Two new websites of note: MNspeak and Voltage: Fashion Amplified 2005

MNspeak.com (http://www.mnspeak.com) launched earlier this week. MNSpeak is the brainchild of Chuck Olson (Blogumentary) and Rex Sorgatz (fimoculous.)

Sorgatz says MNSpeak is “a culture/media/politics/community site made specifically for Twin Cities residents.” He says some people will want to call it a blog, but they think it is more than that. It seeks to address two questions:

1) What are people in the Twin Cities talking about today?
2) What is going on around town tonight?

Sorgatz says look for an official launch party sometime this summer, but in the meantime (and to be sure to get your invite) signup for daily emails here and be sure to check out the nifty Twin Cities Blog Aggregator here. (Save time and view all the headlines from the best Minneosta-themed blogs on one page!)

Voltage: Fashion Amplified 2005 site fully live



Ya gotta love the journalistic conflict of interest--I’m also the Voltage publicist-- but the 2005 rev of the Voltage site, developed by Barrett and Melanie Haroldson of skycrusher.com, is up and running. It’s both informative and gorgeous (especially if you like pastels.) The site features details on the designers, and a media player where you can preview selections by all 8 Voltage 2005 bands. On the news page you can find out where you can read about Voltage in other publications, notably in this month’s MPLS St Paul and Industry Magazines. Look for future articles in Rift and Pulse Twin Cities.

Gigs

Tonight:

Faux Jean plays the Turf Club with The Owls playing the middle slot. Deep Pool plays first and features Jeff Kearns of the Hang Ups in front and Freddie Votel (Cows, Seawhores, TVBC) on drums. This is Faux Jean’s last show in town till the Minnesota Rollergirl Championship Derby in Coon Rapids.

Saturday:

"Spring’s New Leaves" by Kari Tauring and Friends at the Varsity Theater


Photo by Jack Bartholomew at rehearsals for "Spring's New Leaves" 2005

Where can you hear mystical Huldre cow calling, old German Madrigals, original folk rock jams, Fiddles in Hardanger tuning, spoken word by Desdemona, traditional Mary hymns and Buddhist chants all in one event?

That would be at a special afternoon show by Kari Tauring and friends at the Varsity Theater on Saturday. The show will also feature work by designers Anna Lee, Candy Kuehn, Margaret Mousley and Jo Hiner, and David de Young (yeah, me) playing the cowbell.

Tauring told me in an email, “I truly think this is the best show I have put together yet.” Arrive at 11 a.m. to check out the many vendors, and the show starts at 1. More info at http://www.karitauring.com

Ike Reilly rumored to play special solo show Saturday at the Nomad

I heard a rumor (but I have it on good authority or I would not be mentioning it) that Ike Reilly will be playing solo (with just his guitarist Phil Karnatz) at the Nomad World Pub, on Saturday night (April 30th) at 9 p.m.

Reilly is in town for a show with his full band Sunday, May 1st at the newly re-opened Varsity Theater with Sensation Junkies (Seattle) and Hang Ups (this is the Hangups first show since Halloween.) That is an early show with 7pm doors and music at 8. If you are reading this sentence, HowWasTheShow still has a few pairs of tickets to that show to give away. (Just email iwantafreepairofiketickets@howwastheshow.com to win. When this sentence is gone, so are the free tickets.)

Read more about Reilly in this Star Tribune article published today.

Great Girls Blouse will release its 3rd CD called "147471" Saturday at Terminal Bar. In Pictures and Shamus 73 open and Nel Harrison hosts the event.

Next Week

At London’s Calling next Wednesday at Mario's Kellar Bar it’s Raven’s Birthday, music featuring Apryl Electra. No cover, and Raven will spin British music from each decade of his life- the 1950's to the present.

Miscellaneous

The Deaths in Spin

I’ve been reading Spin Magazine more frequently since Melissa Maerz defected to the New York-based publication. I admit to feeling a little hometown pride when I was reading a review in the April issue by Chuck Klosterman and he parenthetically referenced a Minneapolis show at First Avenue out of the blue. Speaking of Minnesota references, in the there is a blurb about The Deaths on page 40 of the May 2005 issue of Spin, yeah the one with Trent Reznor on the cover.

HowWasTheShow wins Best Locally Generated Website in City Pages "Best Of" Issue

You know that line from "I Palindrome I" by They Might Be Giants in that goes, "I am a snake head eating the head on the opposite side?"

That's what I feel like when I write about other media writing about me.

HowWasTheShow.com is a winner of a City Pages "Best of" award this year in the category of "Best Locally Generated Website." (Read the article here, and see the full list of 2005 winners here.) 'Course if you are reading this because you came from the City Pages website, this link likely send you back from whence you came.

But seriously, it's an honor to be recognized, so we say thank you to our friends at the City Pages who voted for us. And I wanted to also thank the writers and photographers who contributed material in February who were not mentioned in the City Pages article, including Steve McPherson, Steve Wolf, Jim Brunzell, Emily Hanson, Kristen Hasler, David Rachac, Brian Marx, Helen Blodgett and our theater critic, Miguel Trejo.

I didn't realize how busy we actually were February until I read in today's City Pages that we published 18 concert reviews that month alone.

My friend Chris Dorn at The Hexagon received well-deserved Kudos as well for "Best Concert Venue," and it's there tonight that several of us "winners" plan to gather to celebrate starting at around 9 p.m. (Dan Israel, who won for Best Acoustic Performer, just emailed me to say he will also try to make it.)

If you want to join us, The Hexagon is at 2600 27th Avenue South (near Stardust Lanes.) DJ Jake Rudh (Reader's Choice "Best Of" winner in the Club DJ categeory again this year) will be spinning great tunes until midnight at his regular Wednesday night "Transmission" event.

Let It Be Records to Close in June

It’s been busy here at HowWasTheShow despite the fact we’ve published nothing in a week. We’re all day jobbers here and when things get crazy, well, the jobs that pay the bills must come first. Somehow I still managed to cull together the sixth in a series of weekly columns....

The End of an Era: Let It Be Records to close on or around June 15th



Let It Be Records opened in 1987, the year before I moved to Minneapolis. Ryan Cameron’s record store was always there for me, from its start in Loring Park to its move to its current location at 1001 Nicollet Mall. Let it Be aided me in my transition from vinyl to CD’s. I bought my first CD’s there including my first Ride CD, the Nick Drake boxed set, my first Sonic Youth.

In an email message, owner Ryan Cameron cited many reasons for his decision to close the indie record store, both personal and business, but he said it ultimately came down to a “need to change gears.” Cameron will now be concentrating on his mail order business of rare vinyl and CDs, based at www.letitbe.com.

Related link: See "Whither the indie record store?" an article by MPR's Chris Roberts from February, 2004 that features comments by Cameron.

Guitarist Bryan Ottoson of American Head Charge found dead

Bryan Ottoson, of American Head Charge, was found dead in his bunk on the band’s tour bus Tuesday. Read more here and here.

Coming up

Radio K's Powersurge raps up today with Haley Bonar playing live at 11, Dave Campbell of KQ Homegrown and 2024 Records from 12-3, and Fog plays Off The Record from 4-6PM. Tomorrow at the Turf, Haley Bonar, Fitzgerald (CD Release!), Blue-Eyed Son, Dosh play the Turf (First 10 with Music Lovers Cards get free admission.) See Chris Riemenschnider's weekly roundup for more on Fitzgerald here.

(Speaking of the Turf Club. The place was rocking Tuesday at Sonia Grover's birthday party, and I have to admit I like the changes they are making. Taking out the false ceiling over the bar really opens up the place. I look forward to seeing the rest of the changes the new owners have in store. One thing I do hope the new owner does is overhaul the Turf's website.)

The biggest news this week at Radio K is their expanded signal. At 106.5 FM, the new signal now reaches most of Minneapolis, including the U of M campus and parts of St. Paul. And it’s stereo! The signal can be picked up 24/7 on weekends, and 4:30 PM to 8AM on weekdays.

Samuel Beam of Iron and Wine to play Free in-store at Electric Fetus tonight before First Ave Show

Mandy Anderson is taking over Dave Campbell’s role that included setting up live in-store performances at The Electric Fetus (she called herself Dave #3 in a recent email). Mandy wanted to let everyone know about Samuel Beam of Iron & Wine playing an in-store tonight at 5:30 PM. Florida native Samuel Beam got his start by producing lo-fi tapes and distributing them all over Florida. The sincerity of Iron & Wine’s rustic bedroom folk didn’t go unnoticed by Subpop who were quick to add Iron & Wine to the label. Currently, Iron & Wine is on tour supporting the new CD Woman King. Iron & Wine play First Avenue tonight with Horses and Eric Johnson. For more information about Iron & Wine visit the website at www.ironandwine.com.

Details:
The Electric Fetus
2000 4th Ave. South
(612) 870-9300
www.efetus.com

At the Whole Music Club a couple weeks ago I saw the great Ash / Bravery show (that I never did get around to writing a full review of.) At that show, Whole Manager David Hill had excitedly told me about this upcoming event, the last of this school year's episodes of Making Music which features Martin Dosh. Dosh will be appearing to do both an in depth interview and a demonstration of his technique.

See this video of Dosh at work by Randy Kramer: http://www.anticon.com/dosh.mov

Here are the details of the interview/show/demo:

Making Music: hosted by JG Everest and featuring Martin Dosh
Thursday, April 28th
8pm, The Whole at Coffman Union
This event is free, but seating is limited.

The Minnesota Music Academy presents Recording Roundtable

The MMA presents Recording Roundtable featuring: Tom Herbers, Tom Garneau, Rob Genadek and Jacques Wait. Combined, Herbers, Garneau, Genadek and Wait have over 80 years of experience in the world of recording, mixing and mastering. Between them they've worked with the likes of Low, The Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Victoria Williams, Peter Himmelman, Keri Noble, Prince, The Breeders, The Soviettes, Mason Jennings and Mike Doughty. Come hear them speak about their experiences, the recording industry, how digital technology is impacting their work, and anything else you want to ask them about.

Details
www.minnesotamusicacademy.org
Tuesday April 26th @ 7:00PM
@ I P R
$5 MMA Members; $10 Non –Members; Students Free
312 Washington Ave N
612-375-1900

A SKIN TOO FEW: THE DAYS OF NICK DRAKE

A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, is an intimate portrait of a young man with a huge talent who was unable to handle his imminent fame. Drake, who died tragically in 1974, at the age of 26 and whose sensitivity made him unable to face audiences, is, appropriately enough, never seen or interviewed in the film but his beautiful voice and words help to tell his story. Interweaving interviews with Drake's family and friends, home movies and letters to his sister, A Skin Too Few is a must for any Nick Drake fan. Several local music videos will also be featured.

Details:
THE BELL AUDITORIUM
April 23 - April 28
Daily @ 7:15 & 9:15pm with 5:15pm
Matinees Saturday and Sunday (no late show Tues.)
17th & University Ave SE on the E. Bank of the U of MN campus.
For more information log onto http://www.mnfilmarts.org/bell/ or call 612.331.3134

The Ghost of Radio Past

Cyn Collins hosted of The Wave Project last week on KFAI. Her guest was Baby Grant Johnson, who co-hosted and performed his song, "Makin' Time" live. Go to http://www.kfai.org/kfai2/audarch.htm and scroll down to Wave Project, and click on "Most recent show. Cyn tells me, "There's some fun songs, some sad songs, and some macabre songs. Lots of songs involving rivers, creeks, and other liquids, poverty, fish, and dogs. How can you go wrong?”

The Ghost of Radio Future

www.misplacedmusic.org will feature 3 not to miss programs over the next 3 days.

Rebroadcast of LIVE at the Dinkeytowner (Friday 5PM)
A re-broadcast of our show from the Dinkytowner Cafe on the U Campus last Saturday night. The show features a performance by Lifestyle of Wigs, Reticence, and an acoustic performance by Anne Deming

LIVE from the Walker Arts Center (Saturday 4PM)
We will be coming to you LIVE from the Walker arts center in Minneapolis. The show will run from 4PM all the way until 12AM. This is a Jazz (etc) Marathon put on for the "Festival dancing in your head". (http://calendar.walkerart.org/event.wac?id=1353)

LIVE from the Turf Club (Sunday 9PM)
Once a month we bring you the best in local (mostly) Americana put on by "The House of Mercy" in St Paul. Hosted by Pastor and (published author) Russell Rathbun. This month featuring: Mike Gunther & His Restless Souls, Jack Norton & the Mullet River Boys, Randall Throckmorton, Goober Sez Hey, (MMR's own) Jared Lukes & Sam Keenan, and The House of Mercy Band.

Local Music News - The Tax Day Special Issue

Today/Tonight

Mary Lucia will interview Arthur Yoria on 89.3 The Current in an interview that will air around 5 p.m. in preparation for his appearance at the Hexagon Bar tomorrow. (Listen to the interview online here.) Read an article on Yoria in The Pulse here, and see below for more details on Saturday’s show.

Tonight at the 400 Bar, The Glad Version headlines a three band bill. Opening are Chicago’s Ruben Waters and Travis Welk. $5

At Big V’s, Apraxia joins electro-rocker Mach FoX & DJ Bass-United's Dory Kahale. Electro stalwart ENDIF also returns to the cities for the first time in three years. This is one of the first installments of the TC Electropunk, which was split into 8 separate gigs after the CD release party at the Varsity Theater was cancelled after the Varsity was temporarily closed due to license issues.

Saturday

Misplaced Music Radio invites you underground for their Featured Artist Showcase Saturday night at the Dinkytowner.

Music starts at 7:00 PM with Anne Deming. Reticence plays next at 7:30. And Lifestyle of Wigs (this month’s Misplaced Radio featured artist) plays at 8:30.

The show will be broadcast live benefiting Misplaced Music’s operating budget. Or come on down to the Dinkytowner and support local music at this intimate and exciting event and help Misplaced Music continue to broadcast the best of Minnesota’s misplaced artists. $5 All Ages.

One of the best shows in town Saturday night is free. Chris Koza, Arthur Yoria Divorcee play the Hexagon Bar with Koza opening.

Arthur Yoria has been getting a ton of great airplay on KCMP The Current where they have been spinning songs off of his latest release I'll Be Here Awake

Though Yoria is based in Houston he is a Chicago native.

Divorcee was formed in 2001 by Ryan Seitz as a demo project to record his growing collection of songs. Seitz added Chris Pavlitch (guitar/vox), John Schrei (bass) and Sean Hoffman (drums) to the band and started playing live shows. The demo sessions were released as the bands first album, Lovesick in 2001. Lovesick enjoyed positive press reviews and success on college radio across the country. It was the only independently released add to make the top 10 for the week of 8/26/2001 and charted in the top 30 at over 60 college stations nationwide.

Divorcee is back this year with a new lineup: John Herchert (guitar/vox), Matt Novachis (drums), Cory Eischen (Keyboards), and Schoen Oslund (Bass). A new album featuring Herchert and Novachis was completed in 2004 is scheduled to be released, well any day now.

Divorcee will be Arthur Yoria's backing band for his set.

Also on Saturday, Luke’s Angels play the Acadia Cafe (Franklin & Nicollet in Minneapolis), an intimate theatre-like venue much like the BLB. (I saw an enjoyable show by Ben Glaros and Jelloslave there a few weeks ago.) At Saturday’s show, The Angels will be joined by special guests The Autumn Leaves and The Pundits $4 cover. All Ages (21+ can still drink, and Acadia has an selection of beer and wine)

Ross Raihala DJ’s at the International Film Festival's "Festival Central" closing night party Saturday night at the Suburban World Theater in Uptown. The full schedule is here:
http://mnfilmarts.org/m-spiff/2005/suburbanworld.php

It's $10 (or free with a ticket to the closing-night movie) and there will also be three bands playing Kopacz at around 10, Valet at 11, and Thunder in the Valley at midnight, leading some people to call it the Thunder in the Valet show.

Next Week

This just in from our friend, First Avenue booker Sonia Grover. Can ya believe she’s 30? She and her friend Brad Augustine are celebrating their 30th birthdays with a special smoker-friendly show at the Turf Club Tuesday, April 19th. The show kicks off at 9PM with The Deaths, Nice Canadians, The Get Up Johns, and Vague Angels. Admission is free.

And this from Kate Galloway: Aqueduct will be playing at Nomad World Pub on Wednesday, April 20th with Vox Vermillion. They also just made the rounds Conan O'Brien and Carson Daly, and were a hot ticket down at SXSW. On Barsuk Records out of Seattle, Aqueduct is making this stop outside of their tour with the Golden Republic.
(More info at http://www.barsuk.com/web.cgi?aqueduct&aqueductnews)

Also on Wednesdays, Brian Oak will be filling in for DJ Jake Rudh at Transmission at the Hexagon Bar. This past Wednesday was a lot of fun. Expect to find yourself dancing among friends even if you’re not one to normally dance (or to be among friends.)

The Midwest Music Summit takes place July 21-23 in Indianapolis with a 3 day program featuring over 300 Bands and music industry seminars. They will be in Minneapolis and St. Paul for two nights next week for a couple of Regional Showcases. The MMS executive director & staff will be at the show. If you are an artist interested in submitting material for an MMS showcase performance, fill out the Submission Form and drop off your press kits in person at one of the shows listed below.

Acoustic showcase
Thursday April 21st @ Bryant Lake Bowl
Featuring Performances By:
Jeremy Messersmith : 10:00-10:20
Jeaneen Gauthier : 10:30-10:50
Chris Koza: 11:00-11:20
Scott Laurent: 11:30-11:50
18+, $6

Rock Showcase
Friday April 22nd @ Station 4
Featuring Performances By:
Margott and the Nuclear So & So's: 8:30-9:10
The Dog & Everything: 9:30-10:10
Down and Above: 10:30-11:10
Landing Gear: 11:30-12:10
Epic Hero: 12:30-1:1018+, $6

Miscellaneous

The Varsity Theater posted on it's website today that shows will soon resume at the venue as the City of Minneapolis granted a Certificate of Occupancy to the Varsity Theater Project. More news to come soon.

Radio K’s Spring fundraiser Powersurge started on Wednesday and runs through Friday, April 22nd. Buy a Watt on the web at http://www.radiok.org/ or call 612-626-ROCK (7625). Watts are only $10 and there is no minimum (or maximum). You can become a Recharger by signing up for a monthly pledge to be charged to your credit card - $5 monthly minimum, and of course, no maximum.As part of Powersurge, several Gigawatt concerts are scheduled for next week. The shows are free or come at a reduced price if you bring your Radio K Music Lover’s club card.

*Thursday April 21 - the Handsome Family with the Get Up Johns at the CedarCultural Center - All Ages, doors at 8 pm - 2 for 1 admission for the first 20 Music Lover Card owners

*Saturday April 23 - Haley Bonar with Fitzgerald, Blue-eyed Son & Dosh atthe Turf Club - 21+, doors at 9 pm - First 10 MLC owners get in free

*Monday April 25 -… and You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead at First Avenue's Mainroom - 21+, doors at 8pm - First 50 MLC owners get in free

Powersurge on air guests at Radio K this week include: Today: Damien Jurado talking and playing around 2PM, Trampled by Turtles on Sunday on Grain Elevator 6-8pm. Thursday, April 21st former Radio K host Pam Hill guests on Rock & Roll Over (6-9am) and Friday, April 22nd, former host Kim Ha guests on the same program. Powersurge guest week rounds out on Friday, April 22nd with Haley Bonar performing at 11 a.m.

Oh, and Modest Mouse tickets for two shows at the Orpheum with Camper Van Beethoven June 3rd and 4th go on sale tomorrow (4/16) at noon. Buy online at Ticketmaster here.

Ash and The Bravery at The Whole Music Club

Friday, April 8th - HowWasTheShow's Week in Music


Photo: Ash at The Whole.

