Is it still winter? Yep. And we're still a couple months away from the spring thaw, so buck up Twin Cities--there's no point in hibernating! It may be chilly, you may feel the urge to hide under a bundle of blankets, you may even say you're "sick." But we know better. Brush of the S.A.D. and venture forth, there are plenty of hot times to be had this weekend!
xo-l'étoile
Photo by Stephen Stephens for l'étoile
THURSDAY JANUARY 27TH (THROUGH SATURDAY)
Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival 2011
@Ritz Theater
345 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis
8 p.m. / $20
Grab your best guys and gals and make your way to the Ritz Theater for a risque affair of leggy lingerie, magical music and a showcase of aerial and burlesque acts that will wow you like no other. This Thursday marks the opening of The Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival and the folks behind the swanky shindig are kicking off the three-day extravaganza with a bang. Say hello to White Hot Thursday, where attendees are asked to dress in their flashiest red and whites as they admire crazy circus acts and sexy burlesque skits the whole night through. To make opening night even sweeter, after the music, comedy and stage sites everyone in the audience is invited to a totally posh party with the cast. For more info on the festival, including Friday and Saturday lineups visit the link below.
Click HERE for the Midwest Burlesk site
THURSDAY JANUARY 27TH
DJ Dick Pic
@ Club Jager
923 Washington Ave N
Minneapolis
10 p.m. / 21+ / Free
Head to Jager tonight for a party jam throw down with the lovely ladies of DJ Dick Pic. Machen Davis and Maggie Morrison encourage you to flaunt your moves (not your junk, well, okay, maybe your junk) on the dance floor while you guzzle cheap drinks slung by none other than l'etoile's own Robyn Lewis (a.k.a. The Bitchelor). It's also DJ Big Dick's (Maggie Morrison) birthday party, so make sure to bring her an extra festive "dick pic" for the occasion.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
FRIDAY ART PICK: KRISTIN SCHUE
What's l'etoile looking at this week?
Kristin Schue has been actively engaged on the art scene in the Twin Cities for over a decade, and her delicate layers of collage and mixed media have an antique charm to them that capture the viewer in a memory that might as well be their own for the familiarity of it. She is one-part photographer, one-part multimedia artist, and the two often go hand in hand as she creates her collage pieces. At the heart of Schue's work is a story--the narrative of whatever her subject is. It is the story, in the end, that makes her work precious--and well worth checking out at her Northrup King Building studio. Perhaps next Thursday during 1st Thursdays in the Art District?
Click HERE for the Kristin Schue site
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
Street as Source: Wing Young Huie and Richard Copley
@ IFP Minnesota
2446 University Ave. W.
St. Paul
5:30 p.m. / Free
For the indulgent people watcher in all of us, photographers Wing Young Huie and Richard Copley present Street as Source, a collection of images fueled by the drama, humor, irony, and transitory but perfect converging of elements in space that is day to day life. Known for his street photography projects and ethnographic studies along Lake Street and University Avenue, Wing Young Huie strives to capture authentic moments in an age where digitally-enhanced photographs reign supreme. In a similar vein, Richard Copley has used the same Nikon FM2 film camera and black-and-white film for 30 years, continuously chasing the poetic realism and mystery of a world ever composed – at its core – of light and shadow, structure and people. See how these two photographers’ styles contrast and converge at IFP Minnesota, where Street as Source will run through mid-March.
