Field Guide and the New Amsterdams
Triple Rock

With loud-rock rulers Swiss Army on some kind of indefinite hiatus, singer/guitarist Andy Lund has started up a new project called Field Guide. Shying away from the punk stylings of Swiss Army, Field Guide is a little gentler on the ears. The sound is still big, but the hooks are rounder, with Incommunicado’s Adrienne Vaughn providing solid vocal counterpoint. The fourth-grader in me just loves seeing boys and girls playing nice together. It should make for a good pairing with headliners the New Amsterdams, who are really just the Get-Up Kids with acoustic guitars. Or Reggie and the Full Effect without ’80s keyboards. The ratio of heart-on-sleeve/tongue-in-cheek is about all that changes among the various projects, but don’t think it means they have delusions of grandeur: to their credit, the New Amsterdams’ Myspace page says they sound like the Get Up Kids. Which is partly true: They slow it down and country it up, while retaining some of the venom, and do it all about a hundred times better than Dashboard Confessional. Nostalgia is equal parts regret and fondness, and Matt Pryor’s best songs have always broken it down and smashed it back together; violently with the Get-Up Kids, delicately with the New Amsterdams. “Bad Liar” is a good example right from its first line: “I told you everything was fine, but you called bullshit.” Expect a night of what Field Guide claims as influences: Drinking too much, relationship troubles and not being able to sleep at night. With To Reinvent. 6 p.m. $10/$12. All Ages. 629 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-333-7499. STEVE MCPHERSON

Brokenheart Jones
Fine Line

Rhett Miller and the Old 97’s should probably start keeping an eye out, because Brokenheart Jones are about to steal some of their thunder. Their recent release, Sunday’s Best, kicks off with some sweet guitarmonies shared between slide and non-slide guitar and Tim Greenwood’s weathered (but not too weathered; see again, Rhett Miller) voice railing against a “stupid girl.” They strike right into the vein of true Americana, recalling the salad days of artists like Ryan Adams and Wilco before they went all wiggy with their sonic palettes. A lot of alt.country tends to wallow in its crapulence, with every song about drinking, smoking and crying, but Brokenheart Jones leavens the recipe with a good dose of pop, even if they sometimes weave dangerously close to the edge with lines about the inadequacy of four chords to express true love. Come on, boys: if Bono could do it with three chords and the truth, four is 33% more to work with. Math problems aside, Brokenheart Jones have got the stuff to rise up and make a run at the big time. With the Josh Davis Band. 9:30 p.m. $5. 18+. 318 First Ave. N., Mpls. 612-338-8100. MCPHERSON

Pavek Museum of Broadcasting

The decade-old Pavek Museum of Broadcasting has filled a warehouse with fascinating detritus from the long history of recorded sound, including bronze microphones that might be mistaken for objets d’art, plastic novelty radios constructed to look like characters from Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and a fully functioning quiz show set where you can test your knowledge of popular culture. Amazing. 3515 Raleigh Ave., St. Louis Park. 952-926-8198. MAX SPARBER

Greg Hewett
Willmar Public Library

“Don’t leave me this way/one more queen strung out/dragging himself toward the fabulous grave of Oscar Wilde in order to leave Marilyn lips printed all over the pure white stone carved into a Deco sphinx.” You don’t gotta be gay to like the way erotic poet Greg Hewett (“To Collect the Flesh,” “Red Suburb”) writes. The guy’s language is absolutely fluid and he comes up with crystal clear imagery. And, as legendary lady of eros Carolyn Forsche states, “‘The Eros Conspiracy’ is an urbane, sophisticated meditation on sexuality, politics and history … ” Should make for some interesting classes at Carleton College, where Hewett teaches English. The excerpt above is from “The Eros Conspiracy” (Coffee House Press), Hewett’s new collection. You can hear more when he reads at Willmar Public Library on Friday, and then on April 17 at Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Uptown. 7 p.m. Free. 410 5th St. SW, Wilmar. DWIGHT HOBBES

Stephcast Live
U of M - Coffman Union

Stephanie Miller, filling the time slot on Air America formerly held by Wendy Wilde (who’s now considering a Congressional bid in the 3rd District) is apparently the top female liberal radio commentator in the U S of A (why would her website lie?). As a comedian and daughter of a well-known Republican, she has the verbal ammunition to put Fox News commentators in their place—she says she puts the “broad” in broadcasting and watches Fox News as a public service, so her audience doesn’t have to get depressed. She is the daughter of former Republican U.S. Representative William Miller, who was Barry Goldwater’s running mate in the 1964 presidential election. It should be a lively show with her sidekick, political voice impersonator Jim Ward, on hand. There will be a light lunch reception after the show, for which reservations are required. 8 - 11 a.m. Show is free; reception is $25. 300 Washington Ave. SE, Mpls. 952-946-8885. ADA SCHÖCK

Crush Kill Destroy
The Turf Club

When the first salvo of rusty-stringed guitars whips around you in a quasi-drunken pas-de-deux on opener “Walter Mondale” from Crush Kill Destroy’s Metric Midnight, you’ll probably think Fugazi. And you’ll think it again and again for different reasons: the democratic way in which off-kilter drums share the spotlight with the driving bass, the Ian Mackaye-worthy vocals. What makes them interesting, though, is the way in which they seamlessly blend Fugazi’s latter day tactics (abstraction, instrumental breakdowns) with the spleen of their earlier stuff. A fan on the band’s MySpace page describes them as “difficool,” which is very apt. Midway through most every song, it seems like the band falls in love with the sharp angles of a bridge or the weird way a chorus sits against the verse’s drum part and they begin a lengthy meditation on the complexities therein. It’s kind of beautiful and hypnotic, if you’re willing to work for it a little. Power is achieved not through volume, but through repetition and development. Despite its reputation as a haven for alt.country and classic rock, the Turf Club makes a surprisingly warm fit for math-rock, so come on down, drink your drinks, and smoke your smokes (outside). With The Poison Control Center, The Nina, The Pinta! and Heroes and Liars. 9 p.m. $5. 21+. Corner of University & Snelling Aves., St. Paul. 651-647-0486. MCPHERSON

The Life & Work of Avatar Meher Baba
Macalester College

Avatar Meher Baba, the God that rock-god Pete Townshend of The Who recognized as a perfect manifestation of Infinite Consciousness, gained notoriety in America during the 1960s for taking a strong stance against drugs and coining the phrase, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” But Meher Baba’s unparalleled life might best be described as “All Walk, No Talk,” since he maintained a 44-year silence traveling thousands of miles by train, plane and on foot to spread his message of love and truth. To celebrate his life the Meher Baba Center of the Twin Cities is presenting a special screening of “God in Human Form: The Life & Work of Avatar Meher Baba.” Local writer Leah Johnston kicks off the event by sharing her explosive personal story of “coming to Baba.” A brief panel discussion follows the film. 3 p.m. Free. Campus Center, John B. David Lecture Hall, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul. 651-696-6000. MAY SETON

Tinariwen
Cedar Cultural Center

Sun, dust, wind and distance: the desert. In the Western mind, Arab and African countries remain places of civil wars, refugee camps and deep poverty. The Walker Art Center sponsors the spiritually seductive musical group, Tinariwen—nomadic Touareg people of the southern Sahara. Torn by French colonialism and later divided between Mali, Niger, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya, the members of Tinariwen had been armed rebels living in Libyan refugee camps. But in 1982 they traded their guns for electric guitars and began making music that’s been dubbed “desert blues.” It innovatively mixes raga-like rhythms that echo sounds of India and offers chant-singing reminiscent of Arabic prayer or Son House, with blues licks that carry a memory from Middle Passage slave ships that traveled to Mississippi. Unlike anything you’ve ever heard, Tinariwen is the exultant cry of exiles, both ancient and utterly now, that provoke action against displacement. 8 p.m. $26/$22. 416 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-375-7600 or WalkerArt.org. LYDIA HOWELL

Reggae vs Hip Hop
Nomad World Pub

If there are two truly international musical genres, they’re reggae and hip-hop. Although the two usually don’t converge, an extraordinary lineup of local talent may change all that. Truth Maze, a Twin Cities innovator affiliated with the MN Spoken Word Association will perform pieces from his debut CD Expansions & Contractions. In addition, Pee Wee Dread from Dred I Dread, King Ras John from Belize and West Bank rapper Shiz will show their stuff. David Daniels, Reggae Theatre Ensemble founder and spoken word artist, hosts. (Given the response to his last solo work, Black Hippie Chronicles, one can hope that he’ll share pieces from it as well.) With this much talent in one room, it’s sure to be an exhilarating evening. 8:30 p.m. $8. 21+. 501 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-338-6424. HOWELL

