The Rake Magazine

Category: Blog Post

  • Open Thread: Wolves Top Jazz Again

    Minnesota played its best basketball game of the season to beat Utah earlier this season. They played one of their worst, least inspired games in the rematch with the Jazz, a contest in which my criticism of the Wolves’ effort was greeted by many commenters with: "We knew they had no chance because Utah remembers what happened the first time and wants revenge."

    Okay, I wasn’t there this afternoon–out of town on another assignment–so what happened?

    As in the first game, it looks as if the scoring was very balanced, with seven players in double figures, and an 8th, Randy Foye, with 9 points on just 5 shots. Kirk Snyder, bumped from the starting lineup for the first time in nearly a month, led the Wolves in plus/minus and Jefferson, McCants and Gomes led them in scoring. On paper, it looks as if D-Will had a bad game.

    So chime and let me know what happened.

  • It's Opening Day, You Know What To Do

    Theater lovers, don’t delay. Today is last day of the Theater All Year Sale, so take advantage of the six-ticket package, and catch some great shows over the next four months.

    Tickets also went on sale this weekend for the Kid Rock show at the Target Center on May 24th, the Melissa Etheridge show at the O’Shaughnessy on August 9th (talk about selling in advance), and the Ween show at Roy Wilkins Auditorium on July 19th, so if any of these interest you, act fast.

    SPORTS
    Minnesota Twins Home Season Opener

    There’s really no question at all about what you should do tonight. It’s just a matter of whether you can get in or not; and if not, there’s always the tube (and I’m not talking lightrail here). While no one is giving the Twins much of a break in the season forecasts, we still have to find a way to muster up enough excitement to give it a good run. Who knows? We’ve come through at some odd times in the past. We can do it again. And, believe me, the players know they have something to prove. Ten-year Major League veteran, Livian Hernandez will be pitching today’s game against the Los Angeles Angels — the first American League game in his career. And Rake writer Brad Zellar will be there to relaunch his annual baseball blog, Warning Track Power. So stay tuned.

    6:05 p.m., Metrodome, 34 Kirby Puckett Pl., Minneapolis; 612-375-1366.

    MUSIC
    Schubert Club Winners

    If the Twins just aren’t your thing — or if you just like to wait until you know who won to watch the game — perhaps a classical evening is in order. The Schubert Club is hosting a special presentation this evening, featuring Schubert Club Competition winners: Denis Evstuhin on piano, Jenny Berg on violin, Rolf Haas on violin, Joe Peters on oboe, Jacob Jonkers on guitar, Nicholas Donatelle on cello, and Ben Ullery on viola. Performing with them will be Hill House Chamber Players Julie Ayer, Tom Turner, and Tanya Remenikova.

    7:30 p.m., James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Ave., Saint Paul; 651-297-2555.

    WINE & DINE
    Sicilian Wine Dinner at Bellanotte

    Enjoy a delicious six-course meal paired with wines from Sicily, Italy. Dinner will begin with an amusé of caponata, paired with Lamura Rose’ Di Sicilia. This will be followed by an insalata of crisp mixed greens, raspberry vinaigrette, and poached pears, paired with Santa Tresa “Rina Ianca.” The third course, pollo, consists of slow-roasted chicken breast and fresh Roma tomatoes with bleu cheese cream sauce tossed with penne pasta; this paired with Santa Tresa “Nivuro Nero D’Avola” Cabernet Sauvignon. The fourth course, pesce, consists of seared chilean seabass topped with fennel, fresh Roma tomato, and Mediterranean mussels in a kalamata olive ragu, paired with Santa Tresa “Cerasuolo Di Vittoria.” And the entrée is a grilled marinated pork tenderloin with Peruvian purple mashed potatoes and fresh grilled vegetables topped with a basil demi-glaze; this paired with Santa Tresa “Avulisi.” And finally, for dessert, an espresso tiramisu. It doesn’t get much better — or more decadent — than this! Space is limited, so call to make your reservation now.

    6:30-9:30 p.m., Bellanotte, 600 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-339-7200; $65 or $120/couple.

