wednesday
april 18th


Free Weed
@ First Avenue
Minnesota NORML is hosting their third Free Weed concert to celebrate April 20, a sort of stoner holiday. Big Tasty, Moveable Feast, 420 All-Stars, Poet Tree and Five-Dollar Fatso will smoke up the Mainroom. DJ Mad Kid, HDJI $ Azrael, DJ Skunk 1, DJ Bry Bry, DJ Gel and DJ Equality will burn one down in the VIP Lounge. This will be a night of dank smells and smokin’ music. 8 p.m. 21+. $8 or free to NORML members. 701 N. 1st Ave., Mpls. 612-338-8388. (Dubya)


thursday
april 19

Paul Zaloom’s Velvetville
@ Walker Art Center
As part of In Animate Objects: Adventures in New Puppetry, the Walker is bringing in this award-winning puppeteer. Zaloom started with the Vermont based Bread and Puppet Theater and stars as Beakman on the TV show Beakman’s World. Using what he calls the “castoffs of industrial society,” he creates witty and visually stunning puppetry that mocks an out-of-control culture of consumption. Zaloom will present a piece entitled “Velvetville,” a surrealistic dumpster dive through a hell run by the Walt Disney Company. April 19-21. 8 p.m. $16. Vineland Place, Mpls. 612-375-7622. (Dubya)

Sarah Jacobson
@ MCAD
Sarah Jacobson, best known for her films, I Was a Teenage Serial Killer and Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore is in town for a two night program series. Jacobson will present a screening of the first film and will talk about her work Thursday evening, followed by a special screening Friday of My First Time: Early Films by Bad Ass Lady Filmmakers. Friday’s program is a compilation of early work by a number of contemporary female talents and will be followed by hints and survival strategies for those who want to break into the movie biz. Bad ass auteurs unite! April 19-20. 7 p.m. Free. Auditorium 109, 2501 Stevens Ave. S., Mpls. 612-874-3700. (David Anderson)

MMA’s 2001 Teen
Ballot Release Party
@ The Garage
The Garage hosts the Teen Ballot release party on Thursday for the MN Music Academy and MN Teen Music Association. The Garage is one of the few all-ages venues in the area, but what really makes it special is that it is run entirely by kids who want to learn the biz. These kids are in charge of all aspects of running a club — booking, promoting and playing. The show, which is (of course!) all-ages features Associated Mess, Dark Matter, Manic Euphoria and Smokey Joe. The Dan One of the Local Sound Department/KFAI will be spinning discs in between sets. 7 p.m. Free. 75 Civic Center Drive, Burnsville. 952-895-4664.
(Luc Daemon)



friday
april 20


Spoon @ The Entry
Formed in Austin, Texas back in ’92 by singer/guitarist Britt Daniels and drummer Brian Emo, Spoon traveled the well-worn indie road, went through more bass players than Spinal Tap has drummers, and eventually caught the fancy of indie and college radio with their Sonic Youth-meets-The Pixies brand of wry, ironic punk. Bassist Andy McGuire finally beat the curse and has been with the group since the mid-’90s, during which time they’ve released a slew of records, toured with Pavement, Guided by Voices and Silkworm, and steadily built their national fan base. They’re touring behind their latest full-length, 2001’s Girls Can Tell. The Oranges and Grotto open. 8 p.m. $7. 21+. 701 N. 1st St., Mpls. 612-338-8388. (Tom Hallett)

The Silos @ The 400 Bar
Legendary guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Walter Salas-Humera and The Silos have been mighty busy lately, what with a recent tour of Spain, the release of their latest hugely rocking CD, Laser Beam Next Door, and Walter’s ubiquitous production work, which includes recent releases by pop-punkers Die Stinkin, rootsy-rocker Jim Roll, and Wisconsin jangle-poppers The Woolridge Brothers. The band makes a special appearance tonight at the 400, then it’s back to the ole grindstone. Don’t miss this one. 9 p.m. 21+. 400 Cedar Ave., Mpls. 612-332-2903. (Hallett)

