HowWasTheShow and Minneapoliscast.com Partner to Webcast 2009 Mad Ripple Hootenannys

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

HowWasTheShow and Minneapoliscast.com Partner to Webcast 2009 Mad Ripple Hootenannys

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – December 30^th, 2008 -  Jim Walsh kicks off the 2009 Hoot season with the Mad Ripple Thursday Night Hootenanny beginning on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at The Beat Coffeehouse.  The Beat is a welcoming and roomy establishment on 28^th Street in Uptown just off Hennepin Avenue. (Just steps away from Kinhdo.)

 

HowWasTheShow.com and Minneapoliscast.com have partnered to bring you live webcasts of each Hoot and will also make audio podcasts available for later listening. (To tune in and find past archives, go to HowWasTheShow.com and select “Live” from the menu, or go directly to the live webcast page here.)

 

The January 1^st Hootenanny will feature The Mad Ripple, Venus DeMars, Brianna Lane, Jason Shannon, Suzanne Vallie and more.

 

Doors at 6:00 p.m.

Music from 6:30 to about 9:30.

FREE (pass-the-hat, all money goes to the musicians)

 

The Beat Coffeehouse is at 1414 W 28^th St. (Hennepin and 28^th)

612-710-3992

http://www.thebeatcoffee.com or  www.myspace.com/thebeatcoffeehouse

 

Ample street parking is available as well as additional parking behind the building.

 

 

The Mad Ripple

www.myspace.com/madripplemusic

Venus de Mars

http://www.myspace.com/atphvenus

Jason Shannon

http://www.myspace.com/jasonshannonmusic

Brianna Lane

http://www.myspace.com/briannalane

Suzanne Vallie

www.myspacecom/suzannevallie

and more…

 

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Rock in the New Year - Live music options for New Year's Eve

Wednesday (NYE) is amateur night.  On the outside chance that the drunk people who opt for live music on New Year's Eve might be a little more fun to hang out with than the drunk people who don't, here's a roundup of what bands are playing where, plus a few miscellaneous club parties.

As has been the case the past couple years, my pick of the batch is Mark Mallman at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, where you just can't go wrong.  (Last year he played his piano with a motorized scooter, which had never been done by anyone....ever before.)

Please leave additional suggestions and corrections to bands, times, prices in the comments.  Also, with the recession in full effect, I've noted that many of the big clubs are offering deep discounts now on their admission fees.  Might be worth calling and asking for a deal if you go the party route.  Most of the live music prices, however, are pretty reasonable.  And despite the recession, expect the music venues to be packed and some shows to sell out.

This list is in alphabetical order by venue.

331 Club	A Night in the Box w/ The Brass Kings	9 p.m. $0
400 Bar	The Magnolias w/Tim Casey and the Martyrs and High on Stress	9 p.m., 21+, $5 advance, $8 door
7th Street Entry	Eyedea & Abilities	9 p.m., 18+, $15/15
Bedlam Theater	Eve of the New Year Masquerade Ball, with: Dreamland Faces, Carpscale Orchestra, Brass Messengers, DJ Asylum Soundsystem	4 p.m., $7/10
Big V’s	MC/VL, Unicorn Basement, Haunted House and Beatrix Jar.	9 p.m., $5
Clubhouse Jaeger	NYE edition of Transmission with DJ Jake Rudh featuring new wave, '80s, electro, and punk. Complimentary hors d'ouevres and champagne toast at Midnight.	$8/10
Epic	Chuck Love, The New Congress, Ben Michaels, DJ D.Mil, Jiz Tha Goods, Jevne, Timmay and featuring Vox Medusa Dancers, Aerialist Jim Domineck, Infiammati Fire Troop, Hula Hooper Jessica Bessette, Ill Chemsitry Beat Boxers, The Warriors and Sub City Rockers B-Boy Crews, in addition to the TRVSDJAM set that will be streamed live.	Check price
Fine Line Music Café	Hooker’s & Blow w/ The Alarmists	8 p.m. $50/60
First Avenue	New Year’s Eve – A Party we can believe in. With SOVIETPANDA, MIKE THE 2600 KING, DJ SMITTY, and ROY FREEDOM	8 p.m. $18+ $10/15
Hexagon	Dance Band, Best Friends Forever, Fort Wilson Riot, and Nyteowl.	$5 w/ one free drink
Landmark Center (St. Paul)	Vic Volare	Doors 8, Music 8:30, $40
Lee’s Liquor Lounge	Belfast Cowboys	9 p.m., $8 (to 1 a.m. only)
Barfly (loft) “The Spirit of ‘09” (Sponsored by Vita.m)	DJs Hercules & Love Affair, Le Castle Vania, Klever, and a performance by local electro rockers Solid Gold.	8 p.m. Cost: Advance $30 ($45 Door) VIP $70 ($80 Door)
Myth (Maplewood)	“Black & White NYE Ball”	8 p.m., $25/30
Nomad (Free!)	This free party will feature live music from Military Special and The Invincible Kids, a disco dance party, meat raffle, and a French champagne toast at Midnight.	9 p.m., 21+, $0
Turf Club	Local bands covering classic rock bands. Vampire Hands (as the Rolling Stones), Daughters of the Sun (as Led Zepplin), and STNNNG (As the John Spencer Blues Explosion), DJ Winship plays between sets.	9 p.m., 21+, $5
Varsity Theater	Mark Mallman, E.L.nO. & Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles + special guests	8 p.m. $12

