I was ten years old when I first saw Citizen Kane. My father hauled my brother and me to the enormous Temple Theatre in downtown Saginaw, Michigan, and with a crowd of maybe two dozen, we noticed that Citizen Kane was more than just a chapter of film history; it was hilarious and melancholy and … Read more
Joan Jett, the tough-talking broad who once screeched “I don’t give a damn about my reputation,” has been canonized by an entire generation of she-rockers. Everyone from Courtney Love to PJ Harvey cites her as a muse. And while Jett’s career has recently detoured through acting gigs and reworking some of her standards for movie … Read more
As of late, Wendy Knox has been giving some thought to what a person might take with her if driven from her homeland. She and her Frank Theatre troupe are rehearsing their production of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, an epic set during the Thirty Years’ War of 1618-1648—a time when many Europeans … Read more
Mina Agossi was born to rankle a particularly fusty type of jazz listener. Her music is just so maddeningly … French. Edgy, cranky, wandering, and undeniably sexy, her vocal style owes more to PJ Harvey and Diamanda Galás than anyone from the jazz world. Agossi employs punkish backup musicians, utilizes unauthorized sounds (including the kamale … Read more
Three years after his last album, Guero, Beck gives us The Information, a spacey rap fantasy, and we’re relieved to report that our favorite trapped-in-puberty rocker is still one of the most devious sound manipulators in the business. Things were uncertain for a while: After the exceedingly mopey Sea Change and a notorious tour with … Read more
Long the greatest cover band in the indie-rock world, Yo La Tengo’s live repertoire (and much of its recorded catalog) includes an exhaustive list of wonderful songs by other people, ranging from the Fall and the Grateful Dead to John Lennon and Captain Beefheart. Of course, Ira Kaplan has proven to be abundantly capable of … Read more
VocalEssence, 120 singers strong, will join forces with the all-male singers of the boutique troupe Cantus to present an evening of folk songs, spirituals, and contemporary classical compositions, all handcrafted right here in the U.S.A. Included are works by Aaron Copland (“Ching-a-ring-chaw”) and Leonard Bernstein (“Make Our Garden Grow”) as well as relative unknowns. A … Read more
Given Minnesotans’ time-honored inferiority complex, it’s good to be reminded from time to time that our little corner of the world holds some importance, especially in the world of music. Case in point: For three years now, the continent-bridging Minnesota Sur Seine Festival has successfully lured some of Europe’s most outstanding jazz musicians (mostly French) … Read more
For its thirtieth year, Penumbra is staging an entire season of musical productions—returning to what, we think, is the company’s strength. The setting for its first offering is, appropriately, the Harlem Renaissance, and is built around the twenty-nine songs composed by ace stride pianist Thomas “Fats” Waller at the height of his Jazz Age stardom. … Read more
The faculty of the University of Minnesota’s theater arts and dance programs are swimming in so much genius that its productions, done mostly to invite students into the process (and thus, away from the pressures of generating income), are among the most inventive in town. This fall, puppeteer Michael Sommers and physical theater specialist Luverne … Read more