Martinis
Girls & Guns
@ The Loring Playhouse
Suave, sexy and full of innuendo, a tribute to James Bond theme songs has made its way to Minneapolis. This celebration includes the classic Bond songs played by a seven piece orchestra and fleshed out by nine performers. The show illustrates all of the best of the British agent’s escapades entertaining the audience with a lineup of alluring ladies acting, dancing and singing to shake and stir the stage into the beautiful world which is Bond. Buffalo Gal productions has made sure that no one will attend the show without feeling the distinctive satisfaction of danger and expensive taste of a dry martini. If Bond is what you like, then The Loring Playhouse has got what you want. So saunter down casually and enjoy this dashing tribute to 007. April 20 - May 19. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 7 p.m. $15-$19. 1633 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. 612-486-5757. (J. P. Johnson)

saturday
april 21

Black Halos
& By a Thread
@ the 7th street Entry
April 21 marks D-Day for the Canadian invasion, and our Twin Cities will never be the same again. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones from the impending doom: Make sure you’re at the 7th Street Entry by 3 p.m. on Saturday. $6 will guarantee your spot in the cozy shelter where the cream of Vancouver’s punk/hardcore crop will drop their musical bombs on our border-state. The Black Halos are on the brink of world domination (you can catch the single “Warsaw” from their latest release, The Violent Years, on Radio K), while By a Thread are slowly building their artillery with their 1998 release, The Last of the Daydreams. With two fabulous, high-energy B.C. bands leading the crusade, you’ll be scrambling to change your citizenship before the show’s over. 3 p.m., $6. All-ages. 701 N. 1st St. Mpls. 612-338-8388. (Erin Anderson)

Delbert McClinton
@ The Medina
Texas native and blues/rock legend Delbert McClinton has enjoyed a long and storied career, from gigging in a club owned by notorious gangster Jack Ruby back in the ’60s, allegedly teaching a young John Lennon to play the harmonica, having blues legend Jimmy Reed puke into his new Shure microphone, and squeezing out a catchy Top 40 hit (“Giving It Up for Your Love”) in 1980. Though trends have come and gone, Delbert has always remained true to the music and has survived on pure talent and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor. He recently signed up with the Peter Jesperson co-run label New West and released his latest album, Nothing Personal, which is chock full of killer new material and a couple of great duets courtesy of Iris Dement and Bekka Bramlett. The Lamont Cranston Band opens. 7 p.m. $17. 21+. 500 Hwy. 55, Medina. 763-478-6661. (Hallett)



sunday
april 22

pickaxe @ Moos Tower
For Earth Day, MPIRG and the Green Campus Campaign are sponsoring the local premier of this beautifully shot and executed full length documentary about the Casdia Free State in Oregon. Set up in 1996 to prevent salvage logging of a burnt old growth forest, it became the longest forest occupation in US history. At its premier at the E-LAW conference in Eugene, Oregon in March 2000, Pickaxe had people cheering as they walked out for the defenders and their victory against the government. Producer Tim Ream will be there to answer questions and talk about the ongoing campaigns for the forests of the Northwest. The makers of Pickaxe also made RipWTO30 and Breaking the Spell, both about the WTO protests. 7 p.m. Free. Moos Tower Room 2-620, East Bank U of M, Delaware St. & Washington Ave. SE, Mpls. 612-627-4052. (Dubya)

tuesday
april 24

David Sedaris
@ State Theatre
There was a time when David Sedaris made a living cleaning houses and washing windows; now he’s a best-selling author and radio personality. Public radio listeners will recognize Sedaris for his zany, off-beat contributions to NPR’s “This American Life” with Ira Glass, and many others know him as the author of many popular books, including Naked, Holidays on Ice and his recent Me Talk Pretty One Day. Sedaris has taken some time off from his hit performance series done in collaboration with his sister Amy for a spring tour, and he’ll wind up this leg of it for this one-night-only show. A rare opportunity to hear one of America’s wittiest, off-the-wall humorists. 8 p.m. $25 adv./$30 at the door. 805 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. 612-673-0404. (D. Anderson)


Koerner, Ray
& Glover Night
@ Lee’s Liquor Lounge
It’s about damn time somebody around town recognized what these blues/folk legends can offer to a new crowd of curious music-heads, college kids, and up-and-coming pickers, blowers an’ storytellers. The trio’s seminal early ’60s release, Blues Rags and Hollers has inspired three generations of fans (including a young Robert Zimmerman), and they continue to combine their unique talents and snappy humor to entertain young and old alike. Lee’s Liquor has stepped up to the plate and will offer K, R & G alternating Tuesday nights indefinitely. Spider John Koerner plays the first and third Tuesdays of every month, while Dave Ray and Tony Glover will fill out the second and fourth. Who knows, one of these weeks you just might find all three of ’em up on stage at the same time, belting out great tales and killer licks. 9 p.m. Free! 21+. 11th and Glenwood, Mpls. 612-338-9491. (Hallett)