The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

READINGS
Talk of the Stacks: Seth Kantner

Award-winning writer and photographer (and also trapper, fisherman, mechanic and igloo-builder) Seth Kantner takes over Pohlad Hall at the Minneapolis Central Library tonight to discuss his latest book! Shopping for Porcupines is a charming memoir of the author's life, from his childhood in the isolated Alaskan tundra, to his current small-town life in Kotzebue, Alaska. Tonight hear Kantner read from the book, and lay eyes on the stunning images that accompany the story, shot by Kantner himself. Make an evening of it with a post-reading stroll up the street to Kieran's Irish Pub for literary recappin' and some corn beef and cabbage.

7pm, Minneapolis Public Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Downtown Minneapolis, Free

MUSIC
The KatJon Band

Those of you who paid any mind to the 1970-80's punk scene certainly know The Mekons and The Ex, who to this day remain a couple of the only bands from that era who haven't broken up (or died from drug overdoses). Quietly enough, Jon Langford (The Mekons) and Kat Ex (The Ex) have formed a sonically and politically charged (of course) collaboration that will rock the hell out of the 7th Street Entry tonight. With Kat on drums and Langford on guitar, they share vocals, perfectly harmonizing between the rough and the sweet, and you'd expect nothing less from these seasoned punk rock pioneers. As their website puts it best, "Iraq war, globalization, class, greed, patriotism and kinky sex all rear their ugly heads in these bone-bare, blood-boiling anthems." So, get down to the Entry tonight for a taste of rock n' roll at its finest. Chicago's Dollar Store opens the show.

8pm, 7th Street Entry, 701 1st Avenue N, Downtown Minneapolis, $10


PERFORMANCE
Cirque Du Soleil: Saltimbanco

The stunning acrobatics and European flair of Cirque Du Soleil is back once again to enthrall and amaze Twin Cities audiences! Saltimbanco, which literally means "to jump on a bench" in Italian, will take you on a dream-like journey into an imaginary urban wildlife where diversity and grace flourish. Watch as performers whirl and twirl their way through this poetic masterpiece that will truly put stars in your eyes, as Cirque productions are as vivid in their story-telling as they are visually brilliant and acrobatically outrageous. This show only runs through the 28th, so hurry and snap up your tickets before it's too late!

Doors 6:30pm, Show 7:30pm, Target Center, 7th Street & 1st Avenue N., Downtown Minneapolis, $42-$97