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    New Year’s Eve Re-run


    2009 - 12.30

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    Hey, party people. We ran New Year’s Eve Best Bets in last week’s Wave for those fancy people who like to do that bizarro ritual of "planning. ahead." For those people who were too busy starting their Christmas shopping on Dec. 24th to even consider making plans for New Year’s Eve (cough, cough, me), here it is again. Go forth. Have fun.

    DSSO TOASTS BROADWAY IN NY EVE CONCERT
    It’s not quite the countdown in Times Square, but the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra gets close by bringing a mix of Broadway to the DECC Auditorium. “Broadway. Live. A New Year’s Toast to Broadway” features a medley of classic Broadway tunes, including bits from “Chicago,” “Jersey Boys” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Other songs in the lineup include: “Top Hat/Steppin’ Out,” “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Memory,” and “Music of the Night.” The performance includes soloists Debbie Gravitte, a Tony Award winner, and Doug LeBrecque, who was in Hal Prince’s production of “Showboat” and was part of the Oscar Hammerstein 100th Birthday Celebration, both on Broadway. Fun fact: Gravitte is one of the voices in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

    GO SEE IT
    What: Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra’s pops concert “Broadway. Live.”
    When: 7 p.m. Dec. 31
    Where: DECC Auditorium
    Tix: Start at $25; Call (218) 623-3776

    SEE IN THE NEW YEAR THE NEWFOUNDLAND WAY
    It will be a very Newfie New Year at Sunset Bar & Grill, 4483 Martin Road. McKinnis’ Kitchen is packing the night with a bunch of Newfoundland holiday traditions, including Celtic music from Newfoundland, Ireland, Scotland and the Canadian Maritimes, storytelling, special ceremonies, dancing, and maybe even a visit from the Mummers — an old tradition where people, disguised beyond recognition, go door to door and entertain. They are sometimes rewarded with drink. There will also be a bunch of New Year countdowns, starting at 9:30 p.m. when it becomes 2010 in Newfoundland. McKinnis’ Kitchen is Chuck Butler, Mark Monroe, Sue Spencer and Jim Ofsthun. They have toured around the U.S. and Canada. There is a $5 entry fee, and reservations can be made by calling (218)723-7855 or by going to www.thesunsetbarandgrill.com.

    LET RUBBER CHICKEN TICKLE YOUR FUNNY BONE
    Rubber Chicken Theater shuts down another holiday season with the final performance of “Have Yourself an H1N1 Christmas, or Snufflin’ in a Swine Flu Wonderland,” at 7 p.m. at the Venue at Mohaupt Block, 2024 W. Superior St., on New Year’s Eve . All of the other holiday shows, by New Year’s Eve , will have been put to bed. The revue includes a mix of humor with local targets, reworked holiday songs, and what reviewer Paul Brissett determined was the fan favorite at the show he reviewed: a video creation of a game show called “What Would Jesus Do?” Brissett said of the show: “Clever, well-written, as polished as sketch comedy can be and chock full of allusions of current events, local and national. It also would be fair to call this more ‘amusing’ than ‘hilarious.’ ” Tickets are $15. Call (218) 213-2780 or go to RubberChickenTheater.com.

    HOWS ABOUT SOME ROCK AND ROLL?
    The big question is: How, exactly, do you want your Rock ’n’ and Roll New Year? Plenty of venues have multi-band lineups on the big night:

    * Those Black Eyed Snakes, the Surfactants, and the Acceleratii. The show starts at 10 p.m. at RT Quinlan’s. $5 cover.

    * Cars & Trucks and Hotel Coral Essex are playing at Pizza Luce, 11 E. Superior St. Show starts at 10 p.m.

    * At the Rex, catch Coal Car Caboose, Big Tree Bonsai, and Mikey Talented. Show starts at 10 p.m.

    * New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday, which means Thirsty Pagan Brewing Co., is going to stick with a tried-and-true show: rockabilly with the Fractals.

    * And for rock ’n’ roll-like pyrotechnics, check out Illumination Fire Troupe, a group out of Minneapolis that will be performing at Dubh Linn Irish Pub. The night starts at 8 p.m. and includes a DJ, magic and prizes. Tix are $20.

