The Rake Magazine

Author: Cristina Córdova

  • A Recipe for Hilarity

    What do you get when you take the cult classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail,
    add a bit of the British comedy troupe’s other great movies and music,
    toss in a pinch of Broadway cliché and a dash of pop culture, and throw
    it all into a blender?

    SPAMALOT!

    With such an incredible following, it would be unthinkable for Monty Python to just take the plot of The Holy Grail,
    add a few musical numbers, and let ‘er rip on Broadway. Instead, the
    Pythons took the opportunity to build on their comedic legacy by
    parodying not only themselves, but every Broadway and pop culture
    reference they could get their hands on. Amazingly enough … it worked!

    The broad outline of The Holy Grail remains intact.
    King Arthur still assembles his cast of knights to seek the holy grail,
    and encounters weird and wild obstacles along the way. But some
    elements of the film’s plot were moved around a bit, and songs from other Monty
    Python productions were added and revised to fit the plot.

    Spamalot’s
    outlandish satirization of Broadway’s most glaring clichés helps form
    a diverted plot twist in the second act, in which Arthur realizes that
    the only way he’ll find the Holy Grail is by putting on a Broadway play. Don’t
    worry; this is far from a spoiler, as the pursuit of the Broadway play
    becomes it’s own hilarious journey.

    Never taking their stint on Broadway too seriously, Monty Python takes on the self-mocking task of weaving together Broadway and pop culture spoofs with references to The Producers, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, West Side Story, and The Wizard of Oz, just to name a few. All this while moving along the adapted storyline of Monty Python and and the Holy Grail.

    Andrew
    Lloyd Webber     takes the brunt of the Broadway chastisement, however,
    even getting referenced by name by the knights who say "Ni," when they
    make the stipulation that the Broadway show that Arthur produces cannot
    be an Andrew Lloyd Webber play. When his name is uttered it elicits a
    screech even louder than that when the word "Ni" is used.

    Lloyd
    Webber’s Phantom of the Opera also gets parodied when the Lady of the
    Lake does a duet with Sir Galahad, singing "The Song That Goes Like
    This" a la "Music of the Night" or "All I Ask of You" or "Wishing You
    Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom. The song’s title refers
    to the Broadway cliché that there is always a climactic song (or two or
    three) in musicals when the male and female leads come together at
    last and sing a long, overly dramatic song to each other.

    Rife
    with sarcasm, the song’s opening lyrics reads, "Once in every show,
    there comes a song like this. It starts off soft and low, and ends up
    with a kiss."

    Not
    only does Arthur’s path change in the play, but so does that of Brave,
    Brave Sir Robin, who learns that he wants to work in musical theater,
    and the outed Sir Lancelot who finds that his "Holy Grail" is to "Find
    your male."

    Patrick Heusinger, who returns to Minnesota, where he played young Lars in the 2005 film Sweetland,
    puts in the best performance of the evening as Sir Lancelot … and The
    French Taunter … and Knight of Ni … and Tim The Enchanter. That’s
    right; he plays four parts, each as bold and audacious as the last. His
    performance is the most reminiscent of the original cast of The Holy Grail.

    The
    Lady of the Lake character is a welcome addition to the plot, only
    appearing as a reference in the Holy Grail film. Played by Esther
    Stilwell, the stereotypical diva has her mind set on marrying King
    Arthur from the beginning. Not only is her character a diva, but the
    songs that she sings are reminiscent of pop divas Mariah Carey,
    Cristina Aguilera, and Celine Dion … on steroids. Stilwell’s
    deliberately pitchy singing and overly dramatic performances poke fun
    at the Diva culture.

    If
    there is something missing from the film version, it is the
    characteristicly high male voices that the Monty Python crew brought to The Holy Grail. There are one or two scattered about in Spamalot, but nothing like the Monty Python movies.

    Fans of The Holy Grail should fear not, though. Such classic Grail
    scenes as Bring out your dead, the killer rabbit, the Black Knight,
    the french taunters, and the knights that say "Ni" still play a role in Spamalot.
    Some of them have gotten even funnier and have been expanded to include
    outlandishly choreographed musical numbers to further the stage plot.

    The musical expansion of Grail’s plot
    is best exemplified by the transformation of the vignette song "Knights
    of the Round Table" from the movie, into a lavish Vegas-meets-Broadway-meets-Camelot number that features showgirls twirling maces, a monk
    swing dancing with a nun, a Cher/Liza Minelli/Amy Winehouse lounge
    singer, and King Arthur’s round "roulette" table.

    So, grab yourself a little Vegas, add a splash of Camelot, mix-in a little Oz, and drink down some Spamalot. And remember, what happens in Spamelot … stays in Spamelot.

    Tickets are still available for Spamalot at the Orpheum Theater through June 1.

  • Sign Your Life away on the Dotted Line

    Personally, I’m a little tired of insider media gossip, but I find myself compelled to contribute to the cause. What the hell is up with these ridiculous non-competes!?

