Pizza Luce Block Party underway

The Hundred Flowers at the Pizza Luce Block Party today.

Music at the Pizza Luce Block Party got underway at noon today with Tony Paul, World Beat Music, tough for many music fans who closed down the pubs Friday night. But this weekend's schedule isn't busy just for the fans.

Mike Gunther, who performed just last night at the Nomad World Pub, was on stage at the corner of Lyndale and 32nd Street at 2 PM, followed up by The Hundred Flowers, who have not performed a gig in town since frontman Mark Landry moved to California some months back.

I rolled up on the Vespa to the strains of "Cocaine Nights," and the band certainly didn't seem the slightest bit rusty. The two guitar attack of Landry and Ryan Smith of the Melismatics (and sometimes 3 guitars when keyboard player Ben Bachman also picked up an axe) reminded me immediately just how good this band was when they appeared to disappear at the peak of their game. The current lineup is rounded out by bassist Kat Hixon and the ubiquitous Peter Anderson on drums.

At the time of writing Hundred Flowers website is AWOL, but I hope that this re-union show will be one of many to come.

Yet to play this afternoon are Traditional Methods, Melismatics, Ouija Radio, Midnight Evils and Har Mar Superstar. Get your tired buns down there. It's free!

See the photo gallery as it unfolds at http://www.flickr.com/photos/howwastheshow. Or submit your own photos by email to blood08bill@photos.flickr.com.