MusicScene.ORG has a new look

Last year's New Media/Website winners MusicScene.org have a new look and feel to their website.

I confess I continue to stop by this site every day or so to see their users views on politics, home theatre accessories and local music.

MusicScene.ORG

Yahoo! News - Dave Matthews Band's Big Stink

Yahoo! News - Dave Matthews Band's Big Stink

Just in case you missed this story. This is the kind of news that just asks to be shared.

Re:Connect opens Saturday, August 28th at Creative Electric Studios

Re:Connect is an exhibition featuring independent short film, visual art, literary works, & music presented by Mental Contagion and DV Cinema and sponsored by HowWasTheShow.com. It runs from Saturday, August 28th through Sunday, September 5th at Creative Electric Studios (2201 NE 2nd Street Minneapolis.)

Re:Connect is curated by Mental Contagion and DV Cinema, organizations that utilize technology with a grass roots approach to increase awareness of independent work through online exhibit. The objective of Re:Connect is to bring independent film, visual art, and literature to a physical space where selected works can coexist in one installation, encouraging independent voice in a group context. Film makers, artists, and writers local to the Twin Cities and from around the world have been selected to participate in this event to present a variety of mediums and formats.

Saturday's opening night festivities (8/28) will feature performances by The Deaths, Spaghetti Western, Maria May & John Jerry of The Owls, Christopher Danforth (solo), and Kasi, starting around 5 p.m.

Check the complete schedule here. Or download press release here.

Surrealism at the Hexagon Bar

Jeaneen Gauthier sings over a can of Bud at the Elliot Smith Tribute. That's Ciaran Daly's right arm on the left as he grabs a mic, and Jacques Wait on bass.

The Ouija Radio/Melismatics show at the Triple Rock ended early enough Friday night that I was still able to hightail it to the Hexagon Bar to catch the end of the Elliott Smith Tribute Show staged by Chris Dorn and friends. However, by the time I arrived the show had degenerated into craziness, with coincidentally Ouija Radio producer Jacques Wait on stage playing bass in an impromptu "band" that was covering Blondie and Fleetwood Mac with various musicians swapping in and out of the group, including Sean Hoffman on drums and Janeen Gunther on vocals. I must say this was one of the most bizarre, goddawful and weird musical phenomena I’ve stumbled into in a while. Did I mention goddawful?

It was just the end of the show that was bad, however. I heard that the Elliott Smith Tribute itself featured several ethereal performances, and a goosebump razing performance by Erik Kassel.

Turnout, was also very good, leaving more than a dozen of us dumped out onto the sidewalk after 2 a.m. looking for the after-party.

Governor Pawlenty to miss Bruce Springsteen gig at Excel

Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty feels bad that Bruce Springsteen is using his popularity as a musician to promote his political convictions. "I really appreciate his music, but I wish he wouldn't interject his music with politics," the governor said after learning that The Boss is participating in several Democratic fundraisers that hope to help limit George Bush (who Pawlenty supports) to just one term.

Apparently the Governor feels so bad he's not even going to go to the concert, currently slated for the Excel Energy Center on October 5th. Poor guy. If he doesn't go he's also gonna miss R.E.M., John Fogerty, and Bright Eyes. I wonder if this mean's he'll also eschew The Faint at First Avenue that night, since members of that band are friends of Bright Eye's Conor Oberst.

Maybe it's a good thing that music fans generally don't attend shows of bands that politically disagree with them. How many staunch Reagan supporters do you think you might have found at Dead Kennedys shows in the early 80's? And how many Kerry supporters or liberation theologists are you going to find at a Lee Greenwood or Toby Keith show?

I can understand music fans with political differences avoiding each other when possible, but musicians (and actors, sports figures, etc.) should clearly continue to use their celebrity to promote their politics. What value does celebrity have if it's not the increase in visibility when you champion the causes you hold most dear?

I just hope the Governor doesn't stop reading HowWasTheShow.com when I come out in support of Ralph Nader.