    * If you want to ring in a suds-free New Year, you can party with the Duluth Alano Club, which is hosting its traditional sober celebration. A recovery speaker opens the night at 6 p.m., followed by DJ and dance, and a range of activities. There is a $5 donation, and the party is at 3009 Restormel St. Call (218) 624-0501 for info.

    DEUCES WILD
    If you like your sing-along piano music with a touch of comedy, and perhaps some adult banter, check out Deuces Wild in the Greysolon Ballroom by Black Woods, 231 E. Superior St. These performances tend to include audience interaction, props and a contortionist’s approach to rhymes. The Minnesota musicians David Charles Eichholz and Ted Manderfeld bill their shows as “Vegas-style,” and the words “burlesque” and “bawdy” are also mentioned. This New Year’s Eve show includes appetizers from Black Woods when the doors open at 7 p.m., and a champagne toast at midnight. Tickets are $75 for reserved seating and $50 for general admission. Reservations at (218) 722-7466.

    Walt Dizzo hates my taste in music


    2009 - 12.30

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    Like most people who walked the earth in the 1980s, I used to be a bit of a mix tape master. Perhaps I’m rewriting my own history, romanticizing my teen years, but when I look back on that time it was filled with Side As and Side Bs, songs selected as carefully as I now pick tomatoes from a bin at the grocery store.
    The key was to find music that none of my friends were listening to.

    Easy enough, as, socially, we were all country music fans cooing over the live version of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” creating choreography to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark” at high school mixers. Collectively, we liked twangy songs about broken hearts, missed opportunities, and bull riding injuries.

    At home I was curled up on our secondary couch, under a sleeping bag in the basement. I was scrutinizing MTV’s Sunday night programs “Alternative Nation,” or “120 Minutes” like they were college-level independent study courses on cool. Scribbling lyrics to “Far Gone and Out,” by Jesus and Mary Chain on the crisp grocery-bag cover of my Algebra book. Following music trails backward and forward: Like New Order? Check out Joy Division! That girl hanging out with the Lemonheads? Julianna Hatfield. Formerly of Blake Babies.

    The girl whose locker was next to mine freshman year introduced me to They Might Be Giants and 10,000 Maniacs. I gave her Depeche Mode and The Smiths.

    At this time, there was this Minneapolis alternative station that I could get on the radio of my Chevy Celebrity in different pockets of Rochester. My wrist would instinctively twist to the right numbers on the dial just to see if I could catch Paul Westerberg here or Bjork there.

    Rush, for the record, is the first band I ever actively hated.

    I loved making a mix, and I passed them out to friends like they were religious pamphlets. I picked out songs that specifically spoke to their place in the world:

    For Betsy: “I think you’ll really get Track No. 3, ‘There’s a Light that Never Goes Out.’ It really speaks to how you feel about Alex.”
    For Katie: “The song ‘Dyslexic Heart’ is totally about your relationship with Kelley. Seriously. Listen.”
    For Justin: “We should lie on a blanket in the backyard and listen to the song ‘Waiting for the Night to Fall’ by Depeche Mode. It’s got a real planetarium feel to it.”
    For Mike (post-break up): “I cannot stop listening to U2’s ‘Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.’ It’s about us.”
    I have never been more tuned into music, old and new, and who was playing at First Ave. than during that time in my life. (Remind me to tell you about the time was standing next to Evan Dando at a Julianna Hatfield show. It was epic).

    These days, music is trickier. When I’m near a radio, I tend to listen to MPR. My primary sources for new music are: A) The soundtracks to the teen dramas on the CW and the teen reality dramas on MTV; B) The few CDs I get for review here at work; C) The Shazam app on my iPhone, which will tell me exactly with Euro techno band is playing when I’m in stores at the mall. (This comes in handy, as my favorite genre is Swedish pop duos). And as is the tendency with those who stop trying to find the next new thing, I still spin some Smiths and the Cure, here and there.

    Walt Dizzo invited me to be on his “Best of 2009” show on KUWS 91.3 FM on Tuesday night. Also in studio: Matthew Perrine of the Budgeteer and Barrett Chase of Perfect Duluth Day. Perrine, Dizzo said, would be taking care of most of the local music picks. In all the world over, there is not a more enthusiastic consumer of local music. I believe Perrine owns everything Marc Gartman has ever recorded (I wouldn’t be surprised if he stole tapes from the local bouzouki-player’s answering machine).

