rakemag Formed by young, classically trained musicians, Carolina Chocolate Drops aim to carry on the tradition of Southern black string music, which largely died out with the birth of the recording industry and the ascendance of the blues. Most folks today think of old-timey music as bluegrass played by white people from Appalachia, but historically, the … Read more
The SPCO hits the road for a three-week tour of the Twin Cities, celebrating the works of that cranky genius Beethoven, a man whose love life was a series of trysts with one married lady after another. Commitment phobic or just unlucky in love? Either way, he died single after channeling his romantic energy into … Read more
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards, CD available November 21 This is what we want for Christmas, even if the leathery, Beetlegeuse-ish Waits is more a Halloween kind of guy, and even if we probably can’t wait that long. A career retrospective (not a greatest-hits collection), this three-disc set compiles twenty-four rarities and thirty new songs … Read more
It’s one thing to buy a band’s album; it’s another thing entirely to buy them new instruments. (Isn’t that what parents are for?) But something in the Decemberists, a sort of homely ensemble of indie balladeers from Portland, Oregon, must bring out the inner nurturer in their followers. When the band’s tour van and gear … Read more
Charity comes in strange packages: Dr. John is raising some cash to aid New Orleans reconstruction efforts by selling his underwear. However, it should be noted that the good Doctor’s briefs are brand new, and emblazoned with a snazzy souvenir New Orleans logo. (He wears size large, by the way.) The Crescent City legend has … Read more
I lived for a year in a basement apartment with roommates who, despite our subterranean situation, were always switching off the lights. They hated overhead lighting, they explained, and yet no one was willing to invest in even the cheapest floor lamps. I was, for my part, unwilling to fund this improvement on my own, … Read more
Mother Courage opens this weekend. It’s the show I’ve been waiting months for!! Mother Courage has long been one of my favorite play scripts, the monster of a thing… But I’ve never before seen it performed. I’ll be quite interested to see how this fairly young actress, Annie Enneking, performs in the role of crusty, … Read more
Someone over at MNSpeak beat me to the punch on tonight’s happeningest happening: a tour of FOUND magazine, 8 p.m. at Creative Electric Studios. (And I might actually go, now that I’m feeling better…) Not wanting to seem unoriginal, however, I thought I’d toss off a couple other things, too: A Kung Fu comedy from … Read more
Another movie night… On one hand, we have the Women’s Human Rights Film Series, which provides a smattering of documentaries about the various plights of women… And, on the other hand (the far other), we have rumor of a documentary about snuff films airing at IFP’s Cinema Lounge tonight… Another bet is 49 Up, a … Read more
More fodder from the chick who’s too sick to do nuthin’: (Ah, there’s not much going on today anyhow…) another fantastic concert from the Minnesota Sur Seine Festival, a show that’s a little tripped up thanks to some problems de la Visa, and perhaps the Art of Horror exhibition at Altered Aesthetics. Because, who doesn’t … Read more