Job Opening: Artistic Director at the Cedar Cultural Center

Filed under: Music News

Ever since seeing my first show at the Cedar Cultural Center on the West Bank, I have held it in high regard as one of my favorite non-rock venues in the Twin Cities. In addition to providing audiences with impeccable sound, the venue has a longstanding tradition of showcasing an eclectic array of highly talented and renowned musicians from around the world.

Much of the Cedar's history and reputation can be attributed to Artistic Director Bill Kubeczko, who has worked at the venue for a large portion of its almost 20-year existence. Yesterday, the Cedar announced that Kubeczko has resigned from his position.

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 13, 2008 5:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

Over the Weekend: May 9-11, 2008

Filed under: Over the Weekend

Talib Kweli
Epic Nightclub, May 9
By Jeff Shaw

Publicity photo of Talib Kweli.

Thoughtful MC Talib Kweli once reflected on wax how difficult it was to write songs to boom in the club while remaining conscious of people that suffer. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Brooklyn rapper's show at Epic Nightclub included a freestyle name-check of Sean Bell and lyrical references to Mumia Abu-Jamal along with bangin' beats.

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 11, 2008 9:12 PM | Comments (1)

 

Bee + beer = win

Filed under: Local Nightlife

As many people probably realize, having a beer and playing a video game can be a good time, but what about beer with old-fashioned games?

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Posted by Jessica Armbruster at May 9, 2008 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

Rawr: Erin Roof reviews Kitten Forever and friends at the Triple Rock

Filed under: Concert Review

Kitten Forever and friends
Triple Rock, May 7
By Erin Roof
Photos by Tony Nelson

“Woah, that bacon does a number on your throat. Blow It Out Your Ass Fest is coooool!” The lead singer of Hangun Man is howling into the mic, while the crowd waits with bated bacon breath for the next hormone-inducing boom ch-ch boom from the jacked-up drum kit. It is what you would expect from an event named “Blow It Out Your Ass Fest”: the asses of some bands blow and others shit out pure rock n’ roll turd gems. It is a night in need of Ritalin, blasting through seven bands in 20-minute bits of lovin’. But why waste precious interweb space on the undeserving? Here are the best butts of BIOYAF:

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 8, 2008 2:29 PM | Comments (9)

 

When All Else Fails, Books Can Lead the Way

Filed under: Art/Museums

According to this New York Times article, it wasn’t technology or business that rejuvenated the Minneapolis Warehouse District. It was books.

Times writer Lisa Chamberlain details the decline of the "thriving flour mill district along the Mississippi River," that "later became seedy bars and flophouses," in her April 30 piece.

When a plan for a technology corridor went defunct, a collaboration between three nonprofit organizations paved the way to the area's new found development with the Open Book Literary Arts Center, the largest literary and books art hub in the U.S., Chamberlain writes.

It is not uncommon for the arts to revitalize a neighborhood, but it is certainly unusual for old-fashioned literature and books to lead the way.

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Posted by Beth Walton at May 8, 2008 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

 

Watercolors: Caroline Palmer reviews ARENA's new dance

Filed under: Dance/Performance

ARENA: waterBRIDGE
Southern Theater, May 8-10
Review by Caroline Palmer

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Austrian symbolist and Art Nouveau painter Gustav Klimt caused a stir in Viennese society with his sensual, color-saturated paintings. Among his subjects were water sprites, supernatural creatures inhabiting an alternative yet strangely beautiful realm most notably free of human inhibition. Choreographer Mathew Janczewski draws upon Klimt’s fantastic imagery as inspiration for waterBRIDGE but he also offers up a more complex physical and emotional journey that should ring familiar with mere mortals. Janczewski has remounted this 2002 work for his ARENA Dances troupe and it will be performed this weekend at the Southern Theater.

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Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 8, 2008 6:53 AM | Comments (2)

 

Once and Again: The Swell Season at the Orpheum

Filed under: Concert Review

The Swell Season
Orpheum Theater, May 7

There aren't many performers more adorable than the Swell Season's Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Still glowing from their Oscar win and the unexpected success of their homespun movie, Once, the duo played an almost two and a half hour set of songs from the movie and songs by Hansard's band, The Frames.

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 8, 2008 6:00 AM | Comments (8)

 

Fireworks: Desiree Weber reviews Tokyo Police Club

Filed under: Concert Review

Tokyo Police Club
Varsity Theater, May 6
Review by Desiree Weber

Strobes and Fiery Youth, eh?

