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• BEST ACOUSTIC PERFORMER
  If only for a second, every band should get to be the greatest band in the world. And when the Tropicals played "It's a Wild Life" at the Bryant-Lake Bowl on one charmed evening about a year ago, they were that, and then some. Some what? you ask. Well, some strange stuff that makes thee trite... More >>
• BEST ALBUM OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS
  It's an interesting moment in local music when the leaders of two of the biggest regional bands of eight years ago--Martin Zellar of the Gear Daddies and Matt Wilson of Trip Shakespeare--simultaneously self-release their deepest works to date. In Matt Wilson's case, his solo debut, Burnt, White... More >>
• BEST BAND NAME
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• BEST BAND TO BREAK UP IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
  February's second-to-last official act as a band was to perform at the 1998 Minnesota Music Awards on April 23, where the ambient-rock quartet was up for awards in four categories, including Best Female Vocalist for singer Amy Turany. But for die-hard Februarians, the band's epochal achievement... More >>
• BEST BAND TO LEAVE THE TWIN CITIES IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
  First of all, Cute Band Alert! The blistering ska band Siren Six!--whose personnel ranged in appearance from James Dean kool to geek charm--did nothing for the Twin Cities dating scene by hitting Hollywood to chase down stardom. The music scene misses them too. The Six! usually are tossed into... More >>
• BEST BARTENDER
  Before the theater crowd invades downtown for drinks and dinner, restaurant managers and their wait staffs have a tendency to crowd Eli's long, polished bar for a pre-rush bump. Ed Nagle, who's owned the establishment for five years, says vet bartender Wrayge is their favorite. It's no wonder.... More >>
• BEST BEER SELECTION IN A BAR
  A list of tap beers should suffice: Bud, Miller, Leinenkugel, Summit Pale Ale, Bass Ale, Killian's Irish, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Samuel Adams seasonal, Anchor Steam, Red Hook, Sierra Nevada Pale, Boulder Amber Ale, Boulder Amber seasonal, hard cider, Labatt's Blue, Newcastle Brown Ale,... More >>
• BEST BIKER BAR
  In an age when our moral guardians have set the blood-alcohol limit at .08, it shouldn't be surprising that the best biker bar around isn't a bar at all. Replacing the Hell's Angels' recipe of coke and rum-and-Coke with the essential ingredient to a poor man's speedball--a strong cup of... More >>
• BEST BLOODY MARY
  After testing the red waters, we came to a conclusion: No matter how you cut it--with pickles, hot peppers, chili sauce, garlic powder, hoisin sauce, olives, or oranges--a bloody Mary is, in essence, simply booze and tomato guts. If it's thick, you get a few vitamins to help your hangover. If... More >>
• BEST BLUES BAR
  The ideal blues joint would be located in a blue-collar neighborhood like, say, the Frogtown section of St. Paul. It would have a downstairs bar jammed with hard-drinking regulars and other local characters, and a long, darkened stairway that leads up to an expansive room where enough beer and... More >>
• BEST BLUES RADIO PROGRAM
  Host Pete Lee probably wouldn't even think of his wonderful weekly program as a blues show. It does, after all, cover everything from vocal jazz to jump blues, to great pre-rock 'n' roll R&B, and many of the historical wrinkles in between. That's what makes Bop Street so great. Like any... More >>
• BEST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
  Sometimes called the "clown of the orchestra" even by its devotees, the bassoon is basically a piece of arcane and complicated musical plumbing that nonetheless can produce real magic. It has the widest natural range of any wind instrument--four full octaves from a low B-flat to another...and... More >>
• BEST CLASSICAL RADIO PROGRAM
  Anyone who's suffered behind the microphone knows how hard it is to do good radio, to present a seamless audio picture in which the DJ plays the role of classy, informative, yet unobtrusive party host. It's a test the empty suburbanite chatterboxes (and part-time product shills) on MPR... More >>
• BEST CLASSICAL VOCALIST
