Author: Erin Roof

Kimya Dawson is just the cheer
we need for these economic doldrums. The tattooed fairy godmother visits
the Cedar Cultural Center on April 16, riding high on the indie box office
smashery of Juno and the soundtrack that serves as a collection
of her hits. Dawson performs folk stripped down to its bare essence.
Her soft-spoken brilliance touches on the subjects real life: finding
and losing love, war, shysters, size 13 basketball shoes, and how "All
girls feel too big sometimes regardless of their size." She found
fame with alt folk favorites The Moldy Peaches, and her solo career
continues to soar. Scratchy voice and afro included.

7:30 p.m., The Cedar, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-388-2674; $12; SOLD OUT.

Listening to Feel Good Ghosts
is a visceral event with images flooding from vocalist Craig Minowa’s
decadent lyrics. Take this snippet from "When Water Comes To Life":
"And underneath your ribs/ they’ll find a heart-shaped locket/ an
old photograph of you in daddy’s arms/ then they’ll sew you closed."
In one moment it sounds painfully fragile, as if being fastened together
by a teary-eyed romantic. The next moment its musical bravado blossoms
around their insecurities. Cloud Cult is a mix between indie-tastic
emotional crooners like Bright Eyes and The Shins and a genre of its
own creation. The band fuses elegant strings with crunchy guitars all
while speckling cheerful ba-da-das in the background of Minowa’s warbly
tenor. Feel Good Ghosts is a sonic wonderland that folds out into
a third dimension as Cloud Cult incorporates two visual artists into
its live shows. Catch its multi-media extravaganza at the band’s CD
release party April 8 at the Electric Fetus or at First Avenue April
26.