Click HERE for this art event and more at mplsart.com
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH (THROUGH SATURDAY)
Gleb Fest
@ xxxusa
Facebook for more info
7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. music/ $7 per day, $12 both days
25 bands tenderly packed into a two-day package all under the same roof? To what do we owe the honor? Why, Gleb Fest, of course. This weekend – for even less than the price of a movie ticket – feast your ears on a plethora of local bands from every spectrum under the music rainbow plus rad carnival-style attractions including kissing, rapping, face painting, and karaoke booths. Featuring live sets from bossanova/light psych lovelorns, Buffalo Moon; the acoustic ballads of Michael Gaughan's project Little Dog on Top of A Big Dog; garage rockers, Vampire Hands; saucy glitch jam kickers, Chelsea Boys; Is Is, Moonstone, The Chambermaids, Chickadee Mountain Martyrs and tons more! Don't forget yer dancin' shoes.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
Buffalo Moon:
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
Heroes: A Benefit for Local Recording Artists
@ Varsity Theater
1308 4th St. SE
Minneapolis
8 p.m. / $10 / 21+
On Christmas Eve, we all lost a little bit of faith in humanity when the studio of The Alarmists’ Eric Lovold was burglarized, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars of recording equipment and masters for the upcoming albums of local artists Kicks & Spurs and Brian DeRemer. Fortunately for our hearts and souls, Twin Citizens have never been ones to put up with crap like that, so Lovold and his friends are hosting a concert to offset the costs of re-recording and releasing the two stolen albums. The Alarmists, Brian DeRemer, Chris Koza, Kicks & Spurs, and White Light Riot will be performing throughout the evening, with Solid Gold DJ Sets between bands. Go. It’s the perfect opportunity to support the local music scene we love so dearly – and to say a big “eff you” to Yuletide scoundrels.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
Walker After Hours: On Ice
@ Walker Art Center
1750 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis
9 p.m. - 12 a.m. / $30 ($20 Walker members)
Winter is still a'raging and if you're anything like us you're going a Whatever Happened to Baby Jane-level of stir crazy. Attention hermits and shut-ins, tonight's Walker After Hours shindig helps you ditch the snuggie while still catering to your love of cozy and urging you to keep the flannel on. Celebrate the opening reception of artist Mike Kelley's 'mass art meets folk art' exhibit, The Spectacular of Vernacular, while sipping down delicious cocktail's from the Walker's outdoor ice bar or drink up a little taste of seasonal comfort in the form of a hot cocoa and Wolfgang Puck complimentary hot dish nosh. Enjoy some slick tunes from Transmission DJ Jake Rudh and flaunt your solstice-themed sweater threads in the famous Flickr photo booth. Prizes will be doled out for most “Minnesotan” – so bust out those “Uff da!” sweaters! Sign up as a new Walker member in advance and receive a free party ticket, while supplies last. Old man winter be damned.
Click HERE for this art event and more at mplsart.com
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
CLAPS, Blue Sky Blackout, Mercurial Rage, Aaron and the Sea
@ Cause
3001 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis
9:30 p.m. / $5
Always a contender when it comes to killer local rock shows, Cause’s Friday line-up brings together CLAPS, Blue Sky Blackout, Mercurial Rage, and Aaron and the Sea for our head-banging pleasure. A rabbit-quick rundown of why you should see all of these bands: CLAPS is so good, they make us long for the return of a genre (minimal synth, somewhat like Depeche Mode) we didn’t even know existed; Blue Sky Blackout is like the ideal bad-boy: cool, fashionable, a helluvalota fun, and just the right amount of rock-godlike testosterone; Mercurial Rage wants you to have a good time, and perhaps the only thing they’re better at doing is recreating the glory of a '70s coke ballad; and Aaron and the Sea’s jumpy, soulful, and utterly loveable songs more than live up to the band’s wistfully adorable moniker. See you there!
Click HERE for the Facebook event
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
DOSH / H.U.N.K.S. / DGK
@ Turf Club
1601 University Ave
St. Paul
9 p.m. / 21+ / $7
H.U.N.K.S., the more melodic, dreamy spawn of Marijuana Death Squads, will bust out of its Wednesday night residency at Nick & Eddie to play a special one-off at the Turf Club. They will be joined on this occasion by legendary noisemaker Martin Dosh, who's live shows never disappoint, and newcomers DGK. Expect a night of knob-twiddling experimentation in sound, created by some of the most talented collaborators around.
Click HERE for the Turf site
FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
Bee Cool
@ Honey
205 E Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis
9 p.m. / 21+ / $5 before 10 p.m. & $3 after 10 p.m.
This Friday, local dance party Bee Cool is moving up from cool to really, freakin’ cool. Not only is the night going to be the usual awesome mix of dancey chaos, thanks to tunage from Bach666 and Monsterbrusten, but local rap studs Bight Club will be taking over the stage at 9 p.m. sharp to the get the party started off right. Plus, all you attendees will definitely have no trouble tankin’ up on the trendy PBR tall boys and whiskey drinks – both are on special the whole night through.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
COOL LINK: THE TANGENTIAL
What's l'etoile lookin' at on the web this week?