    The Pioneer Press has one. The Star Tribune has one. According to Brian Lambert, John Hines even had a non-compete agreement with KTLK. Work for any media in town, in fact, and you’ll likely be
    asked to sign one. Six months. One year. Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine has the gall to ask for two whole years!

    No, you’re not misunderstanding. It’s not enough that they have you exclusively while you’re there. That I can live with. But you can’t work for a "competing" (so loosely defined) organization for two years after you leave.

    A two-year non-compete?! Can you imagine? You
    leave that job — maybe you just get a little tired doing the same thing
    day in and day out — and you have to leave town to find work (unless you
    want to work at the local Arby’s). It’s absurd.

    I say we all take the Par Ridder approach and tear the fuckers up! (Pardon
    me, but outrage overrides the auto censors.)

    Why would anybody ever sign anything like this in the first place? Why would anyone sign away all their rights? To get a job? You’ve got to be kidding!

    Hello. Sign here. Welcome to indentured servitude.

    By signing a non-compete agreement, we are ceding our rights as employees, voluntarily surrendering our power of negotiation, our only leverage in a lion’s world. Ridiculous!

    As an employee you have the right to explore your options, to determine your value in the job market. You have the right to use said value to make demands on your employer. And you have the right to leave said employer if said employer does not match said value.

    On a much more personal note, you have the right to bore with your employer, to explore new options, to ty something new just because you damn well fell like it. You have a right to explore every whim. And, of course, you have the right to suffer the consequences.

    Why would anyone sign this away? Are we so desperate for employment that we’re willing to cut our legs off at the knees just because someone put a saw in front of us? Is this the contemporary scab—too desperate to make demands?

    Say "No!"

    For crying out loud, at least ask for a three-month probation period before you put on the cuffs (and then think twice about how long your hands will remain fused together after the cuffs are off). Would you marry someone who proposed to you after only one interview? Hell, I won’t even marry the man I’ve loved for eight years. And that divorce wouldn’t even require an extended celibacy period.

    We seem to have gotten far too comfortable with signing our rights away. Every day we set our signature to something new: a credit card, a mortgage, a lease, a loan, a job order, a purchase, an invoice, a job contract. How much do we really know about what we’re signing? How often do we question the agreement? Don’t even get me going on our lack of consumer rights… But we do have rights, people. And we need to start making demands. As long as we continue to submit to inanities, the lions will continue to feast on our bones.

  • Mr. Smith Goes to Kenwood

    Dane Smith is back, and he’s back with
    the panache that only serious money can sustain. Is this a good thing?
    As per Rupert Murdoch’s Pravda West, you decide!

    When last we saw our hometown hero, March of 2007, Dane Smith was walking the plank at the Newsreel of the Twin Cities,
    where the new spew of hard-edged gossiping, gay-bashing,
    Muslim-bashing, Kersten-style investigative journalism has dragged
    Strib reader’s average IQ down yet another 20 or 30 points. (When IQ
    approaches zero it’s a basic math problem; check out renormalization. If you find this stuff difficult, you’re reading too much Strib).

    Back
    to our story, shouldn’t we feel sorry for Smith, who coughed up a
    20-plus-year career of determinedly non-partisan political reporting in
    favor of getting out "while a good buyout offer was available"?

    No, we shouldn’t. Smith quickly re-invented himself, jumping the shark
    onto the career path of a politician who’s been around long enough to
    know what principles to sacrifice, and when. He followed the money.

    A
    mere month from his Strib swanbyline, Smith was "found" for the
    self-identified "progressive economic think tank" Growth and Justice in a "search" conducted by DFL mover and perennial candidate Rebecca Yanisch. This hookup paired Smith with ex-Strib crony and DFL candidate (do I sense a trend?) Joel Kramer, in a deal which looks chummier than a Wild night in the penalty box.

    Politicians
    leaving office are inclined to tap their Rolodexes, those arteries
    through which political influence and big money run fastest, for
    whatever purposes motivate them. Smith is now the poster boy for an epidemic of similar vascular incursions by exiting political journalists.

    What
    brings this all to mind is that, on Wednesday past, Smith and his pals,
    self-appointed keepers of Minnesota’s moral and electoral rectitude,
    treated us to a gloriously righteous fit of profitable indignation, the
    Worst Political Advertising in America Awards Ceremony. The event was, more or less, the political set’s version of the Bad Sex in Fiction Awards. Or something.

    Smith’s pre-event spiel
    touted an "Academy Awards style event," but admitted the content was
    just the baddest stuff of a few intern-hours’ search on YouTube. He
    proposed "marketing it as a way for people to blow off steam" in a
    "non-partisan, multi-partisan setting," but that’s where it gets even
    harder to believe.

    What it is, really is, is a feel good dollar hook for Growth and Justice, Smith’s we’re-not-very-partisan lobby. Smith’s real message is "send me money!"