    Chase and I were asked to bring a mix of our top-10 non-local songs, which we finalized even as we were putting on our coats and cramming down fistfuls of Mac and Cheese before heading to Superior.

    What did I listen to in 2009. That’s a good question. Lots and lots of Phoenix. I found Phoenix. Downloaded some Phoenix, then Pandora’d Phoenix. All Phoenix, almost all the time. This is also the year that I stopped fighting Coldplay, and started actively listening to them. I think I’m showing my age and how I have been completely absorbed by mainstream quicksand when I say that Chris Martin has the voice of an angel.

    This is just to say that Dizzo looked at my Top Ten list, sighed, and basically whipped my CD back at my head in disgust. He agreed to play “Lizstomania” by Phoenix. But when he went to play “Blue Skies” by Noah and the Whale, my mismarked CD accidentally cued up Black Eyed Peas “I Got a Feeling.” I think he died a little inside. “I’m not playing Bat for Lashes,” he told me.

    Eventually Dizzo cut right to the guts of my mix and played the song I was saving for a big finale: “”Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun, which I have decided that right now is my favorite song not just of 2009, but ever. It was good, the in-studio crowd agreed. I’m not sure I redeemed myself as any sort of person who can tell good music from bad. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.

    I used to be so cool.

    I believe that you make time for things that are important to you. Whenever someone says “Oh, I wish I could read books. (run, go to local theater productions, hang out in bars) I just don’t have time for it” I think: No, it’s just not a priority to you. And that’s fine. We all make time for things that are important, whether it is that lone five minutes of freedom spent reading comic books or that four hours a day spent creating mosaics. This is how I came to read about 75 books this year — my artistic consumption of choice.

    But thinking about a time when music was my “it”-thing has made me nostalgic. Resolution for 2010: Put away the Coldplay. Keep up.

    Review the reviewer


    2009 - 12.29

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    Attention, theater people: Now is your chance to review the reviewer. 

    Lawrance Bernabo, whose critiques of local theater run in the News Tribune, is directing Samuel Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot," a Rubber Chicken Theater production that opens Jan. 7 at the Duluth Play Ground, 11 E. Superior St. We’re looking for a handful of local actors to turn a critical eye on Bernabo’s show.

    What’s in it for you? A ticket to the show, and a chance to voice your opinion on the opinionated. Contact me at clawer@duluthnews.com, or give me a ring at (218) 279-5536.

    * Image of Bernabo, as seen on Facebook, was used with permission.

    Plys makes his plea on E!


    2009 - 12.28

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    Submitted photo of Chris Plys

    Olympic curler Chris Plys of Duluth will be featured on tonight’s episode of "Bank of Hollywood," a reality program on E! self-described as: "Hollywood heavies and media moguls bestow big bucks to make dreams come true. Who’s got what it takes to win ‘em over?"

    On this episode, Plys will talk about his father’s battle with brain cancer, and how Plys hopes to win money to help offset travel expenses so his family can travel to Vancouver to watch him compete in the Winter Olympics. A film crew was in Duluth in the fall, filming footage for the segment.

    The show, produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, includes a panel of celebrity judges — Tori’s mom Candy Spelling, poker player Vanessa Rousso, Melody Thorton of the Pussycat Dolls, and Sean Patterson of Wilhelmina Models — who listen to the contestants’ pleas and rule on who will get money, a minimum of $2,000.

    The show is on at 9 8 p.m.* (yeah, yeah, Vikings blah blah blah), and Plys has been mum on the outcome, whether he receives money. Silence until after the air-date, of course, is the golden rule in reality TV.

    From sports reporter Rick Weegman’s story on Plys in November:

    “It was a sweet experience,” [Plys] said. “It was my first trip out to California, and they gave me that little bit of celebrity treatment for a couple days. To see how that whole operation works was pretty neat.”

    * time corrected to central time.

    Dylan’s Christmas music: Wildest holiday party ever


    2009 - 12.23

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    Reposting content from PDD since 2008.