  Competition for this honorific was fierce, but recognition is long overdue to mezzo-soprano Kathleen Humphrey, who, as Rossini's Italian Girl in Algiers, bore North Star Opera's recent production aloft on graceful wings of song. Humphrey's ability to carry a show--with her stylish instincts,... More >>
• BEST CLUB DJ
  In person, DJ E-Tones (a.k.a. Tony Larson) is quiet, unassuming, and modest--which is appreciated, but in this case almost unnecessary: If anybody deserves to sport the self-important attitude that many DJs carry everywhere like it was their favorite box of vinyl, it's E-Tones. Whether at his... More >>
• BEST COCKTAILS
  The transformation of this restaurant from its drab West Bank roots to probably the classiest act in the Warehouse District is one of those mixed blessings for us old-timers. We lost a good, cheap eatery, but we gained an extravagant hangout--this is not Che's Havana. The house specialties are... More >>
• BEST COCKTAILS (PAPER-UMBRELLA DIVISION)
  Feeling like a Wicked Wahini? According to Bali Hai's drink menu you must "beware of this seemingly innocent beauty! She Bites!" Or are you more of a Dr. Funk? (Which "just might make your wishes come true.") Or is this the night for your Missionary's Downfall? ("Guaranteed to put you in a... More >>
• BEST COMEDY CLUB
  The home of the annual Funniest Person in the Twin Cities contest takes honors as the knee-slappingest place in town this year. ACME prides itself on booking edgy acts, says club manager Lewis Lee, and in the summer it brings comics to the Twin Cities who fall well outside of the polite... More >>
• BEST CONCERT OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS
  Last year Wyclef's Carnival shocked the increasingly insular hip-hop nation with an album that incorporated Haitian compas and Bee Gees samples. The record, though uneven, had some great moments, and the touring version of the Allstars--featuring a full band and rapper John Forte--turned those... More >>
• BEST CONCERT SERIES
  For variety and enterprise, it's hard to get around the Plymouth Music Series, which stages about a half-dozen concerts each year between October and June. Yeah, they toss up the occasional brick, but look at the ground they cover. Just in the current PMS season, you'll find a Handel oratorio... More >>
• BEST CONCERT VENUE
  Obviously, the best concert venue is the one where your favorite act is playing; if you're a thrash fan, Orchestra Hall ain't the space to be. That said, the Fine Line covers quite a few genres with very little audience-venue dissonance. The room is intimate but rarely packed sardine-tight. The... More >>
• BEST CONDUCTOR
  Comparisons are invidious (and the Twin Cities maestro scene has been fairly static for several years now), but it would be fitting to honor a conductor much venerated here, Klaus Tennstedt, who passed away this January. Tennstedt was one of those rare maestri as beloved by musicians as... More >>
• BEST DANCE CLUB
  The Saloon wins by default. This club avoids the rubbernecking vibe of the Gay 90's; the strangely undanceable music selection of First Avenue; the stifling meat-marketeering of Tropix; and the urgent flashiness of the Quest. What it does offer is consistently acceptable, if not always... More >>
• BEST DRAG QUEEN
  The Miss Congeniality Award goes to Miss Richfield, who continues to grace local stages with her deliciously funny--if excruciating--fusion of campy fabulousness and Midwestern tackiness. But the jeweled tiara itself goes to Roxy Marquis, the de facto star of the Gay 90's' La Femme drag show.... More >>
• BEST DRINK SPECIAL
  OK, OK, so it's the vats of free, greasy wings that keep us coming back. But without the rock-bottom, two-for-one deal on every drink from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 3 to 6 p.m., and 9 to 10 p.m., those wings wouldn't go down so well. A perennial hangout for up-and-coming scenesters, Lyle's has... More >>
• BEST GAY/LESBIAN BAR
  Here it is, our rationale, straight from the lips of a CP staffer whose mother would probably be happier if we left him nameless: "Where else can I go with my lesbian friends and just chat, meet a nice, hard-bodied boy, dance, and buy a cock ring--all under one roof?" As someone who can't even... More >>
• BEST GOSPEL SINGER