Last night (Thursday, April 7th) I saw the sold out Ash and The Bravery show at the 250 capacity Whole Music Club at the U of M. Golly. There we were, 5 feet from Tim Wheeler and Charlotte Heatherly. Though I've seen Ash a couple times now, each previous time I've been in a throng of thousands of people a hundred yards from the stage. Look for a full review on the main site soon. In the meantime, the short version is that Ash play just as well to a small audience as they do to a festival crowd of 50,000. And the Bravery are a great live band that live up to the hype.

The Fine Line show Friday 4/8 is your last chance to see Friends Like These until June

Friends Like These is (are?) going back into the studio, and Steve Murray will be going to Europe to tour with Ben Weaver, so Friday will be the last FLT show for a couple months. It's also their first time at the Fine line, and it's quite a bill. Philadelphia's The Capitol Years headline (Remember them? They opened the bill at The Pixies "Sell Out" tour kickoff show at the Fine Line last Spring.) Detroit's The High Strung fill the second slot, and Minneapolis' Melodious Owl open the show, so get there on time. (21+ $7, 8PM)

Melodious Owl reports that work on their new disk is going quite well. They've finished tracking and mixing their first full-length with Mark Mallman. They are now just awaiting a special remixed track for the album (the details of which will be announced later.) The band says, "Working with Mallman has been a blast, a learning experience, and mildly frightening."

Mallman to tour UK

Mark Mallman has announced his European tour, or at least gigs across the UK. For our UK readers (and I know you're out there) here's the poop. Come see the guy who won SXSW two years in a row!

Monday, April 11 - THE MET, Market Street, Bury
Tuesday, April 12 - ST. BONAVENTURE'S CLUB, Berkeley Rd, Bristol
Wednesday, April 13 - THE BORDERLINE, London
Thursday, April 14 - THE BORDERLINE, London
Friday, April 15 - THE CLUNY, Newcastle
Saturday, April 16 - KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, Glasgow
Sunday, April 17 - THE MUSICIAN, Leicester
Monday, April 18 - THE (NEW) ROSCOE, Leeds
Tuesday, April 19 - THE BOARDWALK, Sheffield
Wednesday, April 20 - THE RESCUE ROOMS, Nottingham
Thursday, April 21 - THE SHED, Bedford
Friday, April 22 - THE RAILWAY, Winchester

HowWasTheShow is going to ask our web campadre in London Andrew Zincke to cover one of the Borderline shows as, alas, I can't fly over to London for those shows on the 14th and 15th because I have to work.

Drummer Peter Anderson will be accompanying Mallman to the UK where they'll be opening for singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet all across England. Anderson said in an email, "If you have friends or family over there, for gosh sakes let 'em know we're coming."

Festival Central at the Suburban World

Festival Central at the Suburban World kicks off today. Music tonight features:

DJ Paul Harding (5PM)
Quilimbolas (8PM)
Felonious Bosch (9PM)
Crush Collision Trio (10PM)
E-DAWG & Mighty White: Your Soul
Solution (11PM)

Beer, Wine, Soda, Water and Pizza Luce pizza will be available. See the whole music schedule here.

What's going on at the Varsity?

In announcement this week, Jason McLean said, "Little by little we have made the necessary changes and little by little the city of Minneapolis lets us know what else needs to be worked on. (Last week we found out we had to change the tile in the bar.) "

The inspectors were in the theater this week, and McLean promises to post details of the ongoing saga on the varsity's website.

P.I.N.T.S. – People in Need, Tsunami Survivors

Dan Israel, JoAnna James and Apryl Electra perform at a benefit show at Lee's Liquor Lounge on Sunday, April 10th to help Tsunami Survivors. The event is a microbrew beer tasting that comes with a $25 suggested donation. Snacks will also be provided for your admission fee, and 100% of the proceeds go to Tsunami Relief. The event runs from noon to 4 PM.

JoAnna James, by the way, will be including an electrifying version of Dan Israel's song "Waiting So Long." I heard her perform it live at Lee's on a recent Saturday on a bill with Israel, which prompted him to nearly cut it from his own set for fear of having been shown up.

