What is a Just War?
McNamara Alumni Center, U of M

Rarely do you see Baptist preachers, Muslim imams, Catholic fathers, Jewish rabbis, Dakota spiritual leaders and Zen masters assemble for a single purpose—but then, the current president promised to be a uniter. These and other religious leaders will gather Thursday at the University of Minnesota to discuss what religious leaders’ response should be to the war in Iraq. The panel, “What is a Just War?” is the creation of the seven-member Minnesota Committee of Conscientious Objectors, an anti-war group that was active from 1968 to 1974 but that reunited in March, according to organizer Bill Thompson. Thompson said this event is to be the first of a series of panels on values and war, directed primarily at students and others of draft age but open to all. noon – 2 p.m. Memorial Hall, 200 Oak Street SE. Free. 612-624-7050. Gyros Papadopoulos

Damien Jurado
The Turf Club

On My Way to Absence is Seattleite Damien Jurado’s latest stop on the road to becoming his generation’s Neil Young—skipping the whole #1 single like “Heart of Gold” phase and heading straight to the darker and edgier terrain. Recorded with longtime collaborator Eric Fisher over a period of months rather than in Jurado’s usual rapid-fire fashion, Absence is rich with sonic details and instrumental flourishes while sacrificing none of the stunning, plain-faced lyricism that’s always been his calling card. Eschewing the overt folkie-dom of 2003’s Where Shall You Take Me?, Jurado’s spooky mountain-man warble still sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place singing about the railroad on some Alan Lomax field recording, but this time it’s married to more modern and varying sounds. The resulting aesthetic collision is magnetic. With superb San Francisco up-and-comers Two Gallants and fresh faced Washington State-ers Sail On, Sailor. 9 p.m. $8. 21+. The Corner of University and Snelling Avenue, St. Paul. 651-647-0486. Rob van Alstyne

Bridging The Water Gap
Eisenhower Community Center

What do you get when you mix ecologists, writers, musicians, artists, quantum physicists, researchers, philosophers and educators to discuss issues surrounding the state of water on our planet? You get a nifty, one-of-a-kind tincture known as "Bridging the Water Gap"—a forum for scientific, spiritual and educational leaders to develop ideas that expand water policies and technologies, and help provide workable global solutions for our declining freshwater resources. Bridging the Water Gap is equal parts celebration of the United Nations’ Decade for Action: "Water For Life" (2005-2015), and part collective effort to expand public awareness with the water presentations, ceremonies, films, art and music that will "initiate the kinetic wave that connects and unifies us." Speakers include Japanese researcher and author, Masaru Emoto—known for discovering that crystals formed in frozen water reveal change when specific, concentrated sounds or thoughts are directed toward them—and Fred Alan Wolf, PhD, a physicist, writer and lecturer featured in the film What The $#*! (BLEEP) Do We Know?! Get in touch with 90 percent of your body’s and planet’s makeup! Apr. 15 – 17. Fri. 5:30 – 10 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sun. 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Cost varies. 1001 Hwy 7, Hopkins. For more info: call 952-988-4066 or go to: AquaEssenceResource.org. Aaron Neumann

International Film Fest Closing Night Party
The Suburban World Theater

Everyone knows what the 23rd Annual Minneapolis – St. Paul International Film Festival is supposed to be about—but if they didn’t want the spotlight from the cinema being taken away, why did the organizers go ahead and book such kick-ass musical acts to play their festival headquarters? The entire two weeks has seen an unbelievable assortment of local musical talent on display and they’re clearly pulling out all the stops for the closing night celebration. Some of these names are undoubtedly already familiar to local music-heads (Valet, Thunder in the Valley and moonlighting DJ Ross Raihala, who works the local music beat for the Pioneer Press), but the hidden gem of the night is Kopacz. A longtime fixture on the mind blowingly large Hang Ups/Legendary Jim Ruiz/Owls contingent of friends and artists, Karen Kopacz and her collaborators have been intermittently showing off their shimmering dream-pop wares on rare occasions over the last few years. Rumors of a long awaited recorded debut sometime soon are in the air … Featuring: Kopacz, Valet, Thunder in the Valley and DJs Ross Raihala and Chris Strouth. 9 p.m. Free w/closing night ticket, $10 without. 21+. 3022 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. 612-331-3134. van Alstyne

