February 24, 2008 - March 1, 2008

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Shake It Like a Polaroid Obit

Filed under: Obituary

High-resolution photo courtesy the killer.

Blame it on the memory card. Polaroid Instant Film is dead at 60ish. The cause of death was murder. The Digital Age, 25, of Silicon Valley, Calif., admitted to the crime.

Born to Edwin Land after his daughter asked why she could not see a picture instantly, the film was the marvel of its age. The first Instant Film camera, the Model 95, made 3 1/4'' by 4 1/4'' photos and sold for $89.75 when it was rolled out in November 1948. Soon it became the chief product of the Polaroid Corporation, and by 1956 1 million Model 95s were sold. In the 1970s Sir Lawrence Olivier and Alan Alda pitched Instant Film to the nation, and in 1975 Polacolor 2, the first color version was introduced. Sales topped 6 million, and Instant Film was on the cover of Life.

But time was cruel to Instant Film. Starting in the 1990s, digital images became increasingly popular. An ongoing legal battle with Eastman Kodak ended in victory, but Instant Film's age was beginning to show. It continued to improve but in mostly cosmetic ways. By the beginning of this millennium, Instant Film was looking for a fresh start. In 2000 it tried to revive its career as a hip new thing. It marketed itself as Polaroid i-Zone, taking both miniature photos as well as digital images. The makeover is mostly a flop. Two years later, Instant Film made one more attempt at staying relevant by offering i-Zone Fortune Film which revealed fortunes and jokes along with the micro-size photos.

A photo taken a few years before Instant Film's Death.

But the joke was literally and figuratively on Instant Film, and its own fortune was grim. The Polaroid Corporation filed for bankruptcy later that year. The mighty megabyte had conquered.
Instant Film's will is being examined, and a licensing agreement for potential future production, to keep its memory alive, is a possibility. Instant Film's legacy will be one of brilliant innovation turned novelty by the march of technology from which it sprung. Instant Film will be buried in photography and science textbooks and museums.

Posted by Ben Palosaari at February 29, 2008 3:57 PM | Comments (1)

 

My-T-Fine Bakery/Cafe closed

Filed under: Food

In case you hadn't heard, the tiny cafe at 43rd and Bryant has closed its doors, so Kingfield will have to do without its scratch-made dinners and light-as-a-bubble sugar buns. I spoke with owner Gretchen Bustin, who said that right now she's not sure what she's doing next. Let's hope it'll be restaurant-related.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at February 29, 2008 9:13 AM | Comments (3)

 

Misc. Stuff From the Music Editor's Desk

Filed under: Music

Is Prince getting hip replacement surgery? This rumor swirled around the tabloids and internet a few years ago, and it's made a reappearance in the wake of his recent Oscars afterparty. I personally don't believe it. But just in case, please join me in pledging to make only the very gentlest of love to Prince from now on.

Is Canada negligent in its winter road maintenance? We printed a blurb recommending people check out the PWRFL Power show at Big V's on Saturday March 1. But the tour van slid on black ice IN CANADA and it's totaled and neither PWRFL Power nor tourmates Capillary Action will make the show. The new line-up at V's that night: Self-Evident, Group Icky Rats (Chris from STNNNG), and the Yoleus.

Do you want to be in a music video? Cloud Cult are shooting one for the "Everybody Here is a Cloud" single off their upcoming April release, Feel Good Ghosts. They need a crowd of extras, so show up Sunday March 2 at Como Park in St. Paul. Deets are here. You freeze your ass off and you don't get paid. But what do you care, hey remember you're a cloud.

Posted by Sarah Askari at February 28, 2008 6:25 PM | Comments (0)

 

Pinkberry, we don't want 'cha anyway

Filed under: Food

Ahh, another New York Times article about the trendy frozen yogurt battles being waged in Greenwich Village, where Pinkberry and Red Mango face-off like dairy-based Jets and Sharks.

So should we expect this sort of thing coming soon to Hennepin Avenue? Not according to Pinkberry’s website, which states that store franchises are available to residents of certain states--and Minnesota’s not one of them.

