Culture compass — Abilities, controversial block parties and Katy Perry

Thursday

DJ Abilities

Cabooze

917 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis

9 p.m.

$10-12

Seeing DJ Abilities after the tragic loss of his music partner Eyedea is not like seeing Art Garfunkel solo. Unlike Art, Abilities doesn’t completely suck without someone holding his hand. In fact, Abilities is extremely deft behind the turntables, and he has the wherewithal to exist on his own. I Self Devine, Carnage and Kids Like Us also play.

Friday

Basilica Block Party

Basilica of St. Mary

88 N. 17th St., Minneapolis

5 p.m.

$45-80

Yes, some are participating in the grassroots snubbing of this event due to the church’s support of a constitutional ban on gay marriage. No, that doesn’t mean that you are a homophobe if you go. Ray LaMontagne isn’t a homophobe. Neither is Michael Franti or Zoo Animal. We haven’t looked into whether or not Drive-By Truckers are homophobes, but we assume they also are not. Just go — it’s rock ‘n’ roll, God damn it. (Oops, sorry St. Mary!)

Saturday

Katy Perry

Xcel Energy Center

199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul

7:30 p.m.

$23-45

Katy Perry takes some heat, as all pop stars do, for producing thoughtless, big-studio party anthems. But the truth is, while Perry is no Ella Fitzgerald, there could be worse ladies at the helm of pop music (see: 1998-2004).

Sunday

CULTURE TO CONSUME

Listen to this — Action Bronson’s “Dr. Lecter”

It’s hard not to make a Ghostface Killah comparison within the first five minutes of listening to Action Bronson. Lauded for his intricate rhyme schemes and razor-sharp wit, the Queens-bred emcee’s new album “Dr. Lecter” has garnered plenty of blogosphere buzz in the last few weeks — which, in the indie culture, is just as good as American currency. Too bad it’s not enough to warrant quitting your day job.

Drink This:

Tony’s Diner 2-for-1’s, 10 a.m.-2 a.m.

Tony’s Diner isn’t exactly the ideal spot to get blotto on a Friday night, but it is a place that doesn’t totally suck. And they’ll give you two beers for the price of one, no matter which 10 o’clock you are looking at.

Watch This

Mark Halperin calling President Barack Obama a part of the male anatomy

In a shockingly public display of brutal honesty, Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin went on MSNBC’s Morning Joe recently and, er … spoke his mind about President Obama’s address to the House Republicans last week. This sounds like typical pundit banter, but the kicker here was Halperin’s word choice (clue: starts with D ends with ick). The comment was immediately followed by an (obligatory) apology, making it one of the most awkward moments in national television history.

Eat This — Hot Dogs.

Look, I know the 4thof July is over, but it doesn’t end there, fellow patriots. That was just the preamble. A&E officially declares July to be Pride Month … Er … U.S. Pride Month! It shall be a 31-day marathon of nationalistic brouhaha that can only be celebrated through incessant BBQ’s and shameless flag sucking.

Read This — “Rolling Stone’s”: The Neverending Nightmare of Amanda Knox”

Just a few years ago Amanda Knox was nothing but an innocent Seattle college student … or so it seemed. Rolling Stone’s Nathaniel Rich delivers a thoroughly devastating look at the international murder mystery that’s had tabloids frothing at the mouth for years.