Item World: Local News and Views

S.O.B. revisits MLK

As if Sounds of Blackness didn't already have enough to do over the weekend, preparing for Monday's 32nd annual staging of "Night Before Christmas" at the Guthrie Theater, the gospel/R&B troupe will fly to Atlanta to perform a special concert Saturday at Ebenezer Baptist Church, aka the holy house that Martin Luther King Jr. helped build. "It's the kind of gig you don't turn down," S.O.B. leader Gary Hines said. They will be at the church's enormous new home to announce the winner of General Mills' inner-city charity program Feeding Dreams, for which S.O.B. provided a theme song. Hines isn't worried about the scheduling conflict with the Christmas show: "We're just having to get more prepared ahead of time, which is probably a good thing."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

'Closing Time' again

The members of Semisonic are getting an unexpected Christmas present from Hollywood -- even though their package was mislabeled for fellow '90s hitmakers Third Eye Blind. Their Grammy-winning 1998 hit "Closing Time" features prominently in the upcoming romantic comedy "Friends With Benefits," starring two of the hottest people in the world, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. It won't be out until next summer, but the trailer just landed featuring a scene where JT offers to sing to Kunis in bed to keep their casual sex extra-casual. "I could sing some Third Eye Blind," he says, and then starts up "Closing Time." After she corrects him, the Semisonic song starts up in the background to close out the trailer. Cue the iTunes downloads. Songwriter Dan Wilson is reportedly flattered, never mind the mix-up, and linked to the movie trailer on his Facebook page with this message: " 'Closing Time,' like Yeti, spotted occasionally in the mountainsides of pop culture."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

The most expensive tequila shot of your life Jose Cuervo is basically the Budweiser of the tequila world, so this came as a surprise. To celebrate its 250th anniversary, Cuervo has stepped into the rarefied field of truly high-end tequilas with 250 Aniversario. Limited to 495 bottles and retailing for $2,250, these babies are rare. But Rojo, the Mexican restaurant in St. Louis Park's West End complex, got its hands on one. The bottle is an "extra añejo," aged and blended in a double-cask method. The final aging lasted for 10 months in sherry casks from Spain. The cost of a single shot at Rojo? $300. For the price, buyers can expect Rojo to roll out the red carpet. The tequila will be presented in its fashionable oak box and crystal decanter, while a manager sings its virtues. The bottle arrived at Rojo last week. So far, the bar has sold one glass.

Heightened Standards Expanding to three shows from one, the New Standards' fifth annual holiday concert series at the Fitzgerald Theater last weekend also bulked up in size and payroll: A couple dozen musicians were on hand, providing everything from orchestral arrangements to a theramin solo to a drum line that marched out to the lobby at intermission. Alongside the holiday classics were tunes from Cheap Trick, Britney Spears and Anne Murray/Elvis ("Snowbird"). Among the guests were Matt Wilson (who sang "Snowbird"), Gary Louris (Harry Nilsson's "Without You"), Chris Koza ("Walking in the Air," from the 1982 cartoon "The Snowman") and author/radio-host Katherine Lanpher, who riffed on a "small regional carrier" that loses her luggage every Christmas. Standards leaders John Munson (of Semisonic) and Chan Poling (Suburbs) did plenty of their own funny riffing. When an audience member yelled that Poling looked "presidential" in his suit, Munson quipped, "I thought he looks residential." Shot back Poling, "I thought I looked Suburban." The shows were taped to air Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 8 a.m. on the Current, 89.3 FM and online at thecurrent.org.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Slouching toward Fringe A sure sign that summer is just around the corner: Applications for the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival are due by Jan. 28. The lottery will be in June, with corn coming up soon after that. No, sorry -- the lottery will be Feb. 7 at a location to be named. The Fringe picks about 160 shows from the piles of applicants. It's all by chance, without jury selection. In addition, four of the Fringe's slots will be awarded to companies that will participate in the Midwest Fringe circuit, which includes Chicago, Kansas City and Indianapolis. Those applications are due Dec. 30, with a drawing in Chicago on Jan. 8 to pick the winners. The festival next year runs Aug. 4-14. Attendance, which has steadily risen since 2008, set a record last year. See Fringefestival.org for details.