Not that we’d want the overhyped fro-yo, anyway. I recently stopped in at the Pinkberry and Red Mango shops on Bleeker Street shops was, frankly, underwhelmed. Both versions tasted like the same TCBY we’ve been eating since the 80s. Pinkberry’s is a little creamier and tangier, but otherwise, it seems the only draw is for dieters using Pinkberry to satisfy ice cream cravings. With so many great local scoop shops (Crema Cafe, Izzy’s, Grand Ole Creamery, Sebastian Joe’s, etc.), if you can spare the calories, stick with the real thing.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at February 27, 2008 10:06 PM | Comments (9)

 

Sia: Forever Blowing Bubbles

Filed under: Concert Review

Sia
Feb. 26, 2008
Fine Line Music Cafe
Review by Jeff Shaw
Photos by Tony Nelson

The line stretched far up the block more than two hours in advance of Sia Furler's performance, and the Fine Line's floor was already filling up at 8:30 p.m. The sold-out Tuesday show was either much anticipated, or people were just anticipating the triumphant return of opening act Har Mar Superstar, or likely both.

Sia's band entered in costume to "Gonna Fly Now." More photos by Tony Nelson.

Disappointment wasn't in the offing. Har Mar's hour-long set, which saw Sean Tillman progressively disrobe until he was just wearing boxer briefs and ankle-length white Nike socks, warmed up the crowd almost as much as it did the profusely sweating Tillman. Danceable and always entertaining, Har Mar Superstar also introduced "Mic Neck," a plastic hanger gimmick attachment that allowed Tillman (and less successfully, a front-row audience member) to sing hands-free.

Sean Tillman in the terminal stage of undress. You're welcome. More photos.

It was a night of visuals. An impressive pink backdrop was covered with the childlike art that decorates Sia's website, and tour staff had littered the stage with Raggedy Ann, Andy, Clifford the Big Red Dog and dozens of other stuffed animals. The merch table was packed with youth-themed swag (Sia-themed bubbles? Day-glo shoelaces?) that might have seemed a bit too precious and contrived.

But then Sia took the stage, and any worries you had about the Australian singer taking herself too seriously evaporated quickly as she and her five-piece band took the stage in glowing costumes to the strains of "Gonna Fly Now." From there, good times began to roll.

Sia's blend of pop and blue-eyed soul sounds sunnier than the lyrics would often indicate. Some People Have Real Problems is a bittersweet album -- and yet Sia is a disarmingly happy performer. Despite suffering from what she termed "uh-oh bum" as the result of a Taco Bell run, the vocalist chatted amiably with the crowd and giggled even when missing cues or rushing offstage to appease Montezuma.

The Adelaide native even did a song dedication from one fan to another -- right before politely calling for security to remove an unruly up-front observer. (Who gets unruly at a gentle pop show? Answer: a smallish woman who was wrestled outside by three security staff and subsequently removed by police, to general shock and amusement).

Sia's warm, powerful vocals translate perfectly from the recordings to a live show setting. If anything, the woman's pipes are more impressive than the CD would indicate -- when she'd really let loose, as she did during the breakdown to "Lentil," fans from the novice to the die-hard took notice.

Apologizing for her illness, Sia promised an extra-long set next time she returned to Minneapolis. But the iconic image of the night in the "coming back to town" category might just be this: a dripping, underwear-clad Sean Tillmann, pants and outergarments clutched in one hand, coming offstage to receive a proud pat from his father on sweat-laden shoulders and back. Har Mar Superstar had returned, and we were all better for it.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at February 27, 2008 6:44 AM | Comments (2)

 

Art, public dissent, and technology with Graffiti Research Lab founder James Powderly

Graffiti Research Lab is a revolutionary group founded by James Powderly and Evan Roth. Through special events, workshops, a public blog, and field research with graffiti artists they have created new and innovative technologies, all of which they make available to the public. Two of these innovations include the LED throwy, a magnetic device that can be used to attach lights to metal surfaces, and the laser trolley, a machine that can be pulled behind a bike and used to project art and political statements on any surface. In town this week to chat on electronic art and technology, James Powderly took a moment to discuss GRL with City Pages.

City Pages: When I think of art and political activism, I don’t necessarily think of technological advances. How did you and Evan come up with the idea to integrate all three of these things?

James Powderly: Well, we were technologists in various industries. I worked in an aerospace robotics guild and Evan was an architect. We didn’t necessary take straight paths, but eventually we found our way into these sort of techy mainstream jobs, and then for various reasons we became disillusioned. Mine reasons were related to the machine of war that turned my NASA job into a military gig, and with Evan, he was frustrated with communities overrun with a style of architecture that didn’t seem to humanize that community; really quite the opposite. When we quit those jobs, I literally felt I had a grudge to bear against dominant culture.

CP: Has your mission statement changed over the years?

