Minneapolis / St. Paul 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.