July 31-Aug. 2
Mos Def
The climate may feel increasingly backwards, but as Friday night's club calendar proves, the Twin Cities are right as rain (remember rain?) when it comes to local talent. Homegrown punk-as-fuck combo Dillinger Four plays a free show at Eclipse Records. Ascendant hip-hopper Omaur Bliss headlines at 7th Street Entry. The Minnesota Zoo hosts a doozy of a local-artist showcase with Solid Gold, The Pines, and Jeremy Messersmith. Intrepid jazz heroes Dean Granros and Anthony Cox do their thing at Café Maude. The annual Minnesota Fringe Festival is just getting warm. Hell, even Louie Anderson is back in town this weekend.
Here's the video for Omaur Bliss' "I Like It":
Click here to see more events for Friday.
Smarter than the average actor-rapper double-threat, Mos Def is Saturday night's top music draw, hitting First Avenue in support of a rad new album. Alternately, if bustin' makes you feel good, the Uptown Theatre is a suitable destination: Ghostbusters screens at midnight. Conjuring a bygone era when twangy alt-pop was actually kinda hard to come by, Gear Daddies reunite for a gig at the Minnesota Zoo. And the Fringe? It's still going.
Check out this clip of Mos Def going head-to-head with Christopher Hitchens on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher:
Click here to see more events for Saturday.
Sunday finds Minneapolis rapper P.O.S. tearing it up at Canterbury Park for the second time this year—first it was Soundset '09, now it's the Vans Warped Tour, featuring a zillion other skater-friendly acts. True metal lives at the Triple Rock, where Vital Remains heads up a three-band bloodbath. You'll find fewer black T-shirts and a lot more "mom jeans" at the Dakota, where bluesy singer-pianist Marcia Ball holds it down for the unpretentious boomer set. 7th Street Entry welcomes shapeshifting L.A. export Alex Ebert, who's on the road with his latest band Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros.
Because a simple music video would never do, here's the beginning of Alex Ebert's "12-part feature-length movie musical" with his Edward Sharpe project:
