by staff
This weekend, jet into the past with Open Field’s ’80s Night at the Walker, Transmission’s “I WANT MY MTV” ’80s and ’90s dance party at First Avenue, and the monthly Hotpants retro soul dance party at the Nomad. Do good by stopping by benefits for Guerrilla Girls and Teace, and get down with your bad self at Extra Large, WAK LYF and Worldwide Discotheque dance parties.
xo, l’étoile
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
Open Field’s ’80s Night
@ Walker Art Center
1750 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis
6-10 pm / All Ages / FREE
Join in for a trip back in time to relive the 80s through art, music and fashion. Guests can discuss all things ’80s during the Conversationalist’s Café, join in a curator-lead tour, and explore the ongoing exhibition “This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s.” The highlight of the event is sure to be an ’80s edition of the Mad Ripple Hootenanny, featuring a round-robin of stories and acoustic performances hosted by Jim Walsh. Don’t be shy and be sure to dress in you brightest neon garb and biggest shoulder pads for an evening that looks back on the legendary decade. -Chelsea Streich
Click HERE for the Walker Art Center site
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
l’étoile magazine presents “Project Runway” Weekly Viewing Parties
@ moto-i
Second Level
2940 Lyndale Avenue S
Minneapolis
8 pm screening / All Ages / FREE
We here at l’étoile have always been big Project Runway fans, and this season features one of our very own – Minneapolis fashion designer Raul Osorio. Join l’étoile and cheer on Raul while you sip cocktails, including $3.50 house wines and $4 good-luck cocktails, every Thursday on the second floor of moto-i. Vote for Raul as Fan Favorite throughout the duration of the season by tweeting hashtag #teamraul. The winner gets $10,000 at the end of the season, and Raul has promised to throw a huge party if he wins – and everyone’s invited! (One tweet per user will be counted as a vote within a five-minute period, so you can vote a lot. Vote here.). -Jahna Peloquin
Click HERE for the Facebook invite, HERE for Todd O’Dowd’s Q&A with the designer for l’étoile, & HERE for Todd’s recap of last week’s episode
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
“Mystery Spot 2: Nature’s Nation” Book Launch
@ Soo Visual Arts Center
2638 Lyndale Avenue S
Minneapolis
7–9:30 pm / All Ages / FREE
Tonight’s ode to nature art launch luckily doesn’t have anything to do with “happy little trees.” Sorry Bob Ross fans. The brainchild of artist Chad Rutter and writer Emily Roehl, Mystery Spot Books is a local art book publisher producing small-run artist books exploring ideas of land, site, history, tourism, nature and America material culture. Join them tonight at the SooVAC to celebrate their fifth (and second eponymous) book, Nature’s Nation, which features the work of seven artists from Minneapolis, Omaha and Austin including Lex Thompson, Kate Casanova, Paula McCartney, Chad Rutter, Emily Roehl, Caleb Coppock and Pamela Valfer. Peep through MSB’s previous titles and purchase your copy of their latest, or, if you were one of the many who helped Mystery Spot reach their Kickstarter goal earlier this year, snag yours for free! We can hear the happy printers buzzing now. -Juleana Enright
Click HERE for the Soo Visual Arts Center site
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
Anonymous Choir Sings Leonard Cohen: A Cassette Tape Release Party
@ Icehouse
2528 Nicollet Avenue S
Minneapolis
10 pm / 21+ / $5
Dark Dark Dark songstress Nona Marie Invie fronts this new ensemble that has a simple, but genius, idea – an all-girl choir of 12 sings songs by Leonard Cohen, Kate Bush, and Cat Power. The results are probably the most unusual covers you’re bound to come across, and Anonymous Choir injects a haunting, delicate quality into them, coloring them in unexpected shades. Now, they’re putting a collection of Cohen covers out for the world to hear – at least, those who have a cassette tape player – and celebrating with a release show. We think Lenny would approve. Opening are Tiny Fantasy, a whimsical ensemble that includes harpist Rachel Blomgren. -Jahna Peloquin
