Weekend What’s What: 5/31-6/3

by admin

This weekend is perfect for basking in the gorgeous, 70-degree weather at Grand Old Day in St. Paul and Brit’s Diamond Jubilee Party. But there’s plenty worth heading indoors, including experimental theater courtesy of Bedlam’s Ten Minute Play Festival and the kickoff of “4 Works 4 Weeks” at Red Eye Theatre. The style-conscious will want to hit the BGF Magazine launch party and Iggy Azaelea on Thursday, while those about to rock best get themselves to shows one-word, all-caps bands IGUANO and UMAMI (do we detect a trend?). And if nothing else, you can always boogie down at Get Cryphy or Hotel.

xo-l’étoile

THURSDAY, MAY 31ST-SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

Bedlam’s Ten Minute Play Festival

@ Mixed Blood Theatre
1501 South 4th Street
Minneapolis

7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 3 pm Sunday / All Ages / $15

Take in 12 new plays at ten minutes a pop this weekend at the Mixed Blood Theatre. An assortment of styles and visions including spoken word, comedy, movement theater, dance and drama merge on the Mixed Blood stage, covering such topics as ballot amendments, shampooing, Trayvon Martin, public schools, Alabama (The Cat), and … men! The night runs the gamut from seasoned professionals to gifted first-timers, and will continue after the lights go dark on Friday and Saturday night, at the After Ten afterparty at nearby Nomad World Pub, giving you a chance to take in a sort of mixtape of the Minneapolis theater community’s newest offerings and a chance to party with them after. -Rob Callahan

Click HERE for the Bedlam Theatre site

THURSDAY, MAY 31ST-SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

OUT Twin Cities Film Festival

@ St. Anthony Main Theatre
115 SE Main Street
Minneapolis

Various times / $10

OUT Twin Cities Film Festival is a celebration of cinema and coming out! Come connect, converse and celebrate with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ) community all weekend long on beautiful St. Anthony Main. This event offers the best GLBTQ films and hosts several local, national, and international surprise guests. Highlights include Live Free or Die, a Sundance Award-winning documentary chronicling the struggles of gay activist Bishop Gene Robinson, and Homo Promo, an archival project documenting the best and the worst in gay and lesbian film between the years 1956 and 1976. The hot button topic of Prop 8 also gets into the mix with Inspired: Voices Against Prop, a documentary that follows the activism behind the issue in visceral detail. -Stefani Arden

Click HERE for the OUT Twin Cities Film Festival site

THURSDAY, MAY 31ST

“Minouk Lim: Heat of Shadows” & “Performance Installation: BodyCartography Project”

@ Walker Art Center
Burnet Gallery
1750 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis

7 pm / All Ages / FREE

Walker Free Thursdays (in which you get into the Walker for free, rather than spend the day free from Walker) feature free admission to the galleries beginning at 5 pm. This Thursday, extend your stay by taking in Minouk Lim’s first US solo exhibition and hanging around for the 7 pm performance of FireCliff 3. The performance is a collaboration with Minneapolis choreographer Emily Johnson, and feature’s Lim’s wearable sculptures around themes of nature, myth and civilization. Free tickets are available from 6 pm at the Bazinet Garden Lobby Desk, and the performance takes place in the Burnet Gallery at 7 pm. -Rob Callahan

Click HERE for the Walker Art Center site

THURSDAY, MAY 31ST-SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

“He & Him/She & Her”

@ Red Eye Theater
15 W 14th Street
Minneapolis

8 pm / All Ages / $8

The cultural celebration of all things fabulously gay and the restrictions on same sex couples is one of the strangest sociological contradictions of our times. Movies and television shows have taught us that everyone needs a gay best friend, as long as you don’t have to see him kissing another dude! Or, you know, give them equal rights and stuff. Exploring themes of same sex relationships and marriage, as well as the glorification of queer culture, Nick LeMere’s “He & Him/She & Her” – part of the month-long emerging theater series New Works 4 Weeks – aims to explore and challenge this disconnect. And with Grant Cutler on sound and Playatta on video, the show is a veritable who’s who of Twin Cities talent.