The opening chords of ominous distortion left no one in doubt whether Tokyo Police Club would bring it. They did. Quickly segueing into their first (of many) post-punk, brit-rock, synth-pop gems, these four boys from our neighbors to the north whipped the crowd into a strobe-enhanced frenzy. And if those weren’t enough hyphenated descriptors for you, you’re in luck. Their next energy-fueled nugget “In a Cave” was only out-paced by their biggest hit to date, “Swedes in Stockholm.” Singer/bassist Dave Monks leads this manic-energy quartet to a place few indie rock bands reach: it’s easy to dance to, easy to listen to and easy to like even more on the second or even tenth listen. Judging by keyboardist Graham Wright, it may also help you lose weight – he practically ran a marathon while pounding the keys or shaking his tambourine for all it (or he) was worth. Don’t get me wrong – guitarist Josh Hook and drummer Greg Alsop are no slouches either.

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Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 8, 2008 5:58 AM | Comments (0)

 

Flyer of the Week: City on the Make

Filed under: Flyer of the Week

Our favorite flyer this week is for a City on the Make show this Saturday at the Hexagon, with experimental hip-hop groups Face Candy (featuring Eyedea) and Abzorbr, the Chinch Bugs and Mr. Dufaux.

Posted by Andrea Myers at May 7, 2008 12:22 PM | Comments (1)

 

Unearthed: Lovelines by the Replacements

Filed under: Unearthed

In honor of the recent Replacements reissues on Rhino (Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out The Trash, Stink, Hootenanny and Let It Be), we dug out the issue of City Pages that Paul Westerberg famously quoted lines from on Hootenanny's "Lovelines."

This post is best read while listening to the actual song, so pull out your copy of Hootenanny and put it on track 9. If you don't have the disc or record, you can play this weird YouTube video while you read:

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 6, 2008 6:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

Over the Weekend: May 2-4, 2008

Filed under: Over the Weekend

Kate Nash, The Cops, Dosh, and more -- here's a rundown of the shows we saw this weekend. Now with 33% more pictures!

Kate Nash
First Avenue, May 2
By Jeff Shaw
Photos by Daniel Corrigan

Charles Bukowski once advised playing the piano drunk like a percussion instrument until the fingers began to bleed a bit. Kate Nash wasn't drinking anything stronger than tea, but her First Avenue show was at its best when most percussive.

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 5, 2008 6:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

Free comics for all

Filed under: Stuff

Put that dollar bill away. This Saturday Superman, X-Men, Hellboy and other popular comics give back to their fans, and hopefully create new fans, during Free Comics Day.

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Posted by Jessica Armbruster at May 2, 2008 5:33 PM | Comments (0)

 

Hot damn: Wilco at the Mayo Civic Center

Filed under: Concert Review

Wilco
Mayo Civic Center, April 30
Words and photos by Andrea Myers

There is an undeniable mystique surrounding Jeff Tweedy. Critics adore him, fans idolize him, and his musical peers regard him as a luminary. He is simultaneously poppy enough to be embraced by the mainstream and odd enough to respected by the snobs. Somehow, it seems, Jeff Tweedy can do no wrong.

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Posted by Andrea Myers at May 2, 2008 1:54 AM | Comments (2)

 

Atmosphere Paints that Billboard Shit Gold

Filed under: Music News

Atmosphere's latest album, When Life Gives You Lemons..., has debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 charts. In its first week, Lemons clocked in at an impressive 36,526 copies sold, behind Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, Flight of the Conchords, and Ashlee Simpson. Well, at least two out of the top five are cool.

This is the first time Atmosphere has had an album on the Billboard charts, and it's a record high for any release on Rhymesayers Entertainment.

See also: Pete Scholtes's feature on Atmosphere, including an interview with Slug.

Posted by Andrea Myers at May 1, 2008 3:58 PM | Comments (0)

 

Erotica 101: Rachel Kramer Bussel teaches all the right lessons

Filed under: Readings/Lectures

Rachel Kramer Bussel is the most famous cupcake blogger ever to have penned more than 100 erotic stories.

Since she penned her first lusty tale -- a Monica Lewinsky-inspired narrative -- during law school in 1999, Bussel has been writing extensively about sex matters, fictional and otherwise. First, she was asked to co-edit an anthology of spanking erotica. Then, she wrote a column for the Village Voice for nearly three years. Now, besides continuing her own writing and editing of erotic volumes, she teaches workshops for would-be practitioners of the craft. This weekend, she's in town to lead just such a group at the Smitten Kitten. We spoke with her twice by phone to get a sense of what one of these workshops entails.

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Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 1, 2008 10:56 AM | Comments (1)