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Arts Orbit Radar 12/9/10 What's happening this week On the radar: Ryan Olson has been a force for years in the Minneapolis music scene—he was a member of Digitata, among other groups—but this year the scene swirled around Olson like cotton candy on a stick. He created the supergroup GAYNGS, who released a nationally acclaimed album and threw one of the year's most ridiculously fun parties, then spent the summer pursuing projects including mysterious noisemakers Marijuana Deathsquads. Olson comes out from behind his laptop for an intimate conversation (well, not quite this intimate) tonight at the Whole as part of the "Making Music" series. Under the radar: Jack Daniel's staff will be at Thomas Liquors on Grand Avenue in St. Paul tonight, etching bottles of the Tennesee spirit with a message of your choice. It's a unique and classy gift idea for that person on your list who has everything but a bottle of whiskey etched with the words poopy fart penis breath. On the radar: When it comes to family ties, the bonds of beats can be tighter than the bonds of blood. Tonight is the first of two consecutive nights you can experience the sixth annual Doomtree Blowout at First Ave. Under the radar: St. Paul parents, keep your kids inside tonight if you want them to still believe in that Jolly Old Elf: this is the night of the Santa Pub Crawl. On the radar: It's a little-known fact, but there are actually quite a few people in Minnesota who are descended from the inhabitants of the distant land of Sweden. Tonight in a rare public gathering, this mysterious and elusive group celebrate the holidays with their traditional ritual involving candles, cones, and schoolchildren. Under the radar: Unexpected delights are bound to abound at the Dance Film Festival, rolling out this week at MCAD and the Southern Theater.
On the radar: Romantica, among the Twin Cities' most swoonable purveyors of acoustic pop, release their new LP America on vinyl tonight at the Cedar, with KaiserCartel opening. Under the radar: You heard it here first: pancakes are the new bacon, and brunch is the new brunch. Madame, an upstart queer community art space near Powderhorn Park, is hosting a pancake fundraiser today at the brunch hour. Here's a new one: they're requesting not only a cash donation of $5-$20, they'd love for you to bring your own place setting, to donate to the space. Now you have an excuse to get rid of that souvenir plate Aunt Lauren brought you from Wall Drug. On the radar: If anyone can make a show worth seeing despite the fact that it contains a character named "Rudolph the Rappin' Reindeer," it's the Sounds of Blackness. Under the radar: Playwright Kira Obolensky, armed with a new translation and a shelf of academic research, has taken on the ambitious task of adapting a cabaret originally created by prisoners in a Jewish ghetto during the Holocaust. The title: Laugh With Us. Will it be the new Scottsboro Boys? The new Life is Beautiful? Both? Neither? Find out in a reading tonight at the Playwrights' Center. On the radar: For 15 years, Tricky has surfed the roiling waves of hip-hop, R&B, and house music, often presenting his work in challenging theatrical contexts. It's hard to tell what's going to happen when he plays the Varsity tonight, but it's a pretty safe bet that no one's going to shout, "Freebird!" Under the radar: Adventurous hip-hop is also the order of the evening at the Southern, which hosts triple-turntablist DJ/rupture and acoustic/electronic percussionist Ben Weaver. On the radar: It seems like just yesterday that Mayor Rybak was thinking about stage-diving in the Mainroom, but First Avenue's 40th anniversary year is almost over. They're celebrating tonight with (what else?) a rock show featuring Gary Louris, Har Mar Superstar, Heiruspecs, Koerner and Glover, and many more including "special guests"—and at First Ave, "special" tends to actually mean special. Under the radar: Who is St. Nicholas? Where did he come from? This evening at Landmark Center, you can learn the answers to those questions from the Big Man himself—unfortunately, I'm not talking about Clarence Clemons.
Daily Planet arts roundup • Budrus: An inspirational documentary about Israel and Palestine (blog entry by Dorothy Scholtz) • David Hanners: "I'll never use Auto-Tune, no matter what the critic in Duluth says" (interview by Dwight Hobbes) • Commedia Beauregard's Klingon Christmas Carol will draw hard-core Trekkers at Warp 9.985 (review by Bev Wolfe) • Local food gift ideas (blog entry by Amy Rea) • Consumer's role in sustainability (feature by Tom Niemisto) Not a subscriber? Click here to get Arts Orbit Radar in your inbox every Wednesday—and follow ArtsOrbit on Twitter or Tumblr for 24/7 updates on the local arts scene.
For a switch, Oscar bait Movie theaters around town are starting to heat up with releases of potentially Oscar-nominated films. Whether their creators end up thanking or cursing the Academy, many of the films being released this month will surely find their way onto end-of-the year top ten lists. Films opening this weekend range from a ballet dancer (Natalie Portman) struggling to control her demons in Black Swan; a different take on St. Nicholas and the Christmas spirit in Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (as the photo above suggests, this is definitely not for the young ones); an actress looking for a break in Queen of the Lot with lead actress Tanna Frederick (who will be present at the Lagoon Cinema on Friday and Saturday nights); Boxing Gym, a new documentary from 80-year-old prolific director Frederick Weisman (La Danse and High School), examining Lord's Gym in Austin, Texas; the third film based in the children's series the Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and two of the biggest movie stars in the world, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, teaming up in the dramatic thriller The Tourist, by Oscar winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others). It's hard to judge what is going to be the best film to check out this weekend. The only one I have seen is Rare Exports, and while my expectations were high for this Finnish film, I was a bit disappointed by the fact that the film drags, although it's only 75 minutes long. The idea is top-notch and it did make me laugh a few times, but director Jalmari Helander can't seem to keep the narrative moving fast enough and has long stretches of uncertainty from its two main protagonists, a father and son team who capture Santa Claus and sell him back to the corporation responsible for digging him up in the Korvatunturi mountains. While this may sound outlandish, I'd still recommend catching Rare Exports at the Lagoon, since it's the only film that qualifies as having a Christmas theme, but The Tourist, set in Italy, will probably look more appealing to people who are already tired of shoveling and looking at snow on the ground. A film released theatrically over the summer and released on DVD/Blu-Ray yesterday, proved to be every bit worth of the exposure and hype, is Christopher Nolan's dazzling Inception. Inception demands multiple viewings and grows more fascinating upon each viewing; every theory you have on the film will be different than someone else's. Inception is a rarity among movies today: it was released by major studio Warner Brothers and was carefully advertised in a way that left the viewer challenged and entertained, and it really delivered on the trailer's promises. Many find Nolan's direction and storytelling to be manipulative, but I'd defend his narrative twists and striking vision: he trusts his audience in connecting clues, without hammering mindless exposition over your head and spelling out his endings a la M. Night Shyamlan. Now that the Academy Awards have expanded Best Picture nominees from five to ten, Inception should certainly secure one of those spots and Nolan should receive nominations for best original screenplay and director, unless the Academy decides to leave him out in the cold again, like they did for his 2008 genre-bender The Dark Knight. Q: Who IS that? A: Carolyn Kopecky, artist on TV and on a Segway Name: Carolyn Kopecky What's your job? Other than your job, what are your claims to fame? What's your relationship status? Where are you most likely to be seen? Where are you most likely not to be seen? Besides your significant other, with what people are you most likely to be seen? Where were you born? What neighborhood do you live in? What's your ride? What's the best way for someone to start a conversation with you? |  |
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8 Aralık 2010 Çarşamba
Arts Orbit Radar 12/9/10
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