Click HERE for the Red Eye Theater site

THURSDAY, MAY 31ST

BGF Magazine Launch Party

@ Deseo
408 3rd Avenue N
Minneapolis

8-10 pm / 21+ / FREE

After a few years of covering style and art for the Brown Girl Files, Joan Erakit has relaunched the blog as BGF Magazine, a quarterly print publication making its debut next month. It will continue to cover art and style, but with added contributors (including scribe Andy Sturdevant and artist Erin Sayer) and fashion editorials. Preview the debut Americana-inspired issue, meet the contributors, listen to music from DJ Bach, get your portrait snapped by BGF contributing photographer Ben Ragsdale, view an editorial spread shot by Amy Gee, and mix ‘n mingle in style at the magazine’s launch party. -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

THURSDAY, MAY 31ST

Iggy Azaelea

@ Fine Line Music Café
318 First Avenue N
Minneapolis

8 pm / 18+ / $20

Girl power has hit the hip-hop scene. The only female artist to appear on the cover of XXL‘s Freshman Class of 2012 issue, Amethyst Amelia Kelly (aka Iggy Azaelea)’s Ke$ha-like lyrics, blonde locks and bad girl vibe are a knockout trio. Ignoring bad press on her highly sexualized image, the Aussie rapper who T.I. signed to his Grand Hustle Records continues to rise with hits like “Two Times” and “My World.” Also playing will be a set of female rap acts from Minneapolis: BdotCroc, a freestyler whose first album came out last year; the Lioness, a ferosh newcomer to the scene; and hip hop girl group the Chalice, comprising local rappers Lizzo and Sophia Eris and singer Claire Taubenhaus of Claire de Lune. -Meg Junkermeier

Click HERE for the Fine Line site

FRIDAY, JUNE 1ST

“When I Get To Heaven: New Work by Brian Downs”

@ Beloved Studios
1563 Como Avenue
St. Paul

6-8 pm / FREE

You may recognize the distinctively stark, animated, DIY illustrations of Brian Downs on flyers for local punks shows from Gay Witch Abortion, Nightosaur, and even Black Dice. But the provocative illustrator is more than just a flyer artist. Downs merges a gritty R. Crumb-esque aesthetic with an frenetic, ADD-esque energy that fills the page with characters and symbols, seemingly at random but all interconnected and arranged into a unified focal point. There is method to this madness. -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

FRIDAY, JUNE 1ST & SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

Johnstock 2012

@ 2800 Block of Johnson Street NE
Minneapolis

8 pm Friday & 10 am-6 pm Saturday / FREE

For the first time, Johnstock has separated from Art-a-Whirl and created its very own community festival. Take in an outdoor movie Friday night and see “The Wizard of Oz” in the Johnson Street Merchants lot. Check out arts and crafts from the Johnson Street Merchants on Saturday and shop at Rewind, A Bag Lady and Crafty Planet. Listen to music by Skunk Hollow, Ensemble Music and DJ Riley and take a walk through the Hollywood Theater between 1 and 5 pm. Take your kids to the kids’ music shows also on Saturday at 11 am or 2 pm after they play games and in the jumping castle. More than 30 designers will be presenting their arts and crafts so don’t miss this fun-filled event for all ages. -Meg Junkermeier

Click HERE for the Johnson Street Merchants blog

FRIDAY, JUNE 1ST

IGUANO / Me And My Arrow / Pleasure Horse

Palmer’s Bar
500 Cedar Ave S
Minneapolis

10 pm / 21+ / $5

There’s no way you can beat the one-two punch of Jacques Wait and Nick Hook in IGUANO, the slithery little pop band fronted by Ehsan Alam (formerly of Revolver Modele) – Wait is one of the town’s most brilliant guitarists and Hook is solid as fuck. The group’s left-of-center pop choons are heavy on new-wavey angularity and Alam’s Iggy-Pop-as-lounge-singer vocals. Hot off the release of their biweekly new song release of “Dayng,” Me And My Arrow’s maximalist approach to droney psych-rock is positively thrilling. As for newcomers Pleasure Horse, their sound is being described as “outlaw-country ’70s style originals” led by Tim Evenson of Flying Dorito Bros fame with fellow SoDakians from bands including Hot Freaks and Buffalo Moon – and a horn section. -Jon Hunt

