Where to watch Kate and Willam get hitched

Waking up before dawn to watch the royal wedding seems just plain silly. But if you're determined to do it, you might as well be in the company of like-minded obsessives. Surely, Prince William and Catherine Middleton won't mind us toasting their matrimony over a couple Black and Tans. Here are two pubs that will make it a wedding to remember.

Brit's Pub: Not since Manchester United battled Liverpool has a British match been this anticipated at Brit's. The downtown bar -- famous for its early-morning soccer matches -- is making a bit of history itself. The pub will open earlier than ever at 5 a.m. to show the ceremony live on its big screen.

"Any reason for a party is fine with me," said Brit's manager Shane Higgins. An English breakfast will be served along with wedding cake. If you doze off, bagpipers will keep you awake. You can also sign up for a chance to win a 10-day trip to London for two.

The action picks up at noon when winners of a royal-couple lookalike contest are announced. Crispin will release the Union, a special cider made specifically for Brit's. If you're still hungry, a royal high tea (a traditional afternoon snack) will be served from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ($16.95, reservations required). And that's not all. The evening festivities will resemble a rocking wedding reception, with trivia (6 p.m.), a replay of the ceremony (7 p.m.) and a dance party with Beatles tribute band A Hard Day's Night.

Merlin's Rest: To avoid the crowd at Brit's, check out the cozy Merlin's Rest in south Minneapolis. The British Isles pub is opening early (8 a.m.), but not overdoing it. The bar will show a rebroadcast of the wedding at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on its big screen. Its high tea offering will begin at noon featuring finger sandwiches (cucumber and watercress, egg salad), scones and cake.

Merlin's is promoting its daytime party as a kid-friendly event, with royal wedding swag for fans young and old. Manager Tracie Munce expects women in fancy hats and a few young girls in wedding dresses.

"It's kind of a girls' holiday," Munce said.

• Tom Horgen

The case of the stolen pin-up

Art thieves no longer have to break into museums or galleries -- they just go to Google Images and click. Minneapolis artist and illustrator Adam Turman found out he'd been robbed last Thursday when a friend sent him an image Turman had created for a breast-cancer awareness campaign -- which was being sold on T-shirts and baseball caps on Zazzle.com under the label "Ben Hur Designs."

"The guy found the line art somewhere, used Adobe Illustrator to live trace it, and added a little pink, but it's pretty obvious it's mine," Turman said. "I'm not making money off this design, I donated it, and we donate the proceeds we get from selling shirts, too. And now this other guy is trying to make a profit from it."

After Turman exposed the fraud on his Facebook page, many of his 1,805 followers took action, posting "shame on you" messages on the offender's Facebook page and website. By mid-afternoon, the merchandise had been removed. "This has happened to me several times, and usually I'm alerted by a fan," Turman said. "It shows that people really care about an artist they like and that's special to me. I totally love that."

• Kristin Tillotson

Cider Week at the Tap

Move over, craft beer, hard cider is on the rise, too. The folks behind the Town Hall Tap love the fruity fermented beverage so much the bar is putting on something it's calling Cider Week. Starting Monday, the Tap will turn its focus to about a dozen rare ciders, available on tap, in the bottle and in a cask. "We just wanted to spend the week highlighting the growing hard cider market," said Town Hall brewer Mike Hoops. "There's an emerging 'cider geekism,' if you will." Ciders are known for their light and refreshing taste. Some are sweet, while others are quite dry -- like a white wine. The Tap will feature rare ciders from Crispin, a keg from Iron River, Wis., as well as several European varieties. The tap will offer sample platters containing four 5-ounce glasses. Check the Town Hall Tap Facebook page for more info.

• Tom Horgen

Black Lips' spitting good time

Though the Black Lips' show at the Varsity Theater last weekend was tame in comparison with the times we've seen them in the past, the band easily had the front half of the crowd dancing and bouncing. The Lips showcased a couple of songs off their forthcoming album "Arabia Mountain," including the Mark Ronson-produced "Modern Art," which was well received by the perspiring, mini-moshing crowd. During "Not a Problem," guitarist Cole Alexander attempted to hock a spitball up in the air and then catch it in his mouth, a craft the inveterate showman has honed over years of touring. Unfortunately for someone in the front row, Alexander's game was a little off, and he/she was nailed with a wad of spit. The apologetic axman later successfully pulled off the feat. Still got it.

• Michael Rietmulder

Atmosphere on the charts again

While its numbers are down compared with its last major full-length release, Atmosphere still accomplished what few other Minnesota artists not named Prince ever do: It landed high on the Billboard 200 album chart Tuesday at No. 13 with first-week sales of its latest album, "The Family Sign."

Issued as always on Rhymesayers Entertainment, the disc sold about 28,000 U.S. copies this past week, landing the Minneapolis hip-hop vets on the big chart just below TV on the Radio's debuting "Nine Types of Light." "The Family Sign" also came in at No. 2 on the rap albums chart (below Wiz Khalifa) and No. 2 on the independent albums chart (below Mumford & Sons).

Atmosphere's "When Life Gives You Lemons ... " fared better in 2008, landing at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 36,000 copies sold in week one. "The Family Sign" also lost some ground with critics, earning a 5.8 rating at Pitchfork.com and a 5-out-of-10 from Spin. It's definitely a peculiar record that's harder to peg. Slug & Co. remain a favorite touring act, though: They were just named as part of the 20th-anniversary lineup of Lollapalooza in Chicago (Aug. 5-7), and they also recently announced headlining shows at two of the country's best-known outdoor venues, Red Rocks outside Denver and the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

Also cracking the Billboard chart this week is Low, which came in at No. 73 with first-week sales of "C'mon."

• Chris Riemenschneider

Dine out, do good

Thursday marks the 17th annual Dining Out for Life, when 166 Minnesota restaurants donate a portion of their sales to the Aliveness Project, a Minneapolis community center for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. Last year's event raised $161,000, and this year's goal is $170,000. "Restaurants are so supportive," said Tim Marburger, the Aliveness Project's director of fundraising and special events. "Of the 166 participating restaurants, I'd say that 130 of them are returning from last year. We have restaurants who have been with us for more than 10 years." Find the list of participating restaurants at www.diningoutforlife.com/minneapolis.

• Rick Nelson