Friday:
Event: St. Paul Winter Carnival The Winter Carnival started in 1886 to prove that Minnesota was not âÄúanother Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter.âÄù With a slew of parades and ice-related sports, the carnival is still proving that our state may still be another Siberia, but itâÄôs at least fit for a medallion hunt. Ends February 1st Various locations Event: Chinese New Year Celebration Midtown Global Market Screwed up your first New YearâÄôs celebration by drinking too many Jag Jello shots? Luckily, Chinese New Year provides a ringing-it-in tradition with more to offer than the WestâÄôs trademark âÄúlots of alcoholâÄù practice. Head to Midtown Global Market for everything from cooking demonstrations to lion dances to free Chinese Calligraphy. They even promise little red envelopes. Midtown Global Market, Lake Street and 10 Avenue 4 p.m. âÄì 8 p.m. Music: Maria Isa at LeeâÄôs Liquor Lounge Combining raps that dip into Spanish and English and melodies of honey-dipped vocals, Maria Isa has a sound so accessible itâÄôs hard not to imagine her career taking off. With a mission to spread Puerto Rican-inspired music and an indie film career in the works, donâÄôt be surprised if she ends up gaining comparisons to everyone from J. Lo to Santogold. LeeâÄôs Liquor Lounge, 101 Glenwood Avenue 11:45 p.m. $6 Music: Cecil Otter and Dessa Rhymesayers and Doomtree are the two extra-popular cliques that run together in the sandbox that is the Minneapolis hip-hop scene. That said, itâÄôs not surprising that Doomtree members Cecil Otter (an Everlast clone with much more talent) and Dessa (a vibe-y female emcee) will be playing together at The Whole. The Whole Music Club Friday, 8:30 p.m. $7 Event: Rollerdome Finally, we of the Ugg boot and North Face jacket can rollerblade in the winter. All that the Metrodome asks in return (other than a few bucks) for providing a perfect place to dust off your blades is that slower folks stay to the right, and faster folks stay to the left. No matter what lane you fall in, your glutes and quads will thank you. Metrodome, 900 5 Street S $4.50 – $6.50 http://www.roller-dome.com/
Saturday:
Music: Vic Chesnutt Vic Chesnutt once said, âÄúOther people write about the bling and the booty. I write about the pus and the gnats. To me, that’s beautiful.âÄù And so is his particular brand of Prozac-addled, adventurous beat-packed folk rock. 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Avenue S 8 p.m. $10 Performance: Bob the Builder Live ItâÄôs nice to see someone in construction services finally portrayed in a positive light. Now, the always amiable Bob the Builder comes to Minnesota in the live-action adaptation of the popular childrenâÄôs show. Go with a kid or simply release your inner child; just donâÄôt get on BobâÄôs bad side or youâÄôll be sleeping with the fishes. Fuggedaboutit! State Theater, 805 Hennepin Avenue 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. $23 – $29 Food: Global Soup Cook Off ItâÄôs the Midtown Global MarketâÄôs Second Annual Soup Cook Off! YouâÄôll get to dip into a variety of soups that are sure to tickle the taste buds and all donations go to the Perspectives’ Kid’s Café. So carve yourself a spoon from a bigger spoon and start slurping. Midtown Global Market, Lake Street and 10 Avenue 12 p.m. âÄì 2 p.m. Art: âÄúChanging IdentityâÄù preview party The Weisman Art Museum continues its streak of excellent exhibitions with their upcoming âÄúChanging IdentityâÄù series. The gallery features the works of Vietnamese women artists who utilize a variety of media forms, from ink drawing to video performance, to communicate their experiences. For those of us who are unacquainted with Vietnamese art this is a rare chance to absorb a new and foreign perspective in addition to some beautiful images. Weisman Art Gallery, 333 East River Road 7 âÄì 10 p.m. Performance: âÄúFaustâÄù The sordid tale of the elderly Dr. Faust and the infernal Mephistopheles comes to life in GounodâÄôs operatic adaptation of the Goethe classic. ItâÄôs as if âÄúThe Odd CoupleâÄù met âÄúParadise LostâÄù and the two had a musical wonder baby. The Stygian masterpiece comes in at a cool three and a half hours, so those of you with RLS should probably just stay home and watch SNL. I hear Steve MartinâÄôs hosting âĦ again. Minnesota Opera 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $85 Music: The Guystorm EP Release While the name might imply a tropical-themed party at the Gay 90âÄôs, The Guystorm is actually a Minneapolis-based rock quintet hell-bent on melting faces with their slick riffs and frenetically delivered lyrics about robbing banks, taking pills and slitting throats. Sound like your cup of tea? Check out the free bash theyâÄôre throwing in honor of their recently completed EP and rock the night away. Hexagon Bar, 2600 27 Avenue S 9 p.m. No cover