  When the Chicago Bulls visited the Target Center this season for possibly the last basketball game Michael Jordan will ever play professionally in the Twin Cities, Minnesota Timberwolves officials wisely chose Eddie Robinson to perform the national anthem. Four minutes later, as Robinson... More >>
• BEST IRISH BAR
  We're not talking Irish pub: no dark-oak furniture, tasteful Celtic art, and private-label beer. We're talking bar: fake wood paneling, duct tape on the furniture, St. Pat's decorations up all year, and the most rollicking good time to be had this side of County Antrim. There's almost always... More >>
• BEST JAZZ RADIO PROGRAM
  A jazz ambassador who broadcast his first jazz program in 1940, Leigh Kamman can be found on any given night checking out a local cat or national act at venues all around the town. If you're lucky enough to chat him up, he'll regale you with detailed tales about the many jazz legends and... More >>
• BEST JUKEBOX
  There is only one place in town where you can interrupt the boozy pleasures of the bar by unleashing Jimi Hendrix's dissonant "Star-Spangled Banner": at the C.C. Club. Even the proprietor of this dingy and perennially popular hangout has been heard uttering, "What the hell is this?" in a fit of... More >>
• BEST KARAOKE
  Let's get one thing straight: All you ironic punks who like to get up and sing Donna Summer in falsetto to cover your embarrassment, to show off for your hipster friends, to mock the standards--you can rent your own damn karaoke machine and do it in your living room. That said, there's room for... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BLUES BAND
  A cantankerous old coot who goes his own way--meaning outside the orbits of the Blues Saloon, Whiskey Junction, and Viking Bar--Juliano is not universally admired among his peers. No matter: His impassioned vocals can shine on a down-home ballad, or growl through the sleek funk of old hits put... More >>
• BEST LOCAL JAZZ ARTIST
  It is our great good fortune that Cox, who is internationally renowned as one of the sturdiest, most adventuresome bassists in jazz, prefers to maintain his Minnesota residence as a respite between high-powered gigs in New York and elsewhere. Rather than rest on his laurels and reputation, Cox... More >>
• BEST LOCAL NOISE BAND
  Fifteen years after the Hüskers' noise grail Metal Circus, most (maybe all) variations on the Whitey Guitar Squall theme seem entirely played out. But ambient-noisists Ousia don't play guitars; they twaddle with knobs. And their scatterbrained electronic drones weld blankets of barely... More >>
• BEST LOCAL R&B BAND
  When they released their self-titled CD back in 1996, Vanguard was a bevy of singers specializing in playfully pleading harmonies backed by sharp beats and long, arching guitar solos; influences included P-Funk, Cameo, and Prince. Since then, a combination of personnel changes and the added... More >>
• BEST LOCAL RAP GROUP
  For local hip hop, the Headshots crew (a.k.a. Rhyme Sayers) isn't the only name in town, though it's definitely the most visible one. And among the dozen or so Headshots rhymers, DJs, and producers, the superfriends group DynoSpectrum is to Twin Cities rap what Golden Smog is to hometown roots... More >>
• BEST LOCAL RECORD LABEL
  An easy, obvious choice. Bob Feldman's little label had an outstanding year, boasting a typically stellar new release from folksinger Greg Brown, a distribution arrangement with Appleseed records that produced a glorious two-CD tribute to Pete Seeger (featuring everyone from Bruce Springsteen... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ROCK BAND
  Not just the best band in town, but the funniest, Deformo are indie rockers with more brains in one of their ingeniously ungainly hooks than 50 major-label bands have in their whole lousy discographies. Strident students of the post-punk rave-up, they'll also add a taste of Tijuana with a... More >>
• BEST MARGARITA
  When you first sit down at this longtime West Side fixture, your server will present you with a drinks menu that boasts a wide array of margarita choices. Bypass the foo-foo blue ones, the slushy blender versions, the yup-version made with Grand Marnier, and head straight for the la... More >>
• BEST MARTINI
  A downtown scene featuring sleek lines and sexy people, Table of Contents is the perfect place to sip on the Classic--95 proof Bombay Sapphire, chilled and shaken with a dash of dry vermouth (the classic price: $5.50). If that mix is too high and tight, there are 25 other martinis to choose... More >>