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
Lovely Dark + Squares + Nice Beaches
@ Hell’s Kitchen
80 S 9th Street
Minneapolis
10 pm doors / 21+ / $5
Territories is the kind of highly-arranged, emotionally intense indie-pop that should (in a perfect world) make Lovely Dark absolutely huge, and I mean that in absolutely the best possible way. They sport several weapons – tremendous songwriting, gorgeous harmonies, and a way with a huge arrangement – and wield them with absolute precision, making Territories an engaging, completely solid listen, not a million miles off from, say, a National, but with a bit of Brit-folk mysticism to make it darker/more interesting. Click HERE for our review of their album .-Jon Hunt
Click HERE for the Hell’s Kitchen Underground site
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
Music in Mears: No Bird Sing + Kill the Vultures + Mayda
@ Mears Park
221 E 5th Street
St. Paul
6-9 pm / All Ages / FREE
Gorgeous Mears Park, at the heart of downtown St. Paul, is a surprisingly phenomenal venue to hear bands, and their Music in Mears series has been a diverse, excellent mix of music from the traditional
to the modern to the plain cool. Tonight’s lineup – free, of course, and outdoors, which is where you wanna see music in the summer – is excellent, featuring the astonishing R&B sounds of Mayda (Prince in a
tiny, awesome female package, essentially – genius!) and the forward-thinking hip-hop of Kill the Vultures and No Bird Sing, whose Theft of the Commons LP is one of the better local hip-hop records in recent memory, relying on smooth flow and interesting instrumentalism rather than flash and hype. -Jon Hunt
Click HERE for the Music in Mears site
Mayda, photographed by Serah Sauser
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH
Lady Parts
@ Clubhouse Jäger
923 Washington Avenue N
Minneapolis
10 pm / 21+ / FREE
It may sounds like a campy ’70s horror flick, but the suggestively titled “Lady Parts” is, in fact, the Twin Cities’ hardest-partying all-girl DJ trio to its home at Jäger. Join Susannah, Syril, and Emily – aka Lady Parts – for some sweet, sultry summer sounds, and be sure to enjoy the huge patio, the sure-to-be-sweaty dance floor, and drink specials ($2.50 PBR Tallboys and $5 Jameson) slung by Jäger’s good lookin’ bar staff. -Jahna Peloquin
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
“A Process of Transformation”
@ Quarter Gallery
Regis Center for Art at the University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis
Opening reception 7–10 pm, runs through August 31st / All Ages / FREE
In the wrong hands, the group exhibition can devolve into a grab bag of this and that that lacks cohesive purpose, but when handled properly group exhibits can elevate all concerned by providing a dynamic dialogue between artists with differing perspectives and approaches. A Process of Transformation, curated by veteran U of M drawing and painting professor (and Department of Art chair) Alexis Kuhr, is sure to be one of the latter. Highlighting the work of seven emerging artists based here in the Twin Cities, the exhibit includes pieces in varied mediums such as photography, film/video installation, printmaking, painting, and sculpture with an emphasis on the theme of Transformation. Though the artists are currently based in Minnesota, they represent a range of geographic origins throughout the U.S. and even internationally, exemplifying what an artistic hub our area has become. We’re especially excited to see the hybrid print and video works of Benjamin Brockman, the abstract street art inspired paintings by Alfonso Fernandez, and the cycling based urban photography of Lauren Klabunde, but with so many talented artists there’s certain to be some surprises and new discoveries. Come experience the transformation with us this Friday! -Anthony Enright
Click HERE for the Regis Center for Art site
Art by Benjamin Brockman