Brian Payne
The Resource Center of the Americas

Taco Bell made $5 billion last year, but the workers who pick the tomatoes that go in your Chalupa make an average of $7,500 per year—not in Bangladesh, but in Florida and California. In 2000, farm workers marched 320 miles across Florida to draw attention to their situation, and persuaded other unions and human-rights groups across the country to create one of the largest consumer boycotts in history, as unions across America are pressuring Taco Bell to pay fairer wages. Now, one of the movement’s main leaders, Brian Payne, will talk about the ongoing campaign. 10 –11:30 a.m. $4. 3019 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis. 612-276-0788. Brian Kaller

Fat Kid Wednesday
Black Dog Café

The Twin Cities-based jazz trio Fat Kid Wednesday may be less renowned in these parts, but in Europe the group has received critical acclaim and regular rotation on the No. 1 French jazz radio station. The deserved attention is for their CD The Art of Cherry—11 tracks composed or inspired by trumpet player Don Cherry. An early champion of world music, Cherry hit the scene in the 1950s, blowing his “pocket trumpet” and testing the limits of jazz, which included collaborations with the likes of Ornette Coleman. The FKW trio—Michael Lewis on saxophone, Adam Linz on bass and JT Bates on drums—have been called musical storytellers, and indeed a conversational style exists in the rhythm section, punctuated nicely with exhilarating licks from Lewis. The Art of Cherry—which also showcases a number of guest performers including Michael’s father, Greg Lewis, on trumpet, and James Diers of Halloween, Alaska on vocals—has not yet been released in the U.S. but will be available exclusively at this gig. Catch these cats in St. Paul while you can, before they cross the pond for a European tour and stop at the prestigious Europa Jazz Festival in Le Mans, France. 8 p.m. $5 admission / $15 includes CD. All Ages. 308 Prince St., St. Paul. 651-228-9274. Nancy Sartor

Towers Thick Walls
The Triple Rock Social Club

Let’s hear it for the boy—er—boys! Barely old enough to drive, plenty old to rock, high school group Towers Thick Walls would undoubtedly be the underage band on every Twin Cities music hipster’s lips if that position weren’t already being occupied by Melodious Owl. Formerly known by the name Peace Love and the Common Cold (probably around the time they were entering puberty), the group now boasts the far more full-grown name of Towers Thick Walls and landed an undeniably adult producer (Askeleton’s Knol Tate) to man the boards for their proper debut (which is getting its official unveiling at this gig). Another high-octane, fresh-faced outfit on Afternoon Records, fans of Kurmudgeon and Aneuretical’s stuttering dynamism and impassioned screams will likely rejoice at TTW joining in on the noisy local youth fray. With Askeleton, Aneuretical, The Tin Horns. 5 p.m. $6. All Ages. 629 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-333-7399. van Alstyne

The Sights
The 7th St. Entry

The Sights were former high school music wunderkinds, signed to a nifty indie and touring the country right about the time they should have been scouring for prom dates. It’s been seven long years since those days, and the group’s unrefined Motor City mayhem continues to impress. A blistering combination of old school punk and older school soul, The Sights’ self-titled third album comes across the speakers like a swift kick in the pants. The Sights set the bar high by kicking things off with a sweat-soaked classic cover (the Thomas A. Dorsey classic “I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song”) and manage to follow it up with a set of boisterous originals that make it clear the band are more than artful imitators. With The Midnight Evils, Outrageous Cherry. 9 p.m. $7. 21+. 701 First Ave. N., Mpls. 612-338-8388. van Alstyne

Mark Nowak
Southdale Dibrary

One of the few modern American poets who talks about big business, the downsized and the regular working-class Joes, St. Paul poet Mark Nowak draws on punk rock, zines, Hip-Hop sampling and Latin American movements for inspiration. Nowak comes from a long line of union steelworkers in rural Minnesota, but Nowak himself saw those jobs vanish and his hometown decline. Now he teaches writing, photography and political science at St. Catherine’s College. He will read from his latest book, “SHUT UP SHUT DOWN.” 7 p.m. 7001 York Ave. S., Edina. 952-847-5900. Kaller