Hot Tickets for May 2 - 8, 2007
Thursday 03 May @ 10:46:45 |
  Parts & Labor :: Spiderman 3 :: Solving the Health Care Crisis :: Stingray Green :: Public Property :: The Rockford Mules :: Living Green Expo 2007 :: Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival :: Chuck and Sean's Trivia AND THIS WEEK'S HOT PICK: Los Straitjackets @ Turf ClubCHECK YOUR PULSE ...
Parts & Labor
7th Street Entry
 Parts & Labor make a godawful amount of noise--a caterwauling, raucous conflagration of bass, guitar, madcap electronics and explosive drumming. Most music with these outward facing qualities is married to aggression--think Deftones--but Parts & Labor's latest album, Mapmaker, is shot through with uplifting melodies that verge on gospel or folk. Opener "Fractured Skies" rides out on a drum pattern that sounds like The Meters or some other New Orleans funk band sped up to warp speed, but when the harmony vocals start climbing slowly up a major scale, the frenzy builds the song into a Broken Social Scene-powered bullet train that explodes into a brass-laden bridge. If you crank the volume high enough on this and tracks like "Long Way Down" and "Ghosts Will Burn," the cumulative effect of their energy is very nearly intoxicating. They're simply one of those bands you know is absolutely going to bring it live. The dance punk stylings of Detroit duo Adult. will be in the headlining slot. Check out pulsemusicblog.com for an interview with bassist BJ Warshaw from Parts & Labor. 8 p.m. $10/$12. 21+. 29 N. 7th St., Mpls. 612-332-1775. STEVE McPHERSON
Spiderman 3
Area Theaters
Go ahead and argue that "Spiderman 3" doesn't need our help. It's gonna do fine, you're saying. How could it not? Well, smartypants, I'll have you know that the film cost more than $300 million, and so it needs every ounce of assistance we can give it just to break even. And I can't be the only one who is curious about what $300 million looks like on the screen. I imagine the film must be 17 hours long, have a cast that consists of Jim Carrey and five clones, each making $20 million to appear, and involves the onscreen building and destruction of an actual Frank Gehry edifice. Failing that, well, the movie still looks to be quite entertaining at the very least. The comic book Spiderman often faced down notably idiotic villains (The Big Wheel, who drove around in a large metal wheel, springs to mind), but the sheer brutal puggishness of the Sandman, his current nemesis, was always entertaining. Additionally, on hand is Spiderman's weird evil alter-ego, Venom, who seems like an especially awesome Spiderman suit but is in fact AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL PARASITE (excuse me for screaming that last part). They spent $300 million; the least you can do is drop a couple of bucks to see what they've done with it. MAX SPARBER
HOT PICK
Los Straitjackets
Turf Club
As anyone who is a fan of the genre can tell you, surf music never died, it just went underground, showing up in unlikely places, creeping into music from places as far-flung as Canada (Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet), Japan (the 5,6,7,8's) and Nashville (Los Straitjackets). Surf has gotten weird, pulling in influences from rockabilly, 1940s crime films, horror films, and, in the case of Los Straitjackets, Mexican wrestling, with each bandmember appearing in his own mask in the manner of Mexico's luchadores. (This seems to have inspired a similar trend in Mexico itself--head over to MySpace Music and search for "surf" and "Mexico." The number of masked guitar players on hand is both astounding and terrifying.) Los Straitjackets are well worth seeing live, famous for their kitchy stage show, which often feature go-go dancers. They are teamed up at the Turf Club with two other musical greats: Anaheim, California's Big Sandy, who have carved out an impressive career performing roots rock, including Texas Swing and rockabilly; and Lincoln, Nebraska's hard-rocking Mezcal Brothers. Do yourself a favor and start the evening with a few shots of tequila (my recommendation: Cielo Reposado), a drag race down Lake Street and a fistfight with a pompadoured street gang called The Pegged Trousers. It's the only way I know to get ready for these particular bands. 9 p.m. $15. 21+. Corner of University & Snelling Aves. St Paul. 651-647-0486. MAX SPARBER
Solving the Health Care Crisis
Amazon Bookstore