    Growth and Justice has only one identifiable BOD Republican (Arlen Erdahl). The case makes itself that G&J is "nothing more than a front group for the DFL."
    Nevertheless, Smith, like most partisan Democrats, has handed over to
    the right the right to be openly partisan about anything. Like Dems in
    general, he’s scared to death of the word.

    Wednesday,
    in exchange for the paper-thin political cover of having kicked-out
    (Ron Erhardt) and forgotten (Charlie Weaver) Republicans,
    self-promoters (Mitch Pearlstein) desperate for their thoughts to be
    remembered, and US Senators (some guy named Coleman) desperate for
    their acts to be forgot, all act as award co-presenters, along with a
    bevy of the DFL’s Kenwood elite, Smith and G&J happily conceded Democratic ads to be just as stupid, dishonest, and downright evil as Republicans’.

    Irony
    the First is that Smith’s methods, indeed his very position, are those
    he so recently decried. His portentously perverse parting proposition
    for a Strib successor: "Always pay attention to who’s getting what and
    why    . I’ve always liked the old saw about comforting the afflicted and
    afflicting the comfortable." Today no powerful or desirous Minnesota politician is too comfortable to sit in the shade of the G&J umbrella.

    And let’s not mention that, as an entrenched media elitist, Smith has no trouble convincing MSM (see here, and here) to spring for free space ("earned media," in political parlance) to promote his fund raising activities.

    To
    be fair (must I?), Smith and his cronies are emulating a right wing
    strategy of years’ proven effectiveness. For as long as memory, the
    Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute and
    other unabashed cash laundries have ecstatically catapulted Republican
    candidates and causes upon us from behind the invisible shield of non-profit tax deductions. Left-wingers are finally catching on, and G&J is but one of a rapidly flocking coterie of port side dollar decoys.

    But the impartiality illusion must be maintained.

    G&J’s
    complaints about Dem ads are fatuous at best. Growth and Justice
    cheerily Swift-boats national Democrats, declaring the DNC’s smooth,
    smart Valentine’s Day 2008 "Sweetheart Deal" to be the bad ad equal to North Carolina lunatic fringer Vernon Robinson’s 2004 "Twilight Zone v. Leave It To Beaver." "Sweetheart Deal," tapped as a "guilt by association" ad, wins G&J’s Daisy Award for Dems bashing Republicans, while "Twilight Zone" wins the Willie Award for the reverse. But there’s a qualitative difference between the two.

    Robinson,
    who has lost Republican primaries in multiple NC Congressional districts,
    takes on Islamic extremists, homosexuals, lesbians, feminists, liberal
    judges, burning American flags, killing a million babies, the ten
    commandments, God, black children born out of wedlock, Jesse Jackson,
    Al Sharpton, racial quotas, aliens (with and without spaceships) and
    the unguarded Mexican border, in 59 seconds flat. He’s an avenging
    angel, and there are a lot of us on his hit list. McCain and Bush may
    not be peas in every issue’s pod, as "Sweetheart Deal" hints, but
    they’re from adjacent rows of the same vegetable garden, and the ad
    uses McCain’s own audio to make that point. The DNC MO isn’t guilt by
    association; it’s association by guilt. Don’t bother trying to decode
    this one. It’s tautological.

    Smith’s
    supreme intellectual insult, though, for those whose IQ numbers still
    require sock removal (see paragraph 2), doesn’t even have a
    (non-)partisan point. It’s a shame shame about using sex to sell
    politics. Smith/G&J cite a clever tongue and cheek (sic) show by porn actress and political opportunist Mary Carey,
    demonstrating her qualifications to command the office of Governor of
    California, and whatever else might arise. How opportune! Mr. Smith, to
    lure us to your very own fund raiser by flashing a hint of porn. C’mon,
    Dane, who’s zoomin’ who?

    To
    entertain a rumsfeldian dialogue, is the growth of Growth and Justice
    justifiable? No. Is it necessary to balance the political equation?
    Yes. Will American politics improve, as Democrats catch up with
    Republicans in the Think Tank Wars? I doubt it. Is there a better
    way? You tell me!

     

  • Our Dear Friend "Utah" Phillips

    We just received this email from Red House Records, and thought you all should know:

    It is with great regret that Red House Records mourns the loss of our friend Bruce "Utah" Phillips who passed away Friday the 23rd at his home in Nevada City, California. In a time when words like "icon" and "legend" are bandied about
    too freely, Utah was the real deal: a consummate songwriter, labor
    historian, humorist and towering figure in American Folk Music. A true
    original, we will not see his like again and it was our great privilege
    to have been able to partner with him on a number of record releases.
    Our deepest condolences go out to Utah’s family and many friends and the countless fans who will profoundly feel his absence. His family requests memorial donations to Hospitality House, P.O. Box 3223, Grass Valley, California 95945 (530) 271-7144.

