Bobby Kahn

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Biography

About me

Bobby Kahn is a writer and performer. He lives in Minneapolis.

THEATER REVIEW | It's a Felabration! "Fela!" shines at the Ordway

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Photo by Raymond Hagens, courtesy Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

From the moment the lights go down and Fela Kuti strolls down an aisle towards the stage with both hands balled in fists, held high in the air, until the “encore” after the cast take their bows, Fela! is a triumph. The Broadway musical, which features the music and story of Nigerian musician and political figure Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has it all. The already energetic music played by an onstage band is given even more power by the blazing-fast moves of backup dancers and singers. The set and costume design are great. There are plenty of laughs and plenty of tragic moments, and they are all part of a compelling (and true) story.

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I'd totally be at SoundTown right now if only...

By Jay Gabler, Bobby Kahn, and Sally Hedberg, Local Lists

I hadn't forgotten to renew my tubing license.

There was a monorail between Minneapolis and Somerset.

MGMT were headlining.

I hadn't RSVPed "maybe" on Facebook to 29 other events this weekend.

Liquor Lyle's was one of the vendors.

I could find my good glowstick.

My ex-wife hadn't won custody of the poi balls in our divorce.

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Local Lists

MUSIC | Gene Ween digs deep and delights fans at the Triple Rock and the Turf Club

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Photo by Robin Mahle

Disclaimer: Ween are my favorite band. There was pretty much no way this review was going to be negative. If you have a problem with that—and if you do, I can't blame you—then you might want to stop reading here.

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A first-timer discovers African drumming and dance in downtown Minneapolis

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Photos courtesy Duniya Drum and Dance

Not knowing quite what to expect, I showed up at the Hennepin Center for the Arts on Saturday to participate in Duniya Drum and Dance’s Fakoly African Dance and Drum Workshop. Three hours later, after both a dance and drum class, I left a sweaty mess complete with a bruised ego and sore hands, but man oh man, did I have some fun along the way!

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MUSIC | Cut Copy at First Avenue: 2011's show to beat

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Cut Copy (all photos). Photos by Jay Gabler.

Life must be pretty good right now for Cut Copy. The Australian synthpop outfit have played in a bigger venue each time they've visited the Twin Cities, and they were recently named as one of the top acts at this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival. On April 9, they stopped through First Avenue in support of their third album, Zonoscope, which was released by Modular Recordings earlier this year.

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World's Toughest Rodeo at the Xcel Energy Center: Say your prayers, Clovis Crane

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Meredith Westin

It took me all of one-tenth of a second to say "Yes, please!" when presented with an opportunity to cover a rodeo in the middle of winter. Having once been to the local Hamel Rodeo, I was interested to see whether the bigger, badder, nationally-touring World's Toughest Rodeo would live up to its name. I saddled up with a riding partner and headed down to the Xcel Energy Center on Friday night to see what all the fuss was about.

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MUSIC | Pauly D, "Rhode Island's most well-known DJ," shuts up and doesn't dance

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Mandy Dwyer

MTV's Jersey Shore is a very polarizing show. There doesn't seem to be much gray area between love and hate when it comes to this Italian-flavored, loud-mouthed, mostly-obnoxious reality television show. One of the show's stars, Pauly D (born Paul DelVecchio), has been described as having "the mouth of a shark, the hair of a house fire, and the subtlety and class of neither."

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FREE SPEECH ZONE | Stand Up! Keep Fighting!

By Bobby Kahn, Free Speech Zone

Fret not fellow liberals. What happened on election night was actually a good thing.

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MUSIC | Deadmau5 at Epic: 3,600 Mau5keteers can't be wrong

By Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Jay Gabler

Joel Zimmerman, who is better known as Deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse), is arguably the most popular actively touring electronic dance music act in the world right now. His popularity has skyrocketed over the past few years behind headlining slots at festivals like Coachella, as well as a recent gig as the house DJ for MTV's Video Music Awards. Of course both of those pale in comparison to the Snooki factor; the Jersey Shore "star" is a big fan. Still, despite Deadmau5's recent success, I was surprised that his Wednesday night show presented by Sound in Motion at Epic sold out in advance and that people were offering $75-100 for a ticket after it sold out.

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