Doctors Without Borders My friend Luke Heiken organized a benefit show for Doctors Without Borders (donations are still being accepted here). But it wasn’t your usual sort of benefit show. It was a 28-hour long drone fest. And it happened last month at The Cedar Cultural Center. I managed to be present for about half […]
Music
Forward March
Follow the Leader It has been an exceptionally hot and generally dry summer, filled with activities. I’m pausing on this rare rainy day to look back at a subset of these outdoor activities. Marching band parades. One was a dry run along the West Bank, from the Mixed Blood Theatre to The Nomad World Pub. […]
Assemblage
Heliotrope Nine at The Lab Theater I’m still in happy blissed-out mode after three days of Heliotrope – an annual experimental music festival. This year marked its 9th installment. The week before a “Players Without Instruments” interview was posted with me, where I tried to namedrop Heliotrope as much as possible as it really is […]
I Want Discipline
Are you listening, more or less? Last week I had the pleasure of being in the presence of the legendary Genesis P-Orridge not once, but twice. Genesis (born Neil Andrew Megson) is known for pioneering industrial music with Throbbing Gristle, and later for performing with Psychic TV and Thee Majesty. In 1993 Genesis married Lady […]
poisson d’avril
9th Annual Fools Day Variety Show Spring sprang and suddenly it’s April. Which means today is APRIL FOOLS DAY. A day I generally try to ignore (ever since my son learned about whoopee cushions) but this year we were invited to a backyard variety show. Billed as “a time for feeling foolish, and acting on […]
Faux Fighting
Battle(s) of the Bands In some ways, winter in Minnesota can yield more inspiration than our warm weather months can. More time to sit still and allow plans to form. Not that I’ve been sitting still much. With this winter being so very mild I’ve been going out more, instead of falling into the cozy […]
Little By Little
Such a Tease, Such a Flirt Ahh, hazy lazy summer and too many half-formed drafts hanging out over here. Time to post something! July may have been unbearably hot and humid but it was also jam-packed with many lovely musical happenings. Here’s a sampling of what I enjoyed. Rifflord at the Hack Factory’s Handmade Music […]
No Regrets
Land of the Freaks Despite or because of problems swirling around me, music still remains my constant. I can lose myself in it and forget my troubles for a bit. Thankfully my Saturday night was jam packed with a musical cornucopia. After too many missed opportunities I finally bore witness to King Khan and The […]
Baby Blue
Strike Another Match, Go Start Anew Friday saw the end of an era. My friends’ band, Charles de Gaulle, played their final show (one of the members is moving out of state). It was a solid last stand, played with Falcon Crest and Meth & Goats. But CDG will be missed. More photos here.
When I Go Deaf
Here Comes That Cold Sunrise Spring is here, technically. And we’ve even experienced some Spring-like weather recently. But today has been a rainy Monday chock full of gloom and doom. To snap out of my funk I am going to look ahead, to the many music festivals and other adventures that are on their way. […]