    Born
    Bruce Duncan Phillips on May 15, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio, he was the
    son of labor organizers. Whether through this early influence or an
    early life that was not always tranquil or easy, by his twenties
    Phillips demonstrated a lifelong concern with the living conditions of
    working people. He was a proud member of the Industrial Workers of the World,
    popularly known as "the Wobblies," an organizational artifact of early
    twentieth-century labor struggles that has seen renewed interest and
    growth in membership in the last decade, not in small part due to his
    efforts to popularize it. Phillips served as an Army private during the
    Korean War, an experience he would later refer to as the turning point
    of his life. Deeply affected by the devastation and human misery he had
    witnessed, upon his return to the United States he began drifting,
    riding freight trains around the country.

    His struggle would
    be familiar today, when the difficulties of returning combat veterans
    are more widely understood, but in the late fifties Phillips was left
    to work them out for himself. Destitute and drinking, Phillips got off
    a freight train in Salt Lake City and wound up at the Joe Hill House, a
    homeless shelter operated by the anarchist Ammon Hennacy, a
    member of the Catholic Worker movement and associate of Dorothy Day.
    Phillips credited Hennacy and other social reformers he referred to as
    his "elders" with having provided a philosophical framework around
    which he later constructed songs and stories he intended as a template
    his audiences could employ to understand their own political and
    working lives. They were often hilarious, sometimes sad, but never
    shallow. "He made me understand that music must be more than cotton
    candy for the ears," said John McCutcheon, a nationally-known
    folksinger and close friend.

    In the creation of his performing persona and work, Phillips drew from influences as diverse as Borscht Belt comedian Myron Cohen, folksingers Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and country stars Hank Williams and T. Texas Tyler. A
    stint as an archivist for the State of Utah in the 1960s taught
    Phillips the discipline of historical research; beneath the simplest
    and most folksy of his songs was a rigorous attention to detail and a
    strong and carefully-crafted narrative structure. He was a voracious
    reader in a surprising variety of fields. Meanwhile, Phillips was
    working at Hennacy’s Joe Hill house. In 1968 he ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket.
    The race was won by a Republican candidate, and Phillips was seen by
    some Democrats as having split the vote. He subsequently lost his job
    with the State of Utah, a process he described as "blacklisting."
    Phillips left Utah for Saratoga Springs, New York, where he was
    welcomed into a lively community of folk performers centered at the Caffé Lena. Over
    the span of the nearly four decades that followed, Phillips worked in
    what he referred to as "the Trade," developing an audience of hundreds
    of thousands and performing in large and small cities throughout the
    United States, Canada, and Europe. His performing partners included Rosalie Sorrels, Kate Wolf, John McCutcheon and Ani DiFranco.
    "He was like an alchemist," said Sorrels, "He took the stories of
    working people and railroad bums and he built them into work that was
    influenced by writers like Thomas Wolfe, but then he gave it back, he
    put it in language so the people whom the songs and stories were about
    still had them, still owned them. He didn’t believe in stealing culture
    from the people it was about." A single from Phillips’s first record, "Moose Turd Pie,"
    a rollicking story about working on a railroad track gang, saw
    extensive airplay in 1973. From then on, Phillips had work on the road.

    His extensive writing and recording career included two albums with Ani DiFranco which earned a Grammy nomination. Phillips’s songs were performed and recorded by Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Tom Waits, Joe Ely and others. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Folk Alliance in 1997.
    Phillips, something of a perfectionist, claimed that he never lost his
    stage fright before performances. He didn’t want to lose it, he said;
    it kept him improving. Phillips began suffering from the effects of
    chronic heart disease in 2004, and as his illness kept him off the road
    at times, he started a nationally syndicated folk-music radio show, "Loafer’s Glory,"
    produced at KVMR-FM and started a homeless shelter in his rural home
    county, where down-on-their-luck men and women were sleeping under the
    manzanita brush at the edge of town. Hospitality House opened
    in 2005 and continues to house 25 to 30 guests a night. In this way,
    Phillips returned to the work of his mentor Hennacy in the last four
    years of his life.

    Phillips died at home, in bed, in his
    sleep, next to his wife. He is survived by his son Duncan and
    daughter-in-law Bobette of Salt Lake City, son Brendan of Olympia,
    Washington; daughter Morrigan Belle of Washington, D.C.; stepson
    Nicholas Tomb of Monterrey, California; stepson and daughter-in-law Ian
    Durfee and Mary Creasey of Davis, California; brothers David Phillips
    of Fairfield, California, Ed Phillips of Cleveland, Ohio and Stuart
    Cohen of Los Angeles; sister Deborah Cohen of Lisbon, Portugal; and a
    grandchild, Brendan. He was preceded in death by his father Edwin
    Phillips and mother Kathleen, and his stepfather, Syd Cohen.

     

  • Wild Bill's Birthday

    One hundred and seventy-one years ago, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois. Perhaps this is a good day to rent the full first season of Deadwood and veg out in front of a screen. It’s hardly the most sociable way to spend your time (unless you make a party out of it), but damn… it’s good!