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Vita.mn’s August Music & Movies: “Army of Darkness” + Bloodnstuff + Is/Is
@ Lake Harriet Bandshell
4135 W Lake Harriet Parkway
Minneapolis
Bands at 7:30 pm, film at dusk / All Ages / FREE
Speaking of the greatest movies of all time! Although it was greeted with tepid reviews upon release, Army of Darkness – Sam Raimi’s third and final chapter of the “Evil Dead” series – has since become a camp classic, a fantasy comedy B-movie double bacon cheeseburger, anticipating the Rise of the Planet of the Geeks by nearly a decade, and in our opinion, much more fresh. This time around, the travails of poor schmo Ash (Bruce Campbell) aren’t as cleverly rendered or thrilling as its inventive wacky horror predecessor Evil Dead II, but the gory festivities of campy special effects and cheeky machismo are nevertheless filled with plentiful delights. Sucked away from his ill-fated “cabin in the woods” to a medieval wasteland, Ash, armed with his “boom stick” and modified steel hand, is seen by the “primitives” as The Chosen One. He’s sent on an adventure to bring harmony. Instead, due to an inability to remember his lines (a sly in-joke for a non-actor actor like Campbell, in what’s really one of the best modern comic performances), resurrects the Army of the Dead. Maybe there’s a reason Ash couldn’t get a good job in the present time. Meanwhile, we see a lot of torture, Three Stooges-styled fights, and “what we call pillow talk, baby.” Though it’s nice that Raimi has since been greeted with studio favoritism and more serious opportunities (A Simple Plan, The Gift, the Spider-Man trilogy, hell, even a Kevin Costner baseball movie), the neighborhood-kids-with-cameras sensibility that made his career is missed, and this is his swan song. Army of Darkness starts at dusk after some rocking good times with Bloodnstuff and Is/Is performing on the Harriet Bandshell stage. Take your sweetheart to the lake and give him/her some sugar. -Niles Schwartz
Click HERE for the Vita.mn site
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Nü Sensae w/ Brain Tumors + Total Trash + Tips for Twat
@ Turf Club
1601 University Avenue W
St. Paul
9 pm / 21+ / $6
The ’90s revival has begun. Nü Sensae are part of the first wave of bands (see also: Yuck, but from a different angle) drawing almost solely from grunge / punk from the late ’80s and early ’90s. You would
be completely justified in thinking “Swim,” their most recent single, was a long-lost Babes in Toyland song – singer Andrea Lukic has Kat Bjelland’s fierce scream down pat, and the rest of the band does that
loud/fast/rules chug exactly like they used to back in the day (that’s not even mentioning the Hüskers umlaut that rests atop their name). It’s good stuff, and damn bracing, but – God, are we there already?
Is it already time for nostalgia for that decade? We feel old. Brain Tumors, Total Trash and the hilariously-named Tips for Twat (whose duo-drummer lineup sounds like a demented, female-fronted Pere Ubu at times) open. -Jon Hunt
Click HERE for the Turf Club site
Nü Sensae photographed by Gordon Nicholas
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Shakin’ Babies + Regal Treats + Legs Like Tree Trunks + Dust Buns
@ Palmer’s Bar
500 Cedar Avenue
Minneapolis
9 pm / 21+ / $5
Friday night is an eclectic four-band bill every one’s favorite West Bank dive bar. Up first is Dust Buns, which have a spooky, goth vibe that sounds like it’s coming from the back of a dark cave. Next are garage rockers Regal Treats, who play the kind of simple riff, ’60s-style rock and roll with a psychedelic tilt. Also playing is Legs Like Tree Trunks from Pittsburgh, which boast a dreamy sound that is reminiscent of the indie-emo of the late ’90s and breezy vocals. Headlining the night is Shakin’ Babies, which is sure to get the dance floor moving. They play old school doo wop with a punk rock twist, mixing old standards with originals, with an infectious beat. -Danielle Morris
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Sean Anonymous “Hot to Death” Video Premiere Show w/ Hardcore Crayons + Wide Eyes + Dream Crusher
@ Icehouse
