Mdou Moctar, ‘Golden Girls’ Drag, Fulton Celebrates 10: This Week’s Best Happenings

Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of recommended things to do.

TUESDAY 3.8

In All Places Beer Release

Utepils Brewing

Tuesday is International Women's Day, and there’s no better way to celebrate than by smashing that pint glass ceiling. In All Places is a brown ale developed and brewed through a collaboration with more than 20 women in Minnesota brewing, including Dangerous Man Brewing Company, Castle Danger Brewing, and Able Seedhouse + Brewery. It’ll hit taplines Tuesday for a big bash at Utepils, when 100% of the proceeds from each In All Places brew sold will go to the Dakota County Technical College Diversity in Brewing Scholarship fund. There’ll be live music from Katy Vernon and a merch raffle featuring participating breweries. Can’t make it out Tuesday? In All Places will be on tap around town and available at a number of local liquor stores; find more info here. Or if you’re more of an IPA person, Pryes is releasing its own Women’s Day beer: Fourth Wave. Free. 3-10 p.m. 225 Thomas Ave. N. #700, Minneapolis. —Em Cassel

An Evening With Will Steger

Twin Cities Film Festival Annex

Polar explorer Will Steger’s accomplishments are many. He led the first no-resupply dog sled expedition to the North Pole, held the title of longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history in 1988 (the 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland), and completed the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica, a historic 3,471-mile journey. He’s also a Minnesotan! The Twin Cities Film Festival is presenting this evening with Steger; the group screened After Antarctica, about his Antarctic traverse, during its 2021 festival. Tonight, the author and climate activist will participate in a discussion of his work and a Q&A with the audience. Find tickets and more info here. $45-$65. 6-8 p.m. 1661 West End Blvd., St. Louis Park.—Em Cassel

Mick Foley 

Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy 

WWE legend Mick Foley is also a… standup comedian? Well, sort of. The 56-year-old wrestling hall of famer “won't challenge Patton Oswalt or Katt Williams as America's best comedian, but he's a solid performer with a good sense of comic timing,” Bleacher Report observed in 2013, noting that his set relies heavily on pro-wrestling references and in-jokes. Foley’s current standup tour will pull stories from his 1999 autobiography, Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, and mix his “unique brand of storytelling” with “fan interaction.” Expect Foley to recall the time he got in the ring with our former governor. What a state! $30-$75. 7:30 p.m. Mall of America, 60 E. Broadway, Bloomington; find more info here.—Jay Boller

THURSDAY 3.10

Parquet Courts, Mdou Moctar

First Avenue

The pandemic hasn’t exactly been good for Parquet Courts, but the New York band have made it work for them. Released in late 2021, Sympathy for Life is a bristly quarantine album, pent up with the claustrophobia of a band that sounds restless even when they’re given free rein to roam. I wouldn’t go so far as to call the animated groove of “Walking at a Downtown Pace” “clubby,” as some critics have, but it does suggest that they’ve been dancing around the apartments they’ve been shut up in. Yes, their music remains a kaleidoscope of past indie and post punk styles, spun and shifted into new patterns, but if you haven’t made your peace with that by now, maybe guitar bands just aren’t for you anymore. Popularizing a Tuareg blues-rock style that’s taken off in Niger and thereabouts over the past decade, Mdou Moctar is the most celebrated guitarist to hit the U.S. market since… ever? (Signing to Matador will do that for a guy.) If his Afrique Victime is a little lighter on politics than its title suggests, it’s a fine showcase for his virtuosity, which, like most virtuosity, is best experienced live. With Pit Stop. 18+. $27 advance/$32 day of show. 8 p.m. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris

SATURDAY 3.12

Escape the Winter Party

Minneapolis Cider Company

Last weekend’s snow-dump really killed any hope for spring-like weather anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy tropical vibes this weekend at Minneapolis Cider Company. They’ll be celebrating the pineapple, a decidedly summertime fruit. A pineapple cider will be on tap, crepes and galettes will be served with Hawaiian sausage and pineapple sauce, and there’ll be pineapple bowling. You’ll also be able to order up a variety of tropical cocktails, if pineapple is not your thing. Other fun includes a hula hoop contest and tunes from the Pan-Handlers Steel Drum Band. Tropical attire is also encouraged, but be sure to wear a winter coat, too. It’s still cold as fuck outside. Free. 10 a.m. to midnight. 701 SE Ninth St., Minneapolis. –Jessica Armbruster

Taproom 10-Year Anniversary

Fulton Taproom

Fun fact: Fulton was the first taproom to open in Minneapolis. Now think about how many taprooms are in the North Loop alone in 2022. (Off the top of my head, I can name five: Modist, InBound, First Draft, Number 12, Freehouse.) So dang, Fulton was ahead of a massive trend in the Twin Cities. This weekend, they’ll be celebrating 10 years of pint drinking in the neighborhood. On tap will be a variety of classic brews, as well as some special infusions for the occasion. There will be merch giveaways all day; each time you buy a drink you’ll be given a ticket upping your chance of winning. Live music will include jams from Russ Parrish at 3 p.m. and the Dead Century at 8 p.m. Free. Noon to 10 p.m. 414 6th Ave. N., Minneapolis. –Jessica Armbruster

Hot Freaks 

7th St. Entry 

An old song from the obscure, locally loved, and very broken up band Hot Freaks experienced the viral alchemy of TikTok last summer. “Puppy Princess,” the Minneapolis indie-pop group’s shimmering, disco-indebted 2013 track, became a TikTok hit with over 13 million references on the social network—six years after the band split. Hot Freaks were as surprised as anyone: “Someone messaged me on Instagram and told me it was going viral, and I thought that was cool,” singer Leo Vondracek told us at the time. “I looked and there were, like, a couple thousand videos at that time, but it’s grown exponentially since then.” The flurry of attention from major labels like Elektra, Atlantic, Capitol, and UMG was indeed legit, and Hot Freaks finalized a “substantial” one-song record deal for “Puppy Princess,” leading to a brand-new music video and reunion performances like tonight’s. “I keep thinking about KG at the 2008 NBA Finals, yelling ‘Anything is possible! Anything is possible!'” says bassist Sarah Darnall with a laugh. $15. 8 p.m. 701 N. First Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller

Marisa Monte
State Theatre

The Brazilian singer’s 2021 album Portas is her first in a decade; she’s reached that stage in her career where her place is so assured she can coast on her popularity. As she has since breaking through with her version of “Bem Que Se Quis” in 1989, Monte sounds smooth, urbane, rhythmically acute—all the hallmarks that have made her a star of MPB, or Música Popular Brasileira (which I bet you can translate for yourself). And if that melding of traditional and contemporary pop styles is no longer quite as contemporary itself, it makes for a beguiling sound still. $45-$108. 8 p.m. 805 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris

SUNDAY 3.13

Golden Girls Drag Brunch

Crave

This isn’t Flip Phone’s first Golden Girls-themed drag blowout, but it’ll perhaps be the most emotional. The iconic Betty White died last December at 99, as you know, meaning drag stars Sasha Cassadine, Lady Cummeal, Sissy Tops, and Onya Deek will twerk with extra vigor to honor her memory. This rooftop party is a hot ticket: Only passes to the 3 p.m. performance remain, which is really more of a late lunch. We don’t think Rose would object. $16. 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. 825 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller