Friday
OTR Presents VII
Hell’s Kitchen
10 p.m.
$5
Radio K’s local music show “Off the Record” has been putting on bimonthly shows at Hell’s Kitchen for a few months now, and they’re a great opportunity to see some new local music for a steal. This month: Nona Marie (of Dark Dark Dark) brings her beautiful side project Nona Marie and the Choir — which is exactly what it sounds like — and Hot Freaks, a jangly and danceable new local group.
Saturday
Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater
Cedar Cultural Center
8 p.m.
$15
Sharon Van Etten played a stunning show last April at the Cedar, and now she’s back touring behind her excellent new album, “Tramp.” This performance is sure to rock harder than last time but will be no less intimate and absorbing. The show is sold out, so you best dust off your scalping trench coat.
Sunday
The Revolution After Party featuring Questlove
First Avenue
10:30 p.m.
$10
Prince’s band, The Revolution, is playing in the Mainroom on Sunday as part of a benefit for MyPurpleHeart.org and the American Heart Association. It’s a cool band and a good cause, but even more interesting to us is the afterparty, which features a DJ set by Questlove, percussionist and bandleader of The Roots. The Roots have been tethered to New York since they were picked up as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so an appearance by Quest in the Twin Cities is pretty exciting. Check it out.
Listen: Earl Sweatshirt — “Home”
Once the sheen of blog hype and shock factor wore off, we all realized that Odd Future Wolfgang Kill Them All was merely a group of ambitious but average rappers. The one exception was Earl Sweatshirt, the youngest member of the group, who only released one mixtape of lyrically dense horrorcore before being shipped off to a center for troubled teens in Samoa. But last week Earl made his return with “Home,” showing that he hadn’t lost his gift for vivid wordplay and dense internal rhymes, all over a washed-out soul sample.
Eat: Clearance Valentine’s candy
Maybe your Valentine’s Day was great, or maybe it was awful. It’s not really any of my business. But don’t you feel like snuggling up and snagging a little one-on-one time with a whole bunch of candy? Don’t you deserve it?
You do. All of the chocolates, conversation hearts and (if you’re lucky) valentine Reese’s are practically being given away at your local supermarket. So put on those PJs, post up on the couch and crack open some sweets — you’re worth it.
Watch: “Saturday Night Live”
If you didn’t get tickets to Sharon Van Etten, don’t fret. Grab some of that leftover V-Day candy and settle in for this week’s “Saturday Night Live.” The very funny Maya Rudolph is hosting and, as a seven-year SNL vet, should be more than capable. She’s coming off of a banner year with great turns in “Bridesmaids” and “Up All Night.” Also, Sleigh Bells is the musical guest, which will be very fun or at least very loud.
Read: “Areas of My Expertise,” “More Information Than You Require” and “That Is All” by John Hodgman.
Humorist John Hodgman completed his so-called trilogy of Complete World Knowledge last November, so you can bone up before his show at the Varsity Theater next month. His satirical almanacs are dastardly clever and are broken up into small sections that make for quick and funny little reads. An example: Did you know that in the late ’70s and early ’80s Richmond, Va., and Milwaukee, Wis., had a bitter rivalry over for the title of “Strange Rain Capitol”? They enjoyed showers of frogs, tiny coffins and human teeth. What a world.
