MN Music Hurricane Relief Benefit
First Avenue

You could say that Hurricane Katrina benefits are a dime a dozen these days, but hopefully they’re worth considerably more. Something on the order of tens of thousands per would be better, since the magnitude of what we as a nation have lost has become apparent. It seems particularly apropos to stage relief efforts with concerts as New Orleans is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of jazz. As jazz spread from its hometown and leaked into the ears of the generations that would eventually beget this generation of hip-hop artists, so are these artists now turning back this cultural wealth in the form of cold hard cash, and if you want to know just who’s benefiting, they have some very specific goals. Vernon Cade was on life support when Katrina hit, and the sudden influx of emergency victims to his hospital in Natchez, Miss., meant he had to return home, whereupon his family here in Minnesota had to buy a generator to ship to him. The Larson family’s house was destroyed and now their two girls are coming to Minnesota and need funds to start school. These people and Hope for the Cities (who are taking donations for the 5,000 people being relocated to Camp Ripley) will be the direct beneficiaries of this concert. Aside from being one of the most talented MCs in the Twin Cities (and a brand new contributor to this very publication), Toki Wright has always had a community spirit, and so it comes as no surprise that he’s put together a bang-up lineup of artists to raise funds. Just to hit some highlights: Big Quarters is the next hot ish (just ask anybody); Brother and Sister is the new project of the legendary Icerod; DJ Snuggles recently killed ‘em at the Twin Cities Celebration of Hip-Hop on the beatbox. Featuring Belles of Skin City, Big Quarters, Brother and Sister, DJ Snuggles, Doomtree, Green, Guardians of Balance, Soulistic, T-Hud, The C.O.R.E., Unknown Prophets, Voices Merging. 5 p.m. $6. All Ages. 701 First Ave. N., Mpls. 612-338-8388. Steve McPherson

Charlie Parr
Acadia Café

Duluthian Charlie Parr’s music has been described as “songs about drinkin’ and killin’,” a fine resume to bring to the Acadia, a venue which feels like a cabaret (drinking) and makes audience members pray for the sound guy’s life, who works suspended from a few beams on the far right corner (killing). A regular on “A Prairie Home Companion,” Parr’s got some of the finest bluesy folk chops in the state, and can finger-pick the hell out of any instrument thrown in his lap. I’ve heard the instrument doesn’t even need strings. Gabe Barnett, whose 2004 self-titled EP hints of Gabe’s inexperience, but highlights an obvious passion for the craft, organized the show and will open for Parr. Also on the bill is Tuesday’s Robot, a duo featuring two members of local “slick and dreamy” rock band Great Big Dreams, and if you’ve been smoking on your porches at night, pleading with the stars for Minnesota’s answer to a nouveau Bob Dylan, Tuesday’s Robot lead singer, Rick Widen, with his half-grunge/half-porch-swinging folk lyrics and gravelly baritone, won’t fail to fill the niche. Parr’s latest CD, Rooster, will be out September 28, so come on down, ya’ll, and have Charlie and friends sing you a dusty road lullaby. 8 p.m. $4. All Ages. 1931 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls. 612-874-8702. Jennifer Whigham

The Drams, Glossary
The 400 Bar

OK, I know what some of are you thinking: “Who the heck are the Drams and how can they go about charging $10 for a cover?” Well, boys and girls, the Drams just happen to be most of the boys who made up irreverent rock’ n’ roll cowboys Slobberbone and rocked your ass to sleep in the cozy confines of the 400 Bar for years. That’s right, Brent Best (what an apt last name) and his Texan compadres are back, and anyone looking for that perfect Merle Haggard – AC/DC hybrid has reason to celebrate. Expect plenty of new tunes from the guys. Also on the bill are the superb and criminally overlooked Tennessee outfit Glossary. The band’s three-guitar attack, so exquisitely captured on 2003’s How We Handle Our Midnights, provides the perfect backdrop for front man Joey Kneiser’s gruffly warbled work-a-day insights and his bandmate/wife Kelly’s pretty harmonies. Equal parts hard won optimism and desperate longing for bygone youth, How We Handle is hands down the best alt. country record I’ve heard in this decade, a roughshod journey into the heart of the South and what it means to be a dreamer. Glossary’s follow-up isn’t due until February of next year but is already recorded, so expect plenty of new songs to crop up in their opening set. 9 p.m. $10. 21+. 400 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-332-2903. Rob van Alstyne

Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers
Penumbra Theatre

Twin Cities Native American theater is seeing something of a mini-heyday. Raving Natives produced Mark Anthony Rolo’s gem “What’s an Indian Woman To Do” at the Minnesota Fringe Festival and now Penumbra Theatre Company stages its
season opener, William S. Yellow Robe Jr.’s “Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers.”

Yellow Robe’s drama depicts the homecoming of one alienated Craig Robe, who returns to the Montana reservation where he grew up. Like his siblings, Craig Robe is descended from mixed blood. Ridiculed as “too black” to be Native, the Robe family has had to struggle for acceptance not only from its tribe, but perhaps more importantly, each other. Company veteran James Craven stars, artistic director Lou Bellamy directs. Sept. 15 – Oct. 15. 270 N. Kent St., St. Paul. 651-224-3180. Dwight Hobbes

Daughter of Keltoum
Walker Art Center

This year’s Global Lens series at the Walker Art Center kicks off with an Algerian film made in 2001 entitled “Daughter of Keltoum.” As a young woman returns to Algeria for the first time since infancy to confront her birth mother about why she was given up for adoption, she finds herself traversing a landscape where women—with occasional, fleeting respite—are at once the backbone, footstool and all-purpose sexual flunkies acquired and discarded as a matter of male whim. As she and the aunt she just met set out to find her mother, Swiss-raised Rallia’s sensibilities don’t quite dovetail with this culture. She thinks a bit too much of herself to suit those around her, and more than once the aunt intervenes to keep her from being forcibly put into her ascribed place. At one point, the bitterly alienated Rallia grimly reflects, “I feel as if I can’t see or hear.” Reaching her destination, she runs head-on into the literal surprise of her life. It’s a poignant, poetic and utterly compelling drama of self-realization. Relative newcomer Cylia Malki works well in the lead. The veteran Baya Bellal is splendid as the slightly mad, touchingly vulnerable aunt. When you think about it, there are countries where it’s probably illegal to even show this film, let alone do anything about the circumstance it depicts. You’d do well to take advantage of the freedom to go see it. Written and directed by Medhi Charef. In Arabic and French with English subtitles. 7:30 p.m. Free. Also Tue. Sept. 20. $4 - $8. 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. Hobbes

Today & Tomorrow
Walker Art Center

Director-screenwriter Alejandro Chomski makes a striking feature film debut with “Today and Tomorrow” (Argentina, 2003), a day in the life of Paula, a petulant young woman possessed of scant life skills. Like a lot of 24-year-olds, she has trouble assuming responsibility for herself or giving the slightest damn about others. Waiting tables for a living while aspiring to a career as an actress, she faces the push-comes-to-shove situation of realizing that the landlord has no use for excuses. When she loses her job and her well-to-do dad refuses to bail her out, she turns her back on him and tries to borrow rent money from friends. Trapped by urgency and despair, she opts for a sleazy solution—the same flat-backing recourse to which many women have resorted when times get too tough. At length, she confronts a serious wake-up call and must either find her legs or fall by the wayside. It’s a fine film, but due to explicit sex scenes, leave the kiddies at home. Antonella Costa (“Cobrador,” “The Escape”) is not to be missed as this fairly unsympathetic protagonist who nonetheless has you hoping she figures out which is end up before it’s all too late. In Spanish with English subtitles. $4 - $8. 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. Hobbes