  • Not Enough Sugar to Make It Addictive

    Brian Blade Fellowship
    Seasons of Change
    Verve
    Release date: April 1, 2008

    Blade’s ensemble seems heavily
    influenced by his membership in Wayne Shorter’s magnificent but overtly
    cerebral quartet, which isn’t always a good thing. The frequently
    lethargic pace and finely crafted harmonic and melodic nuances occasionally
    feel like music that must be listened to for your own good, like a meal
    fortified with fiber but not very tasty. Praise be, then, to bust-outs
    like Melvin Butler’s gnarly tenor saxophone solo on "Return of the
    Prodigal Son," which also benefits from guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel,
    whose tone and groove are reminiscent of Skunk Baxter on "Reeling
    In The Years." Like the rest of the disc, the title track is a hit-and-miss
    magnum opus, which does take advantage of Blade’s masterful ability
    to turn the temperature up and down as a timekeeper. There are some
    things here I’ll want to revisit: Myron Walden’s bass clarinet
    on "Rubylou’s Lullaby;" the way "Most Precious One (Prodigy)"
    apes The Bad Plus, of all people; the found-beauty of "Improvisation,"
    with its pump organ undertow; and the slow build and crescendo of the
    closer, "Omni." But there’s not enough sugar or caffeine to make
    it addictive in the slightest.

    ** 1/2 (Two and a half out of five stars)

  • A Writer, a Photographer, a Life, a Town, a World

    "Where is Brad Zellar?" you might ask, as his hiatus from The Rake has created quite a void. Happily, he’s been busy promoting his new book, Suburban World: The Norling Photos, from Borealis Books.

    Zellar discovered Irwin Norling
    in 2002, when he unearthed Norling’s neglected negatives from the
    Bloomington Historical Society archives. Struck by the breadth and
    depth of the subject matter — everything from family portraits,
    Shriners, and donkey baseball games, to car crashes, drug busts, and
    murder scenes — and by the "astonishing and remarkably comprehensive
    record of life in one American community," Zellar unknowingly began his
    quest to compile his first book. The result is an extraordinary photo
    essay book featuring Bloomington, MN, from the late 1940s through the ’70s — and the beautiful irony of a veteran journalist exposing an amateur photographer who expertly documented an era.

    Brad
    Zellar is an accomplished journalist, a brilliant writer, and an
    incredible human being. Some might call him a "character" even. And
    they wouldn’t be wrong. So, here we have a great character, and a great storyteller, who happens to run into
    another character — or at least his work — and gets blown away by it.
    Why? Probably because he’s just as much a character, because he’s just
    a good a storyteller, and because he has a similarly bleak underbelly.
    If you’ve been following Zellar’s Yo, Ivanhoe! blog, you should know that underbelly quite well by now.

    Norling
    wasn’t your typical photographer. He was just a guy — a guy who took
    photos, a guy who was clearly obsessed with documenting life in some
    form, and a guy who sat for hours at his police radio waiting for calls
    to come in so he could run out and photograph the latest accident, the
    latest murder scene, or any other major event, no matter how bleak.

    Seems to me he and Zellar would have made a mighty pair.

    That
    said, the book itself is quite an accomplishment. While it looks like
    your typical coffee table book at first glance — something you can
    impress your guests with perhaps, but that might serve no purpose
    beyond that — this is certainly not the case. Suburban World: The Norling Photos will keep you enthralled from start to finish.

    The forward, written by professional photographer Alec Soth,
    presents a most honest and provocative perspective on the art of
    photography. "Most great pictures aren’t about artistry," writes Soth,
    as he goes on to explain how professional photographers have to get over themselves
    and avoid pretense in order to take good photos. In the end, his
    argument extols the virtues of amateur photography — a most
    controversial idea coming from a professional photographer.

    Following
    Soth’s forward, Zellar steps in with his master story-telling skills.
    But what story is he telling? Norling’s? His own? Bloomington’s? All of
    the above. Zellar weaves together a story that takes us across
    generations and paints a picture of the picture of the picture, and
    more. And, frankly, it’s engaging at every level. Framed in his own
    story of discovery, Zellar tells us Norling’s story, and shares with us
    a fuller picture of Bloomington than Norling’s photos alone could ever
    tell.

    And then come the photos. Beginning with his first
    accident photo in 1941 and ending with the opening of the Interstate
    Highway 35W (which is actually one of very few photos placed out of
    chronological sequence), the photos document the development of a city
    and its people over a twenty year span. The beauty, however, is in the
    juxtaposition of sweet everyday images and grotesque realities — the
    local hardware store followed by an autopsy photo, a tea-pouring
    housewife followed by a fatal accident, a wedding followed by a BPO
    training and an electrocution. While it may seem an odd mix of photos,
    the collection offers an unusually panoptic glimpse at the past. And
    the photos of accidents and violence lend a telling air of disrupted
    placidity — the clash of old and new, the perils of change, and the
    backlash of progress.

