Friday, February 22
The Kids Are Alright
WHAT: Chris Koza Spotlight Concert
WHERE: Hopkins High School Auditorium, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
Nothing like this ever happened when I was in the high school orchestra, but Hopkins High has unusual talent. And on Friday, the orchestra will be fronted by Chris Koza. He’ll play some Rogue Valley stuff, his own material, and more. Not often that a non-Beatle can get backed by a orchestra that big. Learn more at seatyourself.biz/hopkins
Friday, February 22
Bang the Drum
WHAT: Buckets and Tap Shoes
WHERE: Cowles Center for the Performing Arts, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
You’d think that the concept would’ve run its course by now: guys pounding buckets to rhythmic effect while others dance old-school to the beat. But these guys know what they’re doing, having long since expanded the possibility of this minimalist approach into evening-length performances. The fact that these guys got their start putting buckets and, well, tap shoes to percussive use on the streets of Minneapolis shows they knew how to please a crowd. They still do. Learn more at thecowlescenter.org
Saturday, February 23
To Have and Have Not
WHAT: Elemeno Pea
WHERE: Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
Mixed Blood seems to be on an alphabet kick lately—Avenue Q, now this. But really, it’s on an astounding run of sharp, provocative, youthful, freewheeling plays that don’t beat about the bushes. This one is about sisters working behind different lines in the class war. When they come together at a nice home in Martha’s Vineyard, where do their loyalties lie? Learn more at mixedblood.com
Saturday, February 23
Hungry Like a Wolf
WHAT: Wolf Lords CD release
WHERE: 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis
WHEN: 10 p.m.
Aby Wolf has a voice that could lure Little Red Riding Hood across the country. And since starting out with a kind of hip folk vibe, she’s moved deeper into beats and rhythm. Here, she’ll release her collaborative effort with local super-producer and multi-instrumentalist Grant Cutler (Solid Gold, Jeremy Messersmith). Learn more at first-avenue.com
Sunday, February 24
The Spy Who Loved Everyone
WHAT: Or,
WHERE: Park Square Theatre, St. Paul
WHEN: 2 p.m.
The 1660s look a lot like the 1960s—liberated, radical, sexy, profane—in this neo-Restoration comedy about a complicated night in the life of the first female playwright in Europe. Who happens to be a spy. Learn more at parksquaretheatre.org
Sunday, February 24
And the Oscar Goes To…
WHAT: 20th Annual Oscar Experience
WHERE: Union, Minneapolis
WHEN: 5:30 p.m.
The Oscars didn’t sneak up on us, but this fact did: this annual Oscar party in downtown Minneapolis is the longest-running official Oscar party outside of Los Angeles. And this year, the hosts will celebrate even more than usual, sending cars to pick up VIP ticket-buyers at their homes, watching Mayor R.T. Rybak give the city’s first Visionary Award to impresario Scott Mayer, and generally being glamorous in the new swanky rooftop restaurant, Union. Oh, and watching the Oscars! Learn more at aegisfoundationinc.org
