Local music: Cheap tricks for music fans

This is easily the most unrocking rock 'n' roll column I've ever written, more Suze Orman than Lester Bangs.

With economic forecasts still far from rosy for 2012, though -- especially for young people who can't find decent jobs -- this seems like a valuable way to keep things rocking around the Twin Cities music scene.

Here are tips on how local music fans can go out and devour live music around town without coming home famished. Many of the suggestions come straight from the people who work at the venues, some from musicians, and several are from my own thrifty expertise.

SAVE ON TICKETS

1. Go out midweek. Many clubs don't charge a cover for local bands Sunday through Wednesday or Thursday. Among them are Cause, the Nomad Pub, Amsterdam Bar, Lee's Liquor Lounge, Kitty Cat Klub, Acadia Cafe, 331 Club and the Hexagon Bar. The latter three venues are usually free through the weekend, too.

2. Go buy tickets in person. Most venues don't charge fees for in-house advance ticket sales, or they have satellite daytime box offices that charge a buck or two. Those include Red Savoy's pizzeria in Uptown (for the Triple Rock), Loring Pasta Bar (Varsity Theater), Depot Tavern (First Ave/ Entry), the Joint (Cabooze) and record stores such as the Electric Fetus (for just about every club, plus Music in the Zoo).

3. Go to college. The always-all-ages Cedar Cultural Center offers a 20 percent student discount to many shows. First Ave's Too Much Love nights are $1 with student ID. U of M students also save at the Whole Music Club and some Radio K-sponsored events.

5. Go crazy come summer. There's a block party or community festival just about every weekend over the summer in the Twin Cities, offering four to 14 bands for free, plus cheap local concessions.

6. Go local. I still love the Black Keys, but the $70 price (after fees) for their upcoming Target Center concert would get you into 14 local music gigs at $5 a pop -- many of which will be half as good as the Keys show and not charge $8 for a Budweiser.

SAVE ON PARKING

1. Know your meters. Downtown Minneapolis' parking meter system is as confusing as the Vikings stadium brouhaha, but free or cheap street spots can be had. Look at, say, 10:15 p.m. for spaces that don't charge after 11, or scout out spots farther off the beaten paths that don't charge after 6 p.m.

2. Think Macy's or Target. Still called the Dayton's ramp by old-schoolers -- and officially named the Park and Shop Ramp -- the garage for Macy's in downtown Minneapolis, with entrances on 7th and 8th Streets, is the unofficial go-to spot for First Ave or the Hennepin Trust theaters, always $5 after 4 p.m. The ramp for the downtown Target store (enter on LaSalle Avenue) is $4 at night and just a short skyway walk from the Dakota. Both are especially convenient if you need to pick up new loafers or an oven mitt before the show.

4. Remember St. Paul. You don't need to worry about meters at all in the capital city (they're free after 4:30 p.m.). The Amsterdam Bar validates in its adjoining garage, too, but I've never had to use it. There are also ample street spaces near the Turf Club and Big V's despite construction on University Avenue.

SAVE ON ALBUMS

1. Search for streams. Many bands now post their entire albums for free listening via their Facebook, Bandcamp or Soundcloud pages. Sometimes downloads are even free. Spotify users will be surprised how many local indie releases can be found there, too.

2. Buy at the merch table. CDs and vinyl sets are usually a few bucks cheaper at a band's gig than in a record store -- and you can probably get them signed, too.

3. Pre-order. This won't necessarily save you money, but it will often get you more for your buck. Like when the resourceful Doomtree crew threw in T-shirts, autographs, bonus tracks, Lazerbeak action dolls, etc., with advance orders of their "No Kings" album.

1. Read the signs. Those beer signs aren't just for decoration. Whether it's $3 PBR tallboys at 7th Street Entry or Cause, the $5 "Prix Fixe" at the Nomad (1 PBR can + 1 shot + 1 cigarette) or the $4.50 Rolling Rocks on special this month at the Fine Line, the writing is often on the wall.

2. Order a bottle of wine with friends. This will save you even more than it does in a restaurant. Rock clubs are used to selling vino by the glass. They often only sell a couple glasses per bottle and throw the rest out at the end of the night, so they price whole bottles accordingly.

3. Go sober. A no-duh option, sure, but did you know a lot of clubs will give you the nonalcoholic stuff for free if you tell them you're your friends' sober ride? For those afraid of looking uncool without a drink, a) grow up, and b) order a soda with lime. One cool musician confided that he does this just so it looks like he's imbibing a cocktail.

4. Follow the one-drink-per-band rule. The safe and thrifty way to rock out in a club -- although it's admittedly less effective at, say, the 15-band Replacements tribute night.