Winter Soldier
Bell Auditorium

During the 2004 presidential campaign, there was one lingering image from 1971: 27-year-old John Kerry testifying to Congress about atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War. Created from the 1970-72 investigation by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VAVW) in Detroit (called the Winter Soldier Campaign), returning warriors rip open the silence that enshrouds the horrors of war in this poignant film. Hollywoood can’t match the truth. Fri. Sept. 16 - 22, 7 & 9 p.m. (also 3:15 & 5:15 p.m. Sat. & Sun.). 17th & University Ave. SE, Mpls. 612-331-3134. mnFilmArts.org/Bell. Lydia Howell

MMA Icebreaker
Fine Line

The annual Minnesota Music Awards Icebreaker Events, held to showcase nominees for the upcoming Minnesota Music Awards (MMA), promises to be an exciting time at any ‘Icebreaker’ venue you choose to attend around the area. The 25th annual Minnesota Music Awards ceremony is being held Wednesday, Sept. 21 at First Avenue. Among this year’s nominees are A Whisper In The Noise and the Spaghetti Western String Co. These two phenomenal acts will showcase the ‘Icebreaker’ show at the Fine Line. The soft-spoken rock group, A Whisper In The Noise, know what it means to be true experimental musicians. If you’re new to the chilling sound of the group and find them a bit odd, you may need to wait until you’re in a different mood and give the band another try. At a certain point, you might find their sound is just what you are looking for. The Spaghetti Western String Co. deliciously mixes beautiful flavors of music together with anything from bluegrass to jazz. The textured acoustic sound that results feels like a choir that is raising you up as you feel the emotion of all these sounds mixing together. These two are among the many Minnesota groups who have earned the right to be nominated for an MMA and you will be able to see why at this exciting event. With A Whisper In The Noise, Dosh Official, and Spaghetti Western String Co. 9 p.m. $6. 21+. 318 First Ave. N., Mpls. 612-338-8100. Louis Lenzmeier

Northland Poster Collective’s 25th Anniversary
Cedar Cultural Center

There are plenty of contentious labor-related issues in the news these days: the divisive split of the AFL-CIO and Northwest Airline’s desecration of the AMFA union contract to name two. For more than two decades the Northland Poster Collective, a Minneapolis-based social justice group, has creatively fused art and politics to educate the public about movements in labor unions and nonprofit organizations—through posters, cartoons, websites and other print work. This weekend the Collective celebrates its 25th anniversary with an eclectic cabaret at the Cedar Cultural Center. Actor and singer T. Mychael Rambo emcees the event, which features poet and editor Emmanuel Ortiz, musicians Leo and Kathy Lara, folkies Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson, the Quetzal Coatlicue Aztec dancers and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater. A selection of Northland posters will also be on display. 8 p.m. $12/$15. 416 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-338-2674. Nancy Sartor

Mono
Triple Rock Social Club

The kind of widescreen instrumental music that Japanese band Mono make is not easy to do well. Sure, there are plenty of bands trying to pull this kind of thing off, but only Tarentel, Mogwai and Mono seem to be able to make it really compelling. The compositions on their recently released Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered And The Sun Shined were melded into shape by studio-whiz Steve Albini and demonstrate the kind of patience and restraint this kind of endeavor requires. Despite the lack of vocals, there are actual melodies here, swelling from the deep, languidly moving between major and minor over the course of minutes rather than measures. If it seems like this album is going to require Zen-like concentration to appreciate when you first throw it in, you’re half-right. As the music builds, it acquires momentum through repetition, like the breathing meditation Zazen, until static-fuzz guitars suddenly burst in over the proceedings, like Siddhartha Gautama and Kurt Cobain are delivering their ideas of Nirvana together from the beyond. OK, maybe I’m stretching it a bit, but really, it’s a mark of Mono’s accomplishment here that, like Mogwai, they’ve made an album that can comfortably plunk along in the background of your workaday world until you suddenly realize just how great it is. Attentive listening yields layers, and there’s little doubt that the live show will yield a whole different kind of appreciation. Just be sure to bring ear plugs; live, this kind of electric sky church is sure to bear more of a resemblance to Gabriel’s horn at the end of days. With Bellini. 10 p.m. $10. 21+. 629 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-333-7499. McPherson