    Of course, you could always just go to Bill’s Gun Shop & Range and fire a few rounds from a Colt revolver (or two).

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Michael Ondaatje

    OK, I confess: I’ve never actually read The English Patient; I only saw the movie — and even then only after months of resistance. (I didn’t like it, of course. How can anyone like something that’s supposed to be that good?) The truth is, I never gave Michael Ondaatje a fair shake until a random (and terribly good looking) man wondered into a bar in Puerto Rico and handed me a copy of Coming Through Slaughter. I read that one, of course. (Don’t you have to read a book given to you a random man in a bar?) And, bingbamboom, what a read! Methodically splattering his tales in a realm between prose and poetry, Ondaatje speaks in a language that’s all his own, but that inevitably reverberates with all that is not — and all that is great: the heat-soaked world of Tennessee Williams, the non-linear poetry of James Joyce, the romantic exoticism of Lord Byron. The man is brilliant. And tonight he’s here to share his brilliance with us as part of the Talking Volumes series at the Fitz. Ondaatje, who was born in Sri Lanka and now lives outside Toronto, will discuss his latest novel, Divisadero, in which an act of violence sends us spinning from the past to the present, and from the casinos of Nevada to the French countryside. Sounds like quintessential Ondaatje to me.

    7 p.m., Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul; 651-290-1221; $15.

    MUSIC
    George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic

    "Funk is fun," says grandmaster of funk George Clinton. "It’s a state of mind; but it’s also all the ramifications of that state of mind." Let the rainbow-dreaded
    ringleader of Parliament-Funkadelic guide your state of mind tonight at First Avenue. You’ll have to deal with the ramifications on your own.

    8 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Avenue North, Minneapolis; 612-338-8388; $25.

    And if you happen to be at First Avenue (or even if you’re not), be sure to poke your head into the 7th Street Entry to catch Jason Trachtenburg. I’m not sure what he’s up to these days, but if he’s still reaching out (even just a little) into the realms of the Trachtenburg Family Sideshow Players, then he’ll definitely be worth a gander.

    Also tonight, Motion City Soundtrack returns home for a gig at Myth.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Spamalot Is Back

    Hands down, this retelling of the ’75 flick Monty Python and the Holy Grail
    is the Broadway hit of the decade. Its success owes to the Pythons’
    pioneering formula—sketch comedy bits on flatulence, effeminate
    Frenchmen, and such—which, in turn, has attracted the loyal patronage
    of a most atypical theatergoer: the heterosexual white man aged
    thirty-five or thereabouts. But this production is an unapologetically
    slapstick, frisky, and therefore supremely escapist entertainment for
    all demographics. This touring production features an all-new cast of
    King Arthur and his knights in tights, as the original blockbuster is
    still going strong on Broadway. Nevertheless, the ersatz proves as popular as the first: Last summer’s St. Paul production sold out completely. —Christy DeSmith

    7:30 p.m., Orpheum Theater, 910 Hennepin Ave; 651-989-5151; $29-$79.

  • Fly the Flag at Half-Staff

    Happy Memorial Day! Happy Memorial Day? We get so used to wishing happy holidays that we end up saying inanities like these. Is it a happy day — a holiday to commemorate loss of lives, casualties? What do you make from a holiday whose best venue is the cemetery? A celebration of life, perhaps — rather than mourning?

    It’s ok to decorate the grave and fire up the grill on the same day. We just need to stop and find that historical point of balance somewhere within all the beginning-of-summer, commercial, barbecue hype that overwhelms the day.

    Whatever you’re doing at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern time), stop for a moment. Join others across the country for a national moment of remembrance to commemorate the men and women who have perished while in military service to our country. This isn’t a statement on war. This is not a declaration of violence. You are supporting nothing but the people who have died. You are supporting nothing but life… and humanity.

    MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS

    A number of events across the Twin Cities will pay tribute to our veterans. You’re likely to find crowds and activities in most any cemetery and/or memorial. And you’re likely to find small parades and gatherings in just about any town. But, of course, there’s plenty going on at the State Capitol as well. Join Minnesota Veterans for Peace at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at 9 a.m., and join the Vietnam Veterans of America at 2:30 p.m. for live speakers, music, and a color guard march.

    Fort Snelling might be the best place to spend the day and get a true feel for military life with a living Timeline of the American Soldier. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., costumed staff will map out 225 years of U.S.
    military history for you through period clothing, accouterments, artifacts, and
    firing demonstrations. Guests can explore recreated military
    encampments. And veterans and current military families are admitted free
    of charge.

    Or you can choose spirit over realism and commemorate the day with a traditional Native American ceremony. Honor your veterans, your people, and your land at the Mille Lacs Memorial Day Pow-Wow. Enjoy the beautiful two-hour drive up north to Onamia for a day of Native American dance, music, food, crafts, and games. The outdoor event is sponsored by the local American
    Veterans Post 53 and is held on the museum grounds on the beautiful
    shores of Lake Mille Lacs.