    You don’t need to be Bloomington obsessed —
    or Zellar obsessed, for that matter — to enjoy this one. And to top it
    off, the Minnesota Historical Society is kicking off the book release
    with an exhibit featuring Norling’s photos and a recreation of his
    darkroom. Don’t miss out.

    Reception and book signing on April 1, from 5 to 8 p.m.; author presentation on April 8th at 7 p.m.; Minnesota History Center.

    April 9, at 7:30 p.m., Richfield Borders Books and Music.

    April 16th at 7:30 p.m., Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

     

  • Getting Lucky with Gabriel James

    About three months ago, John and I decided we were in a rut. We went out to eat and then to a movie; we went to a movie and got a bite to eat. There was something missing. Music. So we pledged to go out at least twice a month and listen to some band we’d never heard of in a venue that doesn’t cost a ton.

    This is a high-risk venture. On any given week, there will be a long list of possibilities. Most charge $5 or $10 at the door. Few give you a sample of the music before you go. We’ve sat through some incredibly tepid performances, including a folk singer who billed himself as "like Bob Dylan" but sounded more like one of the Muppets, except off-key.

    There have been some good experiences, too. We ended up at 7th Street Entry one night, waiting well past 11 o’clock for an up-and-coming hip-hop band to appear. We were the oldest people in the place by about 10 years, which actually added to our enjoyment. The best part of the night was watching a crowd of really beautiful, high-energy kids dance.

    But last night, we struck gold at Acadia’s grand re-opening celebration, with a band led by the singer Gabriel James.

    I’d been aware that Acadia closed its Franklin and Nicollet location but was, until I saw the notice for the celebration yesterday, unaware they’d moved to take over the old Riverside Cafe space on the University’s West Bank.

    I was disappointed when we first walked in. The Riverside was terrific in its day, but that slice of building has gone through some hard times. It’s beat-up and very musty inside, desperately in need of ventilation. The crowd was standing elbow-to-elbow, and the whole room smelled of body emissions, stale cigarette smoke, and damp leather shoes. To tell the truth, I was ready to turn around and leave.

    But the musicians onstage, a three-man bluegrass band called Dragich and the Polemics, were fun to watch — in particular, their string bass player, a tall, wholesome-looking young man who danced with his instrument in a dashing Fred Astaire-ish way.

    Acadia has an extensive beer list and 28 varieties on tap, which made my husband happy. They’d also tapped a keg of Surly Furious, a dark, hoppy beer from, of all places, Brooklyn Center, MN. I had a glass of some perfectly acceptable house wine, for $4, and noted (for what it’s worth) that Acadia’s bar food looked to be a notch above the norm.

    So we stayed. And I’m so glad.

    Because after Dragich and his boys left the stage, Gabriel James — the small, skull-capped man who’d been standing in front of me just moments before and blocking my view — went up. And he began to sing.

    According to his website, James plays "an eclectic mix of acoustic jazz," but frankly, I don’t think that gives him, or his band, enough credit. Backed by a percussionist, a bass player, a fantastic trumpet player, and a woman who played both keyboard and flute, James had the sort of unique, unnameable sound of early R.E.M. His songs were original, aching, funny, weird. I would gladly have paid $20 just to hear him perform. Instead, parking and wine included, it cost me about $8.95.

    The calendar on James’s myspace lists only TWO performances this spring — the one last night and another (also at Acadia) on May 10. This is a shame — and probably means that despite his talent, he’s supporting himself working a regular old day job, which is really too bad. The 40 minutes he was on stage last night went by way too fast and I would have loved to see him again next week. Or, for that matter, tonight.

  • Riding on the Tail of a Cloud

    Charles Lloyd Quartet
    Rabo de Nube
    ECM

    I’m not a diehard Lloyd acolyte.
    There’s some stuff in his huge catalog that is deliriously good, like
    Flowering     and Journey Within from the ’60s, and Voice In
    The Night     with Dave Holland, John Abercrombie, and Billy Higgins
    from the late ’90s. But his last one, Sangam, left me cold—a
    saxophone wankfest through a thicket of beats, laden with faux spirituality
    that was too pretentious (or perhaps too profound) for me to fathom.