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

FRIDAY, JUNE 1ST

Get Cryphy: The Aftermath

@ First Avenue Record Room
701 First Avenue
Minneapolis

10 pm / 18+ / $3 adv, $5 door

After last weekend’s balls-to-the-wall Get Cryphy Soundset afterparty, the rowdy rap crew is back and ready for more this Friday for their regular residency at First Avenue’s Record Room. Prepare to experience the bumpin’ beats of resident DJ darlings Jimmy 2 Times, Plain Ole Bill, Last Word and Fundo as they break it down in the venue’s intimate haven. Arrive early to enjoy drink specials and partake in giveaways from Phenom and Familia, then prepare to party down. -Staff

Click HERE for the First Avenue site

FRIDAY, JUNE 1ST

Hotel

@ Kitty Cat Klub
315 14th Avenue SE
Minneapolis

10 pm / 21+ / FREE

Reduce the chances of spring fever with Dinkytown’s monthly get-down/DJ showdown, HOTEL. Hotel veteran and hunky host Jonathan Ackerman spins the night away with fellow tune hounds, guest DJs Famuel and NorthernLights. Did we mention it’s free?! So, spend your money on the things that really count – i.e., dranks – grab your ladies and your flashy gents and get ready to bust a move. -Staff

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

“Sea Change: Paintings by Samantha French” & “Habitat: Work by Areca Roe”

@ Soo Visual Arts Center
2638 Lyndale Avenue S
Minneapolis

Opening reception 6-9 pm, runs through July 7 / FREE

Two new exhibits opening concurrently at the SooVAC this weekend share something in common: both explore the natural world and our interactions with it. In “Sea Change,” MCAD grad Samantha French, now living in New York, uses gorgeously rich oil paintings of swimming figures to delve into ideas of escapism and the transitory nature of memory. In the Soo Local gallery, Areca Roe’s “Habitat” is the culmination of a year-long photography project in which she visited zoos around the U.S. and Europe. The resulting imagery of faux environments is sedate, serene, and hyper-real, and presents ways at looking at boundaries we create between nature and ourselves. -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the Soo Visual Arts Center site

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

“Hedge Magic”

@ Soap Factory
514 Second Street SE
Minneapolis

Opening reception 7-11 pm, runs through August 5 / All Ages / FREE

Let’s investigate the mystical and super-natural this Saturday at the “Hedge Magic” exhibit in Northeast’s favorite spooky venue. The Soap Factory, best known for its out-there exhibits and haunted basement dwellings, is the perfect place to host this chaotic compilation of authentic and versatile artistic matter. The show features this year’s annual artist submissions, which examine issues of transformation, reclamation, interpretation and the super-natural. Hedge magic is a practice inspired by found materials, which is roughly based on intuition, observation and the magical and chaotic qualities that embody your everyday surroundings. Come check out the participating artist’s renditions of the nature and culture around them. -Stefani Arden

Click HERE for the Soap Factory site

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

“In-Flux: New Work by Laura Stack and Val Jenkins”

@ Rosalux Gallery
Van Buren Building
1400 Van Buren Street NE
Minneapolis

Opening reception 6:30-10 pm, runs through June 30 / FREE

Paper is the connecting thread between the work of Twin Cities artists Laura Stack and Val Jenkins, who partner for a dual show at Northeast gallery Rosalux. We first were struck by Jenkins’ work at a 2010 Weisman Art Museum exhibition “Ordinarily Here,” where her “Shreds of Wit” piece, which was simple in concept – its subject the soothing, mundane, replicating image of intertwined shredded paper, rendered in hand-drawn graphite on white paper – but epic in scale. Meanwhile, Stack opts to use paper merely as her canvas, drawing microscopic forms like nanotubes and diatoms in colorful silhouettes. In juxtaposition, the artists’ work finds unity in their bent toward repetition and form. -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the Rosalux Gallery site

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

Whole Beast Rag Launch Party

@ Gardener Hardware Building
515 N Washington Avenue (2nd floor, access through loading dock alongside building)
Minneapolis

