Friday
Music âÄì Grant Hart
Turf Club
1601 University Ave. W., St. Paul
$8
7 p.m.
If youâÄôre not already seeing Hollow Boys at the Kitty Cat Klub, Friday seems to be lacking in the must-see department as far as nightlife goes. So if all else fails, why not go see a local legend do what he does best? Ever since coming out from the wilderness after his 2009 release, âÄúHot Wax,âÄù the ever-enigmatic former Hüsker Dü drummer canâÄôt seem to keep mum for too long. The guy played on Zen Arcade, for godâÄôs sake. What more do you want?
Saturday
Music âÄì Black Lips
Varsity Theater
1308 Fourth St. SE, Minneapolis
$16
8 p.m.
Whatever the Black Lips lack in manners or common decency, they more than make up for by putting on one of hell of a live show. HotlantaâÄôs snot-nosed flower punks have a well-publicized reputation for, ahem, âÄúwildâÄù stage antics. (The Lips were kicked out of India in 2009 following a semi-nude performance.) If itâÄôs anything like last yearâÄôs show, Saturday night is sure to be 10 shades of unhinged mayhem. Just be sure to leave your glasses at home if you ever want to see them again. Seriously. True story.
Sunday
Music âÄì The 4onthefloor
First Avenue
701 1st Ave. N.
$6/$8
8 p.m.
All the most important things in life come in fours: The Beatles. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Prophetic horsemen. It’s understandable to be wary of the Twin Cities group 4onthefloor at first. But their kick drum stage craft and 4-of-everything schtick is anything but cheap gimmickry. Their aptly-titled LP “4×4” is a thunderous mix of delta-blues homage topped off with plenty of stomps and chants to keep your heading bobbing all the way through. It’s the kind of thing meant to be experienced live.
Listen to this: Fleet Foxes – âÄúHelplessness BluesâÄù and âÄúGrown OceanâÄù
Fleet Foxes sound like what would happen if the Beach Boys all got really high one night and recorded a bunch of songs in the middle of the woods. Their self-titled debut was one of the most critically successful releases of 2008 and propelled them to indie stardom almost instantly. While their followup doesnâÄôt hit the shelves for another two weeks, you can check out a pair of singles on the Web.
Watch this: NBA Playoffs
Super-size egos? Check. Verbal faux pas? Check. An injured Chauncey Billups? Oh now youâÄôre just breaking my heart! So unless youâÄôve been living under a rock the past few weeks or youâÄôre like the other 60 percent of Americans who donâÄôt really pay attention to the NBA, you know the playoffs are happening. So you should, like, watch them, man. Cool? Cool.
Drink this: Legends Bar and Grill happy hour
Legends is sort of a weird place in an even weirder location. In all honesty, the place looks like an incomplete version of an ApplebeeâÄôs that someone gave up on halfway through after realizing that the last thing the world needs is anther ApplebeeâÄôs. I mean, why would anyone step into a decrepit âÄî wait, whatâÄôs that you say? Two-for-ones from 9 p.m. to close? $7.25 pitchers? Well raise my rent, IâÄôve been wrong about you all this time! LetâÄôs never fight again.
Eat this: Falafel King
1851 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis
So apparently there is a semi-new falafel joint in Northeast. Oh and it has a 24-hour drive-through. Yeah, I know.