In the vein of McSweeny's, The Awl and Thought Catalog comes a world class, yet local-hearted creative collective that puts humor in its place. Enjoy the sardonic antidotes of local writers including sarcastress Becky Lang, man-about-town Jay Gabler and the sassy Katie Sisneros. A verbally clever dose of creative non-fiction – think David Sedaris – the blog is a hilar twist on work-a-day rituals, ribald bits of advice and thoughts on societal norms we usually keep to ourselves with posts such as “How to Convince People You're Interesting,” “An Interview with My College Self Regarding the New Weed Soda,” “The 10 Most Unflattering Pictures of Myself” and “Worst Box Lunches Ever,” it's like reading the private journal of the super verbose friend you always wished you had. Totally one of our fave daily web stops! Don't miss this soon-to-be ubiquitous, hip gem from our local literary corner.
Click HERE for the Tangential site
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Avoid the Gray
@ Old Arizona Studios
2821 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis
Shows at 3 p.m., 7 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. / $15
Leave it to Cliche to once again showcase some of the best up-and-coming and established local design talent! Avoid the Grey 2011 features 20 of the Twin Cities' finest: Sarah M. Holm, Ivan Idland, Carmichael Cliath, Amanda Christine, steevie.b, Korrin Lohmann, Danielle Everine, ArielSimone, Elena Mercurio, Tender Cuts, Ashley Busch, DeLange, Jenny Carle, Niki English, Kathryn V, kjurek couture, Sydney Ilten, Renate Adjei, Maritza Ramirez, and Needle & Black. With three shows, and tickets at the low price of $15, there is absolutely no excuse for you to not get all gussied up in your best threads and get your butt down there to show some love and indulge in some cheap dranks.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
This Art Punches Clocks
@ Tarnish & Gold Gallery
1511 Marshall St NE
Minneapolis
7 p.m. - 11 p.m. / free
The artists in tonight exhibit haven't quit their day jobs just yet, but in between the mundane tasks of punching in and punching out, locals Lucas Gluesenkamp, Marie Pelkey, Jake Keeler, Zach Taylor and Brian Johnson have been a'conjuring up some rad art work. City jobs don't dictate these art masters' work! Check what gems the five artists have been creating while not inside an office box while you jam to live music by the Young Pretenders and a special secret guest.
Click HERE for this art event and more at mplsart.com
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Get Lucky 2011
@ SooVAC
2638 Lyndale Ave S
Minneapolis
7 p.m. - 11 p.m. / $35 members, $40 adv, $45 door
It's no secret that we heart the SooVAC for their innovation and continual support for local and emerging artists. So tonight, show your loyalty to the gallery as you attend their ninth annual fundraising gala, Get Lucky. Tonight's bash features a silent art auction with art donations from the talented paws of Drew Beson, Amelia Biewald, Andrea Carlson, Tara Costello, Erin Currie, Jennifer Davis, Chris Larson, Liz Miller, Erin Sayer, Sean Smuda, Scott Stulen, John Vogt, Mousesaw, Terrence Payne, Amy Rice, l’étoile's own Kate Iverson and tons others! Plus, a guild-of-one installation and performance by Karl Unnasch all evening long, delicious food provided by Bryant Lake Bowl and Chowgirls Killer Catering, convo with art-minded folks and so much more! Go lucky or go home!
Click HERE for this art event and more at mplsart.com
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
David Zink Yi: Horror Vacui
@ Midway Contemporary Art
527 2nd Ave. SE.
Minneapoli
7 p.m. / Free
Depending on the context (and the accuracy of Wikipedia), a horror vacui can mean a fear of empty spaces (literally), the filling of the entire surface of an artwork with detail (visual art-ily), or the idea that nature abhors a vacuum, and therefore empty space is always trying to suck in matter to avoid being empty (scientifically). It’s also the name of the new solo exhibition by photographer, sculptor, and videographer David Zink Yi that opens Saturday at Midway Contemporary Art. Investigating the complex structures of cultural identity and the tensions between reality, materiality, and the dissolving of narrative interpretation, the exhibit will feature sculptural and photographic work, as well as a two-channel video installation, also titled “Horror Vacui.” We’re anxious to see what context (if any) Yi has chosen to represent in his work; no matter what, we bet it’ll be strange and profound in the best ways possible.
