…that’s what we’ll be wanting to see here soon. If you’re not already doing this, then get on it. Vote for local premier DJ, mid-century modern design aficionado and Mad Men Maddict Jake Rudh to win a walk-on role on the the show. He made a valiant run last year, beating out many period-incorrect haircuts and tie widths, so this is the year to make some silver screen memories for the man. Plus, with a photo like that, who would think he could lose? You can vote every day, so click on this link to AMCTV to make send our man through and send him over the moon.
UPDATE 7/15/10: Good News! Erik’s lens was returned to him tonight! No details given due to the anonimity offered by Mr. Hess, but regardless, we’re just glad he has his property back. Woot!
Local photographer Erik Hess was out doing what he does best last weekend, shooting rock photos at the 501. It was here that we set the crime… a stolen camera lens. A very expensive and well-loved camera lens. Hess is looking to recover his lens & is offering a healthy $200 reward for its return. If you know ANYTHING, please contact Erik via the information below.
$200 Reward for information leading to the return of the lens!
If you or anyone you know has information related to the disappearance or current whereabouts of this lens please let me know. I have reason to suspect that it’s been stolen (and possibly already resold/fenced) by someone in or attached to the Twin Cities music community and I’m asking anyone with information to help me out with this. If I can get the lens back by the end of July I’m offering amnesty for anyone involved – avoiding a felony grand larceny charge for the thief or current possessor of the lens. While I’m beyond broke I’ve been able to gather $200 from myself and friends to cover a reward for information leading to the return of the lens.
Please, if you know anything give me a call or an email. I want this to be resolved without any further drama.
Here’s a link to Staciaann’s photoset of The Hold Steady at the Cabooze on Saturday the 3rd. If I write about it I’ll just get turned on again, and then have to go and get myself all gone again; suffice to say, eight feet away from Craig is a great place for rock and roll benedictions. Oh, and The Whigs are from Athens, Georgia, and they rocked.
So The Last Prom on Earth came and went, and the Earth hasn’t stopped turning and Gayngs, the Midwest-indie supergroup that started as a stoned joke dropped their 69bpm album Relayted and made their improbable stage debut. It was a logistical feat to get everyone there and that was impressive in and of itself, but I’ll cop to it, I never had the chips to buy into this game (gayme?). I didn’t grow up with any awareness of yacht rock, and when I am subjected to something like 10cc or “Lady In Red”, I range between ambivalent and nauseated, I have no desire to reclaim some high-school glory-days-past prom nostalgia and I dress up pretty much whenever I goddam feel like it. With Ryan Olson and Solid Gold and Bon Iver and Megafaun and The Rosebuds and Doomtree and Maggie Morrison and Leisure Birds and Channy Moon Caselle and Michael Lewis on stage, this is what it was? Call it hayterayde if you will, but instead of the comfortable cushion of nostalgia, I would take a flawed but serious project that was personally felt from any one of those artists any day.
Yes, it was fun to see everyone else indulge their sartorial silliness and it made for awesome pictures, but was it really that sexy? Like shook down to the fundament or lingerie-model-on-lingerie-model hot and heavy (as one of their teaser videos suggested)? Not really. There was more awkward fumbling back in the day. When Mike Noyce of Bon Iver, whose appearance would make you think it was an all ages show, took off his shirt and howled it out, that was just about as louche as it got. And, with 23 people trying to re-create an overdubbed and sanded down and studio polished sheen on stage, we should just be happy that they got through most of the songs intact and hit the changes. There was also the whispered appearance of Prince showing up backstage- when the rumors flew, it was as close to high school as it got- who plugged in his guitar before declaring that Gayngs didn’t need his help. I do wish his Purpleness would have considered us underclassmen though, because as the cool kids messed around onstage, we could have used that spark to build up to that fancy expensive balloon drop. Still, I do really love what they did with Godley & Creme’s “Cry”, and the style shown by the many Minneapolitan partiers out that night was impressive. Keep that around and we’ll live up to the standard set by that freaky little man out Chanhassen.
The 5th annual RetroRama, which was last Thursday was set the Minnesota History Center, is something of an odd duck: a combination of sock hop, rummage sale and fantasy camp, it is all set up as great excuse to don some vintage duds and have gimlet in an imposing building.
There was some great fashion on display, both on the party-goers and on the designers showing looks in the tented runway area. Designers took inspiration from a specific decade and showed two looks inspired by the times: Ivan Idland was a perfect fit for the 20s, with his art deco arches and a brown trenchcoat with a vaulted finish to give it the lift of a zeppelin. George MoskalJoynoelle had a standout look from the 30s 40, with a glamorous evening gown in a metallic green topped with layers of shimmering copper organza, like a lithe koi fish, and Max Lohrbach‘s clear vinyl-covered lacy cocktail dress was a wry nod the protective housewife of the 50s. Since everyone else was dressed to the nines, the participant fashion show, where people could get up and model their own outfits was mix of high class and kitsch, and a blast.
1930s by Joynoelle.
Later in the evening, Dark Dark Dark played in the high rotunda of the atrium and as much as we love DDD, they had a tough row to hoe, competing with the unexpected Etta James bleed from the classic karaoke going on below. Still, everyone had a good time, Blacklist Vintage and the other vendors sold their wares, we got a recipe for classic tomato soup and the future looks good through the eyes of the past. Staciaann has a photoset up for Vita.mn, so check that out here.