• BEST MUSIC ZINE
  Schlock-rock trio Vinnie and the Stardüsters exist primarily as a satire on rock itself, and the sporadic publication of their eponymous comic (a division of the Fascist series that has included such titles as A Fascist Home Companion) is at least as important as their music. The zine... More >>
• BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR--MINNEAPOLIS
  This smoky, often crowded bar located on the northern edge of Nicollet's bustling ethnic district appears unspectacular at first. The food is average; the booze run-of-the-mill; and the architectural charm modest. That's the secret. An old-school watering hole, Porter's is a wholly... More >>
• BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR--ST. PAUL
  All right. We might be stretching definitions here by classifying the Manor as a neighborhood bar. Usually a neighborhood bar is a smoky tavern, a place for quiet conversation, or maybe even a book and a cig. You can attempt all of the above at the Manor--which doubles as a brassy supper... More >>
• BEST NEW BAND
  At Lunar 9's live debut April 4, opening for Polara in the Entry, audience reaction varied from "The best first show I've ever seen a band play!" to "Pretty good Oasis tribute." The truth is probably somewhere in between. Four years in the making, Lunar 9 rose to the stage from the ashes of... More >>
• BEST NEW NIGHTCLUB
  The Twin Cities clubscape typically grows when old-guard drinking holes such as Mayslacks or the Terminal Bar either build stages in the corner or elevate the hipness quotient of their band bookings. The new music space with the best environmental control, though, would be the Twilight Lounge,... More >>
• BEST OPEN-MIKE NIGHT
  Midnight is the witching hour--especially when chanteuse Leslie Ball takes the stage in her self-titled open-mike performance cabaret. After priming the audience with her silky vocals, Ball becomes glamorous hostess to a lineup of seven-minute wonders. Anyone can get in on the act: musicians,... More >>
• BEST PICKUP JOINT
  Calling all girls with a taste for bad boys, cheap drinks, and experimental music (or any combination thereof): Here's an adventure for you. Stroll into the Terminal Bar on Tuesday nights, all by your badass, lonesome self, and sit down at the bar. Act cool. Lazily gaze at the band onstage.... More >>
• BEST PINBALL MACHINE IN A BAR
  George Lucas goes head-to-head with Steven Spielberg in this category, as Indiana Jones edges out the much-beloved Star Wars machine, which recently returned to First Avenue. Though slapping a small metal ball with prosthetic flippers may seem pretty much the same from machine to machine, the... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO HEAR BLUEGRASS
  If you like beer with your bluegrass, head over to Dulono's on Lake Street. But if you don't mind standing and coffee is your fuel of choice, the most beguiling boinging can be heard at the Homestead Pickin' Parlor's "Jam Sessions." Here, music shoppers and anonymous local pickers alike bring... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO SALSA
  The selection of local salsa nights is surprisingly rich: Throughout the week, dancers and awed spectators can bask in los ritmos afrocubanos in such spaces as Amelia's, South Beach, and the downtown Hyatt. But the Quest on Monday nights is the center of the scene, a fact that owes less to the... More >>
• BEST POOL HALL
  No fancy finger food here to mess up your cue. No booze to stagger your shot. No overdressed yuppies with $250 sticks trying to impress each other playing 8-ball. This out-of-the-way, no-frills parlor is all about the game--chesslike straight pool and breakneck 9-ball. The well-kept tables are... More >>
• BEST POP GROUP
  We looked high and low for the successors to the hallowed "'Sota Pop" class of '94, but these perennial heroes remain the best thing we have going. On last year's excellent So We Go they channeled an assortment of sweet, '60s pop sentiments through the sonic soul of the Byrds, and that nary... More >>
• BEST POUR OF GUINNESS
  A year ago last October, owner Tom Scanlon changed the name of his Ace Bar, a popular hangout for students at St. Thomas, to the Dubliner Pub--an appropriate move considering his Irish brogue and the establishment's reputation for artfully pouring a glass of Guinness stout. The cost: a... More >>