    Here is a video for "Must Be Santa" from Bob Dylan’s album "Christmas in the Heart." Frankly, I absolutely love it. I don’t even mind that Dylan looks like Tom Petty circa "Don’t Come Around Here No More," and at the same time barely stars in his own video in a way that is very laid back Snoop Dogg-cool. And the video ranks right up there with the Beastie Boys’ 1987 pie-tossing bonanza "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)." Proceeds from the album go to various organizations dedicated to feeding the hungry.

    Here is what reviewers had said about it:

    "Dylan’s singing is often nimble and clear — he goes high in "The First Noel" without a hint of gravel. The effect is like a Woodstock snowfall with the defiance of 1970′s Self Portrait: another way of saying his roots are everywhere." Rolling Stone, 3 stars

    ***

    "Is he sincere? Does he mean it? Is this an ageing entertainer’s Christmas gift to his grandchildren, or he is winding us up, knowing that at some time in the future he will repudiate it, as he did Self Portrait? When he sings with a perfectly straight face about the nativity ("Where meek souls will receive him/ Still the dear Christ enters in," for example), is it the product of a resurgence of his interest in Christianity, or simply intended to reflect a generic sense of holidaytime goodwill? You can only chuckle at his ability to keep us guessing when you turn past the conventional cover painting of a horse-drawn carriage speeding through snowdrifts to find a photograph of Bettie Page, the famous cheesecake model, dressed up in a Santa outfit complete with suspenders and bulging bra.

    Sceptics should go to YouTube and watch the Must Be Santa video clip. This rollicking song, featuring a rattled-out list of US presidents, is set to a high-kicking shuffle rhythm, decorated by Hidalgo’s exuberant Tex-Mex accordion, and delivered by Dylan as a sort of punk-Dickensian Father Christmas from amid the incipient mayhem of a slightly out-of-hand Christmas Eve party. More fun than Renaldo and Clara, for sure." The Guardian

    ***

    "Bob Dylan is such a fruitcake. He’s spent the last decade revitalizing himself artistically, so what does he do for an encore? That’s right, a Christmas album—a real one, complete with anodyne female choruses and straight arrangements of the standard holiday repertoire: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Little Drummer Boy,” the works. And of course Dylan plays it totally straight." A.V. Club

    ***

    "Dylan’s thing has never been palatability, and he’s clearly enamored with contrast– in this case, between his worn, gravel-gargle voice and everything else. And it’s his unhinged vocals that make Christmas in the Heart interesting, and, in some ways, appropriate to its subject: In practice if not in theory, Christmas songs aren’t about perfect pitch and studied harmonies, they’re about slouching around an out-of-tune piano with your relatives, sloshing back store-bought eggnog, and hollering songs you learned in kindergarten and have been singing– with abandon, without training, without self-consciousness– nearly all of your life. It’s Christmas: Even Bob Dylan’s allowed that." Pitchfork, 6.8

     

    Maria Bamford’s 1-hour Gift


    2009 - 12.17

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    Maria Bamford’s One-Hour Homemade Christmas Special! from Maria Bamford on Vimeo.

    Today’s Maria Bamford watch takes us to Vimeo, where the Duluth native has posted a "One-Hour Homemade Christmas Special." [via]

    From her Web site: "For you, my friends, a free — ONE HOUR HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL — enjoy and download at your leisure — it’s yours. Sell it at the Flea Market out of the back of your van with packs of socks and old phones!"

    Bamford is also featured in holiday ads for Target, and word on Twitter is that she will appear on an episode of the Sarah Silverman show. From a DNT story in late November:

    Since shooting the commercials, Bamford has reminisced about her childhood rivalry with her sister, Sarah Seidelmann.

    “I was inspired by the commercials because they remind me of the dynamic between me and my sister,” Bamford said. “We love each other, but we are also competitive on the other level.”

    Bamford said she is proud of the commercials.

    “I hope people love them,” she said. Target “is such a pleasant place to go. When I’m depressed, I will go to the stores and walk the aisles. I know that sounds weird, but it can really cheer me up. I like their colors and styles.”

    Disclaimer: This video has not yet been screened by me, so I don’t know if it has, like, swears or not.