    Also today, Vive Minnesota! continues — with a special veteran’s remembrance at 11 a.m.

    And if you’d like to forget Memorial Day altogether, then I have just the thing: It Came From Another World at the Parkway Theater.

  • ¡Viva la Música!

    SPECIAL EVENT
    ¡Vive Minnesota!

    The first-ever annual Vive Minnesota…El Festival® — a three-day Latino music, art, and food festival — hits Harriet Island this weekend with some seriously hot local acts performing salsa, reggaeton, Latin Jazz, and more, on two stages. The line-up, which consists of 30 musical acts spiced with Latin dance performances, includes Salsa del Soul (with two of the hottest percussionists in the region), Ticket to Brazil, Maria Isa, Andrés Prado, Desdamona, and Michael Hauser. (Co-founders Mario Duarte, Michael Robles and Alberto Monserrate hope to bring in national acts as well in the coming years.) An elevated Corona VIP skybox includes VIP parking, food, beverage, and a perfect view of the Main Stage. A dedicated kids’ play area features a Titanic Thrill Slide®, a 65’ Rock Climb Challenge Obstacle Course, a Moonwalk, Hoop Shots, and all sorts of fun and games for the little ones. And everyone is invited to enjoy (and gorge on) the eclectic mix of Latin American food and culture.

    Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Harriet Island Regional Park, downtown Saint Paul, free.

    MUSIC
    Bella Sol Music Festival

    The free love floweth in Harmony Park this weekend! Well, perhaps it’s not
    exactly free, but $90 gets you three full days of music, live art installations,
    sun ceremonies, fire dancing, camping, camaraderie, and much, much more.
    A ridiculous number of bands are set to rock the park, including Buckethead
    (yes, that guy that wears a KFC bucket on his head), God Johnson, Desdamona (who clearly has a busy festival-hopping weekend in store),
    the North Mississippi All Stars, The Big Wu, and Dance Band — to name
    a mere few. This yearly Festival is the perfect kick off to summer,
    so pack up your patchouli oil, practice saying "Hey Man,"
    and head to Geneva, MN for a memorable celebration of the
    Sun. —Kate Iverson

    Friday 9 a.m. – Sunday 9 p.m.,
    Harmony Park, Geneva, MN, $90-$145.

    And of course, don’t forget Minnesota Sur Siene. The Fine Line presents A Night in Ethiopia, with Mahmoud Ahmed, on Saturday night.

    Pierre-Laurent Aimard Directs His Final Program of the Season

    French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard will direct The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra this weekend in his last concert of his second season as an SPCO artistic partner. Aimard will conduct Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 in D, The Clock and Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists (not included in Jazzed-Up Friday) from the podium. Then, from the piano, Aimard will direct Beethoven’s Concerto in C for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Triple with performances by Associate Concertmaster Ruggero Allifranchini and Principal Cello Ronald Thomas. The May 23rd evening performance is a Jazzed-Up Friday. While Ligeti will not be performed, audience members can choose to return to the concert hall after intermission for Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Archduke, featuring Leslie Shank, Joshua Koestenbaum, and Lydia Artymiw. Or, they can listen to live jazz in the Marzitelli foyer with The Laura Caviani Trio.

    Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. [Jazzed-Up Friday], Saturday at 8 p.m., Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St, St Paul; 651-224-4222. Sunday at 2 p.m., Benson Great Hall, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul; 651-638-6333. Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, 651-291-1144; $10-$48.


    Gordon Johnson GJ4 CD Release Party

    Gordy Johnson is a connoisseur of jazz piano trios, and not
    coincidentally the format is his metier as a bassist. As its title
    implies, GJ4 is the fourth time Johnson has mixed and matched trios
    from his impressive connections with national stars and local
    luminaries who are drummers and pianists, and it is arguably his best
    foray into this self-defined realm thus far. My favorite songs on the
    disc are the pair with Johnson musically astride the restless,
    harmonically acute ivory stylings of precocious local Tanner Taylor and
    the surprisingly restrained yet simmering beats offered up by
    ex-Journey and current Vital Information drummer Steve Smith. Don’t
    miss Matt Wilson’s innovative drumming on the Dewey Redman tribute,
    "Joie de Vivre" and the Alec Wilder composition, "I’ll Be Around," or
    the hushed delicacy of Johnson with Bad Plus timekeeper Dave King and
    the exquisitely pensive ex-pat Minnesotan Bill Carrothers on piano on
    the closing "Sleep Warm." Taylor will be on board for this CD release
    gig at the Dakota, along with Monkish pianist Laura Caviani, who
    contributes the gently burnished "The Return" on GJ4, and pianist Bryan
    Nichols    , who is featured with Johnson and Wilson on those Redman and
    Wilder numbers. The beats will be ably rapped out by Phil Hey, who has
    pretty much set the gold standard for local jazz drummers the past two
    decades. But most of all, these trio CD releases are the rare occasions
    when Johnson’s penetrating bass lines and solos are as much the star as
    the character actor complement to the prevailing music, an
    assertiveness that both rewards and reminds us of his talent. —Britt Robson

    Sunday at 7 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $5.