Click HERE for this art event and more at mplsart.com
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Ruby Isle "Appetite for Destruction" CD Release
@ Triple Rock Social Club
629 Cedar Ave. S.
Minneapolis
9 p.m. / $7
We may or may not have listened to Ruby Isle’s “Nightrain” cover on repeat when it was released in November – and finally, we get to revel in the whole album. Well, live anyways, and via online streaming (who knew such shameless appropriation of another band’s album would be cause for legal ramifications? Geez, iTunes). Join everyone’s favorite badass Mark Rose – er, Mallman, Dan Geller, and drummer Aaron LeMay as they (sort of) release their Guns N’ Roses cover album Appetite for Destruction Saturday at the Triple Rock. Joining them are other hot (and not in hot water) local rockers Me and My Arrow, New Century Masters, and Spyder Baby Raw Dog.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Opera Night Out: Mary Stuart
@ Sakura
350 Saint Peter St.
St. Paul
10:30 p.m. / 21+
(Opening Night performance at the Ordway 8 p.m.)
Just because Mary Stuart married the man who quite possibly murdered her second husband and was convicted of treason for plotting to assassinate her cousin doesn’t mean we shouldn’t throw a dance party in her honor. Or at least in honor of the Minnesota Opera’s rendition of the tale of Mary Stuart. Following Saturday’s opening performance, eat, drink, and be merry at Sakura, where you can partake in a variety of royal festivities, from dancing to Radio K DJs to mingling with opera imperials to indulging in drink specials and complimentary treats to sitting for a portrait with Queen Mary herself beneath the dueling flags of Scotland and Britain (creepy, but totally awesome). By all means enjoy the spoils, just please, take a lesson from history and keep your daggers in your corset (so to speak). Want to check out the opera? We fully endorse it. Become a Tempo member and score $30 tickets to Mary Stuart plus access to a number of cool special events and discounts throughout the year.
Click HERE for the Tempo site
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Attitude City
@ Club Jager
923 Washington Ave
Minneapolis
10 p.m. / 21+ / Free
One of our favorite monthly dance jams is here! The badass boys of Attitude City are at it again with their installation of music and mayhem. Join the Jeff Dubois and special guest Benny Lojak for a night of delicious dance beats and Clubhouse Jager’s tasty cocktails. Not only is it free, but we guarantee that you’ll have an awesome time mingling and dancing up on some of Minneapolis’ finest.
Click HERE for the Facebook event
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Menergy
@ Kitty Cat Klub
14th & 4th
Dinkytown
10 p.m. / 21+ / $3
Join the manly men of Menergy once again at the Kitty Cat Klub for a testosterone-fueled throw down of epic proportions. Get freaky in Playatta's video portal, dance to killer jams from DJ Sweet Talk Radio and special guests DJs Solid Gold. Close out "Manuary" the right way, with drinks, jamz, and multimedia magic!
Click HERE for the Facebook event
This is MENERGY from Anthem Heart A/V on Vimeo.
SATURDAY JANUARY 29TH
Ghost in the Water
@ Red Stag Supperclub
509 1st Ave NE
Minneapolis
10:30 p.m. / Free
Get both your live music and DJ fill this weekend at the Red Stag. Saturday, local electro-pop twosome Ghost In The Water will be taking over the cozy supper club to bring you a whole night of punchy beatage and dancin’ jams to keep your feet moving ‘til the crack of 2am. Starting at 10, take in a live set from the electronically inclined duo who will treat you to their gauzy, blip-tastic brand of beats followed by a dancetastic DJ set. Enjoy and get down whilst sipping on tasty drinks and nomming on Stag nosh.
Click HERE for the Red Stag site
L'ETOILE NEWSWIRE
3 Courses for $30 at Sea Change
Through the month of January, Sea Change is offering an amazing fine dining deal: A prix fixe menu featuring three courses for $30!
Appetizer choices include two raw bar favorites – Alpine Bay oysters and tuna poke – along
Click HERE for the Sea Change site
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