    Also Good Bets: Today-Dec. 24


    2009 - 12.17

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    DNT file photo of the Harbor City Roller Dames

    If Facebook chatter is any kind of indication of how big an event will be, and I have to believe it is, then the Harbor City Roller Dames bout with Mississippi Valley Mayhem at 10:30 p.m. Saturday at World of Wheels (AKA "The Fight Before Christmas") is, like, a big deal. So big, in fact, that unless you have tickets already or plan to kidnap someone who does, you are out of luck. Tickets were $7, but, well, you know. … But. BUT! The post-party is at Carmody Irish Pub, 308 E. Superior St. Word on the streets is that the Roller Dames will be mingling among the people who can’t play sports and be on wheels at the same time.

    A LITTLE MOOD MUSIC
    Dan Anderson, formerly of the soul/reggae band the Black Labels, will be playing a holiday concert starting at 9 p.m. Friday at the Zeitgeist Arts Building, 222 E. Superior St. From the event listing: "From soul, jazz, Latin and funk to easy listening, soft psychedelia and 60′s soundtrack classics, Anderson’s show delivers a memorable experience that’s perfectly suited to an evening of cocktails, dancing and major mirth-making."

    AND MORE MUSIC
    I know I know I just KNOW that I have seen the band A Night in a Box play live. And I know I liked them. But I cannot find evidence of said show, so maybe I made the whole thing up. But if I did in fact see this Twin Cities bluegrass/folk rock/indie band, then they were fantastic and put on a truly fun show at St. Scholastica last year. Catch them at Beaner’s Central at 8 p.m. Sunday. Also on the bill: We All Have Hooks for Hands and Destry. $5 cover. I got an email from a hard-to-find-info-on band called Stacatto in Blue — self-described as "adding grit and life to traditional smooth jazz technique, [offering] a contemporary twist to the classical jazz and blues styles the band is rooted in" — who is playing on Friday night with Pancake Breakfast (vying for the title of best.name.ever) and Poorus. Same stats as Sunday’s show.

    MUGGING
    The trio So Close, which includes sisters Sarah Lawson and Haley Lawson as well as Logan Amys, is playing at Red Mug at 8 p.m. Saturday. According to their MySpace site, they used to be called Sarah & Haley. I’ve given them a little bitty listen and am feeling a little Tegan & Sarah about this combo. (I consider this a good thing). Their style is indie acoustic. Expect to hear some mandolins, violins, a uke, a banjo. All sorts of good stuff. Opening: Zack Balcum, who plays classical, indie, alt music, and, in an act of great hilarity, has a MySpace url of "zack is so metal." Ha!

    Sounds like Bill & Kate Isles are doing a holiday show (read: sing-along) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Red Mug. There is a suggested $10 donation.

    Also Good Bets, a companion to the Wave’s Best Bets section, is a weekly feature that includes additional ways to fill your entertainment schedule for the next week.

    3 Spin Review: Mary Mack: Pinch Finger Girl


    2009 - 12.16

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    Mary Mack: Pinch Finger Girl: A Tragedomedy

    Go See Her: Mary Mack is performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hayward’s Park Theater.

    Length of the first spin: Well, this is above all else a comedy CD, so it’s not like you can, like, skip around. So I listened to the whole thing, but just once. Seems you can review a comedy CD more easily than, say, rock and roll.
    First impressions: Lets harken back to the day I got this CD in the mail and read a description of Mary Mack as a folk humorist, and then never cracked the plastic wrap on the CD. Later, while writing about her show in Hayward for this week’s Best Bets, I watched a YouTube vid powerful enough to knock the plastic wrap right off that CD, and shake my headphones off of my desk and straight onto my head.
    Brief bio: Musician-turned-comedian, formerly of Webster, Wis. Mary Mack’s work features plenty of funnies about Superior, which seems to have been a destination city for her family to get clothes and fast food once a year. (She calls herself a rebel because she moved to a city that has tar). She now splits time between LA and the Twin Cities. She’s been on "Last Comic Standing."
    Assessment: Mack, like many women who are comedians seem to do, has a stage voice. A little wee voice that sounds like she’s trapped in the teeny side of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." She admits that people are maybe confused at how she has the voice of a 5-year-old, but the body of a fourth-grader. She drops g’s and stumbles over words, and adds toddler breathlessness to her stories. Listen to it long enough, though, and it is exactly like when your Minnesota mom accidentally sits next to a woman from Texas: A totally contageous accent. I caught myself talking like this twice today. What’s worse is that I started thinking in that voice, too.
    This is good funny clean funny stuff, with occasional burst of music (You probably won’t recognize "White Christmas" on the musical saw).
    My picks: She brings out my favorite bit, the story of the pinch finger girl, who was born with her pointer finger and her thumb fused together "Like everything was okay. ‘Cept it wasn’t." Mack mentions "portable birthing hips," and tells the audience in the live show that she’s "savin’ up for a baby. I was going to have my own, but there are so many in the universe. … Just reach out and grab one." The end of the CD features a bit on how if you drop a piece of food that has a peel, it is still okay to eat. "A peel is nature’s ziplock," she says. 

