Accident Clearinghouse
331 Club

Raenaldo Moon sent off a press release earlier today making plain what everyone has probably known for a while now: Accident Clearinghouse are back. Let the celebration commence at 331 Club with cheap beer, whiskey and two food specials: Tater Tot Hot Dish and Frito Pie. Weekly residencies are a great chance for bands to dig in and get comfortable in a venue, lending the proceedings the kind of relaxed air that only comes with regulars playing to the regulars. And if anyone doesn’t yet know, they don’t get much more regular than the genially danceable and swinging Accident Clearinghouse. Some bands are all spiky, demanding that you pay attention and then asking you why you even care, and some bands are so fawning in their solicitations of affection you feel like it’s your duty to snub them, but Quillan Roe and his boon companions make you feel welcome and appreciated for the good person you really are. Furthermore, you get to experience all this for the low, low price of zero dollars. That’s more money for Frito Pie! So I just have one more question: did Raenaldo Moon get his name from the movie “The Cat Returns,” in which Runaldo Moon is a legendarily gluttonous feline? Get back to me on this one, Dave. 8 p.m. Free. 331 NE 13th Ave., Mpls. 612-331-1746. Steve McPherson

Sex and So Much More
Mpls Convention Center

Conservative members of society who bristle at any and all things lewd, be forewarned: this weekend the Minneapolis Convention Center will be transformed from the usual staid snowmobile-and-bridal-show venue to a titillating den of sin—trading parkas and wedding gowns for fishnets and stilettos at the “Sex and So Much More” show. According to organizers, the show features “everything and anything to do with sex, sensuality, romance and self-improvement.” If most of your sexual education/satisfaction is web- or TV-based, tear your sorry self away from the screen and learn firsthand how to choose a lube, care for your sex toys or release your inner stripper. In addition to a multitude of vendors, there’ll be lingerie shows, exotic dancers, burlesque performance and appearances by adult “entertainers,” including the legendary Ron Jeremy, famous for his lengthy, ah, film career. Whether your taste is PG-13 or XXX, you’re sure to find something stimulating. And with the holidays just around the corner, why not shop for stocking stuffers? Thu. & Fri. 3 p.m. – midnight; Sat. 11 a.m. – midnight; Sun. 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. 1301 2nd Ave. S., Mpls. SexAndSoMuchMore.com. Nancy Sartor

Live at the Funky Butt Jazz Club
Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts

Long before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Interact Theatre Company had planned to stage “Live at the Funky Butt Jazz Club,” a play that tells the story of a musical genre that defined an age and changed the world. Director Warren Bowles brings to life the story of the Funky Butt Dance Hall—a real club in 1906 New Orleans where Buddy Bolden created the first jazz band before the term “jazz” was ever coined. After Katrina blew the lid off the plight of America’s marginalized poor, Bowles decided to incorporate rewrites into the script to emphasize how outsiders are pushed to the fringes of society. It’s a theme that resonates with the actors/artists of Interact’s theater troupe, who are themselves often marginalized by society for their disabilities. Musical Director Doug Rohde leads a zesty house band composed of Interact company members. Through Dec. 17. Wed. – Sat. 7:30 p.m.; Wed. noon; Sat. 3 p.m. 212 N. 3rd Ave., Mpls. 612-343-3390. Sartor

Steeling Dan
T he Cabooze

Here’s something you might not expect: I love Steely Dan. In January of 2004, when I moved back to Minnesota, my first lonely night in town I headed over to Famous Dave’s in Calhoun Square and caught Steeling Dan, and their spot-on covers of the Dan’s intricate songs warmed my heart. It’s no wonder that Steely Dan had such a hard time re-creating their songs live back in the ‘70s, seeing as how it takes a platoon of singers and instrumentalists to approximate the sounds they captured, but Steeling Dan know this, and they confidently navigate classics like “Peg,” “Kid Charlemagne” and “Reelin’ in the Years.” The downfall of most cover bands is threefold: a.) choice of material b.) not adhering strictly to the originals’ spirit and c.) pandering to the crowd. Steeling Dan neatly sidesteps these issues by a.) picking one band b.) picking a great band and c.) playing the tunes in a manner that would make Messrs. Fagen and Becker proud. With Terramara. 8:30 p.m. 21+. $5. 917 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-338-6425. McPherson

