White Light Riot CD Release at The Fine Line

White Light Riot's CD Release Party for their long-awaited album Atomism was such a blowout of a rock show and so packed that the band sent out an apology via MySpace bulletin to fans who were turned away at the door.

The stellar bill at the Fine Line Saturday night, June 22nd, also featured The Alarmists and Chicago's Villains of Verona, who both put staged killer opening sets, making this a night to remember.

WLR's encore featured Jessy Greene on violin. And the show stopper, a cover of The Who's "My Generation" which featured front man Mike Schwandt stage diving into the crowd. "I almost hit the floor," he told me after the show. But this was no Jack Black splat. This was the real thing, and something you don't often see from relatively new local bands.

White Light Riot has been dubbed "commercial sounding" by some, but their musical integrity remains entirely intact as they seem both determined break the mold even while somehow still fitting into it perfectly.

See my full photo set from the show here, that include's Schwandt's leap into the crowd. Also, see Stacy Sandstrom's photos from the entire night.

The Runes: A Human Journey - Book Release Party August 1st

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Book Release Party for:
The Runes: A Human Journey by Kari C. Tauring

When: Wednesday, August 1st, 2007, 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: Ingebretsens Scandinavian Gifts & Foods
1601 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis
612-729-9333
http://www.ingebretsens.com



Minneapolis musician and educator, Kari C. Tauring began her rune explorations in 1989. She creates, uses, studies and teaches the runes and other Nordic Roots materials at events and workshops in the Twin Cities and abroad. Her first publication, The Runes: A Human Journey is now available for purchase from Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/content/685144) and will soon be in area stores and available internationally through Amazon.com.

Wednesday, August 1st from 7-9 p.m., Tauring will be on hand at Ingebretsens Scandinavian Gifts & Foods in Minneapolis for a book signing party. Enjoy meade and smoked fish, runes to eat, runes to wear, and runes to hear with a special performance. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

“Asking where the runes come from,” Tauring says, “is a bit like asking in what year did Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden? Yet, they are connected questions. Linguistically, the runes come from Phoenician roots that split into Greek and Italic to eventually form the runes with Hebrew and Arabic on the other side of the family tree. In this book you will find the stories of Norse mythology, Eastern philosophy, and even Native American traditions. It is all connected, and this book attempts to weave these myths and traditions back together.”

Tauring wrote The Runes: A Human Journey with the support of her friend and colleague, Minneapolis writer David de Young, who served as editor for the book and wrote the introduction. de Young has called the book “a sort of guidebook for the human spirit.”


The Runes: A Human Journey $15.95
ISBN: 978-1-4303-2339-6
Publisher: Lulu.com, 104 pages, illustrated.
Copyright: © 2007 by Kari Tauring Language: English
Country: United States

Playlist from the Spins, June 5th, 2007

I celebrated my birthday last night by iJockying a short set at HowWasTheShow.com's bi-weekly "Spins" at the Nomad World Pub.

Here's what I played:

The National - "Fake Empire"
Wilco - "Impossible Germany"
Los Campesinos - "You! Me! Dancing!"
The Fratellis - "Creepin' Up The Backstairs"
Just Jack - "Starz in Their Eys"
Divorcee - "Writer"
The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations"
Slade - "My Oh My"

Here's what Bob played.