8 pm-midnight / FREE

There’s a new lit rag in town, and it ain’t your college literary publication filled with bad poetry and overshare-heavy non-fiction. Instead, the quarterly Whole Beast Rag promises the unthinkable: sexy intellectualism and provocative prose from a host – 27! – of fledgling Twin Cities writers. Combining equal parts literary publication, scholarly journal, and culture review, the mag combines a DIY aesthetic and an appreciation for visual art (the first issue features watercolor illustrations by Luke Holden). The launch party for the debut issue, “HUNGER,” will include readings from issue authors Elizabeth Sowden, John Pistelli, Kevin Hedman, and Jonas Specktor, music by experimental cellist Randall Holt, jock jams spun by Joey Gerard Heinen, and “delicious jug wine.” (We said they had a DIY flavor, didn’t we?) -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

Mpls/France Art Exchange Fundraiser

@ Smuda Studio
2948 Chicago Ave Ste 304 (buzz *08)
Minneapolis

7-10 pm / $25 suggested donation

Support local art guru Sean Smuda’s Mpls/France Art Exchange by attending a fundraiser for the unique program this Saturday night. Fostering a relationship between Minneapolis and Tours, France, the Art Exchange is a trans-Atlantic collaborative art experience. While in France, Smuda will create a Tumblr site that will include bi-lingual podcasts of artists working in varying mediums, and Smuda will be kicking off the program with iconic Minneapolis artist Frank Gaard. Interested in learning more about the project? Smuda will be showing a slideshow from last year’s exploits at 8 pm and there will be complimentary refreshments, so we’ll wager that this will be more fun than your grandparents’ slideshows. -Beth Hammarlund

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

UMAMI / Phantom Tails / Aaron & the Sea / I, Colossus

@ Turf Club
1601 University Avenue W
St. Paul

9 pm / 21+ / $6

Here’s your solid all-local lineup of the weekend. UMAMI play a weirdly tribal sort of electro dance music, not a billion miles from MGMT, I reckon, but with a hell of a lot more genuine weirdness and fucked-up-ness. You know Phantom Tails, of course – we’ve long been a fan of their scintillating breed of gothy industrial meets fuzzed-out, jagged punk rock. Aaron and the Sea’s delightfully moody electropop reminds us a lot of a more organic Cut Copy, while I, Colossus play a decidedly more mellow/twee form of same. It’s terrific stuff. -Jon Hunt

Click HERE for the Turf Club site

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

Walker Kong Record Release Show w/ Prissy Clerks

@ Bryant Lake Bowl
810 W Lake Street
Minneapolis

10 pm / All Ages / $6 advance, $8 day of show

L’étoile is so happy Walker Kong are still around and putting out a new album, Phazes of Light. Their slightly twee take on “tuneful indie pop” has always thrilled us, and drummer Emily Cahill has always been one of our favorite rock-and-roll crushes. Fans of Robyn Hitchcock and Belle and Sebastian wouldn’t be offset, and hell, if you like a little Big Star you might wanna check ‘em out, too. Openers Prissy Clerks are local up-and-comers, featuring mammoth dueling guitars, Clara Salyer’s lo-fi vocals and some delightfully off-kilter indie anthems. -Jon Hunt

Click HERE for the Bryant-Lake Bowl site

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

Dirty Dancing / Baby Boys / France Camp / Wild Ghosts

@ Hexagon Bar
2600 27th Avenue S
Minneapolis

9 pm / 21+ / FREE

Summer gets started right this Saturday at the Hexagon Bar. It’s a bill packed with sunny garage rock acts that will provide the perfect soundtrack to a mild summer evening. Up first is Minneapolis surf/psych rockers Wild Ghosts, whose sound is clanging with distorted vocals. Next up are self-described “surf/folk/slut” band France Camp, whose sound is reminiscent of early White Stripes, keeping it simple with slick guitar lines, swinging drum beats and catchy vocal melodies. Also playing is three-piece Baby Boys, who have positively cute lyrics and a sound that is like an even sunnier Strokes. Last but not least in one-man band Dirty Dancing, consisting of guitar, vocals and some jaunty beats for a catchy, danceable sound that is almost Ian-Curtis-goes-new-wave. -Danielle Morris

