Apollo Sunshine
The Ascot Room

Sometimes, bands’ names don’t really match up to their sound. …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead aren’t quite so gothic as the name suggests, and Sunny Day Real Estate are neither sunny nor actually interested in land development. But there are those bands whose names pretty much nail what they sound like: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Promise Ring, Belle and Sebastian. Add Apollo Sunshine to that list because their brand of sparkling, ambitious pop is not only bright and shiny as a summer’s day, but confident and strong, like prawn, not weak like shrimp. They’ve already been Spin’s Band of the Day and from all I’ve heard, their live shows are unbelievable. I have yet to catch them, but their disc is the kind of goodie that power-pop should always be, leavened with some more complicated bits that mark it as not just a collection of singles, but a real, honest-to-god album. Expect instrument switching, big-ass harmonies and manic dancing. 6:30 p.m. All Ages. $10. 110 N. 5th St., Mpls. 612-338-3383. Steve McPherson

John LaForge of Nukewatch
May Day Books

Called “bunker busters,” the United States has dropped hundreds of tons of these depleted uranium (DU) weapons during the two wars in Iraq. At least, 50,000 American veterans from the 1991 Gulf War have since died of “Gulf War Syndrome” (aka cancer), and the leukemia rate in Iraq is 12 times higher than it was before DU bombing. Iraq’s air, water and soil are contaminated by radiation, with both U.S. soldiers’ and Iraquis’ children experiencing escalated birth defects. The VA refuses to test returning veterans for radiation poisoning. Hear John LaForge of Nukewatch reveal what the Pentagon continues to deny about these American WMDs. 7 p.m. Free. West Bank, 301 Cedar Ave. S. (basement of Hub Bicycle, side door of building), Mpls. 612-821-9141 Lydia Howell

Please Don’t Blow Up Mr. Boban
Loring Playhouse

As the war in Iraq rages on and on and on, how many of us (without loved ones serving in the military) can honestly say that our everyday lives are adversely affected? Sure, gas prices are egregiously high (can you say “corporate price gauging”?), but for most of us the lights are on, water flows from the tap and food is abundant. “Please Don’t Blow Up Mr. Boban” is a play that examines what it’s like to live in the midst of war in a production that is simultaneously lighthearted and somber. The setting is deliberately undefined, but the idea for the play came from a satirical article in a British newspaper about a Baghdad café owner, who despite being devastated by repeated bombings, is able to survive and reopen his café again and again. Mr. Boban is a clown figure that exudes innocent optimism, finding hope and stability in the midst of chaos. The play was the most-attended show at this summer’s Fringe Festival and is revived at the Loring Playhouse until October 22. Directed by Jon Ferguson. Thu. – Fri. 8:30 p.m.; Sat. – Sun. 6 & 8:30 p.m. No performance Sat. Oct. 15. $15 - $20. 1633 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. 612-486-5757. Nancy Sartor

Babylon Arts Collective
Art of This Gallery

Last summer, 10 members from the Babylon Arts Collective traveled to Mexico as organizers of an international conference on arts resistance, and as part of a mural caravan that went to Chiapas. During the conference, participants from the United States, Mexico, Chile and Argentina gave presentations on making art that resists neoliberalism. Afterwards more than a dozen artists traveled to Zapatista territory and worked with local residents and governing bodies in Chiapas to create seven murals in just 10 days. Each mural deals with different themes—from the 1998 Mexican government massacre of indigenous peoples that left eight dead and hundreds displaced, to honoring figures in the solidarity movement such as Subcomandante Marcos. Hear about this incredible journey and see the powerful images that resulted. 8 p.m. 3222 Bloomington Ave. S., Mpls. Sartor

The Minnesota sur Seine Festival
Musical Voyageurs in the Twin Cities

The French connection to Twin Cities jazz musicians spans generations and genres, culminating in a heady whirlwind of musical collaborations. The 2nd Annual sur Seine Festival brings together more than 20 musicians from France and England this year to collaborate with our local jazz talent at several venues, such as the Varsity, Triple Rock, Soap Factory, Black Dog Cafe, Artist Quarter and the U. Renowned keyboardist/composer Benoît Delbecq opens sur Seine solo Friday at the Alliance Française, incorporating contemporary classical, jazz, Pygmy polyphony, European improv, looping patterns and prepared piano. Politically-aware French rappers D’ de Kabal and Spike join Brother Ali and Eyedea as guest performers of Ursus Minor for a spectacular event at the Triple Rock on Saturday. Voyageur Pass for every show: $100; Discovery Pass for 7 specific shows $30. For detailed schedule and artist descriptions, go to surSeine.org. Cyn Collins

David Engwicht: Traffic Tamer
Hamline University

We’ve all seen it: a car zipping down the road, intersections where the stop signs may as well pack their bags and go home, the road kill on neighborhood streets. It seems that our hectic, cell-phone ringing, fast-food eating, 10-hour-workday lifestyles are spilling into our neighborhood streets. The problem is if we’re driving, we most likely don’t even notice that our speeds are making the block dangerous. Enter Australian David Engwicht—author of “Mental Speed Bumps: The Smarter Way to Tame Traffic” and renowned “street philosopher.” His ideas about transportation and creative design have been implemented in several cities around the globe, which has thrust Engwicht into the international city planning spotlight, leading him to serve as a consultant in Australia, New Zealand, Italy and England. His street solutions are based on the understanding of the psychologically disconnected drivers who are immune to traffic signs that only serve to turn driving into an automatic exercise and drivers into automatons. Instead of ineffective directives which seem to invoke stop-sign fatigue, Engwicht argues that creative design is the key to taming traffic and re-engaging drivers. He proposes city planning and design that empowers citizens to reclaim their streets and add the element of surprise back into driving. In two workshops starting this Thursday, Engwicht will equip listeners with the tools to make their streets safer and calmer. Thu. Oct. 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m. & Sat. Oct. 15, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Law Grad Conference Center, St. Paul. Larissa Anderson