Sunday:
Music: GLBT Barn Dance Get down little doggies! All you cowboys and cowgirls who never felt quite at home on the range better dust off yer spurs and come down to this here Barn Dance. Get there early for the free two step lessons where seldom is heard a discouraging word and have a funky time feeling good about who you are. LeeâÄôs Liquor Lounge, 101 Glenwood Ave 7pm FREE Performance: The Flickering Wall at Illusion Theater You can blur the lines of reality in many different ways this weekend and you should try to make The Flickering Wall one of them. Modeled after PlatoâÄôs Allegory of the Cave, the Illusion Theater puts on an interpretation of the laws of perception in a shadowy and confusing world. Unlike other ways to leave reality, chances are that youâÄôll remember this one. The Illusion Theater, 528 Hennepin Avenue 5:30 p.m. $15 Drinking: Mystery Beer Night Triple Rock ItâÄôs kind of like going to Hogsmeade to buy Bertie BottâÄôs Every Flavor Beans except the mystery isnâÄôt in the beans; itâÄôs in the beer and youâÄôre not going to Hogsmeade, but to the Triple Rock Social Club. Though you probably wonâÄôt find dirt or fingernail flavored beers on tap, you may find something you like as you delight in beer after mysterious beer. The Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Avenue 9 p.m. 21+ $2/mysterious beer Performance: âÄúIntrepid, Not Tepid!âÄù The James Sewell Ballet is a Twin Cities-based contemporary ballet company whose mission is to advance contemporary ballet. This Sunday will they will be performing âÄúIntrepid, Not Tepid!,âÄù a collection of works designed specifically for the cozy Southern Theater. With promises of aerial puppetry and other fantastical features, the JSB looks to please. When was the last time you expanded the bounds of ballet, anyway? Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Avenue S 2 p.m. $26 Performance: âÄúSpring AwakeningâÄù Super mondo popular these days, âÄúSpring AwakeningâÄù is a poignant blend of rock and roll and sexual frustration, all wrapped up into a compelling coming-of-age story. A little spendy, but students can get rush tickets for only $20 up to an hour before the show. This Sunday is the last performance at the Orpheum, so catch the boat before itâÄôs gone. Otherwise, youâÄôll have to wait for the next production of âÄúHairâÄù to get your youthful angst properly addressed on stage. Orpheum Theater, 910 Hennepin Avenue 1 p.m. $78 – $33 Culture to Consume: Watch this: The Superbowl is this Sunday and that means itâÄôs time to get drunk and eat nachos. Be sure to tune in for hours of unnecessary pre-game banter, Bruce SpringsteenâÄôs soul patch and to see if Kurt Warner can outrun DeathâÄôs icy grip for just a little bit longer. Oh yeah, thereâÄôs a football game too. Listen to this: A.C. NewmanâÄôs got a new album out and itâÄôs pretty dang tasty. âÄúGet Guilty,âÄù his sophomore solo album, shows Newman delving even deeper into pop territory, but somehow managing to stay true to his rock âÄònâÄô roll roots. NewmanâÄôs swaying vocals and the intricate musical arrangement make for an incredibly catchy album that is hard not to enjoy. Read this: The monumental success of âÄúThe Dark KnightâÄù this summer should have proven one thing to mainstream America: comic books rule. So whether you are a likeminded nerdlinger or you just like Batman, start reading comics; itâÄôs like a movie on paper! And big things are happening in the D.C. Universe, including (gasp!) the death of Batman? Check out the âÄúFinal CrisisâÄù storyline as it reaches its universe-shattering climax. Drink this: WeâÄôre in the year of the ox now, so get it started right at The Red Dragon. Their most famous for their Wondrous Punch, a mofo of a mix that all U of MâÄôers must experience before they graduate. See if you can handle the somewhat indelicate mixture of juice, rum and ambiguously fruity flavors. Click this: YTMND If you havenâÄôt seen this bad boy yet, you havenâÄôt even seen what the powers of the internet can do. The rules are simple enough; the site allows people to display images over which a sound is looped. But like some demented chess game, the outcomes within these rules have exploded in creativity – with hilarity ensuing. For n00bs, check out the âÄúUp and ComingâÄù or âÄúTop ViewedâÄù sections and prepare to be initiated into a whole new kind of comedy.
