OASIS Fan Blog

Here’s the best in music, theater and art in the Twin Cities the week of Jan. 24-30.

Joaquin Phoenix is ready for his close-up, again. After months with a scraggly beard, greasy hair and perpetual shades, Phoenix appeared Thursday night well-groomed and clean.

When: Tuesday, 8 p.m. Paul Anka is performing at the Crown Theatre on Tuesday night, and he’s sort of a big deal.

In 1977 the television equivalent of a beige Austin Allegro trundled on to British television screens. With its quaint name and features about road safety, Top Gear undertook the serious business of reviewing new cars.

Park Square Theatre presents “Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Tom Stoppard’s play about the role music played in the emergence of democracy between the Prague Spring of 1968 and the Velvet Revolution of 1989.

Australian quintet Karnivool have just announced a US tour to follow in …

Summaries of recently reviewed area restaurants, in the order in which they were reviewed, with the most recent at the top. •Jim Shull’s Rib Cage, 144 Chesterfield Lane, Maumee, is an unpretentious, inviting neighborhood cafe that serves outstanding ribs and deep-fried lake perch. Other entrees, such as the beef stroganoff and the veal marsala, are perfectly adequate but not memorable. Service …

Britain has waited a long time for Jamie T to rise from his sickbed. Laryngitis forced this tour’s postponement last autumn, just as Jamie (original surname Treays) finally presented his second Top 10 album, Kings & Queens, two years after Panic Prevention’s “Calm Down Dearest” and “Sheila” became anthems of the legless classes. This first night back, far north of where London acts normally …

WED/20ANVIL, THE SERAPHIX These Canadian thrash legends might’ve languished in obscurity were it not for a band doc by a former roadie. For 32 years they’ve kept their hip-thrusting, high-wire guitar act alive, finally receiving belated due. $16.50-$20. 8 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com. — Chris ParkerFOUR YEAR STRONG, THE BLED, THIS …

After several years of greybeard headliners, California’s signature festival is going back to the future with younger acts including Gorillaz, Muse, Jay-Z, Thom Yorke, MGMT, Hot Chip, Spoon, Vampire Weekend and LCD Soundsystem at the very top of the bill for the three-day concert that begins April 16 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio.