Minneapolis / St. Paul Music Blog

The video highlight of exploreminnesota's myfavoriteminnesota feature? "Steve O-Gratin," a.k.a. Steve Barone of Lifter Puller and the Hawaii Show fame, wrestling in mashed potatoes (also available via Youtube) by way of listing his "12 Favorite Places in Minnesota for a festival junkie." This and other videos are hosted at the Hawaii Show's MySpace page--while you're there, check out the latest tracks from one Ludachrist ("Get crucified today!"). Quality time-wasting.

Andy Friedman & the Other Failures / 331 Club / April 28, 2007

Like spurs on boots, or bacon in beans, Andy Friedman and Minneapolis just belong together. It all started a few years ago when Friedman quit his job at the New Yorker (he was an illustrator), packed his bags, and drove straight here to meet Spider John Koerner, the legendary West Banker and something of a musical godfather to the young Brooklyner. The two played together that night at the Open Book; it was Friedman's first time on stage. Now he just can't stay away. This time around, he brought some of his friends from New York's western-revival scene, the Two-Man Gentleman Band and the Defibulators.

In town for this weekend's Rock and Country Hall of Fame (see below), Thomas "Eddie" Shaw of the Monks is going to be reading from his book Black Monk Time: Coming of the Anti-Beatle on Saturday, April 28 at Treehouse Records in Minneapolis. In addition, former City Pages music writer Martin Keller is going to be reading from his new book, Minnesota Music Legends. The reading starts at 2:00 p.m., at Treehouse Records on 26th and Hennepin.

Tonight's and tomorrow's Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fame at Medina Entertainment Center features some rare live performances from bands that once put our state on the map--match names with the hitmakers in our 2005 cover story "Minnesota's 50 Greatest Hits." Friday night performers include the Gestures ("Run Run Run"), City Mouse, Danny Hargrove ("Sweet Mary), the Litter ("Action Woman"), Platte Valley Boys, Joey Molland from Badfinger, Blackwood Apology, Mary Jane Alm, Art Essery, Killer Hayseeds, and Gypsy. Saturday afternoon performers (kicking off at 1:00 p.m.) include Canoise and Friends, Pam and Sherwin Linton, the Magpies, Bluegrass Revue, the Chris Osgood Show (all-star punk revue), the B-Flat Blues All-Stars, the Rockin' Hollywoods, and Mankato Connection with Dale Menten. Saturday night performers (starting at 7:45 p.m.) include Passage, Ladies of Country, Big John Dickerson, Paulette Carlson, Northern Light, Lipps, Inc. (curious who this will include; Cynthia Johnson sang the chorus on the hit "Funkytown"), a special award for Marsh Edelstein, Alex Parenteau and Silver Wings, Danny's Reasons, Denny Morgan, the Novas ("The Crusher"), the Charms, Maury Finney, the Flamin' Oh's, Tim Sparks and Rio Nido, Middle Spunk Creek Boys, and Dave Brady and the Stars. Hopefully I'll post photos on my blog soon.

If this is your weekend with your kids, why not catch a few of the best offerings for the under-ages set from the International Film Fest? The following movies screen at the Oak Street Cinema as part of the Childish Film Festival. All ages: Flights of Fancy, a collection of 7 animated shorts from the US and Sweden, Saturday at 11. For ages 7 and up: Spoon, a Dutch movie about a boy who hides out in a department store after his parents disappear in a hot air balloon, Saturday at 2:30. For teenagers: Boy Called Twist, a South African re-telling of Dickens classic Oliver Twist, Sunday at 11.

JoAnna James CD Release Party / Varsity Theater / April 26, 2007
Text by Mary O'Regan | Photos by Daniel Corrigan

JoAnna James and Chris Koza really like each other. So much, in fact, that they had an unofficial love-off at the release party for James' new EP "Back of my Mind."

"She's one of the most remarkable people I've ever met," Koza gushed as James took the stage to provide harmony for a song. "We're lucky to have her in the Twin Cities."

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / First Avenue / April 25, 2007
Text by Mary O'Regan | Photos by Daniel Corrigan

Wednesday night concerts at First Avenue are always a little lackluster: The audience is tired from having worked all day, and by 11:30, people start trickling out halfway through the main act. Last night's Ted Leo and the Pharmacists show was no exception. The band gave it their all—cursing, crowd-surfing, busting guitar picks—but the crowd of bearded dudes and pixie-cut girls barely raised their PBRs, shifting from one foot to the other like rock 'n' roll zombies.

Love of Diagrams opened the show and made little effort to jazz up the sleepy crowd. The trio of Aussie alt-rockers displayed stellar drumming and wailing guitars, but subpar vocals. To make matters worse, each member remained cemented to the stage the entire time, like a secret trapdoor might open if they moved three feet.

Sinister with a quickness: the Arctic Monkeys released their new album "Favourite Worst Nightmare" today. I wouldn't normally pair English punks who use pop hooks to cast dark spells over the dance floor with a cadre of booty-popping hip-hop dancers, but the match works well in the video for their single, "Brianstorm." (I know that looks like a typo but it's not "Brainstorm," I swear.)

The grand finale of Catwalk Confessional, Mary O'Regan's online diary about her experiences modeling for the Voltage fashion show, is now posted in our gallery section. This is it, the night of the big rock 'n' roll fashion show: "I spend the next 20 minutes quietly panicking in a chair. My eyes are open and my mouth is half smiling, but inside, I'm imagining my ankles shattering the moment I step on the runway. I stare at my choreography notes and wipe sweat beads from my forehead." Check out the series here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII.

If Saturday's Afternoon Records anniversary celebration sounds like a "best of the Twin Cities" show--well, that should tell you a little something about Afternoon Records. What began four years ago as a basement project for then-18-year-old music biz prodigy Ian Anderson has blossomed into a big, shiny indie rock machine churning out some top local talent: Haley Bonar (pictured), the God Damn Doo Wop Band, Anderson's own Aneuretical and One for the Team, A Night in the Box, and more than a dozen others. Just about every Afternnon band will be on hand for this two-show event. In particular, the late show, featuring Bonar, the GDDWB, and Ela, is a can't-miss affair.

More details at the Afternoon website.

It looks like the Noisettes are not gracing our Twin Cities with a tour date as they travel 'round the US in support of their new album, What's the Time, Mr. Wolf? To understand why this is so regrettable, watch English/Zimbabwaen frontwoman Shingai Shoniwa bat her neon-pink eyelashes and howl through stripped-down rocker "Don't Give Up."

Circuit bending is the art of creating new sounds and effects by manipulating the innards of low-voltage gadgets such as children's toys and cheap synthesizers. On its way from Los Angeles to New York City, the Bent Festival makes a pit stop this weekend in Minneapolis to celebrate this quirky art; events include live performances and demonstrations, art installations, and workshops for beginners as well as advanced enthusiasts. City Pages took a moment to chat with circuit-bending enthusiasts Bianca Pettis and Jacob Aaron Roske, who together make up the local sound art group Beatrix*JAR.

Brother and Sister are looking for anyone interested in skateboarding to star in the video for "I'm Gonna Do Something Awesome with My Life." Listen to the track at their MySpace page, and then kick-push-coast your way down to the MIA this Saturday, April 21. Full details after the jump.

For me, and maybe you, "Boring," the new video by the Pierces, offers that rare chance to experience the entire cycle of superficial fandom in three minutes, from attraction to backlash, lingered afterward with the suspicion that the joke is only funny because it contains truth, and the ultimate judgement that the song title is truth in advertising. For the backlash side (where I am already), these model-lookin' New York sisters have gotten entirely undeserved adoring writeups in the Village Voice (I'm pretty sure the lyric is "bear your child," not "bury your child") and Spin, while "Lights On" (from their MySpace page) rips off Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" worse than TLC's "Waterfalls." On the attraction side (I remember way back when), the concept- and humor-driven cheap-ass video reminds me of MTV's early-'80s heyday. Sure to be the song that either makes or ruins them, or rules for three days before resurfacing in 20 years.

New Brother Ali video up at MTVU: "Uncle Sam __ Damn," complete with Nina Simone t-shirt, a walk on the mall in Washington, D.C., and a rundown of the dark side of U.S. history. Shot quick and dirty just a few weeks ago, this thing actually looks pretty good! If you've got a Mac and can't play this, look for it soon at Youtube.com/rhymesayers. (Oh, and in case you've had the computer off all week, check out the City Pages Brother Ali cover story and online extras. Remix contest tomorrow.)

Last fall, one of the former producers for The X Files shot a pilot for A.M.P.E.D., a present-day sci-fi drama centering on the Minneapolis Police Department that was to begin airing on Spike TV this year. The premise: MPD homicide detectives battle violence and destruction caused by city residents suffering genetic mutations caused by a virus. Lee Tergesen was cast as Detective Brian Spicer, a sensitive, levelheaded sleuth and Tony Curran as Mark Jacocks, the tough cop he clashes with. Tergesen, left, is best known for his portrayal of prisoner Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz and, more recently, Peter McMillan on Desperate Housewives. Curran has appeared in a number of films, including Gladiator and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

In the latest high-culture appropriation of hip hop (remember MTV's Carmen?), North Hennepin Community College Theatre Ensemble is putting on a rap version of The Bacchae, an old-school Greek tragedy written by ancient MC Euripides, who rocked the Dionysia and sonned the competition circa 406 B.C. In the play, young god Dionysus gets mad at his royal fam for denying his propers as a deity—Moms was Zeus's trick. But Dionysus gets his get-back: According to the NHCC press release, "Young, arrogant King Pentheus returns home to find the women of his kingdom gone wild with seemingly reckless religious rituals of the mysterious god Dionysus," whose magic "is both intoxicating and dangerous."

Working from the C.K. Williams translation, director Janice Marie Wolf says she got the idea for a hip-hop Bacchae when she first heard the music. "The choruses were originally done in a rhythmic way in Ancient Greek, so there was always a rhythm to it," she says. "This semester, when I heard my students rapping, I handed them this and said, 'Could you rap this?' And that was it." The show opens Friday, April 20; call 763.424.0788 or visit www.nhcc.edu for more information.

"The Tin Star Sisters look like a song-and-dance trapeze act. From the '40s. In the catskills."

That's how Jim Walsh described the accordion-and-vibes sister act in this article last fall. Sadly, Jim's appreciation turned almost immedediately into a eulogy, as the Sisters packed up their squeezebox and tap shoes and called an end to their weekly residency at the 331 Club.

Needless to say, they've been missed. Which is why we're thrilled to hear that they're returning to their old stomping grounds (or is it tapping grounds?) for one more go of it tonight, this time with a CD in hand. The show starts at 9 p.m., and like every concert at this squash-colored corner bar, it's free.

Ward Sutton's political cartoon, "Sutton Impact," will cease with the publication of next week's edition. In a note to newspapers currently running his work, Sutton stated that retiring the strip (which began as the bi-weekly "Schlock 'n' Roll" in 1995) was not a decision made lightly. Local residents may recall the Minneapolis native's comic, "Ward's Cleaver," featured from 1990 to 1997, in the late Twin Cities Reader. Following a move to New York City in 1995, Sutton's career expanded to illustrating posters for the likes of Beck, Pearl Jam, and Blues Traveler. He has also produced artwork for Broadway shows, and animated sequences for Comedy Central's Strangers with Candy and Nickelodeon. Sutton denies this is the end of his political cartooning career, but after nine years, it will be a much-needed break from weekly deadlines.

Part six of Catwalk Confessional, Mary O'Regan's online diary about her experiences modeling for tonight's Voltage fashion show, is now posted in our gallery section. In this episode, Mary joins the rehearsal to run through her steps on the tricky zigzagging catwalk. An excerpt: "The choreography gets even more complicated during Anne Selden's set. Walk to the end of the runway; pose; exit; walk to the end of the long segment; remove jacket; pose; switch positions with model on right; pose; exit. If I can successfully complete this routine, I deserve $10,000, my own fashion spread in Elle magazine, and an appearance at New York's Fashion Week. (I'll settle for not looking like the slow kid in the school assembly.)" Check out the series here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI.

Dosh performs with Andrew Bird on The Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

Aspiring hip-hop producers, don't wait to read the City Pages cover story about Brother Ali, or to check out online extras (including some goodies at my blog), before you pick up an a capella version of Ali's "Original King" from Fifth Element in Minneapolis and give it a new beat. Run Ya Jewels will be hosting a "Brother Ali Remix Contest" next Tuesday, April 17, at the Dinkytowner in Minneapolis; 21+, 10:00 p.m. $3 admission/$10 to enter contest. Special Rhymesayers guest judges will be on hand, so it should be a treat for spectators in any case.

With less than two weeks to go before the start of Minnesota Film Arts' latest Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (April 19 to April 29 at five area theaters), travel arrangements are firming up for filmmakers, celebrities, and other invited guests.

Danny Glover, coproducer of Mali master Abderrahmane Sissako's anti-globalization drama Bamako, is expected to be at the Riverview Theater on opening night to introduce the screening.

"We have a hotel room for him," says M-SPIFF publicist Vince Muzik. "We do think he'll be here."

Muzik has also confirmed the appearance of Texas-based documentarian Erik McCowan, whose film Ruby's Town, receiving its world premiere at the fest, profiles the annual turkey race between competing birds from Cuero, Texas, and our own Worthington, Minnesota.

Has Muzik made arrangements for Paycheck, the Worthington turkey, who is also "expected" to attend?

"I don't know about the turkey," says Muzik. "We're not paying for his travel fare. He'll have to get here himself."

New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones writes about Prince this week: "It doesn't matter that the artist, who is forty-eight, has released only a handful of decent recordings in the past fifteen years. He is perhaps the greatest living performer in the pop tradition. The fact that, as he says during his live shows, 'my friends all look different--I look just the same' simply enhances the impression that he is our Dorian Gray, if Gray had been raised by Cher and James Brown." SFJ's blog is still going strong as well.

