Loring Alley Party, Spirits of the Red City, and more from the weekend

Photo by Nikki Miller

​Just another hot, hot summer of our lives... This past weekend was packed from end-to-end with local shows of every variety, from Friday night's Rogue Valley CD-release show at the Mainroom to Saturday's Pizza Luce Block Party and Loring Alley Party and Sunday's marathon hootenanny, Brit's 20th anniversary party and series of house shows at the Cake Shop.

Here's a recap of some of the most memorable moments from the weekend, with links to our photo slideshows and coverage.

Saturday was a 14-hour showcase of some of the Cities' best underground acts, organized by local label Totally Gross National Product. Jon Davis of Ghostband/Poop Smear Mirror/Black Audience went round and round with his video camera at Nick and Eddie, somehow perfectly summarizing the vibe of the Marijuana Deathsquads mega-jam that finished off the Loring Alley Party on Saturday night.



Jon also gives us a nice perspective shot of Poop Smear Mirror's set, easily one of the most memorable sets from Saturday's festivities. Their set featured a three-piece brass band, an "election" in which Senator Butthole Johnson was awarded a new term in office, and a man in a leisure suit and a paper-mâché mask, um, exposing himself, gyrating on the ground, and fondling his bandmates throughout the set.



For more on the Loring Alley Party, check out our photo slideshow by Nikki Miller.

​The most buzzed-about party on Saturday was the packed Pizza Luce Block Party, which featured performances by Brother Ali, Lookbook, Red Pens, Dessa, and more. Stacy Schwartz was on the scene for all of the day's performances, and you can check out her photos in the Pizza Luce slideshow.

Across town and in an entirely different universe, eight-piece acoustic act Spirits of the Red City played a pair of intimate house shows at the Cake Shop, the private venue hosted by local music and arts blog Cake in 15. For the first show, the band performed a pin-drop set and debuted several new songs (including the two on their new 7", Serves You Right); here's a video of one of their brand new songs, which was also one of the quietest moments of the performance with only four of them playing.



And here's a video of the full band performing:



On Friday night two local DJs took over the Lounge for "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life." Check out all of our shots from E-Tones' and Bryan Gerrard's DJ sets in our slideshow by Kevin O'Meara.

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The weekend also featured a few shows by touring bands Stone Temple Pilots, the Black Crowes, and T-Pain. Check out those slideshows below:

​Stone Temple Pilots at Roy Wilkins Auditorium by Nick Wosika

​The Black Crowes at the Minnesota Zoo by Steve Cohen

​T-Pain at Epic by Alex Uncapher