Downtown West and East
Chill summer: Claire de Lune, Theresa Andersson, Chicha Libre
This spring, I've had to eat my words. For the past few years, I've been advising bands to skip the physical CDs and just send download links to journalists—the hard copies, I've said, get tossed in a pile that may or may not ever get excavated. Then last month I bought a car that has a working CD player, and lo and behold! Suddenly making it into that pile is the best way to get my attention. Some of the discs I've had to resist tossing straight out the window (Dwight Hobbes said it all when it comes to Paul Spring: I should've had a V8), but three have made for very chill soundtracks for warm-weather cruising.MORE »
The Butcher and the Boar: More than just meat
There is something blunt, almost brutal, about the name of Jack Riebel's new restaurant The Butcher and the Boar. While most meat emporiums take names that distance themselves a bit from the living animal (The Capitol Grille; Morton's Steak House), the Butcher and the Boar conjures a confrontation that is going to end badly for one of the parties. There will be blood. And sausage. And wild boar ham and head cheese.MORE »
Vikings win the big one; modern transportation loses
To the surprise of few, a new Vikings stadium won the billion-dollar showdown with a proposed light rail transit line that I previewed a few weeks back. Legislators facing loud, purple-clad lobbyists in an election year opted to raise $348 million from expanded gambling to match $477 million from the Wilf family and $150 million from Minneapolis taxpayers for a new pigskin palace on the site of the Metrodome.MORE »
Whole lotta shakin' goin' on
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On. May don’t be no chicken in the barn, but, truss me. Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. For one, the damn book took off like a helium balloon. There’s a few copies left, floatin’ around in a couple books stores. But, it is fail accompli. And, no, I haven’t even talked to Anura Si-Asar at Papyrus Publishing, Inc. about a second edition.MORE »
FRIDAY PICK | Mark Doty and Tracy K. Smith headline poetry conference at The Loft Literary Center
What is poetry? The answer to that question is always changing: some now consider artfully arranged computer desktop screenshots to be poetry. Acclaimed poets Mark Doty and Tracy K. Smith probably—I'm going out on a limb here—probably don't have much to say about screenshots, memes, macros, or even tweets, but they do have a knack for arranging words in lyrical and artful assemblages. Doty and Smith will be among the poets sharing their wisdom at a poetry conference organized over the weekend of May 18-20 at The Loft Literary Center. All poets, prospective poets, past poets, and poetry partisans are invited to Open Book for this summit of eloquence.MORE »
In Minneapolis, urban planning guru Charles Landry encourages consideration of cities' "ethical landscape"
City planning guru Charles Landry says urban planners should emphasize social and cultural capital over their traditional reliance on economics alone in the development of cities. Landry, who has evaluated the livability of cities all over the world, spoke May 7 at the Cowles Center in downtown Minneapolis to begin a weeklong residency of workshops, talks and tours of the Twin Cities.MORE »
THEATER REVIEW | At the Guthrie Theater, "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been..." is resonant and affecting
Nighttime in Harlem was a refuge for poet and author Langston Hughes. Icon of the Harlem Renaissance (though he was abroad for much of it), Hughes brought the rhythm of jazz to his poetry. In “Harlem Night Song,” Hughes writes, “Across the Harlem rooftops/ Moon is shining./ Night sky is blue./ Stars are great drops/ Of golden dew.” When we find him hunched at his typewriter, however, the night offers none of its usual solace. Awaiting his appearance in front of Senator McCarthy’s Committee on Government Operations, Hughes is a man isolated from his home and country.MORE »
DANCE REVIEW | Alvin Ailey dancers shine at Orpheum Theatre
On May 1 and 2, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was in town at the Orpheum Theatre. Artistic director Robert Battle admitted when he opened the show that "We haven’t been here for a few years, but we’re here now. I’m happy and I want to share my happiness." He said that he measures the audience’s happiness by ticket sales. The dancers performed for a packed house.MORE »
Steve Winwood has a ball at the Orpheum Theatre
There won’t be too many more opportunities to catch Steve Winwood in concert. A legendardy great, Winwood at the tender age of 14 joined the tail end of the British Invasion with the Spencer Davis Group and, at 16, sang lead and played keys on their historic hit “Gimme Some Lovin’”—sounding, for all the world, like a white Ray Charles.
MUSIC REVIEW | "Weird Al" Yankovic rewards the faithful at the State Theatre
“Weird Al” Yankovic brought his high energy tour to the State Theatre on May 3, although I’m not sure I’m the right person to be writing about it.MORE »
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