Between the recent Stephen Marley show and album, the samples contained on new music from Lily Allen and Brother Ali (see tomorrow evening's cover story), and the resurgence of Mikey Dread, roots reggae seems to be catching the imagination of the non-Marley-loving public again, though the scene has remained strong for decades (see my Jamaican and Caribbean Music Links pages for tons of audio links). Dread plays the Cabooze in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 21. In case you missed it, I interviewed Dread last year about everything from Jamaican radio to the Clash, whose living members recently re-released old recordings featuring Dread's production and vocals.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has declared today, April 9, 2007, "Uncle Al Day" to honor 38-year Strib veteran Al Sicherman. Sicherman, who would refer to himself as "Uncle Al," wrote the "Tidbits" column, dispensing commentary on processed food packaging and marketing.

"Al combined his gifts for arcane computer knowledge, brilliant command of the language, kitchen expertise, and—as Uncle Al, the weekly columnist—self-deprecating humor to enrich readers beyond what most of us realize," Mayor Rybak's proclamation said.

Kudos to Uncle Al.

Bob Mould has a new column in Washington D.C.'s City Paper: "[A]sk me about music, cooking, travel, politics, religion, neighborhoods, sociology. I'll try to keep it entertaining," he writes. The former Husker Du and Sugar guitarist, profiled here in City Pages two years ago, has stayed pretty interesting on his blog for the past few years. Meanwhile, chef extraordinaire and former Husker bassist Greg Norton will be celebrating the release of his debut CD with the Gang Font Featuring Interloper (his band with keyboardist Craig Taborn, and guitarist Erik Fratzke and drummer Dave King of Happy Apple) at the 7th St. Entry on Friday, April 20. The album was released last month on Thirsty Ear. Husker drummer and co-vocalist Grant Hart, meanwhile, has an art exhibit opening at the Zone Gallery in Kansas City, MO, this Saturday.

Under-22 music club Twin Cities Underground has closed, citing lack of funds despite overwhelming turnout for its recent battle of the bands contests, and the longtime support of the youthful ska scene. "[W]ithout the umbrella of a municipal entity such as the School District, Police Department or the city of Minneapolis itself, funding and support for a teen center is extremely difficult to obtain," said the volunteer organization's board in a press release, which estimates some 12,000 youth have passed through its doors. Founders are looking to create a new club. Meanwhile, there's still the Toybox and newly reopened Eclipse Records (with shows to come soon) in Minneapolis, along with the Christian-oriented Fallout and Club 3 Degrees; the Garage in Burnsville; the Depot Coffeehouse in Hopkins; Rudie's Coffeehouse in St. Paul; and the Java Joint in St. Cloud; while adult clubs such as the Triple Rock, Station 4, the Red Sea, and the 7th St. Entry still hold all-ages shows. (Some of these venues were profiled, along with TC Underground, in this 2004 City Pages article. Pictured: DJ Elex, 21, and rapper Ariel, 19, at TC Underground in 2004.)

M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell recounts tales from Hollywood, Rwanda, and death row in a new memoir

Millions of Americans remember actor Mike Farrell for his eight years as army doctor B.J. Hunnicutt on the classic sitcom M*A*S*H. But as he reveals in his new memoir, Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist, Farrell has spent decades traveling to El Salvador, Rwanda, Somalia, and Bosnia, delivering humanitarian aid and educating the American public.

Farrell's book touches on his difficult early life in West Hollywood with his St. Paul-born parents, his stint in the Marines, a life-changing self-help program, numerous acting and producing anecdotes, and his work with organizations such as Human Rights Watch and CONCERN/America. City Pages spoke to Farrell by phone during the Ann Arbor stop on his book tour.

For his sixth novel, Jonathan Lethem (Fortress of Solitude, Motherless Brooklyn) travels from his native Brooklyn turf to the lighter side of Los Angeles. In You Don't Love Me Yet, Lethem tells a tale of ridiculous romance, binge drinking, and debatable plagiarism. His protagonist, Lucinda Hoekke, is a bass player in an unnamed band suffering a creative slump. To make ends meet, she takes part in an art installation, answering phones for a complaint line in a staged office setting. There, she falls for "the complainer"—an anonymous caller whose witty phrases and frank sexual retellings work their way into her band's lyrics.

City Pages: So many of your novels take place in Brooklyn. What made you want to write about L.A.?

Jonathan Lethem: I see this novel as a return to a daffier tone. I spent almost a decade of my writing life dwelling on the part of Brooklyn that I came from. I think it was really good to surprise myself and recover the sense of license to do anything I please. There's something very seductive and gratifying in the way that I have been acclaimed as "Mr. Brooklyn." But it's also very dangerous for a writer to let any kind of mantle be put around their shoulders. So this is sort of my way of reclaiming my amateurishness. To write about a place I didn't really know about, you could say I was intentionally disarming myself.