There are two ways for any brooding city-dweller to deal with a Minneapolis winter: You can either embrace it, or you can hole up inside your apartment for the next five months surviving off a seasonâÄôs supply of CampbellâÄôs soup and, now, âÄú30 RockâÄù reruns.
But you need not fret, my world-weary children, because rock âÄònâÄô roll is still alive and well round these parts. Fortunately, A&E has the lowdown on the best winter shows December has to offer to help stave off those winter doldrums.
Peter Wolf Crier
8 p.m.
Friday
$3 – $5
The Whole Music Club, 300 Washington Ave. SE
Immediately following the dissolution of the Wars of 1812, local songwriter Peter Pisano didnâÄôt waste too much time sulking about the breakup. Hell, he didnâÄôt even waste that much time writing his next album. Written in a single night, Peter Wolf CrierâÄôs debut album âÄúInter-BeâÄù is a polished collection of lovelorn bedroom folk that goes down easily but still packs plenty of substance. The City PagesâÄô former Picked-to-Click favorite even netted some respectable praise from the indie gatekeepers over at Pitchfork. Best of all, Pisano and drummer Brian Moen always make sure to deliver a spirited, larger-than-life performance on stage.
Ryan Adams w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield
7:30 p.m.
Dec. 13 $25 – $35
The State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave.
A decade ago, Ryan Adams was AmericaâÄôs great rock âÄònâÄô roll time bomb: a whiskey-guzzling, snot-nosed rabble rouser with a bad case of (literally) show-stopping mood swings. But itâÄôs been a few years now since AdamâÄôs cleaned up his act, and despite some bad publicity via an exchange with LA Weekly earlier this year, heâÄôs steadily forged on, maintaining a respectable and moderately successful career. His latest release âÄúAshes & FireâÄù might have been a little tame for diehards, but fortunately AdamsâÄô voluminous catalog provides him with plenty of material to pull from during live performances. Just donâÄôt ask about that âÄúSummer of âÄô69âÄù song. WeâÄôve heard he hates that.
Heiruspecs w/ More Than Lights and Muja Messiah
12/17
8:30 pm
$8
Cabooze, 917 Cedar Ave S
You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone walking away from a Heiruspecs show disappointed. Comprised of a fully-equipped crew of top-tier performers, Twin Cities premiere hip-hop band are veterans of the game and manage to deliver powerhouse performances devoid of all the conventional rap swagger. Local rap collective More Than Lights (Zach Combs, Unicus) and Muja Messiah will be opening.
Prof w/ DJ Fundo
8 p.m.
Dec. 31
$18.50/18+
Fine Line Music Café, 318 N. First Ave.
With a reputation for hosting some of the rowdiest, dirtiest and most memorable hip-hop shows in the Twin Cities, ProfâÄôs frat house rap anthems seem perfectly tailored for a year-end hurrah like this. While the actual merits of ProfâÄôs, uh, artistry are questionable, the emcee hasnâÄôt struggled with finding an audience to validate his planet-sized ego. Following the commercial success of his latest album âÄúKing GampoâÄù and a high turnout CD release party at First Avenue last September, 2011 is likely to go down as the local party rapperâÄôs breakthrough year. And it looks like heâÄôll have one last-minute chance to end it on a good note, too.