Since approximately 1970, three proposals have dominated the debate over how to solve this country's health care crisis: 1. Managed care, 2. High-deductible policies, and 3. A single-payer system. This Thursday, local activist, journalist, researcher and health systems analyst Kip Sullivan will be at the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative to explain what these proposals mean and examine the perspectives of the advocates for each proposal. During his lecture, "The Health Care Mess: How We Got Into It and How We'll Get Out of It," Sullivan will expose the enormity of wasteful expenditures generated by the current system--for the same amount of money we spend now, the United States could provide rich health insurance coverage for all citizens. Sullivan will argue that the only way to fix the current mess and to provide universal health care is with a single-payer system. Sullivan has written over 100 articles on health policy, many of which appeared in national publications such as the American Journal of Public Health, Health Affairs, the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, the New England Journal of Medicine, the New York Times, and the Washington Monthly. 7:30 p.m. 4755 Chicago Ave. S., Mpls. 612-821-9630. AUDRA OTTO
Stingray Green
Uptown Bar and Cafe
& Hexagon Bar
Add Stingray Green to the list of combos that fought like hell to get their first CD released and then packed it in (relatively) shortly thereafter. Hard Numbers is a great s'more of an album: layered, crunchy and sweet, with angelic harmonies and a little more guitar action than usual for power pop. Of course SG's Dave Sorkin would have you believe that his (rumored) messy break-up with Liv Tyler and the incessant meddling of the paparazzi led to this outcome, but, alas, it wasn't quite that simple. In addition to the usual quartet, force-of-nature and founding bassist Dan Boardman will retake the stage tonight, joining the boys for a few numbers. So before the Groin jumps on the pyre, catch this Friday night doubleheader at the International Pop Overthrow Music Festival at the Uptown Bar, and at Chris Dorn's Pop Music Festival at the Hexagon Bar. 9:30 p.m. $5. 21+. Uptown Bar, 3018 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. 612-823-4719. And after midnight at the Hex, 2600 27th Ave., Mpls. 612-722-3454. WOODERSON
Public Property
Mayslack's
Exquisite reggae rockers Public Property, out of Iowa City, threw down at the Cabooze in late March and lit up the whole place. This week they're back in town, so get ready to drink up and dance. Dave Bess (songwriter/second guitar) sings fine with a strong, emotive quality. Backup vocalists Margaret Larson and Mareva Minerbi wax angelic. Ben Franklin (no jokes, please) does some of the tastiest drumming this side of Mitch Mitchell. Jeremiah Murphy snakes sweet bass, lead guitarist Andy Parrott is cleaner than a mosquito's tweeter and Paul Hale does fine on keyboards. The whole band flat-out cooks. Small wonder their newest album, Movement, featuring the infectious clarion call "Follow," is already out-of-print. Get their first two albums, What's Goin' Down and Public Property while the getting's good. With Smokin' Bandits. $5. 9:30 21 +. 1428 4th St. NE, Mpls. 612-289-9862. DWIGHT HOBBES
The Rockford Mules
Triple Rock Social Club
I do my best not to be wooed by the liquor-fueled, driving roots rock out there--I figure there's enough Tom Hallett in Pulse to take care of that--but I'll be damned if "Cold Rusty Shiver," off of The Rockford Mules' Crooked Tooth, doesn't whip up just about the best slab of grizzled, balls-to-the-wall, slide-driven Southern rock heaven since the Black Crowes' "My Morning Song." Erik Tasa's gravel-stripped vocals call to mind Chris Cornell, making me wonder why the former Soundgarden frontman had to go and join up with Rage Against the Machine's rhythm section, rather than taking advantage of the Crowes' ex-players. Maybe they wouldn't have turned out the ultra-bland hard rock anthems of Audioslave, but chances are they still wouldn't have lived up to The Rockford Mules, since "Cold Rusty Shiver" has a breakdown that nicks Rage/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello's pickup-switch flicking DJ impression. How much would you expect to pay for a band that has all these great features? A million dollars? Two million? It can all be yours for $5, and we'll even throw in a band from Seattle called A Gun That Shoots Knives, which, come on. That's awesome. With the Jagernauts, The Resets and A Gun That Shoots Knives. 9 p.m. $5. 21+. 629 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-333-7499. STEVE McPHERSON