By now, I am sure that with the great American marketing mechanism- word of mouth buzz- you have heard that Pepsi is giving away a bunch of money with their “Refresh Everything Challenge” to fund various arts, cultural and political proposals. As always, need is greater than resources and since television and marketing based competitions seem to be the last bastion of pure democracy (all you need is an idea and people!) here is something we think worth voting for: MNfashion has a proposal in for a $50K grant to fund a sewing co-op that would provide jobs, resources and support to local designers. We’ve written about this before, when we posted about MNfashion’s member drive, and when I interviewed Executive Director Anna Lee about Voltage two years ago for The Onion, it was something that she brought up then. So they need your vote- the top ten proposals in that category get funding and as of this writing, MNfashion ranks 174th. Daunting, yes, but no-one gave an untested Illinois senator good odds before the Iowa caucuses, and it’s just so much fun to be the underdog. Minneapolis likes to surprise you like that. Go vote here, and vote everyday until May 31st.
Also, if you are Art-a-Whirling this weekend, swing by the MNfashion space in the Grain Belt Bottling Building on 13th and Marshall. Not only can you vote from their computer there, but you can also check out Staciaann’s awesome photographs up on the wall, as she is an official MNfashion photog. Double win!
Also, again about the Refresh Everything Challenge, there are multiple winners in all categories and a number of local entries, so look around and find stuff to vote for. Since we pay for the companies to exist, we should be getting something back other than dentist’s visits.
In the matchup of weekend double-headers, with DeVotchKa/Gogol Bordello at First Ave going up against Jónsi at the Pantages, the Sigur Rós frontman walked away with an epic win. Not only is his high tenor a thing of strange, fluid beauty, but the stage show, complete with projected animations, flashing lights and an amazing backing band just sealed the deal. So much energy, it gets me giddy trying to write about it. Fortunately, I managed to get myself together after Sunday’s madcap and engaging performance to put something together for the Gimme Noise blog at City Pages so you can check that out there with more of Staciaann’s photos and a video sneak peak from the making of the stage show.
Also, check out Death Vessel, the opener for the Jónsi tour. One guy, and it is a guy with a guitar singing in a beautifully high register, this folky side of Joanna Newsom and Joni Mitchell. Seriously, gender stereotyping cognitive dissonance aside, totally dug it, and despite warnings to the contrary, so glad we came on time.
Hey, that’s one of those Daytrotter illustrations of the promo photo that Staciaann took for Peter Wolf Crier last summer. That’s pretty awesome. Also awesome is the PWC Daytrotter session itself, recorded down in Austin last month when Peter Pisano and Brian Moen played the Rachel Ray/Daytrotter Day Party at Stubb’s BBQ. Signed to Jagjaguwar, they just announced an official release date/party for their debut record Inter-Be, so mark your calendars for the Turf Club on May 21st, along with special guests Kill the Vultures and most likely some other pals. CakeIn15 is sponsoring, so whet your whistle with Daytrotter and come on down.
There was a special kind of tag-team energy at the Fitzgerald Theatre last night, with songsmiths Loudon Wainwright III and Fairport Convention founder Richard Thompson, long-time friends and collaborators on their first tour together, bouncing off eachother and generally delighting the crowd. Loudon is of course, the father of Rufus and Martha, and has made a career singing wry and incisive songs about his own personal and family issues while Thompson is a master guitar player and formalist and so the two of them complimented each other’s styles and personalities in the songs they played together and showcased their own strengths in their solo sets. You can read the full recap for City Pages here, along with Staciaann’s slideshow here.
Allison Quinnell at Voltage: Fashion Amplified! 2009
In the world of non-profits, memberships are as necessary as important to the success of the organization as seeds are to farming. MNFashion, the non-profit behind MN Fashion Week and the annual Voltage: Fashion Amplified! blowout announced yesterday that they were launching a Founder’s Member Drive, seeking 100 new members in order to receive a $10,000 matching grant from the Pohlad Foundation. It is not the first time the Pohlad Foundation has helped out MNFashion, they were the granting organization that has made the holiday pop-up store in Gaviidae Commons possible the last two years. the press release went out yesterday and the final details on how to join will soon be available on the MNFashion website, but in good member drive fashion, they aren’t skimping on the giveaways: the first 45 people to join get a gift bag from Gigi’s Guide (valued at a $100), consulting time with MNFashion chief Anna Lee, invitations to closed-door events and that halo of prestige that comes with being in on something. Membership is $50, and just follow the link to join.
Obviously, MNFashion’s most visible contribution to the Twin Cities fashion & design communities is Fashion Week, culminating with Voltage (Friday, April 16th at First Avenue) but the organization has plans for much more, from business consulting for designers to talent development to a sewing co-op. With a sweet new office/work space in Northeast and this new member drive to get their footing solid, what started with a late night drunk joke about mixing rock and roll with a fashion show just might turn into a sustainable support system for all kinds of artists. If you want to support MNFashion further, there are two opportunities tonight, with an preview party tonight at Spill The Wine from 7-10pm to mix and mingle and then taking over Transmission at Club Jaeger at 10 for the CD listening party. If you were looking for something to do on your Wednesday night, now you got it.
…that’s what we’ll be wanting to see here soon. If you’re not already doing this, then get on it. Vote for local premier DJ, mid-century modern design aficionado and Mad Men Maddict Jake Rudh to win a walk-on role on the the show. He made a valiant run last year, beating out many period-incorrect haircuts and tie widths, so this is the year to make some silver screen memories for the man. Plus, with a photo like that, who would think he could lose? You can vote every day, so click on this link to AMCTV to make send our man through and send him over the moon.
