Cake In 15

Thanks to everybody who came down to An Evening of Murder & Death with Jeremy Messersmith at The Cake Shop. For those of you unable to make it down, we live-streamed the event, but since that link is not active anymore, here are some uploaded videos for posterity. Special thanks to Empty’s Tapes for recording sound and Chuck Olsen for shooting video, when those become available we will update this post. Until then, here are some of our own videos for your edification, a couple of new tunes and some killer covers, including the saddest country song ever written and what is sure to become the infamous Snoop Messersmith. (If you are viewing this post someplace else, like facebook, you may have to click through to the original CakeIn15 post to view the video.)

The evening was interspersed with anecdotes and backstories, some spontaneous hilarity (Che-bacca!) and famous last words. Messersmith came prepared with a list of death-bed quotations to punch up the “Murder & Death” portion of the evening, so here we humbly offer a collection of songs and last words:

“Either this wallpaper goes or I do” -Oscar Wilde

Jeremy Messersmith- “John The Determinist” from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

“I should never have switched from Scotch to martinis” -Humphrey Bogart

Jeremy Messersmith- “Everybody Here Is A Cloud” Cloud Cult Cover from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

“I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring!” -Richard Feynman

Jeremy Messersmith- “Murder Was The Case” Snoop Dogg cover from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

“I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have” -Leonardo da Vinci

Jeremy Messersmith- “Everything Means Nothing To Me” Elliott Smith Cover from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

“They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist…” -General John Sedgewick

Jeremy Messersmith- “He Stopped Loving Her Today” George Jones cover from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

“Am I dying or is it my birthday?” -Lady Nancy Astor

Jeremy Messersmith- “Organ Donor” from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

“In heaven I shall hear!” -Ludwig van Beethoven

Next show slated at The Cake Shop is February 21 with The Pines, again a 4pm and 7pm show, $15, we’ll put an official announcement out soon, but get in touch if you are interested. As always, space is limited, but come out and support local arts & music.

…Here’s some health insurance reform! Lord know it ain’t perfect and is lacking in those sweeping reforms that might have been included (proving, once again, that business bottom-lines trump populist rage in this country- how do you think Dick Clark stays popular?) Still, as the Senator Klobuchar says, it is “an important step forward,” mainly in that it is a step anywhere. Atul Gawande at the New Yorker made a persuasive case about how the lack of an over arching plan but lots of pilot programs has worked in the United States in the past (farming reform a century ago.) So here’s to the American process of trying things and keeping the best results- think Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds- and everyone staying healthy and warm today.

Also, because he voted for the bill and because he is one of the best presents we got in 2009, here is Senator Al Franken proving that he indeed belongs in the Senate, because at least he knows where all the other states are.

I wish it was Christmas todaaayyy… yes!

Hee hee hee

“Hello Capitalist Tools!” or Waiter, There’s a Song in My Soup

I am not an unbiased supporter of Bedlam Theatre (although I can still be a clear-headedly critical one). I laugh too loud there, have spent a bunch at their bar in the past and might be featured in an online fundraising video, but that’s only because I happened to be in the audience last night. Instead of reviewing or recapping the show, let’s just get down to the fur and teeth of the beast with five reasons to go see Foxy Tann’s Beaverdance! before it closes next Saturday (plus one video.)

1. Braised Kale This is also a general, raving endorsement of the Bedlam Kitchen, but when you go, spring for the dinner menu. The braised kale is tangy and fresh with a big salt bite and although it has been featured as a side at Bedlam in the past, I could just eat a plate of it. The exceptional four course menu, put together by Lucas Koski and Rosa Oesterreich features a wild rice stew and entree offerings like Maple Cajun Seared Trout and Sweet Potato and Cheese Pierogies, and everything is sweetness and light with food like that in your belly.

2. Brown Velour Beavers are super cute, even in the opening gag- which I won’t reveal but I am glad I wasn’t drinking anything as it would have come out my nose. The whole Beaver family, where everyone is Beaver, is the perfect proto-Socialist community, kind of like the Seven Dwarves with a penchant for double entendres. Led by their Snow White (Laura Leffler-McCabe as Princess Bemidji, who pulls out the operatic singing stops) the beaver turn out alright, whether they be hot, wet or shaved.

3.Outrageous Accents Seriously, how else would you know he’s French? How else could you tell he’s a German economic philosopher? Wizz zat Ooutraageus Accent, as John Cleese would say. John Francis Beuche as Jacques Brainerd and Corrie Zoll as Santa Marx whip out their big ones, which is great for making statements “My happiness is growing!” and keeps everything buzzing along at the right level of ludicrous.

4. Audience Participation Look, any show that starts off with the audience clapping and hollering “BEA-VER! BEA-VER!” is a show you want to be a part of. When you are exhorted into singing the Beaver version of the Internationale which happens to be a disco-ish number telling you to put your hand in the wet beaver, there is a great sense of solidarity. Even if you don’t decide to overthrow your capitalist oppressors, you can definitely overthrow another Summit and get into the Marxist holiday spirit.

