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Arts Orbit Radar 2/10/11 What's happening this week On the radar: A lot of great concert photos are taken every day in the Twin Cities, and most of them show up once on a half-screen slideshow, then disappear into oblivion. A show opening today at XY&Z Gallery features photos of local musicians by Steven Cohen, Erik Hess, and Stacy Schwartz—all of whom, I'm proud to say, have contributed work to the Daily Planet—paired with tributes to the musicians by local writers. (My subject? Har Mar Superstar.) Tonight's opening reception will feature an appearance by "a surprise musical guest." Under the radar: "Mention 'Joel the Swedish Fiddler' to any Minneapolis music lover," I wrote last year, "and chances are good that his or her face will light up like St. Lucia's wreath. Everyone loves Joel Bremer, and not just because he's a nice guy—he's a top-notch musician, as deft improvising accompaniment to an American folk song as in playing the traditional music of his native land." Bremer was attempting to return to Minnesota this winter but was held up at U.S. customs; because Bremer made about $200 during his last visit, without a work visa, he was sent packing back to Sweden. Tonight at Palmer's, a number of local musicians are hosting a "5 Buck Fiddle Fest" as a benefit to help Joel the Swedish Fiddler recoup his losses. On the radar: Best Coastyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Under the radar: Joseph and Joshua Scrimshaw, two funny brothers who are collectively known as "the Scrimshaw Brothers," are each presenting a show this weekend. Joshua's, at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, is called Amateur Hour: an attempt to grab the torch formerly carried by Mulligan Stu's Do-Over Revuew by showcasing the embarrassingly unaccomplished productions of local notables. The novel spin this time around is that the show will feature on-the-spot feedback from "a panel of kids and other real life amateurs!" Later, at the Cedar-Riverside People's Center, Joseph Scrimshaw presents the one-man comedy show Chocolates and Shame. Tickets are two-for-one if you're on a date: "No discount if you are with a sibling, a parent, or that person you haven't had the guts to have the 'is this a date?' conversation with." On the radar: Whether or not gratuitous tildes in event titles are getting out of hand is a matter of opinion, but what is objectively true is that tonight's show at the Sound Gallery—the first in a series of live-streamed parties co-sponsored by City Pages and MPLS.TV—will be epic. Under the radar: There's a dead celebrity Love Boat cruise departing from the Ramada Mall of America. Nothing I could say could possibly make you any more or, as the case may be, less likely to hop on board, so I'll just shut up.
On the radar: Catch Robyn quick, before she nukes the fridge and shows up on VH1 Divas. Under the radar: Amidst the debate over whether the Twin Cities have too many live music venues, a new venue is opening today in downtown St. Paul—but this one has a very special niche. Called the Baroque Room, it's meant specifically for chamber music. On the radar: Got someone to snuggle? Want someone to snuggle? Under the radar: A recommendation from Katie Sisneros: "Spend your Valentine's Day canoodling your significant other/blind date/self at the Kitty Cat Klub to the music of England-based musicians Anja McCloskey and Ottersgear (Mikey Kenney), and Minneapolis locals Fort Wilson Riot and fuzzy-haired folkster Nallo. McCloskey is kicking off her very first U.S. tour in Minneapolis, bringing Ottersgear along for what is also his inaugural stateside appearance. Mikey and Nallo are dear friends of mine (a rewarding relationship that is the product of a semester abroad in the UK in 2006) and I anxiously await my opportunity to hear them croon together once again; their depth of sound convinced me years ago that they were a match made in vocal heaven." On the radar: A question posed recently on Twitter (I don't remember by whom; tell me and I'll add a credit): "Can we stop saying 'Lemmy from Motörhead'? Are there any other Lemmys?" No. There are no other Lemmys. Under the radar: The latest in the Trylon's series of Tuesday film premieres is Samson and Delilah, a movie about two Aboriginal teens coming of age together—because it was never going to work out between the Aboriginal boy and that snotty prep-school girl. On the radar: I will confess that Yelp is a strange land to me. Having never really Yelped, I understand that one tells Yelp what one likes and what one doesn't like, and if you do a lot of that and are awesome at it, you get a bunch of Yelp karma (not to be confused with Vita.mn Karma Points), which may cause you to be elevated to elite status, which may mean that it's easier for you to get into sweet events like tonight's Frostbite Ball. You're welcome for that useful information. Under the radar: The ska revival revival will happen if we just believe! In the meantime, the Toasters stop at the Triple Rock as part of their 30th anniversary tour.
Daily Planet arts roundup • Stephen Elliot's The Adderall Diaries, February's Books & Bars selection (review by Courtney Davison) • Sundance Film Festival report: From Page One to All Your Dead Ones (feature by Jim Brunzell III) • Iñárritu's latest film finds Biutiful things in the darkest places (review by Jay Gabler) • Oscar nominees enjoy Beverly Hilton lunch: Where everyone is equal for the day (feature by Barb Teed) • Zacc Harris of the Atlantis Quartet on jazz, leaving wiggle room, and the future of the Clown Lounge (interview by Dwight Hobbes) • TC Women's Choir sings with traditional Irish band in St. Paul February 5 (feature by Ann Treacy) • Peter Wolf Crier and Retribution Gospel Choir at the Cedar Cultural Center: Loud and in love (review by Kyle Matteson, photos by Meredith Westin) • Twin Cities Hip-Hop Awards celebrate the diversity of local hip-hop (feature by Justin Schell) • The Decemberists and Mountain Man at the State Theatre: Return to glory (review by Kyle Matteson, photos by Mandy Dwyer) • Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the State Theatre: A private conversation (review by Jay Gabler, photos by Meredith Westin) • Helen by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities: Hold on to your hat (review by Christopher Kehoe) • On the scene and behind the scenes at Loppet Snow Sculpture contest (blog entry by Alan Wilfahrt) • A new year begins with Fishman's closing (blog post by Joanna Lowinger) • A mishap in the chicken coop/run (blog entry by Amy Doeun) 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.
