By: Pat O'Brien
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Chuck Klosterman - Publicity Photo
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Something truly unique unfolded in the early evening Saturday. Something that it’s probably safe to say has never happened before: a book reading combined with a rock show. It could have been terrible, something to chalk up as an Edison-esque experiment gone horribly sour; but, as it played itself out, it was clear that while on paper it seemed almost too clever to work, seen in motion it should be done more often. There is no way to describe this other than “blow by blow,” as I would be doing a disservice to the energy and flow of the night were I to glance over anything.
As the skies opened up in downtown Minneapolis to drench the waiting fans, so did the door to the Entry. As the crowd streamed in, local hero Grant Hart (Hüsker Dü) took the stage without a setlist, without a band, and armed only with his guitar and amp. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but being in the presence of a punk rock legend set the table perfectly for what was to come. Hart played some new stuff (one song had not been played in public even once), some old stuff (a couple of Arcwelder songs) and some even older stuff (and excellent version of Hüsker Dü’s “She Floated Away”). He was quick and to the point, and the anticipation built as his set wore on – what would be next?
After a brief break Mark Mallman appeared with a who’s who of local rock royalty as his backing band (John Munson, Joanna James, Jeremy Ylvisaker, and Sean Hoffman). If this was truly a one-off type event, best to make it memorable. Mallman and crew did a quick little intro, and then Chuck Klosterman took the stage and was applauded like he was a rock star himself; and in his own way, he kind of is. He started, appropriately, with a passage from Killing Yourself to Live: 85% Of A True Story (the book he read from the entire night), which recounted his quest to find the Minneapolis apartment where former Replacements guitarist Bob Stinson drank himself to death. “There are a lot of disaffected teenagers in downtown Minneapolis” he began, and the crowd trading knowing glances as he rattled off a story involving parts of the city and establishments in which most of the fans had spent at least one night actually in or near. It quietly endeared him to the crowd.
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Mark Mallman - Publicity Photo
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As Klosterman left the stage, Mallman and company broke into a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Lilac Wine,” which slowly morphed into a Run DMC-like back-and-forth exchange with Joanna James belting out Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” and Mallman quietly singing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It was absolutely beautiful with James’ lilting, angelic voice and Mallman’s Billy Joel-like delivery playing absolutely perfectly off of each other. Then came an out of left field twist: a live mash-up. The music of Radiohead’s “Karma Police” slung together with lyrics from Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” and Skynard’s “Freebird”. It wasn’t nearly as jarring as it sounds and it finally, at long last, made me respect “Freebird,” a song which in any other format I wholly detest.
Klosterman again took the stage and read about the day Kurt Cobain died and painted a picture of a few kids at basketball camp who, unsurprisingly, didn’t really understand suicide or the impact of an icon’s death beyond, “that’s so weird.” Kids who, like a lot of other kids, were upset but didn’t fully understand why and also how Nirvana, and especially Cobain, have been painted differently in history because of that event. Mallman followed with Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel” (referencing the Sid Vicious passage in Klosterman’s book), Nico and John Cale’s “These Days” and Joy Division’s “24 Hours.” The night was rolling along smoothly.
Klosterman followed by reading about the deaths that nobody talks about (Def Leppard’s Steve Clarke, Marc Bolan, etc.), all with amusing lessons to be learned from each tragic figure--the funniest being “Randy Rhoads was not gay.” This was followed by another mash-up, this time it was INXS’ “Devil Inside” with the lyrics from Sabbath’s “Killing Yourself To Live,” Bowie’s “Rock And Roll Suicide,” and a tongue-in-cheek nod to one of the first of the major rock ‘n roll deaths with Richie Valens’ “La Bamba.” When sung by Mallman, with his herky-jerky, affected stage presence, it added the perfect amount of humor and made me realize that as important as I, and many others in the room Saturday, think all of this rock ‘n roll stuff is, it’s mostly about having fun and creating new from old in a way that hasn’t been done before. This night fit the bill perfectly.
Location Info:
7th Street Entry
Artist Info: Chuck Klosterman, Grant Hart, Mark Mallman
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