5. Gay Stuff It’s right there in Ben Egerman’s cast bio, and it wouldn’t be musical without some sparkly production numbers, glittering costumes, light bondage and hot-footed dance. Scotty Reynolds as tailor-turned-voyageur-turned-wildlife costumer Loring Park and Tom Lloyd as the devious Mr. Blaine fill the roles nicely, and I’ve decided that after this show and his turn as Summertime Awesomeface in The Million Dollar Museum, Lloyd really needs to host a cabaret/talk-show/cooking special in his Divine persona. Seriously Bedlam, there’s a holiday show in it. For now though, Beaverdance! is going to fill that void.

It was a music menagerie at the Turf Club Friday night, with animals in every band name and a happy hungry crowd of interesting creatures milling about to make a night of it. Bethany Larson & The Bee’s Knees released their Sticks And Stones debut record (which we reviewed here) with the support of the crowd and Larson’s resonant folk-country vocals are a welcome addition to the Twin Cities scene. Peter Wolf Crier (Peter Pisano and Brian Moen) came straight from an early show with Halloween, Alaska, but showed no exhaustion, throwing themselves into the explosive, propulsive tracks from their debut album Inter-Be and proving that two guys sitting down can be a hugely dynamic experience. Aby Wolf took the stage following and started her set with some new slinky, Astrud Gilberto-esque jazz numbers that were sensuously downbeat and made great use of her articulated range , before shifting back to her guitar and lilting folkish tunes. To round out the night, the final beast was No Bird Sing, and they came out swinging, a blast of hip-hop rock fronted by Eric Blair’s bellowing baritone, backed by Graham O’Brien’s banging drums and held together by Robert Mulrennan’s hot guitars. They had some friends come out during their set- MC Kristoff Krane came out to duet on “Sparrows” and the finale was a raucous freestyle, ending the night for all with happy smiles, warm bellies and songs ringing from the aviary.

Bethany Larson “But I Love Him” from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

Peter Wolf Crier “Lion” from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

Aby Wolf “Keara” from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

No Bird Sing “Dead Leaves” from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

No Bird Sing w/ Kristoff Krane “Sparrows” from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

No Bird Sing w/ Kristoff Krane, Peter Wolf Crier & Sector 7G from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

This was the finale to Jeremy Messersmith’s show last week at the 7th Street Entry and we tweeted it out but it totally slipped our pretty little heads to put it up on the website. But better late then never, and this much awesome on stage deserves to be seen. Benjamin Cartel and Courtney Kaiser of Minneapolis/Brooklyn duo KaiserCartel and Holly Newsom of Picked-to-Clickers Zoo Animal joined for the fun after playing their own solid sets earlier on in the night. Take a couple minutes while you’re sitting in your cube to watch the videos below and feel good that you can see this kind of thing in the world, and click through to Staciaann’s photoset for City Pages.

Jeremy Messersmith Finale- “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” Cover! from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

Kaiser Cartel “Inside Out” from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

Zoo Animal from Carl Atiya Swanson on Vimeo.

Mike Mictlan “PRIZEFIGHT” Music Video from Ted Romeo on Vimeo.

It officially premiered last Saturday at the Doomtree Blowout V, but the Mictlan vid is hot and worth a second look. The cut comes from the Mictlan/Lazerbeak Hand Over Fist release and the pugnacious lyrics mix straightforward autobiography with some great poetry of dark and especially light. The video was directed by Greg Hubacek and if you click through to the Doomtree website, you have the option of several remix options- the original Lazerbeak beat and offerings from Digitata, Paper Tiger, Julian Fairbanks and Medium Zach + Mux Mool (for our money, the stripped down staccato drums of Paper Tiger are the best remix option, keeping it in the family, you know.)

Hannukah is the Jewish Festival of Light, as well as Adam Sandler’s biggest residual check, and it begins at sundown on Friday. So what better way to celebrate the lighting of the first candle of the Menorah then with burning power of epic guitar solos and wails and screams. Thanks to New York band Gods of Fire (and via BrooklynVegan, who surely must be kosher) and their “Hannukah Gone Metal” song collection, you can be reminded that truly, the greatest gift is the gift of metal. L’Chaim, Lou Reed.

Yes, there are some great shows to hit up tonight- you could hit up KaiserCartel, Jeremy Messersmith and Zoo Animal at the 7th Street Entry for your melodic indie-rocking fix, or catch singer-songwriters Brianna Lane, Brad Hoshaw, Jeremiah Nelson and Brooks West at the Kitty Cat Klub, or the get some hip-hop at the Unknown Prophets CD release in the First Avenue Mainroom. Before you hit up those things, though, stop by the Cedar Cultural Center to check out the new Decemberists film, Here Come The Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized. Filmmakers Guilherme Marcondes, Julia Pott, Peter Sluszka and Santa Maria created animations to accompany individual sections of music from The Decemberists’ most recent studio album. Hanging out watching the trailer in the lobby of the Cedar last weekend, it seems perfect for fans of the videos of Sean Pecknold or the movies of Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry. It’ll be worth your 3 bucks and starting your night at 7:30, with plenty of time to hit up those other shows, but if you miss it, hit it up on iTunes.

In case you missed it, Caroline Smith covering “Androgynous” was one of the highlights of the Tribute to the Replacements at First Avenue last week.  So of course, CakeIn15 has video…

Caroline Smith covers The Replacements “Androgynous” from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.