Oscar-nominated animated shorts are charming and moving Last week, I talked about two Oscar-nominated films, Biutiful and The Illusionist. Now this week, there are a whopping fifteen Oscar-nominated films opening. The films are not feature length, thank goodness: there are three sets of short programs opening this weekend, two at the Lagoon Cinema and the other opening at the Riverview Theater. So to get ahead in your upcoming Oscar pools, it would be wise to try to catch these films in their limited runs. So far I've only able to watch one of the collections, the animated short films. The live action short films will be playing at the Lagoon, along with the animated short films, while the short documentary nominees will be playing at the Riverview. The five animated shorts in the collection are all worthy of the prestigious Oscar and one of them, Day & Night, many people saw if they saw the Oscar-nominated animated feature Toy Story 3 in theaters. The Pixar-made Day & Night is a wonderful take on daytime and nighttime, with two different cloud-like characters competing as to which part of the day is the better one. Director Teddy Newton's film features no dialogue but different emotions and images on each of the characters' bodies; as each tries to defend itself, they come to a compromise, leaving both of them seeing each other for who they really are. From France and Madagascar comes Carnet de Voyage (translation: A Journey Diary). Director Bastien Dubios uses different types of animation to explore a beautiful picturesque travelogue. Seamlessly moving from black-and-white to color to oil paintings, many of the characters featured in the short don't have faces and look to be drawn in stencils. There are some great moments of using his entire canvas in making a stunning portrait of life through scenic vistas. A short that felt like it could have been longer but coming in close to under six minutes, writer/director Geefwee Boedoe's very funny Let's Pollute uses the style of an educational film that might have been used in the 1960s to show viewers the benefit of polluting. In voiceover, a deadpan Jim Thornton works wonders with lines like, "Corporations will lead the way to pollution." The film left me thinking about the absurdity of how Americans are consumed by manufactured products. From writer/director duo Max Lang and Jakob Schuh, the charming UK short The Gruffalo is the longest of the shorts, at twenty-seven minutes; they make each minute count. It's a story within a story of a mother squirrel telling her two younger squirrel children about a mouse who ventures into the woods looking for food, only to encounter three different animals: a fox, an owl, and a snake. They all threaten to eat the mouse, but the sly mouse manages to elude each of them by telling them that he is off to a "gruffalo" whose favorite meals happen to be a fox, an owl, and a snake. The animation is similar to Pixar animation with some CGI special effects, but The Gruffalo is helped by its storytelling, leading each animal in a different direction only to be led back to the cunning mouse, who has bigger plans for each other them when he finally comes into contact with a "gruffalo." The last of the shorts might be my favorite: from Australia, The Lost Thing (above). Written and directed by another duo—Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan—The Lost Thing has a Wall-E type story, as a young boy takes a visit to a beach where he encounters a strange "crab creature" that seems to be abandoned. As the creature and the boy play on the beach all day, he can't help but wonder where the creature has come from. He attempts to bring him home to his parents' house, his parents want nothing to do with it and he is left to search for a new home for his creature friend. The Lost Thing delicately weaves melancholy and sadness into its brief 15-minute narrative; I couldn't help but feel real emotion for the crab creation. It's trying to find its place on earth, like so many of us looking for a way to connect with others, even though we may feel a little different than everyone else. Q: Who IS that? A: John James Wallace, hipster socialite Name: John James Wallace 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 to not be seen? With what people are you most likely to be seen? @acbruhaha @alottamulawka @AM_Neubs @amybroekema @alison_paige @arsononly @ARTCRANK @betz_mn @bjornery @brenface @brevig @brokenhalo @btwixt @caerickson @catiyas @ChaseThisBear @chelseabrink @cleverkate @daniellempls @darcialexis @dena33 @daninelson @david_u @depinia @dels @elgc45 @empd73 @eriktmpls @euMNnice @fivesixzero @formica_dinette @frecklednfab @gigijager @GimmeGadget @hayleydoyle @heidiskoog @hsilkchampagne @IamSex @irishgirl @jackiebateman @jadedpastry @jahnapeloquin @jamieotto @jannifunk @jaygabler @jeff_mcl (we're even BFFs on Foursquare!) @jessinader @jorenby @kareemy @karenvlocke @Katy_O @kissmyapocalyps @kristahiner @kristaprints @laurabrownart @lillyj3 @LilyTroia @littlebrumble @lizbastian @lotaleesparkman @_luciafiasco_ @lyznagan @marcoscopic @margiemerrym @markffoxisadj @marrina @maryclarejensen @maychin @meatpit @MeredithWestin @MimiJ612 @misskittypryde @mkfiasco @mollyroark @mplsdice @MPLSTV @ms_ericaaaaa @nicycle @noraborealis @Nylons @OGNola @patiomensch @paulwichser @petebasgen @plesserchick @p_suedeleather @Rachel872 @RPmpls @sandusks @selbyandgriggs @solace @SlingshotAnnie @sloped @Staciaann @SteakNUnicorns @stephiep33 @studioloraine @swaggaboom @TeamKeepItReal @theBitchelor @thegr8nicole @theIverson @Thomas_Wendt @thompr @toddodowd @trikno @valpouti @voocreative @vruno @winnerbowzer @zachamon." Where were you born? In what neighborhood do you live now? What's your ride? What's the best way for someone to start a conversation with you? |   |
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9 Şubat 2011 Çarşamba
Arts Orbit Radar 2/10/11
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