JP: Yeah, absolutely. Evan had a specific interest in graffiti because he had moved to NYC, and was a photographer of it. I had a similar experience. A lot of it for me was this idea that my colleagues believed that technology was neutral; that we were just coming up with generalist solutions to these tech problems that could be implemented for good or bad later down the road, but we had very little say in it. Graffiti technology is not neutral. People are either for or against it. Eventually, I could finally convince my friends that technology isn’t neutral. Finding a way to record painting a wall with a fire extinguisher, that’s not neutral: To the City of New York that’s bad, and for graffiti artists that’s good. I was really into that; that moment when my colleagues realized it’s not neutral, technology has a lot to do with the client it’s being made for. Over time I have grown to love graffiti art more, and I see graffiti artists and writers as hackers of the city. They’re so clever and self-practitioners. We’ve been able to help out with the graffiti community, and technology does have a place in the community. There are pros to laser graffiti: you’re in a legal grey area, you could make a more publicly outrageous statement, you didn’t have to hide behind a bandanna.

CP: Have you had problems creating art legally in public spaces? I know in the past taggers like Mike Baca have faced serious jail time for tagging. Is it risky when much of your work is documented and blogged?

JP: We’re in a fortunate position in an unfortunate reality of society: we’re graffiti artists of a certain age that are white. We really don’t even call ourselves graffiti artists, we think of ourselves as graffiti engineers or research scientists. Around the world, were they do get busted fined, but here in NYC the lines are very racially divided. We have the opportunity, to do this as an art practice and walk away from it in most cases. As we’ve gotten larger, we do get fined for various things, politicians speak out against us, saying the city should boycott the universities we teach at. Our graffiti artist friends will come out for a New York Times photo shoot, and they’re artists, even minor celebrities. But then the next day they’re arrested by the NYPD. We spend a lot of time in courts for our friends trying to figure out how the system works. A lot of our efforts have gone towards fundraising for them. Some are facing serious jail sentences. Our friend Mike got out after three months. He had to stand trial for 42 counts indictment. It could have been 7 years in jail. Now he gets to clean things up at a reduced cost to his life, and the tax payer. So, we’re not taking the same risk-level as our peers, but they respect us for our devotion and fandom of what they do.

CP: Tell me a little bit about the LED throwies.

JP: We had all these parts on a table, and we started conjecturing on what would be a good way to get things up quickly in the city, like an electrograph. With magnets, we could do something. It really was about the magnet as an attachment element. It could have been silly, like: Finally, art that makes the city look better. Instead, we used LED and threw them up. The obvious next step was to make a lot of them and put them up on a building. The end result was socially interesting. It’s not permanent, so people weren’t afraid to get involved because it’s not creating permanent damage. It’s the idea that if you give people a tool that removes some of the stigma of modifying their own environment, they participate and are involved. It’s just the stigma of graffiti that prevents people from wanting to reclaim their local environment in that way.

CP: How about the laser trolley? That contraption just seems made for something like Critical Mass.

JP: We were lucky enough to live in NY and watch what happened around the RNC, and both Evan and I are bike riders. The bike is sometimes interpreted as a tool of mischief and mayhem, Critical Mass being an example. It is an empowering tool. Technology is also empowering. Bikes organize mobility through the city. We thought that if we set the laser tag up on a bike, we could provide it to people in general. It’s sort of like how libraries provide books: You come in, you get tutored on how to use the system, go out with the interns, then use it for your own reason, be it political or artistic. We have loaned it out to 20-25 different organizations from pro-Palestine protest activists (Electronic Palestine), fringe group 9-11 Truth, and student artists that don’t usually have access to technology that use it for things like whimsical games in public spaces, to protest related activities, like projecting the line to which the sea level will rise by 2010 in NYC. These people have had relatively peaceful experiences with the technology.

CP: Obviously, you put your technology out there for the general public, but do you ever worry about certain aspects of your work being co-opted by marketing and advertising companies?

JP: Any artist practicing something—especially with street culture—they just have to deal with the fact that it is going to be stolen. They have to decide how they are going to spend their time. We’re lucky that we never really had to make that decision. We started Graffiti Research Lab at a place called the EyeBeam OpenLab (the group is currently housed at FATLAB), which is a non-profit that required all our work be public domain. So, when we got this fellowship we signed contracts that said we wouldn’t use proprietary license on any technology, and it would be available to the public. We wanted to work in the public domain, it’s an unrestricted way of distributing your information. Anyone can use our technology, even for commercial purposes. We took that stance because don’t want to spend out time in courts battling for or against our work, we don’t want to restrict access because we want to create. It wouldn’t make sense to create these things and not have it available for free, because then we’d just be a business. We also wanted to introduce graffiti to the public in a way they could get involved. So, we offer it to people, and corporations get access to it as well.

