​A good product idea is like a poem: less generally means more. Snap bracelets, Twitter, the George Foreman Grill, Netflix. And now, given its quick success in the digital music space, Turntable.fm. Huh?

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​The Mill City Live series, which presents bands in the stunning setting of the Mill City Ruins, is getting ready to kick off its first event of 2011 next Thursday, July 7. This season, Mill City invited guest curator Jim Walsh to help them book a lineup of "Minnesota Legends" that span five decades of local music history.

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​With the countdown to the Minnesota state government shutdown nearing the final hour, many have questioned whether the concerts at the Minnesota Zoo -- which is partially funded by the state and hires state employees to staff its grounds -- would need to be rescheduled or relocated if the shutdown occurs.

But whether Zoo itself closes, concert promoters Sue McLean have said that their scheduled concerts, including tomorrow and Saturday night's appearances by the Monkees, will still go off without a hitch.

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Photo by Dave Hoenack

Minneapolis has seen a lot of record stores rise and fall, with each closing being well documented. Ironically, the survivors are often overlooked in these stories.

Founded in 1988 by Jim "Hymie" Peterson, Hymie's Vintage Records created a vinyl collector's emporium on East Lake. The business has changed hands throughout the years, most recently when Dave and Laura Hoenack took over the register. Along with maintaining City Pages' "Best Place to Buy Vinyl" reputation, the new owners have been busy upgrading the facilities. After flood damage and leakage issues in the old location, the Hoenacks moved their estimated 100,000 records (70 tons) five blocks east and opened a larger, cleaner vinyl browsing experience. After the success of their Record Store Day street fair, they upped the investment, adding a music venue to the store for Sunday afternoon concerts, record release parties, and other music-themed celebrations.

Gimme Noise pried the two away from the turntable to ask a few questions about their enthusiastic approach to owning their neighborhood's only record store.

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​Success and humility are not synonymous when it comes to many artists, but with  up-and-coming Milwaukee singer/songwriter, Grace Weber, you can bet it is.  Making Brooklyn, New York her home after finishing school at NYU, Grace exclaims, "Coming home to the Midwest is like getting a big hug.  I get to decompress from the hectic pace of the city."  Gimme Noise caught up with the young singer on the morning of her birthday and on the heels of her Minneapolis debut.

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Photos by Erik Hess

​Elvis Costello & the Impostors
June 29, 2011
State Theater, Minneapolis

The first member of the audience who got to spin the big wheel sitting on stage at the State last night was a woman named Heidi. She ran up on stage, squealing with delight, and gave Elvis Costello an enormous hug. "My friend and I have been following you for 30 years!" she exclaimed. At that, Costello, dressed in a black top hat, ushered Heidi's friend, Lisa, on stage as well, and the two women spun the wheel together to see what song would be played next.

There were song titles spread around the wheel from all across Costello's career, including some that weren't even his, and most of which would get played before the night was through. Yet, appropriately enough, the one Heidi and Lisa landed on wasn't even a song, it was the wild card category: "Joker."
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Mystic Lake Casino kicks off a summer of outdoor shows at its new 8,000+ seat amphitheater Sunday night with a performance by Jason Mraz, followed on July 4th with a free performance by Diamond Rio (with fireworks!).

So. Who's Diamond Rio?

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​Cue the sound of 1,000 "He's bringing MySpace back" headlines being typed at once: Today Specific Media announced that it is buying MySpace -- the social network we all forgot to log into starting somewhere around the end of 2008 -- and will enlist the help of new stakeholder Justin Timberlake to revitalize the site.

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Photo by Stacy Schwartz

​Exciting news for fans of new wave and Britpop-heavy dance night Transmission: DJ Jake Rudh, who has been spotted lately gigging everywhere from Kings to the First Avenue Mainroom to his weekly spot at Clubhouse Jager (not to mention gracing the cover of the City Pages Best of the Twin Cities issue) will be starting up a new weekly spot on 89.3 the Current. Each Thursday night at 10 p.m., the station will hand over the reins to Rudh to spin an hour of '80s club music as part of a new series of weeknight programs.

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Photo by Erik Hess

​Like Judy Garland, Babes in Toyland and the late Ruth Adams, Sue Nelson is a Minnesota institution in her own right and another credit to the long history of creative and talented musical women from the land of 10,000 lakes.More >>