2528 Nicollet Avenue S
Minneapolis
10 pm / 21+ / $5
Friday night at everyone’s new favorite neighborhood bar Icehouse, rapper Sean Anonymous celebrates the video release of his “Hot to Death” music video with a live show. With some genuine skill, excellent beats and some great collaborators backing him up, the rapper is an up-and-coming talent in the ever-growing Minneapolis hip hop scene. The video was shot at last year’s SXSW blitz and features some cameos from local and national rappers. The show also features angular punk rockers Hardcore Crayons, as well as Sean Anonymous’s other group Wide Eyes. Headlining the night is Sean himself, with all star prog jam band Dream Crusher backing him up. Sure to be a crazy good night. -Danielle Morris
Click HERE for the Icehouse site
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Transmission presents “I WANT MY MTV”
@ First Avenue
701 1st Avenue N
Minneapolis
8 pm / 18+ / $6 advance, $8 door
Back by popular demand…I WANT MY MTV! Check out DJ Jake Rudh who will be spinning to music videos from MTV’s heyday of the ’80s and ’90s all night. The event will feature a variety of popular tunes we all love, including ’80s new wave, Top 40, big hair bands, early ’90s dance, R&B and hip hop. As a bonus, reps from local record store Electric Fetus will be on hand selling retro vinyl. Stick around because someone lucky will be walking away with a signed copy of last year’s bestseller I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by music journalists Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum. -Chelsea Streich
Click HERE for the First Avenue site
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Wak Lyf presents: Fourth Meal the Taco Meal
@ Kitty Kat Club
315 14th Avenue SE
Minneapolis
10 pm / 21+ / FREE
Local DJ collective WAK LYF bring sexy back (did it ever really leave?) to the Kitty Kat Club with an evening of guac’d out, nacho cheese-drenched fun times. Their Fourth Meal the Taco Meal dance party will have you working up a sweat as the WAK LYF DJs Mikey D Lane aka Neuport, James Frickle aka Technodrome and Kolby Kobes aka Cobra Blood spin face-melting dance tunes. Special guest DJ Jimmy 2 Times of Get Cryphy fame is sure to bring the party into the night, and host Molly Soda aka Taco Bella is sure get the party started right. Be sure to cash in on $3 PBR Tallboys and $2.50 Hi-LYF Tallboys. -Staff
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Worldwide Discotheque
@ Clubhouse Jäger
923 Washington Avenue N
Minneapolis
10 pm / 21+ / FREE
Monthly all-vinyl DJ party Worldwide Discotheque features DJ Brian Engel of Hotpants and Hipshaker fame and DJ Steely Dan from the Kinda Cloudy Radio show on KFAI, so you know it’s got to be good. Get ready to get funky – the masterfully mixed and endlessly dynamic old-school beats set the tone for the evening, spanning genres including funk, Afro Beat, disco, boogie, salsa, reggae, highlife, Cumbia, boogaloo, rocksteady, dancehall and ska from Africa, South America, and Jamaica. -Staff
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH
Extra Large Dance Party
@ The Record Room at First Avenue
701 1st Avenue N
Minneapolis
10 pm / 18+ / $3 presale, $5 day-of, $3 crossover
This big and bold dance party hosted by Burlesque of North America, featuring DJ Mike 2600 and special guest DJ Grocery direct from St. Louis will be sure to slay the crowd with their monstrous beats, sharp rhythms and eerily smooth change-overs. Instead of sticking to a particular genre, the duo shifts between everything from hip hop to disco to dancehall to funk to Moombahton to classic party bangers. Arrive early to load up on 2-4-1 well drinks before midnight, and get ready for a dance party that lives up to its name. -Jahna Peloquin
Click HERE for the First Avenue site
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH & SUNDAY, AUGUST 12TH
Sohail & John’s GAYrage Sale
@ 404 W Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis
9 am-7 pm Saturday & 10 am-3 pm Sunday / FREE