After the show, on your way home from Lee's, tune in to The Current 89.3, from 5-6 pm. The Bleeding Hickeys will be on Chris Roberts' Live Local show. (I'm slowly but surely catching up on my backlog of archived shows.) The Hickeys pointed out in an email that it's a "Free, All Ages afternoon delight."

Miscellaneous



Billy Idol's entire new album Devil's Playground is available for streaming here. I was almost scared away with disappointment at the opening track "Super Overdrive," but I'm glad I stuck it out for a full listen to the disk. "Sherri" is a great pop song, and Idol's cover of Cromarty and Rush's "Plastic Jesus" is a pleasant 3 minute diversion. I've heard other writers theorize that Devil's Playground is not likely to spur a Billy Idol comeback, but at least it's a step back in the right direction after 1993's Cyberpunk.



New Order's new album Waiting for the Siren's Call arrived in my mailbox this week. (The album will be released in the US on April 26th.) Though the album is as inconsistent as every New Order album to date (god love 'em though, and the album cover concept is brilliant) the disk includes my new vote for the feel good hit of the upcoming summer "Krafty"--knocking Stereophonics' "Dakota" out of that spot. "Krafty" is about as good a pop song as you're going to find on the radio these days, and blessedly full of the self-deception requisite in all truly great New Order songs. I've adopted a line from song as the theme for my 3rd Annual 39th Birthday (June 4th, Turf Club): "This Time I'll Get It Right."

Oh, and Springsteen tickets for the May 10th Xcel Center show go on sale tomorrow (Saturday) at 11.

Local Music with Chris Roberts on 89.3 The Current

Let's assume for one second that some of you reading this might be even more behind than I am. Otherwise, this is going to strike you as really, really old news.

89.3 The Current is doing an all local music show on Sunday's called The Local Show with Chris Roberts. I have remained faithful in my weekly recording of Minnesota Music on Cities 97, KQ Homegrown, listening to Radio K's Off The Record, etc., not knowing about this new hidden gem that airs on on 89.3 from 5-6 on Sundays. Fortunately, shows are archived going all the back to January 30th. And yes, I do intend to go back and listen all of them. Wish me luck. I'm starting now with Chris's "Almost All Request Hour" show of song requests from real music fans at the Turf Club that aired on Sunday.

First Cake

I was one of the first in line at First Avenue's 35th Birthday party this evening. My intention was to get a photo of the First Ave-shaped cake baked by the Franklin Street Bakery. Somehow I got caught up in the action and ended up the subject of a photo shoot by one of the event's planners. I know journalists aren't really supposed to become part of the news, but I got the very first piece of cake (not the building cake, but one of the star pieces on the two sheet cakes which flanked it.)






Thanks to Pat Lindquist for the idea and taking the photo of me with the Cake.

Happy 35th Birthday First Avenue

The week in music



Tonight

Even I’m not old enough to have been at First Avenue on opening night, April 3rd, 1970. You’d need to be 56 years old to have been there the night Joe Cocker rocked the old Greyhound station turned club, originally named the Depot. In remembrance of that club christening, Cocker has a freshly painted silver star inside the club on the wall above the west stairs. Come celebrate First Avenue’s 35th birthday with video flashbacks, music, and FREE CAKE. The cake (pictured above) was created by Franklin Street Bakery. (HowWasTheShow went early to get a picture of the cake before it got gobbled up.) 5-7 PM tonight. Free.

The 23rd Annual Mpls-St.Paul International Film Festival kicks off tonight with an opening night film (Childstar, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dave Foley & Eric Stoltz) and party. The party takes place at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis near Loring Park at 10:30pm. There will be complimentary Summit, Red, White and Sparkling wines, Finlandia vodka drinks, free appetizers and a dessert buffet. Entertainment will provided by Le Cirque Rouge Cabaret & Burlesque and others. The Woman’s Club enforces a strict dress code, so no jeans, tennis shoes – vintage formal wear is always a plus. FREE w/ Film Ticket or $20 without, 21+. Complete info on the 16 day festival info is at http://www.mnfilmarts.org/.