Best Local Albums, Songs, Live Acts and more of 2008 - a preview of my Twin Cities Critics Tally votes

About a week ago now, I turned in my votes for the annual Twin Cities Critics Tally to the Star Tribune. Results will be published within the week along with the individual votes by local critics, bloggers, writers, what have you...

Below is a list of my answers to the questions as posed by Chris Riemenschneider of the Star Tribune:

Twin Cities Critics Tally 2008 answers from David de Young, HowWasTheShow.com founder

 

Best local albums of 2008

 

(Above: My pick #1, the cover of Solid Gold's fantastic 2008 independent release, Bodies of Water.)

1. Solid Gold – Bodies of Water
2. Ben Weaver – The Ax in the Oak
3. Jeremy Messersmith – The Silver City
4. Haley Bonar – Big Star
5. Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts
6. Chris Koza – The Dark, Delirious Morning
7. Gary Louris – Vagabonds
8. Lucy Michelle & The Velvet Lapelles – Orange and Rattlesnakes
9. Heiruspecs – Heiruspecs
10. Aviette – The Way We Met

 

Top 5 local songs of 2008

 

Call this unranked if you like, or top 5 with an honorable mention for #6.

(Above:  The New Standards perform my pick #2, "Androgynous" in the Cities 97 Studios.)

1. “Get Over It” – Solid Gold
2. “Androgynous” – The New Standards
3. “Dark, Delirious Morning” – Chris Koza
4. “Chicks on Bikes” - City on the Make
5. “Everyone Here is a Cloud” – Cloud Cult
6. “Bike Ride on 35W” – St. Dominic’s Trio

 

Top 5 live acts of 2008

(Above: My pick #3, The Haves Have It performing "Pie" in February at the Playwrights' Center.)

1. The New Standards
2. Lucy Michelle & The Velvet Lapelles
3. The Haves Have It
4. Solid Gold
5. The Tisdales

 

No. 1 sign the local music scene was alive and well in 2008.

 

“It seems like everyone and their brother has their own music blog these days, and despite the abundance of those blogs and the inevitable overlap, I still find plenty of interesting and different things to read about in most of them.  I think that’s a testament to both the local music scene and the people who blab about music in this town.”

 

Last year’s tally for reference:

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/12853436.html

Wishbook, Alpha Consumer and Mondo Mega to play Triple Rock Boxing Day Bash

Looking for something enjoyable as well as productive to do the day after Christmas? Nate Perbix of Wishbook is hosting a Boxing Day Bash at the Triple Rock Social Club on Friday, December 26th   

Boxing Day is a public holiday in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as many other members of the British Commonwealth of Nations and Greece. It is based on a tradition of giving gifts to the less fortunate members of society. 

To help celebrate, the Triple Rock will be having specials on beer from "former and current British colonies." 

Bring a non-perishable food item as a donation and receive $1 off your cover charge.

BOXING DAY 08

MONDO MEGA

ALPHA CONSUMER

WISHBOOK 

Cover $8 ($7 IF YOU BRING A NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEM!)

18+ (despite what it says on the flier above), 8pm

Solid Gold in The Guardian and on UK Radio

"England's in trouble," the band joked on their MySpace when they announced the recent press in the UK publication The Guardian. (Read the article from Friday's paper here.)