Living Green Expo 2007
State Fair Grandstand Building
This weekend, kids of all ages can join the festivities at the giant Living Green Expo, which will be packed to the brim with hands-on activities, workshops, art exhibitions, food and live music. Kids ages 3 and up can enjoy fun interactive games and activities in the first level children's area, including a live animal presentation, water bottle music making, and a Kids' Disco, hosted by 89.3 The Current. Older students can attend the eco fashion show on the Aveda stage and spend time in the new Eco-Action tent enjoying smoothies made from a bike-powered blender and listening to students who are making a difference on their campuses. Environmental club leaders will share how to start an environmental club at your school, and photographer Darcy LeVigne will help students from age 10 to 17 discover places and spaces with their cameras. For adults, there will be an outdoor renewable energy demonstration area, exhibits from local businesses, and dozens of workshops such as Do-It-Yourself Organic Lawn and Landscape Care, Energy Enhancements for Older Windows, Does Recycling Really Make a Difference?, and Bicycle Commuting. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. 1755 Dan Patch Ave., St. Paul. Free parking available in the Midway Lot, two blocks west of the Grandstand. Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. For more info visit livinggreen.org.
Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival
Various Locations
I know, I know, you're under the misapprehension that Hollywood is a Jewish town, and therefore what need is there of a Jewish Film Festival? Well, I'll tell you something, buddy: Regardless of the disproportionate number of Jews in the film industry, they tend to be a rather timid lot, as you too might be if you were putting $300 million into a film. So what you get from Hollywood is ghostly pirates or cyborgs from the future, and, even when they tackle Jewish subjects, they tend to try to do so in as universal a way as possible. So let's say that Hollywood makes a film about Anne Frank, which they did: You wind up with a scene in which Jews explain Hannukah to each other. Or let's say they make a film about the Warsaw Ghetto, which they did: It ends up starring Robin Williams, and, you know, why'd they have to go ahead and do a thing like that? So if you're looking for films that specifically reflect a Jewish sensibility and describe a Jewish experience, without pandering to non-Jewish audiences (who, in my experience, are generally sophisticated enough not to require pandering anyway), well, Hollywood's not your town. Thank goodness for events such as the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival, made possible by a donation from the Sabes Family Foundation. On hand are 17 films demonstrating the diversity and vibrancy of the Jewish experience, including "The First Time Was Twenty," which follows the adventures of a young girl in postwar France who wants to join a jazz band, and "Steel Toes," a film about a Jewish lawyer who represents a murderous skinhead. For a complete schedule of films & showtime go to mplsjff.org. MAX SPARBER
Chuck and Sean's Trivia
331 Club
 Sure, you could go to trivia at any of a number of joints during the week and have scantily-clad former cheerleaders ask you questions off a Trivial Pursuit card, never mind that they would never, in one million years, be able to answer most of those questions, or you could do the right honorable thing and go to Chuck and Sean's Trivia on Sunday at the 331 Club. What can you expect? Two rounds of 15 meticulously-researched (all right, I mean, "looked up on Wikipedia") questions split by a "Name That Tune"-style music round and accompanied by an identify-the-picture round which has featured, in the past, license plates, Minnesota Republicans and the hells of various religious faiths. Your reward for your labors? First place is a $20 bar tab. Anybody want to see second prize? Second prize is a 331 Club T-shirt. Third prize involves Sean, your car and a bodily function. Let's just say no one's collected on that one so far. Bring your friends (six to a team) and get ready to match trivial knowledge with powerhouse teams like Team Competition and Saint Peezy. DJ Shapes will be spinning all night to drown out the chatter of arguments and conferences over answers. 9 p.m. Free. 331 NE 13th Ave., Mpls. 612-331-1746. JEFFREY JAMES GIANTVALLEY
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