    But I’ll gush about Rabo
    de Nube    , a live quartet album (something Lloyd used to do regularly
    four decades ago) in which the 70-year-old sensei may be the most staid
    and least creative member of his band. The fusillade-oriented approach
    drummer Eric Harland used in tandem with tabla player Zakir Hussain
    on Sangam is more effectively propulsive (like Billy Kilson sounded
    in Holland’s band) coupled with bassist Ruben Rogers. Harland steals
    the show on "Prometheus," supporting Lloyd with a plush density
    of beats that, like gusts of wind in sails, carries instead of shoves
    the rhythm. Rogers complements him with enthusiasm and delivers noteworthy
    solos on the first three songs to boot.

    But the best thing about
    Rabo     is how well pianist Jason Moran fits in, and enriches, Lloyd’s
    somewhat ethereal aesthetic. His glancing harmonies on "Prometheus"
    and inspired blues turn on "Migration of Spirit" are the prelude
    for his two-part tour de force on "Booker’s Garden." His first
    solo begins regally, but just when it appears headed for cocktail piano
    clichés, Moran drops in some slightly dissonant, modal phrases, then
    winds the pace down to a near-standstill, his elegiac moments of near-silence
    (the piece is a Lloyd’s tribute to the late trumpeter Booker Little)
    slightly upturned at the end. His second solo is the pinnacle of
    Rabo    , an audacious juggling of the offhand funk and boogie woogie
    (built up from single-note vamps) you might expect from Jaki Byard,
    and the sort of spectral leaps and resonant flurries that characterize
    the work of former Lloyd pianists Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau, and
    Harland’s superb accompaniment is pomade, glistening the luster.

    Lloyd varies between tenor,
    flute, and, for "Ramanujan," taragato, on which he sounds like Coltrane
    playing soprano sax. I’ve generally preferred it when he harkens to
    his Memphis roots or otherwise plays straight ahead, so his lively variation
    on "Sweet Georgia Brown" (entitled "Sweet Georgia Bright") is
    a favorite, along with the lone cover song of the concert, a closing
    rendition of the title track by Silvio Rodriguez that makes for a soft,
    lyrical landing.

    **** (Four stars)

     

  • Guess Who's Cooking at the James Beard House

    Guess which local chef is going to be cooking at the James
    Beard House     in New York City in May?

    Scott McKee of La Belle Vie?

    Nope. Been there, done that.

    Doug Flicker of Mission American Kitchen.

    Nope.

    Give up? It’s Christian Ticarro.

    Christian who?

    Christian Ticarro, executive chef at the Canyon Grille in
    Coon Rapids and Eden Prairie.

    Coon Rapids? Eden Prairie?

    Turns out this is Ticarro’s third trip to the fabled
    emporium of gastronomy.

    His first trip was in 2003, as part of a team from
    Goodfellows, and he returned in March 2006, as a featured "Great Regional
    Chef."

    The menu for his May 17 dinner begins with an assortment of
    passed tapas that includes a Vietnamese pork belly sandwich, fried polenta
    balls with foie gras and bing cherry sauce, Alaskan king crab spring rolls, lamb tenderloin crostini,
    bluefin tuna in mustard oil dressing, wrapped in radish, and fried sushi
    lobster rolls.

    And that’s just for starters. Highlights of the main event
    include Alaskan halibut cheeks topped with a wasabi panko crust; cognac cured
    and seared Muscovy duck breast with blow torched foie gras, honey and rosemary
    poached pears, port reduction and candied pecans; and veal tenderloin stuffed with asparagus, spring leeks, and Maytag
    blue cheese, topped with a morel mushroom demi-glace. Cost including
    accompanying wines is $125 for JBH members, $150. Reservations are required – call 212-627-2308, or go here. 

    The event is a benefit for the James Beard House, so Ticarro
    and his will crew have to cover most of the costs of the dinner – for up to 80
    guests – themselves, including hotel and airfare. (Restaurants usually try to
    get their vendors to donate wine and ingredients.)