England has good taste is more like it.  Solid Gold's album Bodies of Water clocked in at #1 on my Top 10 albums released in Minnesota in 2008.  (My picks and others will be published in the Star Tribune critics roundups within the next week.)

The Guardian article laments the band's name saying that few bands whose names suggest success ever actually see it - they cite Big Star, but forget Minnesota's own Har Mar. "We're not sure what the market is these days for the sort of sorrowful techno that Solid Gold purvey," they say, "but it sure is a lovely sound."

Solid Gold on UK Radio

I was very excited last month when I heard Solid Gold played on XFM.co.uk, a radio startion that reaches a good chunk of the UK over the airwaves and that remains my favorite radio station in the world on the internet (Yes, even before 89.3 "The Current.")  The only Minnesota artists I have head on XFM over the past 5 years or so are The Hold Steady, Har Mar Superstar and Tapes 'n Tapes.  So hearing Solid Gold's red-hot single "Get Over It" was quite a thrill.

My prediction is you'll be hearing more and more about this Minneapolis band in 2009.  I've actually gone out on a limb to say I'm betting they may be the next local band you'll see on Late Night with David Letterman.  Give it six more months.

Solid Gold play Vita.mn's New Year's Eve Party at "the loft" at Barfly.

The Hopefuls release new album - Now Playing at the One-Seat Theatre

Barely in time to inch onto the "Best of 2008" lists, Saturday at First Avenue The Hopefuls celebrate the release of their long-awaited new album, Now Playing At The One-Seat Theater.

Special guests at Saturday's CD Release event are Chris Koza and One For The Team.

Doors at 6:00 pm, music at 7:00 pm. $8 advance, $10 at the door.

Visit The Hopefuls' MySpace page to preview two tracks from the new album: "Virgin Wood" and "What She Wants."

I finally got a preview of the new disc yesterday and it's different than their debut release - perhaps more atmospheric and with a little less of a punch than the debut - but nonetheless an excellent album of catchy pop. My favorites include "On The Edge of Medicine," "Idaho," and the album's title track.

Hopefuls fans are not likely to be disappointed by the new 8 song disc.

Also, don't miss their live in-studio performance on 89.3 The Current, Friday morning at 7:30 am.

Chris Mars to sign copies of his book Tolerance: The Art Of Chris Mars on Tuesday at Magers & Quinn

TONIGHT!

Twin Cities art and music icon Chris Mars (former Replacements drummer) signs copies of his book Tolerance: The Art Of Chris Mars—8:00pm, Tuesday, December 16, at Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

See also:  Robyn Robinson's interview with Chris Mars, "Degrees of Imagination" in The Rake.

 

Chris Mars' painting style, examples of which graced all of his album covers, is marked by nightmarish landscapes and grotesque, distorted figures. He draws inspiration from his older brother's struggle with schizophrenia. "...From my hands, my mission: To free the oppressed; to champion the persecuted, and the submissive; to liberate through revelation the actualized Self in those proposed by some to have no self at all. It's in every single one of us, somewhere underneath that word on our chest. In my hands, my version: All art is political in some sense, be it through conformity, reflection, propaganda or rebellion. My paintings are rallies and trials, photographs of a moment when Truth was made public, and Mercy known. Question why a villain is villainized, a victim martyred. Ask why a group is demonized, and the motives for control. See for yourself what the truth looks like in your hands. Dig it up and hold it for a while. This work you see, it's my Truth. But please don't take my word for it."

 

"Minneapolis artist Chris Mars is living proof that F. Scott Fitzgerald was dead wrong when he said there are no second acts in American lives. Though famous in the 1980s as the drummer for alt-rock heroes The Replacements, Mars eventually left the music world behind entirely to focus on the visual arts, now specializing in stunningly evocative, macabre portraits."--The Onion A.V. Club

 

"The artist draws from the imaginary monsters his schizophrenic brother saw during childhood. It's hard to argue that these creatures could come from anywhere but the psyche of a tortured soul."--Juxtapoz

 

"His paintings of ghoulish, skeletal crowds and beseeching wraiths, set in gloomy environments that hark back to medieval villages, seem too vivid to have come purely from the imagination. Mars' storytelling on canvas is almost classical in its precision."--The Rake

 

"Scary and fascinating."--Jeff Soto.

 

Magers and Quinn is at 3038 Hennepin Avenue South in Minneapolis.  612-822-4611 

www.magersandquinn.com