywood.
Listen: Jimmy Fallon – “Blow Your Pants Off”
It’s been 10 years since Jimmy Fallon released his first and only album, “The Bathroom Wall,” when he was at the top of his game at “Saturday Night Live.” The intervening decade has seen his DOA film career and a rocky start filling Conan O’Brien’s shoes at “Late Night.”
Now, Fallon is enjoying a second prime of his career. “Late Night” has risen to one of the best shows in the late night schedule, largely because of Fallon’s infectious enthusiasm and inspired musical choices.
“Blow Your Pants Off” is something of a victory lap, featuring some of the best parody songs from Fallon’s “Late Night” tenure including his “History of Rap” segment with Justin Timberlake, “Slow Jam the News” with Brian Williams and Fallon (as Neil Young) covering “Whip My Hair” with Bruce Springsteen.
Eat: Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream
Sure, it’s pretty expensive, but Sebastian Joe’s is truly a cut above other Minneapolis ice cream places. With about 150 flavors that change every day, you’re sure to find something that will cool you off as the weather heats up. Treat yourself!
Watch: “Rock of Ages”
When Def Leppard, Poison, Twisted Sister, Journey and other 1980s classic rock acts were penning some of their greatest hits, they probably never dreamed their songs would someday be used in a big, glossy Broadway musical. But here we are.
The subsequent Hollywood adaptation of “Rock of Ages,” which hits theaters Friday, looks about as over the top as you might expect. The film takes big names like Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand and Bryan Cranston and covers them in leather pants and questionable haircuts while they belt out every song your dad ever loved.
There’s a story here about trying to keep a nightclub open, a troubled rock icon and some kids trying to make it big, but when you have a shirtless Tom Cruise crushing “Wanted Dead or Alive,” nothing else really matters. Rock ‘n’ roll!
Read: “Drop Dead Healthy” by A.J. Jacobs
A.J. Jacobs has made a living experimenting on himself and then writing about it. For his book “The Know-It-All,” he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. For “The Year of Living Biblically,” he attempted to follow every rule in the bible literally. Jacobs has also quit multi-tasking (harder than you think), crashed the Academy Awards and tried out a month of “Radical Honesty.”
For his latest book, “Drop Dead Healthy,” Jacobs explores every feasible way to improve his health and tries them all — from eating leafy greens and washing hands properly to wearing a “pedestrian helmet” and constantly humming to prevent sinus infections.
If there’s a difference between “immersion journalism” and “stunt journalism,” it’s the quality of writing. Luckily, Jacobs’s books are hilarious and entertaining. He takes the experiments just seriously enough to not be obnoxious and leaves plenty of room to discuss how his behavior is affecting his wife and children.