  • 2008 Major League Baseball Forecast—American League

    AP Photo by David J. Phillip

    American League East

    1. Boston Red Sox

    It’s more interesting (or at least less conventional) playing Devil’s Advocate about why the Sox *won’t* repeat as pennant winners. Practically everything went right last season: Papelbon’s shoulder held firm and Beckett’s blisters didn’t grow, and every rookie was off-the-charts good, from spunky Pedroia to no-hit Bucholtz to speedy Ellersby to the supreme set-ups of Okajima. Okay, so Dice-K was shaky and Ortiz was one-legged, and Manny couldn’t always be Manny at the plate and Drew was horribly inconsistent. The odds of those negatives repeating are greater than a reprise of the positives. I mean, Manny is 36, Papi can’t hit any better than last year even with two good knees, and Dice-K and Drew aren’t the kind of performers you entrust with the mortgage money. And Curt Schilling is toast, Mike Lowell is old…Okay, back to reality. They have the best balance of pitching depth and hitting depth in all of baseball. Their Vegas odds are the lowest on the board. As April dawns, they are the team to beat.

    2. Toronto Blue Jays

    Yup, the Jays will overtake the Yankees this season. Their starting rotation stacks up with anybody–Halladay a legit ace, Marcum and McGowan a pair of live arms coming into their own, and AJ Burnett an injury-prone stud at #4. Closer BJ Ryan’s elbow injury in early May actually fortified the bullpen for this season as Accardo, Downs and Janssen all stepped up–and now Ryan is fast on the mend. Meanwhile, outfielder Alex Rios is a budding star, Vernon Wells is due for a big comeback, and snagging the left side of Cards’ 2006 champion infield–3B Scott Rolen and SS David Eckstein–to go with great glove man Aaron Hill at 2B will make all those ground-ball pitchers on the staff happy and wealthy. The Blue Jays are ready to compete with the big boys.

    3. New York Yankees

    The George Steinbrenner-Joe Torre era is over, yet the roster looks distressingly similar. There’s a hell of a lot of pressure on young pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy to produce, because it’s hard to see how the Yankees improve enough to surmount the Red Sox and not get overtaken by the Blue Jays otherwise. Two-thirds of their batting order is in decline: Damon, Giambi, Abreu, Matsui, Posada, and yes, even Jeter (now 34). Ditto starters Andy Pettite and Mike Mussina and Mariano The Great in the pen. So, what, A-Rod is supposed to knock in *more* than 156 runs this year to make up the difference?

    4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

    Even after jettisoning hot prospects Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes, their lineup is no longer a joke. Carl Crawford and BJ Upton are five-tool players, Carlos Pena can lose a third of his long-ball production and still hit 30 dingers, and there is some potent old (Cliff Floyd) and young (Evan Longoria) help on the way. But the starting rotation needs to quicken: Would-be ace Scott Kazmir is still teasing out his upside, Jamie Shields needs to show he can put together back-to-back solid seasons, and the Twins’ scouting staff isn’t in the habit of giving up someone like Matt Garza unless there’s a significant flaw in his makeup. Even so, you throw in former Dodgers hot prospect Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine as your #5 and that’s a talented rotation with nobody over age 25. The Rays are emerging.

    5. Baltimore Orioles

    Finally they rebuild in earnest, although trading Eric Bedard to Seattle was lunacy even if they did pluck a potentially great center fielder in Adam Jones out of the deal. Aside from nascent star outfielder Nick Markakis and Jones, there aren’t any uber-talented kids shoving the likes of Kevin Millar and Melvin Mora and Ramon Hernandez out of the way. And their pitching is wretched. When you can’t sell out Camden Yards any longer, you know you’ve been doing something very wrong for a pretty long time.

     

    American League Central

    1. Cleveland Indians

    The Indians-Tigers and Red Sox-Blue Jays-Yankees both should be hotly contested races from wire to wire. While the Tigers retooled in a major way, the Tribe stood pat with a dignity and wisdom Twins fans will recognize. Their homegrown beef brothers CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona are the league’s best 1-2 mound tandem, their bullpen took a quantum leap forward last season with the emergence of Betancourt and Perez, and back-of-the-rotation vets Westbrook and Cliff Lee will be healthier (physically and mentally, respectively) this year. At the plate, Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez should be close to their glorious primes, Garko and Asdrubal Cabrera represent a promising new right side of the infield, and Casey Blake is unsung but effective. Even so, the Indians’ hope of outlasting Detroit may rely on Travis Hafner not imploding.

