Nightlife: Friday night lights

Don't tell Jake Rudh that video killed the radio star. The DJ loves videos, and this Friday he'll once again take over First Avenue with a visual feast dedicated to the best in new wave, post punk, brit-pop and indie dance music.

Rudh is the man behind Transmission, the popular dance night that packs Clubhouse Jager every Wednesday. Don't worry, Transmission isn't leaving its cozy home at Clubhouse Jager, but clearly Rudh has found Transmission a home away from home.

In March, he moved Transmission to the much larger First Ave for the night's 10-year anniversary party. He packed the downtown club with more than 1,300 people (he usually does about 200 at Jager).

Rudh is calling his latest First Ave dance-a-thon "Friday Night Videos" (a reference to the NBC music show of the same name, which ran from 1983 to 2000). He said he has more than 400 videos ready for Friday night.

Rudh hopes to bring Transmission back to First Ave two or three times a year.

Comedy Underground gets big In conjunction with this year's Fringe Festival, the folks at the Comedy Corner Underground (located in the basement of the Corner Bar) are hosting the Mini-Minneapolis Comedy Festival. The nine-day fest will feature a different theme each night. It kicks off Saturday with "The Dirty Show," which will feature a roster of raunchy comics. On Wednesday, "The Ultimate Twit" challenges the night's comedians to tell their jokes in 140 characters or less. There are also nights called "Characters Only" and "Punchline Punchout." Get the picture?

New in the North Loop

Over on N. Washington Avenue, the Public House is scheduled to open on Monday in the former North Washington Cafe (which was Java J's not too long ago). The bar will have a small but strong tap beer lineup, including beers from Fulton, Stone, Dark Horse, Great Lakes and more. The menu appears to be a notch above your typical pub grub, with homemade sausages and small plates (the bar's Facebook mentioned a tuna tartare endive salad and merguez with white bean and carrot).

'I'm on a boat!' The floating nightclub is back. On Aug. 19, dance music promoter VimLab is taking clubgoers on the Paradise Lady Yacht. On board, you'll see the river sights, go through the locks and groove to a mix of house, hip-hop and pop beats. DJing the three-hour cruise will be Nate Laurence and J Matthews of Hot Dish, Big Mama J and more. After docking back on Boom Island, the boat ticket also gets clubbers access to the afterparty at Epic. While VimLab's boat parties typically sell out in advance, the promoter hopes to have some tickets at the door. Of course, it's best to plan ahead.