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Various Locations

If you’ve been around progressives for at least an hour, chances are you know a little something about Wal-Mart. The largest retailer and biggest employer in the United States, the giant chain with, ironically enough, a smiley-face logo is associated with controversy as well as low prices. Perhaps you’ve heard about the retail giant’s detrimental effect on local businesses. Perhaps you’ve heard about the large numbers of Wal-Mart employees who rely on publicly-funded health care. Perhaps you’ve heard of the lawsuits against the company. Or perhaps you just want to learn more about the company. The latest production of Brave New Films, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price” is being released in true DIY fashion, with over 30 free screenings nearly every day of the week in various locations around the Twin Cities. To find one near you, go to WalMartMovie.com/find.php. Michelle Lee

Plate-O-Shrimp
Club Underground

They like good beer. They like Lyndale Avenue. And they like marginal pizza. Know what? Sounds like Minneapolis to me. Local trio Plate-O-Shrimp epitomizes the venerable punk/pop sound perfected right here in Miniville during the ‘80s and ‘90s by Hüsker Dü and the Replacements. It’s an attitude which simply states: Just rock for the sake of rocking. Like the Huskers, POS can at one moment roll around in the low end of a percolating mud pit only to shake off the muck the next moment and proceed airy and unadorned. This marks their last show for some time as guitarist Mark Niebuhr will have to turn to more low-impact diversions while he recovers from upcoming hand surgery. I’m seeing a future of needlepoint and crossword puzzles for Mark, and it doesn’t get any more punk than that. With Fighter Hayabusa and Red Phone Dispatch. 9:30 p.m. 21+. $5. 335 NE Monroe St., Mpls. 612-627-9123. Donny Doane

Open House
The Sound Gallery

The Sound Gallery, a new recording studio acquired by Nick Tveitbakk (Daykit, These Modern Socks) and Jacob Grun (seldomseen), hosts a stellar array of local musicians for a free open house this Saturday beginning at 4:30 p.m with quiet time to tour and talk about the studio, plus spinning by DJ Plain Ole’ Bill.  Live music rotates every 40 minutes beginning with fantastic vocalist/guitarist/violinist Joanna James at 7 p.m. and continuing with: Super Danger, Plastic Chord, Parts for all Makes, Puppies, XOXO Judy, Faux Jean, seldomseen, Harp and Finial, Daykit, and Chris Koza. The lineup seems almost too good to be true! Having seen seven of the 10 bands and performers, I’ll vouch you won’t want to miss this extravaganza of phenomenal local talent. Between sets, musical comedy act Mayor James and the Jamestown Players will perform. You must RSVP in order to be admitted! 4:30 p.m. All Ages. Free. 414 N. 3rd Ave., Mpls. RSVP to soundgalleryminneapolis@gmail.com or call 612-501-8223. Cyn Collins

Shade Grown
Coffee Grounds

Coffee shops are great places. Ask anybody who’s needed some decent joe and a wireless connection. Or especially ask any musician. Most of them, particularly those focusing on quieter music that has a hard time getting across in a noisy bar, have played at least a handful of shows in tiny espresso joints, but too often, these shows are ephemeral, disappearing into the ether as they happen. Coffee Grounds (along with recording studio E-Session and wireless provider A Couple of Gurus) has taken it upon themselves to rectify this situation by recording live performances by artists appearing at Coffee Grounds during October and offering them up on a compilation CD. Proceeds from the disc will be going to the Non-Violent Peace Force, and Coffee Grounds and their partners are planning on making this an annual compilation. Musicians whose work is featured on the disc will be performing both nights. Coffee, music, wireless service, nonviolence, peace: what’s not to love? On Saturday: Reed Schilleman & Paul Dahlberg, Angela Guentzel & Jennifer Thurman, and Raymond Yates Band. On Sunday: Bill Hammond & Barbara Piper, Eric Addington, and Trio Tipo. 7 p.m. Free. All Ages. 1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Heights. 651-644-9959. McPherson