    2, Detroit Tigers

    Miguel Cabrera is a stone-cold hitter who might give A-Rod a run for his money in the power categories this year, but the other plum from Florida, pitcher Dontrelle Willis, is less of a sure thing. Too bad, because after certifiable ace Justin Verlander, the rotation is iffy. Jeremy Bonderman broke down last season, Kenny Rogers is on his third installment of borrowed time, and Nate Robertson is an innings-eating mediocrity (not that there is anything wrong with that). Oh, and the bullpen is weak, from middle relief right through to closer Todd Jones. Nevertheless, the Tigers will win a lot of 9-7 and 11-9 games. Pudge Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield are aging, and another 139 ribbies from Magglio Ordonez is unlikely, but with Cabrera and SS Edgar Renteria on board and Carlos Guillen moving to first base, there are no weaknesses in theTigers’ batting order.

    3. Minnesota Twins

    Although many pundits are picking the hometown nine 4th or 5th, I don’t think I’m drinking the local kool-aid. Morneau and Cuddyer should find a productive mean between their last two seasons and Mauer should be healthy enough for a career-best OPS–and if he’s not, let’s play him at 3B finally, okay Gardy? Delmon Young replaces Torii Hunter’s bat at a fraction of the price and is going to get better a lot faster than he gets more expensive. Yes, the staples of pitching and defense have taken a hit, even with the second coming of Mark Belanger, Adam Everett, taking over at short. Baker, Slowey and Bonser sounds better as a law firm than as the top half of a starting rotation–I haven’t forgotten about Livan Hernandez; I just don’t expect much beyond his workhorse capabilities yielding mediocre results. If the vegan might of Pat Neshek can hold until autumn and Dennis Reyes is more than a one-year wonder (two years ago) the bullpen will be a strength. But mostly I’m picking the Twins third because the White Sox are still dysfunctional and the Royals are ready to ascend yet.

    4. Chicago White Sox

    Ozzie Guillen doesn’t seem like a great manager for encores, The Pale Hose are a ballclub that need to tear it down to close to the studs, but instead they’re sticking with the Konerkos and Credes and Dyes and AJs and Thomes in order to have their foolish dreams rudely abused by the Indians and Tigers. Nick Swisher was a nice pickup from Oakland, and sooner or later room has to be made for Josh Fields at third over Crede, and the Cuban kid at second, Alexei Ramirez, could be exciting. But acquiring Orlando Cabrera for shortstop and keeping Javy Vazquez and Jose Contreras in the rotation means that the profane Guillen and company are in it to win it–and when they don’t, things will get ugly.

    5. Kansas City Royals

    The ceiling on erstwhile prospects like OF David DeJesus and C John Buck and P Zack Grinke seems to be lower than anticipated, but the Royals finally seem to be headed in the right direction anyway, thanks to former Atlanta exec Dayton Moore, a GM who is building for the long haul from the ground up. In Alex
    Gordon and Billy Butler, KC has two dangerous young hitters, and Tony Pena Jr. flashes the sort of leather than can anchor an infield defense at shortstop. Until Moore can choose and develop a few more quality pieces, the Royals will rely too heavily on dime-store "stars" like pitcher Gil Meche and outfielder Jose Guillen to carry them. But it is not hopeless any more–or at least not for long.

    American League West

    1. Seattle Mariners

    Casual fans may be surprised by this pick, but the Mariners are due. They’ve got one of the top five payrolls in the league, one of the 5 oldest rosters, won 88 games last year, and added arguably the best pitcher remaining in the AL, Eric Bedard, to their staff. Paired with King Felix Hernandez, 16-game winner Miguel Batista, and veterans Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva, the rotation is among the league’s elite–and their closer, JJ Putz, stands alongside Joe Nathan as the best in the game today. On offense, the M’s still have Ichiro, an underrated if aging hitter in Raul Ibanez, and decent run producers for their positions in C Kenji Johjima, 2B Jose Lopez (who will bounce back closer to his 2006 breakout) and 3B Adrian Beltre. Even middling seasons from 1B Richie Sexson and DH Jose Vidro would help. The bugaboo is defense, especially in the spacious outfield, where Ichiro will go on his own WeightWatchers plan trying to cover ground between Ibanez and pudgy Brad Wilkerson.

    2. Los Angeles Angels

    It seems every year some promising contender is snakebit by injuries, and having their top two starters, John Lackey and Kelvin Escobar, go down with ailments this spring points toward the Halos as this year’s hard luck story. Mike Scioscia is the best manager in the game at manufacturing runs, and with the signing of Torii Hunter to protect Vlad Guerrero in the batting order and the acquisition of Jon Garland for the rotation, the Angels clearly mean to go for it all in 2008. But can the likes of Jered Weaver, Garland and Ervin Santana hold the fort until Lackey and Escobar return?