• BEST REGGAE BAND
  Shangoya may be Minnesota's elder statesmen of Island music, but the All-Stars still have a way of stirring a crowd into a mellow mess. The band started as a one-off lark back in the early '90s when a group of guys from various local bands jammed onstage at a party for Bob Marley's birthday.... More >>
• BEST ROCK CLUB
  Gotta give props to the monolith. In an age when the clubs that used to make up the American punk-rock network seem to be outnumbered by outlets of the House of Blues, First Ave. remains one of the most catholic rock clubs in the country. Booking everything from West African folk to the Flaming... More >>
• BEST RUMOR
  Probably best known as the setting for Christian Slater's turn as a waitress stalker in Untamed Heart, Jim's Bakery has been vacant for a few years now. Several factions of the local music community--from the crusty punks in South Minneapolis to the indie rockers at the UM--have thrown around... More >>
• BEST SAXOPHONIST (ALTO)
  Even before he suffered a heart attack and colon cancer--and started playing better than ever--Berger was a local jazz legend, having virtually founded the Twin Cities bebop scene after moving here from Philly in 1959. A stone disciple of Charlie Parker, Berger has mentored literally hundreds... More >>
• BEST SAXOPHONIST (TENOR)
  When T.S. Monk brought an acclaimed ensemble to the Guthrie Theater last winter to honor the compositions of his father, Thelonious Monk, one of his saxophonists fell ill the day of the gig. After a series of frantic phone calls to unearth a local horn player who could read and adequately play... More >>
• BEST SOLO ALBUM
  Even the promise of Casey's first CD didn't adequately prepare us for the emotional intensity, brittle humor, and commanding metaphors that weave through Super America (Urban Ear). He's a competent guitarist, getting fairly folksy support here from his open-ended backup band, the Old Possums.... More >>
• BEST SOLO MUSICIAN
  The funny thing is, he doesn't play solo much, preferring the synergistic spark of simpatico accompanists like superlative jazz bassist Anthony Cox, or the unique percussionist Marcus Wise. But when Dean Magraw decides to take over a song, be it on acoustic or electric guitar, everybody else... More >>
• BEST SONGWRITER
  It was a typically iconoclastic move for Mike Merz, your basic outcast singer/songwriter, to open his EP, Merzworld, with an old-school rap (and a good one, at that!), boasting, "A lot of wack songwriters in this land of the lakes/Wouldn't know a fresh lyric if it hit 'em in the face!" He's... More >>
• BEST SPORTS BAR
  If you're in search of a big screen with Surround Sound, scantily clad waitresses, and overpriced designer beer to pump up your game day, stay clear of this old-fashioned neighborhood watering hole. This place is for sports fans: blue-collar, worn-white-collar, and college-aged. The seen-it-all... More >>
• BEST STRIP CLUB (FEMALE DANCERS)
  With a $6 cover and airport-priced drinks ($4.75 for a Coke!), Schieks is no cheap thrill. But you get what you pay for: an aura of class in a dimly lit, well-decorated setting where every part of the room seems both intimate and somewhat visible from everywhere else. The inside of this vaulted... More >>
• BEST STRIP CLUB (MALE DANCERS)
  Even with the much-hyped hetero influx, the 90's remains the quintessential downtown club, a high-ceilinged, multiroom, multilevel complex with an unparalleled hip-hop floor, a bone-rattling house floor, enormous (and cheap) hamburgers, strong (cheap) drinks, a peerless drag show, a leather... More >>
• BEST VOCALIST (FEMALE)
  Music and media artiste Ana Voog (a.k.a. Rachael Olson) is best known, here and around the world, as the star of www.anacam.com, a 24-hour Web site that lets the viewer watch everything in her weird yet workaday home life (yes, everything). The problem with this new medium is that it ignores... More >>
• BEST VOCALIST (MALE)
  Face it, the world of masculine rock vocals is a sorry lot, loaded with fake soul and alt-rock's characteristic post-Vedder moaning and leering. Yet there are exceptions. John H. Knowles is a droll, middle-aged fella--also known as "The Caveman" to some--whose entire body quakes after he plugs... More >>