There are plenty of nerdy comedians out there (I'm talking to you, Jim Gaffigan!), but few rival Brian Posehn. His current tour brings him to Acme Comedy Co. this weekend. Posehn, who looks like the love child of Howard Stern and Zach Galifianakis, was most recently seen as a regular on Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program." His nerd-speak is blunt, sometimes crude, and always funny. He did very little to hide his intentions with the title of his 2010 stand-up album: "Fart & Wiener Jokes." He imbued the CD with his love of heavy metal (more nerdy than you'd think), even recording songs with metal masters in Anthrax, Lamb of God and Hatebreed. He's reportedly working on a new comic book, too -- another badge of honor in geekdom.
8 and 10:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat. 708 N. 1st St., Mpls. $18. 612-338-6393. www.acmecomedycompany.com.
The fourth Beastie Boy Before he heads out on tour with Lil Wayne this month, DJ Mixmaster Mike stops by Minneapolis for a solo show Friday at Epic. Truly one of the all-time greats, Mixmaster Mike has spent much of the past 20 years promoting turntablism as an integral part of hip-hop culture. During that time, he founded the Invisible Skratch Picklz, a DJ dream team with fellow turntablist Q-Bert. He also moonlights as the Beastie Boys' live DJ. Mike updated his sound in 2010 with the "Napalm Rockets" mixtape, which mashes together his laser-precise cutting with dubstep.
10 p.m. Fri. 110 N. 5th St., Mpls. $10. 18 and older. 612-332-3742. www.epicmpls.com.
Tickles no more Here's what it had going for it: a goofy name and a curious concept (piano/sports/gay bar). But even those things couldn't keep the doors open at Tickles. The downtown Minneapolis nightspot closed Monday, according to a statement posted on its website. The location at 4th St. and 5th Av. S. was the second for Tickles. The bar opened in 2008 in a quiet section of northeast Minneapolis. After a slow first year, it moved downtown into the former Little Wagon space. Tickles is the third GLBT-friendly bar to close in the past few months. Rumours & Innuendo in St. Paul disappeared in October, and Gladius, in downtown Minneapolis, shut its doors in December.
TOM HORGEN