    Also on Sunday night, Dave Brubeck at Orchestra Hall.

    THEATER & PERORMANCE
    The Ugly One Makes U.S. Premiere

    A hilarious, yet reflective
    tale about a man named Lette who suddenly discovers that he’s ugly — and
    subsequently his life, job, marriage, and self-esteem begin to unravel.
    However, beauty can be bought, and Lette comes face to face with his
    identity, and the consequences of giving it up. The Ugly One is a last minute and welcome addition
    to the Guthrie’s 2007-2008 season. Written by rising star Mariu s von Mayenburg of Berlin, and directed by Benjamin
    McGovern, this production makes its U.S. debut on Saturday, and runs through June 1st. —Kate Iverson

    Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m., Dowling Studio, Guthrie Theater, 818 2nd Ave. S, Minneapolis, $18-$34.

    FILM
    Standard Operating Procedure

    How much of a story can be told by looking at a photograph? What is
    considered fact and proof? Is seeing truly believing? The documentary
    film Standard Operating Procedure breaks apart these questions by delving into the lives of soldiers stationed at Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. Academy Award winning director Errol Morris
    uses photographs and stories of American soldiers to depict the stained
    and corrupt system within the interrogation centers in the Middle East.
    Although it may feel uncomfortable and gut wrenching at times, this
    documentary is an important exposé on the war. The 118-minute film
    leaves you with some unanswered questions, but like the photographs,
    the documentary is up for some interpretation from the audience. —Hannah Simpson (read full review and interview with Errol Morris)

    Opens Friday, May 23rd at Landmark’s Lagoon Cinema.

    DANCE
    Celebrate National Tap Dance Day at MOA

    In 1989, Congress passed a bill declaring May 25 National Tap Dance Day. I bet you didn’t know that. Why May 25th, of all days? It’s the the birth date of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who began performing in saloons at the age of six and went on to become one of the best-known vaudeville tap acts of his era. Celebrate his legacy and National Tap Dance Day at the Mall of America this Sunday with Keane Sense
    of Rhythm     and various dance schools around the Twin Cities. Guests are invited to enjoy live tap dance performances presented in a historical context.

    Sunday from 12-4 p.m., Mall of America Rotunda, Bloomington.

  • Bye Bye, Gallbladder

    As I bare my flesh to the knife today and have an evil, pesky organ removed from its familiar home-turned-battleground, I shall come in and out of consciousness thinking about the pool opening today in my courtyard. I shall be thinking about the sun, beating on my belly, rather than a knife. Truth is, I’m more disturbed by missing the first pool day than by losing an organ. I mean, you can take the organ to the pool, but you can’t take the pool to the organ. (And they haven’t even given me the good stuff yet.)

    MUSIC
    MOSAIC International Marketplace

    I love summer in the Twin Cities! OK, it’s not summer. Not technically — technically not until the end of June. But socially — socially it’s summer. Unofficially, it has reached its official start (heh): Memorial Day Weekend is at our fingertips. What does this mean? It means
    outdoor music, outdoor movies, outdoor dancing, outdoor, outdoor,
    outdoor — free! Lovely. Yesterday afternoon, we had free live music at
    Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, and — you know how it is — the other plazas don’t want to be outdone. This afternoon, enjoy the Jawaahir
    Middle Eastern Dancers     at Xcel Energy Plaza as part of the Minneapolis Mosaic preview series.


    11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Xcel Energy Plaza, corner of 5th Street and Nicollet Mall, downtown Minneapolis; free.

    SPECIAL EVENT
    PA. PA, PA. PA-PA — Gallery Grooves

    Groovy as our Gallery Grooves nights usually are, we seldom have live percussion. Oh, yeah. Now that’s groovy — bringin’ down the beat. Grab your black beret — whether donning the beatnik or revolutionary flavor — and strut your way down to granola town (Ok, Seward) to sample and savor: art, jazz, wine, and even food. What could be greater? Contemplate The Figure and the Landscape (artwork by Nick Legeros, Brant Kingman, Roger Junk, Will Agar, Doug Beasley, Chris Faust, and Jeff Korte). Massage the brain a bit with an artists’ discussion panel. And then get the blood pumping with a performance by the Progressive Percussion Ensemble, led by Wallace Hill, in the Drums & Art studio. Crash Bam Boom with Red Alarm wine sampling from Artisan Vineyards and food samplings by—mmmm—Be’wiched. And of course, enjoy the riveting conversation of KBEM’s Kevin Barnes.

    6 – 9 p.m., Vine Arts Center, 2637 27th Ave. S., Minneapolis; free.

    THEATE & PERFORMANCE
    Pulitzer Prize Finalist Makes Area Premiere

    It’s opening night at the Pillsbury House Theater tonight, and this one has all the makings for success — a Pulitzer Prize-finalist drama, a Tony Award-nominated director, an awakening that’s impulsed by a strong social message — race, family, love. Tada! Frankly, I’m just turned on by the idea of a character who can "read the future through water" — especially when it’s somehow a product of being abandoned to the river as a child (like Moses). Bulrusher, written by Eisa Davis, tells the story of a young African American woman coming of age in a small Redwood country town in the ’50s. Under Marion McClinton’s direction, actors John Catron, Christiana Clark, Jodi Kellogg, Sonja Parks, Mark Rosenwinkel, and James A. Williams bring to life a powerful story about the possibilities of love.

    7:30 p.m. (May 22-June 14), Pillsbury House Theatre Mainstage, 3501 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-825-0459; $18 (students/seniors $13).

  • A. Pope's Special Day

    True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
    As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance.
    ‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
    The sound must seem an echo to the sense.

    —Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism: Part 2, 362-365

    English poet Alexander Pope was born 320 years ago today.

    First things first: Tickets go on sale today at 8 a.m. for the highly anticipated Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Tickets are available online, via phone at (651) 221-9444, or in person at the Science Museum’s Box Office. The Science Museum hopes to welcome more than 250,000 visitors during the exhibit’s eight week run (June 13 – August 24).

    MUSIC
    Percussion at Peavey

    If you work in downtown Minneapolis — or at least close by — you’re in luck today. It’s going to be a beautiful, sunny day, so pack up a lunch, or pick one up, and spend your lunch hour at Peavey Plaza with the Minnesota Orchestra. The free concert, brought to you by Target, kicks off the Orchestra’s three-week Percussion Festival with a program of Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, selections from Bizet’s/Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, III Allegro. Drums Unlimited and Mu Daiku will warm up the stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Cities 97 DJ Brian Oake will serve as host.

    Noon-1 p.m., Peavey Plaza, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; free.

    Also tonight, White Rabbits, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Humanboy play at the 400 Bar (9 p.m., $12).

    DANCE
    Saint Paul City Ballet Spring Gala

    What’s the Saint Paul City Ballet up to lately? As so many talented dance students thoughout the Twin Cities practive their art and hone their skills, we so often miss their moments of glory. Don’t miss this one. The Saint Paul City Ballet’s Spring Gala showcases students of all classes and levels. Start at 5 p.m., with the young children’s performance, and stay on for the more mature 7:30 performance — Jazz, Sacred Arts, and Coppelia with pre-professional and adult students.

    5 & 7:30 p.m. (tomorrow at 7 p.m. only), E.M. Pearson Theatre, Concordia University, 275 Syndicate St. N., St. Paul; 651-690-1588; $10-$15.

    FILM
    Midnight Cowboy and Manchurian Candidate

    The Landmark Edina Cinema serves up another double whammy double feature tonight. First, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight play down-and-out hustlers/drifters in the 1969 classic, Midnight Cowboy, directed by John Schlesinger. And as if that weren’t enough, John Frankenheimer’s 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate follows. You certainly can’t go wrong with Frank Sinatra and brain-washing conspiracies (even communist ones). Toss in an evil Angela Lansbury and the typically lovely Janet Leigh, and you’ve got yourself quite a treat.

    7 & 9:30 p.m., Edina Cinema, 3911 W. 50th
    St., Edina; 651-649-4416.


    It’s also time for another IFP Cinema Lounge at the Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater (7 p.m., free).

    SPECIAL EVENT
    The Second Quadrennial Worst Political Advertising in America Awards

    Have some fun at politics’ expense tonight; make fun of everything political. Former CNN reporter and Hopkins native Aaron Brown — who has brought us news on 9-11, the Iraq War, the Columbine High School shootings, the O.J. Simpson trial, Mandela’s election — will host the Second Quadrennial Worst Political Advertising in America Awards this evening — live in Minneapolis. A number of local celebrity presenter/politicians will participate as well, among them St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Sarah Janecek, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak

    8 p.m., Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis; 612-339-7007; $32.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Cult Author Chuck Palahniuk

    Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, is in town tonight promoting his new book, Snuff, a story about an aging porn star who tries to revive her career by "doing" 600 men on screen. The book jumps from character to character as they mingle about, waiting for their moment of fame.

    7 p.m., Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-333-7399; $30.

  • In Defense of Tou Saiko Lee

    Good morning,

    My name is Chris DeLine, and I’m the editor for a local music site
    called Culture Bully. Today we posted a rebuttle written written by one of our writers, Kyle Myhre, regarding Jason
    Lewis’s discouraging comments on local Hmong artist Tou Saiko Lee. Kyle is also a local MC,
    spoken word artist, and activist. I thought you’d be interested in
    checking it out.

    Thanks for your time!

    Chris DeLine, Culture Bully
    Letter