I will keep reminding you to go see the Jamal Lullabies until you can’t see it anymore. Friday at 10pm or Sunday at 1pm, at the Southern Theater.

Downtown Journal has some behind-the-Fringe-scenes stuff with folks from The Mistress Cycles, My Hovercraft is Full of Eels, Deviants, Mike Fotis, and the Fringe Sherpa program which I saw a description of in passing somewhere but didn’t hear or see much more about. Hey, Fringe, y’all might want to pimp this harder next year.

The Fringe’s myspace page is actually nice.

Fringe Famous has made its nominations and polls are open for the First Annual Fringies. Voting is open until Saturday night.

On to the reviews.

Mortem Capiendum by Four Humors Theater
I had high expectations for this one, having seen previous shows by this group. I don’t know if it was because I was tired or what, but I just didn’t enjoy it that much. It was cleverly written and well acted, I just didn’t like the story. There are better choices you could make for the last weekend.

Phi Alpha Gamma by Dan Bernitt
Just now as I typed out “Phi Alpha Gamma” did I realize what those letters spell out. I had seen exactly one review of this show and it was glowing, but I tried to consider the source because of course a gay guy is going to be more inclined to rate a gay-themed show very highly but then I decided that’s a bigger plus because it means the topic was handled well. It’s the story of a fraternity dealing with the reputation it earned when one of its members gay-bashed a guy and further consideration of this reputation when a brother comes out in a chapter meeting. Having seen a lot of one-woman shows, a one-man show was a nice change of pace. Dan Bernitt was great, very effectively portraying four different characters and the world of fraternities. Recommended!

The Cody Rivers Show Presents: Stick to Glue by The Cody Rivers Show
I stumbled upon the Cody Rivers Show at last year’s Fringe and was totally blown away, so I had high expectations and every one of them was met. They’re like a live action They Might Be Giants song. I felt smarter for having seen it. So clever and funny and WTF?! and never a dull moment. Seriously, not one part of this show was bad. Recommended!

Further miscellaneous observations…

live.eat.play.twin cities: DIY St Paul walking tours

Minnescoota, for the Minnesota scooter enthusiast.

Minneapolis Issues Forum: Dyna Slyter, who part-times in Starbuck, MN, asks folks to give her one reason to come back to Minneapolis. The response is a resounding, “Pffffffft, whatever.”

MPLS Mirror: Recapping a presentation on the five problems the MPD faces in preventing crime and keeping neighborhoods safe and how they’re trying to address them.

Minnov8: On bringing broadband to every Minnesotan, completely with analogy to railroads.

Gather: Michael Caputo likes the 5-day skyway leases being granted for the RNC, because it’s better than the current state of Saint Paul skyway suckitude quiet.

TC Daily Planet: Another South High/MTN project, this time on bicycle culture.

I stumbled across all of these in the last couple days and thought I’d share.

Ride Boldly! is a blog focusing on “bikes, bicycling, and road safety.” It’s good info in general but I what I really like about it is it specifically addresses MN bike statutes, general biking issues with a local spin (e.g., Bicycle Facilities Issues, Plan Now for Winter Cycling), and infrastructure issues as they apply to biking.

West Bank Boogie is a book by Cyn Collins that “celebrates 40 years of Minneapolis Minnesota’s West Bank music scene with profiles of more than 20 legendary musicians who influenced the soul of American music.” It’s a really cool website for a book (”for a book” is meant to be descriptive, not a qualifier). Great info about the book (it started as a series of articles in the Seward Profile), where to get it, and the profiled artists. Don’t let the fact that the foreword and also the first listed endorsement come from Garrison Keillor put you off.

Friends of the Riverfront is “a group of concerned citizens and park users… working to conserve, protect, and enhance the resources of the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park.” It sounds like a noble and worthy mission, though they currently appear to be entirely focused on fighting against the proposed De La Salle football stadium on Nicollet Island and I kind of wonder if that’s why they came into being in the first place. So if you want to know more about that hot topic (without the crazy Phyllis Kahn stories), check it out.