Weekly Agenda: Here come the year-end traditions
2010 British Television Advertising Awards
We’ve reached that point in December when end-of-the-year signifiers are approaching in droves: The return of the British Television Advertising Awards (through Jan. 2, Walker Art Center), Curtiss A’s 31st annual John Lennon tribute (Wednesday, First Avenue), a visit from Mannheim Steamroller (Friday-Saturday, Orpheum Theatre), and the KDWB Jingle Ball (Monday, Target Center) are all harsh reminders that if we don’t act now, we’ll spend our holidays nervously watching our loved ones open sloppily wrapped packages of candy bars and cigarette lighters from Super America. (If you could use a little help when it comes to gift-giving ideas, we may be able to assist. Check out the site tomorrow for The A.V. Club’s Twin Cities-themed gift guide.)
In addition to the usual consumer scare, this is also the time of year when we start thinking about the “best of 2010” lists we’ll soon be reading, criticizing, and obsessively making ourselves. If you’re prone to making lists of your own favorite local releases, don’t forget to include the latecomers. This week alone features release shows by ska upstarts The Prizefighters (Saturday, Triple Rock Social Club), folk favorite Mason Jennings (Saturday-Sunday, First Avenue), and Madison transplants Sleeping In The Aviary (Saturday, Kitty Cat Klub). (Also coming up on the site this week: our review of Sleeping In The Aviary’s new album, Great Vacation!) But if you can only afford one new release this week, and you want the most bands for your buck, go with Minnesota Beatle Project, Vol. 2, which shares its release show with Curtiss A’s Lennon-athon. The compilation features covers of familiar classics by musicians as diverse as Sounds Of Blackness, Pert Near Sandstone, Soul Asylum, and P.O.S. It also includes a rendition of “Real Love” that just may be the last thing we ever hear from Lookbook. Yep, 2010 was a year of ups and downs for the local music scene, and that’s something we’ll try to capture in words over the next few weeks, in between frantic trips to the mall.