    3 Spin Review is a feature where I receive a CD in the mail. Take a quick zip, skipping ahead when a song starts to poke my brain, lingering when it has immediate appeal. Second spin includes listening to it while I’m doing something else. Third spin I actually decide if I like what I’m hearing. These brief reviews will also include my working knowledge of said band, so you know whether my opinion is trustworthy, and then the opinion of someone else who has reviewed the CD. (This plan deviates from its original form when it comes to local bands).

    Bits of A&E: The radio edition


    2009 - 12.16

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    RADIO ARCHIVES
    This one comes via email from JP Rennquist, who will henceforth be referred to as "Everywhere" Rennquist since I rarely go more than a week without running into him. Renquist did a locally-grown holiday radio program 9 years ago for KUMD and KAXE, and wants to share the podcast. You can listen for free, but if listening causes your pockets to jingle with a desire to give, Renquist would direct you to send your coinage to Lifehouse.

    There is a mix of local writers and local musicians, including poetry by Barton Sutter, Louis Jenkins, Ellie Schoenfeld, DNT outdoors writer Sam Cook’s essay "Webbed Feet," a Dylan cover by Father Hennepin, "Mi Yi Ma Lel" by the Temple Israel Singers, and Al Sparhawk talking about Low’s version of "Little Drummer Boy" that was featured in a Gap ad, and more.

    It’s retro, sure, but Rennquist assures that it is still relevant.

    END OF THE YEAR NOTES
    DJ Walt Dizzo is now soliciting your "Best ofs …" for his end of the year wrap up show. Collect your thoughts on your favorite local songs/bands/albums of 2009 — or even the decade — and send him an email. The show airs from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. on Thurs., Dec. 29 on KUWS 91.3 FM. There is a rumor that I’ll be on the show with Barrett Chase of Perfect Duluth Day (we’ll probably carpool — just thinking aloud here), and Matthew Perrine of the Budgeteer.

    Contact Walt Dizzo at waltdizzo@hotmail.com. 

    Bits of A&E: Isbell, SXSW, Dylan


    2009 - 12.11

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    The Washington Post has a review of "Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe," by UMD professor Tom Isbell and political humorist Mark Russell. The story centers on the hijinks of three Roosevelt children who attempt a stunt out of "A Christmas Carol" to coax their presidential father to get them a Christmas tree. (Here is a link to an older post on this). It is a sequel to "Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major." From the review, deemed an "equally witty and winning sequel": "As they did in "Ursa Major," Isbell and Russell whip up a well-balanced eggnog of juvenile humor (Kermit, Ethel and Archie like to make farting noises when foreign dignitaries bow), jokes for adults (Roosevelt has a nightmarish vision in which Kermit grows up to be . . . a lobbyist), and allusions to U.S. history. Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland and Franklin Pierce all decorated Christmas trees, the Roosevelt young’uns inform their father."

    ***

    The band lineup for the next SXSW — March 12-21, 2010, in Austin, Texas, got recent updates. Minnesota bands included in the lineup: Gay Witch Abortion, Jeremy Messersmith, Peter Wolf Crier, Romantica and Solid Gold.

    ***

    Here’s your obligatory Bob Dylan note of the day: The LA Times has a review on a book featuring European graphic artists comic book style illustrated interpretations of songs by Bob Dylan. From the review: "Indeed, nearly all the graphic interpretations are visually striking, some even breathtaking in their powerful imagery. Only a few, however, rise to the level of Dylan’s thought-dreams, let alone go beyond them." Amazon posts a look at some inside pages.

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