First Avenue's Black Tuesday

Read Pete Scholtes installment report on complicatedfun.com includes many additional links and comments regarding First Avenue's closing and potential re-open not available elsewhere. Read it here.


Matthew Sweet at the Cabooze



Paul Chastain of the Velvet Crush

Another moved First Avenue show, Matthew Sweet w/ Velvet Crush went off swimmingly at the Cabooze last night, though fans who weren't there by the 7 p.m. music start time would have missed a good part of Sweet's set. Sweet started off at about 7:05 and played a 10 song set. Then the band metamorphosed into the Velvet Crush (same players, same spots on stage, different lead vocalist) and played another set before turning back into Sweet to finish the show by just after 9. The Cabooze hosted another bill that evening that included Hanz Solo that was to start at 9:30 p.m., which had led Hans Erickson in an email earlier in the day to joke that Matthew Sweet was actually opening for him.

Meanwhile, in another sign all may still be well with the world, a line was forming halfway down the block at the Triple Rock for entry into the Olympic Hopefuls / Mark Mallman show.

I'm jetting off to Chicago today to see Robyn Hitchcock and report on another Chicago Venue, Schubas, where Twin Cities bands are known to play when in the Windy City.

Note: there's no relationship between First Avenue being closed and howwashtheshow reporting on shows in Chicago venues (i.e. Drive by Truckers at the Metro last week.) At least not yet.