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND

Too Much Love: Gigamesh EP Release Party

@ First Avenue
701 1st Avenue N
Minneapolis

10 pm / 18+ / $3

Minneapolis DJ/producer Gigamesh has been a busy guy since moving back to Minneapolis last year after a short-lived foray into the Miami dance scene. (Minneapolis was too awesome to keep him away for too long, it seems.) He counts remixes for Foster The People and Win Win under his belt, as well as a unfuckwithable role as Mike Posner’s lead producer, which garnered him the chart-topping hit “Cooler Than Me.” His latest EP All My Life on the legendary French Touch label Kitsuné contains four tracks touching on disco, new wave, and even shoegaze, seeming to nod toward Daft Punk and Mylo equally. The EP release party at Too Much Love will include a full playing of the EP followed by a set from Gigamesh along with jams courtesy of resident DJ Sovietpanda. -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the First Avenue site

SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

Brit’s Diamond Jubilee Garden Party

@ Brit’s Pub
1110 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis

3-8 pm / All Ages / FREE

Ah, what better way to celebrate the Queen’s 60th year in power with a trio of killer tribute bands, eh? The names give away the bands being paid tribute: Stoned Acoustic celebrates the Rolling Stones (presumably acoustically), Kinda Kinky does the music of the Kinks (and features ex-Autumn Leaves Keith Patterson and Steve Kent, as well as scene perennial Dave Randall, which pretty much guarantees they’re going to be astonishing, trust us), and E.L.nO tackles, well, ELO, and does it masterfully, afros and all. It has the makings of a great night of British fol-de-rol, so grab the pub ale and get a-drinkin’. -Jon Hunt

Click HERE for the Brit’s Pub site

SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

“GIGANTIC, IT’S BIG, BIG BIG!”

@ air sweet air gallery
262 Studios
262 E 4th Street #203
St. Paul

2-6 pm / FREE

The simple, childlike awe of cloud-watching and star-gazing is something we tend to lose as we get swept into our busybody, serious-adult lives. So when it comes to creating art about the sky, St. Paul’s air sweet air gallery figured who better prepared for the task than children? For this sky-themed show, the gallery enlisted 30 children between the ages of 10 months (!) to 16 years to create artwork inspired by the world above us. This charming show is sure to be an eye-opener for us tunnel-visioned adults. -Jahna Peloquin

Click HERE for the Facebook invite

SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

Grand Old Day

Along Grand Avenue from Fairview to Dale
St. Paul

7:45 am-6 pm / FREE or $8 wristbands for music and beer gardens

Grand Old Day in St. Paul serves and one of the gateway to summer benchmarks in the Twin Cities. It’s a big long street festival along Grand Avenue in St. Paul with all kinds of attractions and fun for all ages, games, music, drinks and food (cheese curds!). Music, especially local music, has always been a main attraction, and with seven stages with music throughout the day, there’s bound to be something for everyone. The Whole Foods Market Family Fun Stage features Koo Koo Kangaroo, whose kid friendly sound is Beastie Boys meets The Wiggles. The Grand Garden stage keeps if folksy with Zachary Scot Johnson, Dan Rodriguez, and SarahLou. The funk is down at the Billy’s on Grand stage with Arc Flash Hazard, Orange Whip, and all-star cover band Hookers and Blow. For the country rock fans head to the Wild Onion stage for, White Iron Band and Rocket Club. And last but not least, the Dixie’s on Grand Stage includes folk bluegrass favorite Charlie Parr, noisy punk rockers the Blind Shake, the newly reformed and beloved bratty girl punks the Soviettes, and back with some fresh new material, electro groove masters Solid Gold. It’s a fun day in St. Paul for sure. -Danielle Morris

Click HERE for the Grand Avenue site

SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD

Rockstar Storytellers: The Next Level

@ Bryant Lake Bowl
810 W Lake Street
Minneapolis

6 pm doors, 7 pm show / All Ages / $12 ($10 with Fringe button)

Oh, the places you’ll go! Students across this great nation are donning caps and gowns, and the Rockstar Storytellers are commemorating the season of graduation by sharing their stories of achievement, accomplishment, and general growing up shenanigans. Performers include Joseph Scrimshaw, Amy Salloway, Allegra Lingo, Laura Bidgood, and l’étoile’s own Rob Callahan. Come out for a few beers and a chance to move that tassley thing to the other side or your mortarboard. You’re a big kid now! -Beth Hammarlund

Click HERE for the Bryant-Lake Bowl site

Editor in Chief: Jahna Peloquin / Contributors: Jon Hunt, Rob Callahan, Beth Hammarlund, Stefani Arden, Meg Junkermeier, Danielle Morris, Jahna Peloquin