'Coaction'
Interact Center, which works to "challenge perceptions of disability," collaborated with Gamut Gallery to host "Coaction," a group exhibition of 48 artworks by eight Interact artists paired with eight art instructors. There's a lot to see here. "Nami Nami" is a painting of a swirly ice cream cone city created by Joli Grostephan and Ashlea Karkula. Nora Rickey and HML's soft sculpture "Skin" and "Bones" looks like the guts of a hanging body and explores gender, disability and sexuality. The exhibition, curated by Derek Meier, includes paintings, sculpture, fiber art, drawings and written word. This is the last week to catch it before it closes. (Ends Nov. 19. Gamut Gallery, 717 S. 10th St., Mpls. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 612-367-4327 or gamutgallerympls.com)
ALICIA ELER
'Riding the Maelstrom'
Black Label Movement's artistic director Carl Flink's "Riding the Maelstrom" was premiered by Modern American Dance Company in 2021 in Missouri. Now, it comes to Minnesota for the first time and will be staged at the Fall Forward Festival, which is in its third week. The work translates the process of chemotherapy, which Flink's mother underwent during her fight with cancer, into movement. The festival also takes a deep dive into the secret life of teenagers with Crash Dance Productions' "Rites." It imagines what happens before the events of "The Crucible," Arthur Miller's play about the Salem witch trials. Finally, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre unites composer Juanito Pascual's music with the hip-hop style of Darrius Strong, whose recent projects include "VietGone" at the Guthrie Theater and the interdisciplinary "Sound Sculpture" presented by Schubert Club Mix. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., $30, 612-206-3600, thecowlescenter.org)
SHEILA REGAN
Chelsea Handler
In her heyday, the comic was a bit of a revolutionist, proving that women could be just as crass and juvenile as the men. But there are signs that Handler is growing up. In the past few years, she released a book, "Life Will Be the Death of Me," chronicling her journey of self-discovery, and a Netflix special, "Evolution," in which she used the stage as a therapist's couch, revealing how she came to terms with her brother's death. But the 47-year-old hasn't completely abandoned her party girl persona; her latest Twin Cities stop is part of the Vaccinated and Horny Tour. (8 p.m. Sat., State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $49.50-$219.50. hennepintheatretrust.org)
NEAL JUSTIN
Dave Matthews Band
After a summer of outdoor shows, DMB has headed inside for Fall Tour 2022. Not only will it be the band's first Twin Cities appearance since playing the night before the 2018 Super Bowl at Xcel Energy Center, but it will be DMB's first local performance with new keyboardist Buddy Strong, who joined in summer 2018 after having toured with Usher and Ariana Grande. As with all great jam bands, DMB set lists vary from show to show, but this year the 30-year-old group, in its two-hour marathons, has mixed in covers of Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and the Isley Brothers along with its catalog of originals. (7:30 p.m. Sun. Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $45.50-$750, axs.com)
JON BREAM
Beth Orton
A great big collective sigh might be audible from the West Bank on Saturday night when this '90s-risen British folk/indie-rock songwriter of "Concrete Sky" fame finally comes to town again, with her dramatic, smoked-honey voice that can soothe the roughest edges. There's plenty of edginess on her first album in six years, "Weather Alive," inspired by friends' deaths and her own health scare. She's touring with a band, but the venue guarantees an intimate experience. Heather Woods Broderick from Sharon Van Etten's band opens. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $28, thecedar.org)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Haochen Zhang
China has brought us some of classical music's most exciting young pianists in recent decades, including Lang Lang and Yuja Wang. Add to the list Haochen Zhang, who, at age 19, tied for first at America's top piano competition, the Van Cliburn, and is now a celebrated soloist who just recorded the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He'll perform a Chopin Society recital featuring two works by Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt's virtuosic Transcendental Etudes. (3 p.m. Sun., Mairs Concert Hall, 130 Macalester St., St. Paul; $40; 612-822-0123 or chopinsocietymn.org)
ROB HUBBARD
Iliza Shlesinger
The red-hot comic has her fair share of zingers, particularly when it comes to sex-crazed men. But she's also a gifted physical comedian. In her latest Netflix special, she puts on a class on how to use your body to sell a joke, using pantomime and expertly timed gestures to elevate her bits. It's just another way she separates herself from the pack. Before seeing her live, check out her engaging performance in Netflix's "Good on Paper," the 2021 rom-com that she also wrote. (7 p.m. Sat., Mystic Lake Casino, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake. $49. mysticlake.com)
N.J.
Joe Bonamassa
He's one bluesman who won't get burned by the business. That's because the blues-rock guitar hero with the journeyman voice promotes his concerts and operates a record label. To coincide with this fall's return to the road, Bonamassa has released "Road to Redemption," an EP that features three songs from 2018's "Redemption" and three numbers previously available only on the CD sold at Target. The highlights are a collab with Jamey Johnson, the suitably moody Southern rocker "The Ghost of Macon Jones" and the smoldering, Gregg Allman-esque "Stronger Now in Broken Places." (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $63 and up, ticketmaster.com)
J.B.
The Backseat Lovers
Coming off like a Utah counterpart to poppy Twin Cities indie-rockers Hippo Campus but with a little more classic rock influence, these former high school classmates jump from playing the Entry last year to the Palace riding the viral wave behind such warm and buoyant singles as "Kilby Girl," "Pool House" and the more frantic "Growing/Dying." The latter is from their second album, released last month, "Waiting to Spill." There's a good buzz for their live shows, too, following gigs at Austin City Limits and many other festivals. Louisville band Bendigo Fletcher opens. (8 p.m. Fri., Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, all ages, $32.50-$47.40, axs.com)
C.R.
Roshan Ganu's 'Gazing Into the Full Moon Night'
A moon with eyes drifts across the gallery wall. Projections of eyes peer out and watch the night skies. A mystical overlapping of light and dark covers the gallery walls in Minneapolis-based artist Roshan Ganu's dreamy solo exhibition at SooVac Gallery. In this multimedia and multilingual installation and experimental walk into light and color, Ganu offers a space for exploration. Ganu, born in Goa, India, speaks six languages — Marathi, her native language, English, Konkani, Hindi, Portuguese and French — and in this show languages also serve as levels of understanding. Her solo exhibition ponders the isolation of the immigrant experience, while also telling visual stories inspired by her mother and grandmother. Rather than using words directly, her artworks are rife with neon, mirrors, reflections of water and handmade papier-mâché sculptures. (Ends Nov. 13. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. and Sun., 2909 Bryant Av. S., #101, Mpls. 612-871-2263 or soovac.org)
A.E.
Twin Cities Con
The annual cosplay convention features a star-studded guest list of actors who have portrayed Hobbits, superheroes and anime and animation characters. Guests can sit in on panels featuring Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Johnny Yong Bosch, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Mela Lee and others. A place to dress up as your favorite creature or character, the convention includes a costume contest, vendor shopping and gaming tournaments. (Noon-7 p.m. Fri.; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. $15-$75. Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Av. S., Mpls. twincitiescon.com)
MELISSA WALKER