    3. Oakland Athletics

    Oakland will exceed expectations and approach last year’s 76-86 mark despite a massive rebuilding campaign because, as usual, the front office can identify talent. Outfielder Travis Buck, 1B Daric Barton and C Kurt Suzuki are ready now, and OFs Chris Denorfia and Carlos Gonzalez aren’t far away. As placeholders go, 2B Mark Ellis and OF Emil Brown aren’t too shabby, and sooner or later the left side of the infield, Crosby and Chavez, have to be healthy on the same day–don’t they? More to the point, a rotation led by Rich Harden and Joe Blanton with lefty Dana Eveland coming over from Arizona in the Dan Haren deal is miles better than Texas, enough to keep the A’s out of last place.

    4. Texas Rangers

    What a mess. The pitching staff is heaped with underachievers like Millwood and Padilla and Jason Jennings, the vaunted left side of the infield–Young and Blalock–has seen better days, and they are counting on talented but star-crossed outfielders Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley to give them a boost. The good news is that Ian Kinsler is a budding star at 2B and Jarrod Saltalamacchia projects as a Victor Martinez clone at C/1B. Avoiding 90 losses would be an achievement.

  • Monotonix Leaves Its Love Bruises on the Twin Cities

    A wide stance is key to surviving
    a Monotonix show. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms
    ready to brace the incessant shock waves of bodies crashing into you.
    Never lose focus of the strange looking man with a bad perm and pervy
    mustache. He is not a cast-off from a Starsky and Hutch fan club. He
    is the singer—a moving target who neglects social graces, like keeping
    his sweat to himself. The most important rule is to put as much distance
    as possible between you and the danger zone.

    The problem is the danger zone
    comes to you.

    The Israeli trio sets up on
    the bar floor, giving them full access for intra-audience thrashing.
    The rig looks worse for wear. The drum kit seems one cymbal crash away
    from shattering. The guitar looks as if one piece of duct tape was removed
    the whole thing would break into splinters. The singer appears diabolically
    insane, and the whole lot looks like they found their clothes in the
    back alley dumpster. Nevertheless, the perpetually touring band is aching
    to leave its love bruises on the Twin Cities. And bruise they will with
    Monotonix’ one-two punch of low-brow histrionics.

    At a Monotonix show, the slippery
    threads of controlled chaos constantly threaten to blow loose. The guts
    of rock and roll kitsch foam up at the first pounding of the kick drum.
    In the first 30 seconds of Monotonix’s set at the Uptown Bar, singer
    Ami Shalev breaks the first rule of getting a good review: stealing
    the music journalist’s beer and pouring it on the heads of adjacent
    audience members.

    For a half hour they play with disaster and consistently ram into, and on top of, the crowd.
    With his grossed out and glistening ape-man chest fully exposed, Shalev
    plants himself on top of the bar and hikes his sweat pants up to his
    nipples, screaming some nonsense into the microphone no one can decipher.
    His usual act is to stuff gasoline soaked hankies down his trousers
    and flame up like a human pyrotechnic. Due to repercussions of the unfortunate
    2003 Rhode Island club fire, Shalev has been asked to stub out any fiery
    intentions for Minneapolis. Tonight he gets his death-taunting kicks
    by sticking his head into the path of ceiling fan blades. He leaps away
    unscathed, proving his shamanistic powers of invincibility.

    Sounding like a mash up of
    Black Sabbath, Dio, and a slew of third-rate punk bands, the music is
    an after thought. Chord progressions are hazy at best. And forget about
    heartfelt lyrics. They’re just meaningless guttural intonations.
    The three could have had equally mesmerizing careers as magicians or
    fire-spewing carnival freaks. To them, it’s all about the performance.
    They ride on shock value. That’s the genius of their scheme. It takes
    wise men to get paid to make fools of themselves.

  • When "No" Should Be "Yes"

    Anybody see Jersey Boys?

    If you did, please let me know what you thought.
    I will pass your feedback along to one of the investors, whom I just happen to know — Mr. M. 🙂

    I may be a little biased, but all of the cast in my opinion have been terrific.

    Here is a little inside scoop that I got from opening night in New York. One of the stars from the Sopranos was asked to invest, and he told me after the show that it was the first time "No" should have been "Yes."

    True story, Friends.

    Melinda Jacobs