No, it’s not gay-rage, it’s a GAYrage sale. To avoid conflicting interiors to their future home, Sohail Akhavein and John Sand will be hosting a one-of-a-kind garage sale selling clothing, Anthropologie mugs and coffee pots, trunks, antique mirrors and many more treasures willing to reside in your homes. They’ll even throw in a free army man with every purchase. Shop the wide variety while you hear jams by DJ Segei Finch. Friendship hot dogs, grilled and cut in half, will be served all day along with red wine in paper cups served to those of age. The way to the sale will be painted, so follow the rainbow brick road. -Meg Junkermeier
Click HERE for the GAYrage sale Tumblr
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Square Lake Festival
@ Square Lake County Park
13359 Partridge Road N
Stillwater
2 pm-midnight / All Ages / $20 advance, $30 door, $5 biker discount
The Square Lake Festival in Stillwater is an awesome combo of local rock bands and local film – shorts by Minnesota filmmakers are interspersed by such awesome bands as Night Moves, The Pines, Retribution Gospel Choir, Father You See Queen, Food Pyramid and the always welcome and truly legendary “Spider” John Koerner, who’s been making freak-folk music since Bon Iver were in diapers. The film portion of the festival is a contest – over $1,750 in cash prizes will be awarded to filmmakers by a jury including Trace Beaulieu of MST3K fame (Dr. Clayton Forrester/Crow T. Robot). It sounds like an interesting time, and you get a discount for riding in on a bike – meet at HUB Bike Co-op (3020 Minnehaha Avenue S in Minneapolis) at 9:30 am to depart. Heck of a ride, but worth it. -Jon Hunt
Click HERE for the Square Lake Festival site
Night Moves
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Guerrilla Girls Benefit
@ Cult Status Gallery
2913 Harriet Avenue S
Minneapolis
7–11 pm / All Ages / FREE
In the vein of masked avengers before them, long-running feminist crusaders, the Guerrilla Girls set out to expose injustice, corruption, sexism, racism in the art, film, pop culture and political scene back in ’85. Since then, they’ve appearing anonymously at over 90 universities and museums and been featured on NPR and the BBC, as well as in feminist texts, national journals and mags like The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bitch and Artforum. The gorilla-masked Guerrilla Girls invite people everywhere to challenge the system, reclaim the word “feminist,” get radical and “go ape” with them. Tonight, the internationally acclaimed feminist public and protest art activists partner with Joan Vorderbruggen (of Whittier Artists in Storefronts) and Cult Status Gallery’s Erin Sayer for an art auction/benefit to raise funds for in-your-face billboard campaign set in Minneapolis in support of defeating the marriage and voter ID amendments during the month of October. Bid on art sponsored by the women-run art organization WARM, as well as awesome art by local artists and enjoy tunes from DJs Ladyheat and Venus DeMars. And don’t forget to sport your own gorilla mask! -Juleana Enright
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
“Art Opening Number 17: The Longboard Show”
@ Cause Spirits and Soundbar
3001 Lyndale Avenue S
Minneapolis
7-10 pm / 21+ / FREE
Whether you like shredding asphalt or, if you lack those skills, watching other people do it, 45 Degrees North Board Company is putting on a show that skaters and spectators alike will want to see. Part of the art of skateboarding is the freedom of expression the board gives the rider. Thirty artists have created custom boards for 45 Degrees and you can only catch these pieces of rolling art Saturday night. Work from the likes of Rogue Citizen, Wundr, Biafra Inc, Jelly Bones, Metrik! and Mark Rivard will make any spectator want to pick up a board, and maybe a helmet and some knee pads, and ride. -Alexandra Katz
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Drums and Dance OSO Birthday Bash w/ Sophia Eris + Longshot + DJ Simone Steppa DuJour