Flow
Children’s Theatre

Performance artist-actor-playwright Will Power is among the living—high-test proof the urban groundswell that launched such theater legends as La Mama, Etc. and Miguel Pinero is alive and well. If you caught him at the Walker Art Center as part of 2002’s Hip-Hop All-Stars, you already know that. If you missed out, don’t sweat it. He’s back in town with his newest work “Flow,” which copped an HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Jury Award. Heralded as a b-boy fairy tale spun over funky, original beats, it chronicles the lives of seven storytellers and their quest for survival in a world of urban pitfalls. For those who are into solo shows, Power, an especially gifted performer, plays all the characters. Directed by Danny Hoch. Through Nov. 20. $18 - $28. 2400 3rd Ave. S. Mpls. 612-874-0400. Dwight Hobbes.

Storm Damage
Tyler St. Gallery

Dave Monson hosts some of the most eclectic art shows in Minneapolis. Tucked away on the second floor of a nondescript Northeast warehouse space, Tyler St. Gallery often unites visual arts with music and spoken word during its openings. The latest exhibit, Storm Damage, showcases work by artist/musician Paul Miksic, as well as pieces by Monson and Keith Holmes. Using collateral damage from a recent storm that blew through town, like uprooted trees and roof singles, Miksic pairs chaos with creativity, challenging us to find beauty in destruction. Meet the artist on opening night and hear his bands Cazadores and Eliza Blue. Other musicians and spoken word artists include Jules Nyquist, Lynn A. Gray, Singapore Jake and Kevin Brixius. Through Dec. 17. Reception 7 – 11 p.m.; performance 9 p.m. Gallery hours Tue. – Sat. noon – 6 p.m. 1331 NE Tyler St., Mpls. 612-788-3834. Sartor

Drumheart & Earth Tones Benefit
Walker Community Church

Songs and rhythms of Africa will be performed by Drumheart, a dozen women drummers, and Earth Tones, a 15-member women’s a cappella choir, to benefit a new secondary school (grades 7 through 10). Magulilwa is a village of about 7,000 people in the Tanzanian highlands of East Africa. The school, which opens in December, is the dream of Evaristo Sanga, the only child from Magulilwa primary school in 10 years who was accepted into secondary school. Sanga, with college degrees in economics and computer science, now lives in Minneapolis but returns to his home next month for the school’s opening ceremonies. The students, 75 boys and girls aged about 12 to15, are selected on the basis of examination marks. All classes will be taught in English in this former German, then English colony. In addition to classrooms the school includes a girls dormitory to house area students and AIDS orphans. “When we educate girls we educate whole families.” Magulilwa does not yet have electricity so solar power and computers are on the wish list. Tanzania is a peaceful country (therefore not in the news) with a democratically elected president working on issues of poverty and AIDS. The musicians’ goal for this concert is to raise enough money to pay one teacher’s salary for one year, $900. The St. Paul Area Lutheran Synod is the fiscal agent handling tax deductible donations. 5:30 p.m. $10 suggested donation. 3104 16th Ave. S., Mpls. 651-699-2892. EarthTonesChorus.org or WomensDrumCenter.org. Susu Jefferey

Unwed Sailor
The Triple Rock

Words are so passé. Instrumental groups like Mono, Tarentel and these fine boys—currently from Little Rock, Ark.—are where it’s at, folks. 2001’s The Faithful Anchor was decidedly less challenging sonically than long-players from the former bands, but it made up for it with meticulous arrangements and engaging melodies—two things that many instrumental bands seem to forget about. I’ve barely scratched the surface of it, but their most recent disc (The Marionette and the Music Box) sees the band exploring Peter and the Wolf territory. Rather than a collection of songs, the disc plays as the soundtrack to the story of—you guessed it—a marionette searching for a cherished music box. It might sound precious, and it is a little, with gently fingerpicked acoustic guitars abutting lightly brushed drums, but it’s strikingly successful as a suite of work, given the ambitions that underlie it. The group has invited fans to submit songs they’d like the band to play on this fall tour, so chances are we won’t see a front-to-back “Nutcracker on Ice”-style performance, but the pieces are strong enough to stand on their own next to their back catalogue. With Sant Elia and Sounding Spirals. 9 p.m. 21+. TBA. 629 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-333-7499. McPherson