Prince: lived in 'apartment on Aldrich'

Prince, I guess we hardly knew you. After 30-some years in the spotlight, the hometown hero showed his faithful something new Saturday night at Paisley Park in Chanhassen: It was his smoothest (read: most efficiently run) show there ever -- and one funky and fulfilling performance.

The gig advertised for 11 p.m. actually started at 11:10, unheard of at Paisley, where shows typically have started whenever Prince feels like it. For the first time, he even offered a free shuttle-bus service so people could leave their vehicles at a newish nearby park-and-ride and take a plush bus for the eight-minute drive to Prince's complex. How slick was that?

Late-night shows were commonplace at Paisley in the late 1990s, but Prince had not done any announced shows there since 2004. Saturday's gig (announced late Friday afternoon) was $31.21 for fan-club members and $40 for others. Paisley visitors were asked to donate items for food shelves and gently used coats.

Prince showed more versatility and musicality in his first hour onstage than Michael Jackson did in his entire career. He started with a bunch of tunes from this year's "Lotusflow3r" collection and then paraded through his hits. There wasn't one tune from the '90s, and only "Feel 4 U" from the '70s.

With his horn-less band, Prince has never sounded funkier at Paisley. He was talkative and humorous, loose and spontaneous, calling out songs and arrangements as well as an occasional "so-low" for himself on guitar. And he reaffirmed that he is one of us: "This is my home forever," he said as an introduction to 1980's "Uptown." "This is a song about it. I used to live in an apartment on Aldrich. I used to get my checks cashed at Rudolph's. I used to swim in Lake Calhoun," he told the faithful. "I'm so lying."

He even offered a little "country western" guitar passage, as he playfully put it, and one of his more passionate versions of "Purple Rain" to close the evening. He danced only briefly, during "Kiss," but handpicked some fans to come onstage and dance, a longstanding Paisley tradition at any hour.

Jon Bream

Craig Finn co-writing 'Fargo Rock City' movie

One guy is a great storyteller and knows rock 'n' roll's many nuances. The other guy has apparently mastered the high art of comedy writing. Why Chuck Klosterman himself -- who offers all those qualities under one dome -- isn't writing a big-screen adaptation of his classic-to-some-of-us memoir "Fargo Rock City" is a bit of a mystery, but at least he has a couple of cool dudes doing the work for him: Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn (shown below) is writing a screenplay adaptation with one of David Letterman's head writers, Tom Reprecht, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "This will also be a universal story of dorky kids trying to be cool," Reprecht told the magazine.

Chris Riemenschneider

Another new local brewery

Surly is still hot. Lift Bridge is going strong. Now comes Fulton Beer, the latest brewery to open in the Twin Cities. Release parties for its first beer -- an IPA called Sweet Child of Vine -- will go down 4-7 p.m. Thursday at the Acadia Cafe and 6 p.m. Saturday at Stub & Herb's (before and after the Gophers football game).

Fulton is the brainchild of four home brewers who began making beer together in 2007. They started in a basement, then moved to a two-car garage in the Fulton neighborhood of southwest Minneapolis (thus the brewery's name). But they didn't stop there. "We wanted to take it to the next level," said co-founder Ryan Petz.

The group moved its larger operation to a brewery in Black River Falls, Wis., where they've been whipping up batches of Sweet Child of Vine. They're looking to establish their own site in Minneapolis. Fulton's first beer will be available at the Happy Gnome, the Muddy Pig, Stub & Herb's, Acadia, Bryant-Lake Bowl, the Edina Grill and 3 Squares in Maple Grove.

Tom Horgen

Mixology 101

The Twin Cities bar scene is home to some serious mixologists. Here's your chance to learn the secrets behind one of our best cocktail lounges, Bradstreet Craftshouse. The bar has teamed up with Studio Bricolage for a class called "Mixology: The Art & Science of Drink." Besides teaching you how to craft some amazing cocktails, the Dec. 5 two-hour session will talk about the history of mixed drinks and the stories behind your favorite spirits. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door (which includes samples and snacks). Get them quick because only 50 tickets are available. This will be the first class in a three-part series. (3-5 p.m. Dec. 5. 601 1st Av. N., Mpls. To register: 612-824-4394 or www.studiobricolage.org)

Tom Horgen

Depot delayed

First Avenue was expected to open a restaurant next door this month. But it looks like plans for the burger-and-beer joint (dubbed the Depot) have been backed up a few months. That's the word from First Ave general manager Nate Kranz, who said he's expecting the Depot to debut in early 2010.

Tom Horgen

Pohlad film pushed to 2010

Gifted but slooooow director Terrence Malick's Oscar bait, "The Tree of Life," won't be winning any 2009 prizes. The hush-hush 1950s opus, starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt, won't be finished in time to make its announced Dec. 25 release date. This probably isn't news to the film's chief backer, Minneapolis financier William Pohlad, who produced the film and will distribute it through his new company, Apparition. Apparition chief Bob Berney says holding the famously painstaking Malick to the Christmas schedule was "wishful" anyway. Hey, Malick has been working on the project for three decades. What's the rush?