Saturday

If the great line up (Beatifics, Vestals, Ouija Radio, Murzik) isn’t enough, or the fact that it’s a benefit for the Minnesota Music Academy, perhaps the fact that it is our friends Kate Galloway's and Brenda Gipp (Gipper)'s birthday celebration will get you over to the Nomad World Pub (501 Cedar Ave) Saturday night. That should be enough. If it’s still not, maybe it being the Beatifics first show with original guitarist Andy Schultz in 6 years should settle the issue. ($3 at the door.)

‘Course our friends at Susstones are also having a party Saturday. Re-Entry an evening of fine pop takes place at the 7th Street Entry featuring The Melismatics, Faux Jean, The Mood Swings, and The Lift (from LA). But isn’t having so many great choices that we are driven to frustration part of the fun of living in Minneapolis? There’s also a NEW POLARA EP out, and this show will be your first chance to get a hold of it. The EP called Green Shoes + 4 features five new songs. The title track "Green Shoes" comes from the forthcoming Polara album Beekeeping (due for release this fall). Polara, however, will not be doing any live performances until the summer.

Nothing Static’s debut full-length album, "Surround", is finally ready for release on Atomic K Records. The band celebrates with a CD Release Party Saturday, April 2nd at the Fine Line Music Cafe. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased at the Fine Line box office or at the door the day of the show. This great bill also features Ryan Lee (http://www.ryanleemusic.net/) and Leroy Smokes (http://www.leroysmokes.com/). For complete details please visit http://www.nothingstatic.com/.

Though crisp sounding and listenable, the new Nothing Static album has its fair share of pedestrian moments. Still Brittany Benjamin’s strong vocals lend an intriguing, almost Kate Bush feel to many songs, and primal drums, reminiscent at times of Echo and the Bunnymen also help keep your attention through at least one full listen. The diverse disk also boasts elements of trance on the song “A Little Bit Spendy.”


Next Week


Monday

Rebel, Rebel. Rock for Pussy Part II - A Musical Tribute to David Bowie takes place Monday at First Avenue. Again this year, proceeds will benefit area no kill cat shelters. The house band Kitty Stardust will feature John Eller, John Munson, Randy Casey, Tommy Alsides, Noah Levy, George Mckelvey, Steve Price, Janie Winterbauer, Michelle Langner, Leslie Ball. Featuring guest vocalists Laurie Lindeen,(Zuzu's Petals) Ryan Seitz, (Divorcee) Chuck Miller (Ten Ton Bridge) Jeaneen Gauthier (Jan) Dan Israel, Matty Schindler,(Faux Jean) Curtis A, Chris Perricelli (Little Man) Erik Appelwick (vicious, vicious) Chris Koza (The Channels) Mark Miller (Dallas Orbiter) and many more surprise guests! Tickets are $6 in advance, $8 at the door. (It’s a benefit people, so please refrain from asking your friends to put you on the list.)

Tuesday

The Fine Line is kicking off a new gig called iTuesdays on (you guessed it) Tuesdays. “Wish you could take control of the DJ booth? Now you can!” says Matt Halman. Starting Tuesday April 5th come down to the Fine Line with your iPod or personal mp3 player, program a fifteen minute playlist and sign up for a set. (I’d advise folks to use at least 192kbps MP3’s or higher when they load up their pods otherwise this is likely to be a pretty phase shifty event as those MP3’s blare through the sound system.) Another incentive to stop by the Fine Line on Tuesdays is 2-4-1s on all tap beer and rail drinks.

Wednesday

London’s Calling: Mario’s Keller Bar is set to start hosting st weekly Brit music gigs starting Wednesday, April 6th. Based on the success of the annual England Swings shows at First Avenue, Mario's has enlisted Raven and Brits in America (britsinamerica.com) to bring British music each week to North East Minneapolis. The night will feature two bands, two DJ'S (one will be Raven himself), and free giveaway drawings just for walking in. Mario's is at 2300 University Ave. NE.