The Night Owl

Hot Ticket
The summer’s hottest ticket isn't expensive. In fact, it’s not even ticketed. For the past seven years, Macy’s Day of Music , this year from noon on July 13 to noon July 14, has kicked off Sommerfest, offering forty music performances in twenty-four hours on six stages at Orchestra Hall, Peavey Plaza, and WCCO–TV Plaza. The highlight this year will be the Minnesota Orchestra’s all-Nordic program with Osmo Vänskä conducting and starring Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä, July 13 at 8 p.m., at Orchestra Hall (1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-371-5656).

Sightseeing Tips
Forget museums, historical markers, and scenic overlooks, real sightseeing in the TC comes in the form of people-watching.

• Some of the best people-watching happens at Visage (400 3rd Ave. N., Mpls., 612-455-2525,) each week on Fashion Fridays, when the club hosts a live fashion show by local and national designers.

• Though all types of rock are played at Station 4 (201 E. 4th St., St. Paul, 651-298-0173), the urban club draws a decidedly punk crowd that flaunts its piercings, dog spikes, black leather, and inventively colored hair.

• The 331 Club (331 13th Ave. NE, Mpls.), located underneath a salon and on the same block as a few art galleries and the freshly restored Ritz Theater, draws—no surprise—a hipster crowd. The look is designer jeans, vintage blazers, and high-end sneakers.

• The bike messengers who gather at Grumpy’s (1111 Washington Ave. S., Mpls., 612-340-9738) may appear to be casual about their looks and dress, but if you look closer, you'll discover that they actually rule the sneaker-culture kingdom. Shoe fetishists are welcome, as long as you don’t drive a car.
Photo: The 331.

Entertainment:
If you’re feeling adventurous, artists of all stripes perform for five to seven minutes completely uncensored every Saturday night, starting at midnight, at Balls (Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Mpls., 612-340-0155). You never know what you’re going to get and the acts can be unexpectedly raunchy at times, but you’re just as likely to see thought-provoking, emotional (and sometimes arcane or asinine) material—all for a mere five bucks.
If you’re looking for humor, Acme Comedy Company (708 N. 1st St., Mpls., 612-338-6393 ) features shows on Friday and Saturday nights at 10:30 p.m. All-stars such as Nick Swardson and Dave Mordal stand alongside up-and-coming comedians. To test your knowledge and learn a lot of things that are fun to know but ultimately useless, there’s Chuck & Sean’s Trivia at the 331 Club (13th Ave. NE, Mpls., 612-331-1746) on Sundays, hosted by Sean McPherson (Heiruspecs) and Chuck Terhark (City Pages).
Photo: Balls 

Must See/Do: If you can't make it to the Rocky Horror Picture Show screening on the first and third Saturday of the month at Riverview Theater (3800 42nd Ave. S., Mpls., 612-729-7369 ), you have another option for a late-night Saturday flick: the midnight movie at the Uptown Theatre (2906 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-825-6006), featuring campy horror flicks, kung fu kick-’em-ups, and other favorites from the B-movie vault.

Dining Out:
Whether it’s for a late-night breakfast or burger, Mickey’s Diner (36 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-222-5633) is the original greasy spoon, with credentials dating back to the 1930s. Just walking into the place is like entering the Twilight Zone. You just know something weird is going to happen, and if you wait long enough, it will. But Mickey’s doesn’t have the late-night breakfast market cornered: Uptowner Café (1100 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-224-0406), just a couple of miles away, serves up giant omelets and hash browns from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. In Minneapolis, at Little Tijuana (17 E. 26th St., 612-872-0578), better known as Little T’s, punk servers dish out a side of attitude alongside famous enchiladas, tamales, burgers, and other greasy delights. It’s noisy, cramped, and often packed—in other words, perfect for a late-night feeding frenzy.
Photo: Uptowner Café

Best Deals: Local jazz mainstays—Nachito Herrera, Connie Evingson, Bruce Henry—are billed as the frontmen of their gigs, often during the dinner hour, but the grittier, usually instrumental, improvisational jazz gigs happen late at night. Lucky for us, these can be experienced on the cheap. If you’re up for a younger, rock-influenced jazz scene that doesn’t get going until after 10, check out the Wednesday night jazz series at The Nomad World Pub (501 Cedar Ave., Mpls., 612-338-6424), the Monday night Jazz Implosion with Fat Kid Wednesdays at the Turf Club's Clown Lounge (1601 University Ave., St. Paul, 651-647-0486), or the late-night jazz happy hour Friday and Saturday nights at the Dakota (1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-332-1010), where you can also grab some top-notch, relatively cheap nosh. Covers are just $3 to $5.

Photo Ops: The Twin Cities may not have the built-in celebrities of LA and NYC, but A-listers can frequently be spotted around town. Get a paparazzi-free postgig glimpse of your favorite band members leaving the side door of First Avenue (701 1st Ave. N., Mpls., 612-332-1775 ), exiting the Orpheum in the alley by Mackenzie (918 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-333-7268), or grabbing a bite to eat at the bar at Palomino (825 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-339-3800) after playing a gig at the State, Orpheum, or Pantages. If pro sports stars and politicos are more your style, a lucky bet would be at the bar at Bellanotte (600 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-339-7200) or Escape Ultra Lounge (600 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-338-8855), conveniently located across the street from the Target Center, where the Timberwolves play.

Late-Night Etiquette: If you’re out late, chances are you’ve been imbibing. Don’t deny it—just designate a driver to get everyone home safely. The local authorities frown upon head-on collisions and other messy byproducts of demon alcohol. While we’re on the subject of imbibing, though, remember to tip your barista, bartender, or servers well. It’s late, and they’d probably rather not be waiting on you, so make it worth their while.