Pilot
Uptown Bar

There’s a new art posse in town: Pilot is a consortium of 12 artists whose aim is to increase their visibility in Minnesota and nationally. In May the group will launch a national advertising campaign in Dwell magazine to create awareness about their eclectic membership and steer people toward their website (PilotArts.com). This weekend Pilot is hosting an exhibition at their temporary gallery space in Uptown. Michael Sweere, one of the artists, said the group is using the space for three or four months, and will change displays monthly. After that Pilot will host events elsewhere in the Twin Cities. “The idea is to pool our resources and equity,” he said, “to combine our contacts and push it a little further.” In addition to Sweere, the group includes John Alspach, Yuri Arajs, Amalia Biewald, Tara Costello, Jennifer Davis, John Diebel, Jao, Ben Olson, Terrance Payne, Amy Rice and James Wrayge. Meet them Saturday. 7 p.m. Free. 3045 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. 612-724-6502. NANCY SARTOR

Latino Workers March & Esperanza Rising
St. Paul Cathedral & Children’s Theatre Company

There will be a march and demonstration on Sunday to show solidarity with Latino workers. This is part of the nationwide demonstrations that have attracted millions in California. The march begins at the St. Paul Cathedral at 2:30 p.m. and goes to the state Capitol. It is sponsored by a broad coalition of labor, civil rights and community groups. Also, take some time in the next few weeks to see “Esperanza Rising” at the Children’s Theatre. It’s the story of one young immigrant from Mexico and the development of her understanding of the promise and the reality of the American dream as manifested in migrant camps in California in 1930 and ’31. It’s a triumph of the human spirit and an indictment of racist exploitation.  We need theater like this. We need to march in solidarity with our Latin brothers and sisters. El pueblo unido jamas será vencido! The People United Will Never Be Defeated! March: 2:30 p.m. State Capitol, St. Paul. 651-291-4542. “Esperanza Rising” through Apr. 15. Fri. – Sat. 7:30 p.m.; Sun. 2 & 5 p.m. CTC, 2400 3rd Ave. S., Mpls., 612-874-0500. ED FELIEN

Local Musician Mingle
Market BBQ Downtown

The first weekly acoustic open stage and “pickin' circle,” this local musician mingle is an interactive weekly community event which is more geared towards the musicians than the audience who enjoys them. Hosted by shugE (a re-invented Minneapolis musician who has spent the last two years in Gainesville, Florida invigorating the bluegrass/ old timey/acoustic singer-songwriter scene) who will play a brief set before opening up the stage. There’s no telling what sparks may fly in an open jam, so don’t be bashful and bring down yer' fiddle, guitar, banjo, guit-jo, accordion, mandolin, stand-up bass, etc to play some songs, pick with the band, chow some ribs, and mingle with other local musicians! 10 p.m. Free. 1414 Nicollet Ave., Mpls. 612-872-1111. AARON NEUMANN

Minnehaha Free State Book Party
Walker Community Church

The mid-1990s fights to stop the Highway 55 re-route through Minnehaha Park became far more than protest. Unexpected allies discovered each other: due-to-be-displaced homeowners, old hippies, environmentalists and youth anarchists stood with Indigenous people to fight for land they’ve considered sacred for centuries. Encamped for 18 months, “the Minnehaha Free State” was as much about re-imagining a future liberated from corporate commodification as it was about land preservation. Ellie King, a teenage participant who called herself “Freedom,” has written an eyewitness account of the experience entitled “Listen: The Story of the People of the Taku Waken Tipi & Re-Route of Hwy 55 or The Minnehaha Free State.” King hosts a book-release party, reunion and celebration that includes food, an art and photography exhibit and a cabaret of readings and performances. Come bolster your dreams for a post-corporate culture. 4 p.m. door/6 p.m. food/6:30 performance by Thunder Nation Drum Group & cabaret. Free. 31st St. &16th Ave. S., Mpls. HOWELL