It’s no secret that l’étoile loves OSO. Veteran local model Tearra’s jazzy alter-ego (who takes her name from Tearra’s childhood nickname, the spanish word for “bear”) performed at our New Designer Showcase this February, with frequent collaborators Mayda and Dano de la Mano. This Saturday, OSO brings her signature blend of R&B, hip hop, spoken word, and maracas to a late night show at Icehouse. As is standard with OSO performances, the stage will be jammed with talented, creative, pretty people, including Sophia Eria of the Chalice, MCs Longshot and Carnage, and DJ Simone Steppa DuJour, plus live painting by Jordan Hamilton – not to mention OSO, who’ll be wearing a look by local designer Danielle Everine and be accompanied by drummers from Malamanya and EarthShake. We recommend taking in an OSO performance with a classic cocktail – we can’t get enough of Icehouse’s drink menu. -Beth Hammarlund
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
“Save Teace” Fundraiser
@ Clubhouse Jäger
923 Washington Avenue N
Minneapolis
8 pm–2 am / 21+ / $5 donation
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of Teace, the man without a country. Born in Thailand but raised in the U.S. since he was two, the Minneapolis artist, DJ and musician known as Thisaphone “Teace” Sothiphakhak is now in the middle of a “bizarre bureaucratic glitch” which occurred while securing a promotion at Wells Fargo that’s taken him from employed, tax paying, Social Security holding American to unemployable resident alien subject to lock-downs and threats of deportation to an unfamiliar country. Tonight, local DJs join forces to raise money for Teace’s legal expenses and help cover the costs for an immigration lawyer. Check out sets from Freddy Fresh, beatsploitation tunes from Teace & Green, Dirty McKenzie & SL8R, Jeff Dubois of Attitude City and many more. Come down and shake it for a good cause! -Juleana Enright
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Poliça w/ Supreme Cuts + Zoo Animal
@ The Cabooze outdoor plaza
917 Cedar Avenue S
Minneapolis
5:30 pm / 18+ / $25
Unlike a lot of hyped indie bands, Poliça actually justify the excitement directed at them. For one thing: two drummers. That is never a bad thing (see: the Grateful Dead, and if you think we’re kidding, we’re not). But the group is really all about singer Channy Leaneagh, who sounds like she’s from another planet, all the time, and outer space stuff is rad, even accidentally. We also love openers Zoo Animal, featuring equally intriguing singer Holly Newsom. We recently reviewed their re-released remix album, Young Bold. Come early and don’t miss ‘em. -Jon Hunt
Click HERE for the First Avenue site
Poster by Burlesque of North America
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Hotpants
@ Nomad World Pub
501 Cedar Avenue S
Minneapolis
9 pm / 21+ / FREE
Head over to the West Bank and get your body moving at long-running monthly classic soul record night Hotpants. Expect the usual mix of ready-for-the-floor, booty-shaking rare soul and deep funk 45s from DJs Dale Burback, Brian Engel, Mena, and the newly-returned Rambo Salinas. It’s pretty much a die-hard soul fan’s wet dream. -Jahna Peloquin
Click HERE for the Facebook invite
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12TH
46th Street Block Party and King’s Birthday Bash
@ King’s Wine Bar
4555 Grand Avenue S
Minneapolis
Noon-6 pm / All Ages / FREE
Whether or not you’re a Kingfield resident, be neighborly and head to 46th and Grand this weekend for a daylong block party. Thrown by King’s Wine Bar, the event will do triple duty as King’s third birthday and a fundraiser for a new playground at the nearby MLK Park. Throughout the day, enjoy live music from Bunny Clogs, Megonia, Brianna Lane, Mayda and more, plus grilled burgers and hot dogs, locally brewed beer from King’s, ice cream from 46th Patisserie, Latin-style street food from Ena, family friendly games, jumping house, dunk tank, and face painting. -Jahna Peloquin
Click HERE for the King’s Wine Bar site
Editor in Chief: Jahna Peloquin / Staff Designer: Caroline Royce / Contributors: Juleana Enright, Anthony Enright, Jon Hunt, Niles Schwartz, Danielle Morris, Meg Junkermeier, Chelsea Streich, Alexandra Katz, Beth Hammarlund, Jahna Peloquin.