CP: What new and exciting things are GRL up to nowadays?

JP: We’ve been doing a lot of events recently. We had an opening at the MoMA, and used to laser tag inside. We realized during our friend Mike’s trial that to be able to say you had esthetic intent when you made something is a difference between a misdemeanor and a felony in NY. Basically, a judge gets to decide that. So, we figured if we had as many people from the graffiti community as possible come and use the system in the MoMA, they would be able to show that they in fact are considered artists by a mainstream art establishment. Now our crew and friends have documented photography if they should ever get in trouble.

CP: Tell me a little bit about the bike ride and any plans you have here for the Twin Cities.

JP: Ali Momeni has procured through the university a grant big enough to make three mobile broadcast units. He’s interested in having these platforms that are basically a mobile cinema, just point it at a wall and use it. With the RNC coming, he saw an opportunity to use it not only for students, but it has practical potential during the RNC. So he’s building these bikes that we’ll use for laser tag during our time here.

Come hang with Jim Powderly and others from Graffiti Research Lab at the Spark Festival. He’s giving a free lecture 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 27 at the Regis Center for the Art (405 21st Ave. S., Minneapolis), followed by a bike tour at 5 p.m. later that day. For a complete schedule of Spark Festival events, click http://spark.cla.umn.edu. Graffiti Research Lab’s blog is located here.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at February 26, 2008 3:50 PM | Comments (1)

 

Flying local man saves woman from fire...sort of

Filed under: Comedy

While news cameras, amateur photographers, and bloggers were documenting the Maxwell's fire last week in real-time, Steve Barone was watching from the window of his ad agency office, dreaming up a superhuman rescue plan.

It starts with a camera--he sets it on a tripod, points it at the fire, and starts rolling. The rest happens at home. "I have a small green screen there, a Superman outfit, and a girl handy," he says.

At 9 PM, with firefighters still decompressing from the long battle, Steve Barone posted his rescue to the webernet for the whole world to see--and marvel...

If our hero looks familiar to you, you've no doubt encountered him before--playing guitar in Lifter Puller, blowing minds with The Hawaii Show, wrestling some dude in a pool of mashed potatoes, or interviewing Prince on his YouTube show: Minnie Indie.

Onward, Barone. Onward.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at February 26, 2008 8:52 AM | Comments (1)

 

Now Open: Porter & Frye

Filed under: Food

Minneapolis got a mega-dose of luxe living when the new Hotel Ivy opened last Thursday: pricey penthouse, super-swank spa, and the year's most anticipated restaurant, Porter & Frye. One of the main reasons for the excitement is that the kitchen is run by chef Steven Brown, formerly of Harry's Food and Cocktails (and Restaurant Levain and RockStar), with the assistance of a number of other notable talents, including Landon Schoenfeld (Barbette, Bulldog NE) and Mark McGraw (Confluence).

The restaurant is located in the original historic Ivy Tower, that moody stone structure by the convention center that sat empty for years. It's set up similar to the Chambers Kitchen, with bar and tables on the ground floor, and a more formal dining area with VIP booths one story below. I haven't eaten there yet, but the menu looks formal with some rustic touches: hot potato salad and chowder with ham hock and rock shrimp for starters, lots of beef and lamb entrees. Review forthcoming, after it's been open a month.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at February 25, 2008 11:49 PM | Comments (3)

 

YouTube video tackles 35W collapse

Filed under: Art/Museums

Come on, children, all together now:

"I-35 is falling down/ falling down/ falling down/I-35 is falling down/My dear Pawlenty."

So the song goes when uttered from the lips of Carter Malouf, a Minneapolis native and sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis.

Malouf composed the lyrics, designed the more than decent illustrations and worked the camera for her 2-minute video, now posted on YouTube. It documents the story of the I-35W bridge and its collapse in August through a very unlikely manner -- Malouf's voice is sugary sweet, in a strung out/mildly disturbed kind of way, but her blunt lyrics ("We need to fix this bridge/but there's no money") are only more depressing when contrasted with the classic children's rhyme.

There are some phrases that don't translate fluidly into sing-a-long format -- consider harmonizing on the words "structurally deficient" -- but Malouf's video is definitely worth a peek. And as some of the comments viewers posted include "Rad!" and "Great vid!" other people seem to think the same.