Wellstone Book Events
Various locations

It has been nearly three years since the plane crash outside Eveleth, Minn., that took the lives of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, their daughter Marcia, campaign staffers Mary McEvoy, Tom Lapic and Will McLaughlin, and two pilots. Bill Lofy, communications director of Wellstone Action, has written two books honoring Wellstone’s legacy—“Paul Wellstone: The Life of a Passionate Progressive,” a biography that details his life as an uncompromising advocate and his tireless work in social change and public policy, and “Politics the Wellstone Way”—more of a manual on how Wellstone was able to effectively combine his social values with a winning political strategy in Minnesota. “Wellstone Way” also includes excerpts from members of Wellstone Action. 10 a.m. Sat. Oct. 15 booksigning at Rain Taxi Twin Cities Book Festival, Minneapolis Community & Technical College, 1501 Hennepin Ave. S.; 7 p.m. Bill Lofy speech, Suburban World Theater, 3020 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. Rebecca Thurn

Why?
Cedar Cultural Center

Anticon has always brought us off-kilter MCs, but they’ve really stepped it up with Yoni Wolf’s debut release with acoustic kitchen-sink-hop quartet Why?. He’s got much the same vocal flow as our own Andrew Broder and Jeremy Ylvisaker displayed on Hymie’s Basement’s debut, but a little more of a knack for self-editing and a more expansive sense of texture. Where Hymie’s Basement revels in the held-together-with-duct-tape aesthetic, Why? dabbles in it but also lifts it up high enough to see some beautiful sunsets and sweeping vistas. The resulting combination of D.I.Y. sounds, nerdy rap and letterbox ambition is intoxicating and I’ve heard from James Everest and Martin Dosh that the live performance is to die for. I missed Why? by about five minutes at CMJ and I’ve been kicking myself ever since I got the disc. Don’t be kicking yourself; get in on the ground floor with this one. With Fog and Thee More Shallows. 8 p.m. $10. All Ages. 416 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-338-2674. McPherson

Russian Seasons: Ship of Desires
O’Shaughnessy Auditorium

The Twin Cities version of Russian Seasons is not identical to the Paris series of the same name—the series that launched Nijinsky, Stranvinsky and Picasso—but nevertheless has its own unmistakable flavor. Since the year 2000, producer/empresario Tatyana Dikareva has been staging extravagantly rich, multicultural shows once a year. Back home in Kiev, Ukraine, she composed for movies, theater and singers; taught piano; ran an art center; and put on big art festivals with artists from neighboring countries. Shortly after she arrived in Minnesota, where she has settled with four generations of her family (fleeing the dangerous aftermath of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl), she got the idea to showcase talent from this area, à la Dyagilev, keeping the international flavor of the diverse shows she produced in Kiev. This year, the show’s theme is “Ship of Desires.” As I enjoy Russian tea, California wine and Polish cookies with Dikareva in her magical house of old things and shiny things, her husband, Vladimir, is in the garage building the stage set, a 24-foot-long ship. The gargantuan production is only possible through the collaboration of the whole family. Among the twenty-two acts in the three-hour show will be newcomers choreographer Claire Westby and singer Nicole Petters, along with seasoned performers of gospel music, flamenco, the balalaika, Native American flute, Chinese and Irish dance. The selections represent Dikareva’s preference for clear cultural styles, rather than eclectic styles. Take advantage of this most varied, unique and sumptuous buffet. 7 p.m. $15 - $27. 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. 651-695-0792; 763-503-0232. Mary Ann Vinceta

Found Magazine’s Davy Rothbart
Pulaski Auditorium & Creative Electric

One of my biggest anxieties during junior high and high school was not whether so-and-so would ask me to some lame school dance, but rather that my beloved diary might erroneously end up in the public domain, exposing teenage vulnerabilities and school-girl crushes. To date, said journals remain securely intact, but for countless others, bits of their personal histories captured in notes, napkin doodles, cards, love letters, ticket stubs, homework and photographs are lost to chance every day on sidewalks, street corners, trains—wherever. Most of these bits go unnoticed, but those that are randomly scooped up by strangers can provide much amusement and intrigue. Davy Rothbart started “Found” magazine shortly after discovering a misplaced note on his windshield (“Mario, I fucking hate you … you said you had to work then whys your car HERE at HER place?? You’re a fucking LIAR I hate you I fucking hate you. Amber p.s. Page me later”). Since 2001 Rothbart’s published a yearly compilation of these tragic-comic pieces that offer us a glimpse into the human and cultural psyche. He’s now on the road promoting his second book “The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas” and will be in town for a presentation and book signing this weekend. $5. 7 p.m. Pulaski Auditorium, 2114 5th St. NE. Reception 5:30 – 7 p.m. & after show at Creative Electric, 2201 2nd St. NE. 612-706-7879. Sartor