Posted by Amy Lieberman at February 25, 2008 4:01 PM | Comments (1)

 

Over the Weekend: 2/22-2/24

Filed under: Over the Weekend

Before the Blind Shake took the stage at the Triple Rock on Saturday night, we spotted them going through a series of stretches backstage. Once the power trio got onstage, the purpose for the pre-show ritual became apparent -- the leaps and contortions during their frenetic stage show keep the audience engaged and put the band in danger from muscle pulls. They played as the second act on a three-band bill also featuring the Dynamiters and the headlining Heroine Sheiks. With two fiery guitars and drums, the stripped-down Shake keep the musical energy as high as the risk of injury.

The previous evening over at the Turf Club saw presumably fewer opportunities to tear one's hamstring, but more opportunities to drown one's sorrows. The wake for the venerable "Homegrown" radio program saw artists from P.O.S. to Haley Boner perform. Paul Demko reports. P.O.S. was also among many -- including several Doomtree artists -- who took time to celebrate Dre Day at First Avenue.

ST. VINCENT: ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

Unlike St. Vincent's last trip through town, this time the artist otherwise known as Annie Clark brought a full band with her. Friday night, Clark and company showed why multiple instruments plus the Cedar Cultural Center's intimate setting is an expert mix.

I want one of those microphones so I, too, can sound like I'm singing through a 1940s radio. More photos by James Tran.

After beginning with album-opener "Now, Now," St. Vincent ran through all the high points of last year's Marry Me. The songs gain a new currency live. The sly wit of songs like the title track comes through better in person. Watching a live performance of "Paris is Burning" is especially intriguing; Clark switches microphones during the song, transforming her soprano into a breathy memory of old-time radio.

St. Vincent's intricate, textured music has an orchestral feel, especially when augmented by Daniel Hart's shimmering violin work. But the crowd got a taste of Clark, solo, too -- the band departed the stage during a guitar interlude where she tore up the Beatles' "Dig a Pony."

Musically, Clark's crew has chops to burn, and her stage presence is delightfully approachable. When in the throes of a song, she's all herky-jerky movements and concentration. In-between, she's poking mild fun at her "secret crime-fighter name" ("You can call me Annie. Anything else would be awkward.") or expressing relief that no lightning bolt pierced the building during "Marry Me." The one time we found he speechless was after a brief, plaintive marriage proposal from the crowd left Clark chuckling and blushing. This is an understandable offense -- don't you have to love anyone who would put this in the "pictures" section of her website?

Departing from convention, she didn't duck offstage pre-encore, explaining that since people were likely tired, she'd dispense with the charade. The crowd was appreciative of this consideration -- or maybe we just didn't want her to leave the stage at all.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at February 25, 2008 5:26 AM | Comments (0)

 

Homegrown Wake Celebrates More Than 10 Years of Music

Filed under: Local Music

The Turf Club hosted a memorial service for "Homegrown" on Friday night. After more than a decade on the air at a pair of stations (KQRS initially; then the-late Drive 105), the program hosted by Mei Young and David Campbell no longer has a home. The Turf Club wake was also a chance to pimp Silage: Foreclosure and Eviction, a collection of live performances from the program. The wonderful 21-track production features songs from such local heroes as Dosh, P.O.S., Jeremy Messersmith, and Haley Bonar.

There was a Homegrown coffin, complete with flowers and faux-corpse, set up in front of the stage.

Big Trouble played a largely instrumental set that included a cover of Neil Young's "Old Man," along with a rendition of the Twin Peaks theme. Martin Devaney joined them on vocals for one track.

Folk-pop charmer Ben Connelly then strummed through an acoustic set in the Clown Lounge that featured "Evangeline," one of the finest tracks from Silage. Unfortunately he was largely drowned out by the boisterous, drunken crowd.

Dan Israel rocked with an old-school three-piece outfit. "This is the happiest funeral I've been to, since the last one," he told the crowd. Highlights included another track from the Homegrown collection, "Sandbags," along with a blistering version of The Who's "The Seeker," with Dave Russ administering a punishing beatdown to the tom drums.

P.O.S. explained that he was late arriving because he'd been pulled over for speeding on his way to the Turf Club. The effortlessly charismatic Rhymesayers rapper performed solo, running through primarily new material. The set was brief because Stef was headed off to perform with his hardcore outfit Building Better Bombs at Big V's just down the road.

Haley Bonar was up next in the Clown Lounge. But it was closing in on 12:30 and I decided to call it a night.

Posted by Paul Demko at February 24, 2008 1:20 PM | Comments (0)

 

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