By: Karla Ludzack
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Kraig Johnson and the Program perform at the Red Carpet Lounge in St. Cloud - Photo by Karla Ludzack (click for full size)
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It's always interesting to see a band at “the Carpet,” as the locals call it. The people watching is above par, and the $2.00 cover charge makes it well worth the trip.
Friday’s opening band was the Minneapolis three-piece, The High Heels. This despite the rumor Mark Mallman started on Radio K’s Off the Record last Friday that he was opening the show. (As it turned out Mallman was actually playing the Rox Tavern in St Cloud that night.) I recognized The High Heels from seeing its members’ former bands many times in the 90's. Singer and keyboardist Bard Meier is from American Paint; and Steve Price (bass) and Jerry Anderson (drums) are of Rex Daisy and Two Tickets To Paradise fame.
The High Heels are a keyboard-based band rounded out by a funky bass and rock-n-roll drum sound. Their lyrics are infused with intelligent viewpoints on life and love, and their overall sound has a poppy, upbeat, 70's kind of groove. The main thing I came away with was that it was really nice to see these three guys onstage again, and I really enjoyed their one-hour set.
Then we got the original version of The Program on Friday, although Marc Perlman played mandolin for this show. Originally, Perlman played bass for the band, but he was unable to remain a regular member because of tour commitments with The Jayhawks. Jim Boquist has played bass since late 2002. Missing Friday was David Poe, who lives in New York and was unable to attend. Ed Ackerson rounded out the lineup on guitar and Peter Anderson played drums. When Danny Murphy joined the band for a couple songs later in the set we were treated to a few Golden Smog-like moments.
The majority of the Program’s set Friday consisted of songs from Johnson’s self-titled solo release from last year, as well as the excellent covers we've come to expect from a Program show.
The pace started off slow with a couple of Johnson's mellower songs, but quickly picked up speed with Neil Young's Losing End and Keith Richard's How I Wish. Johnson slowed things down again as the crowd thickened and displayed a bit of irritation at those not paying attention. He told the crowd he was just going to play mellow stuff from that point on, but he ended up going back on that promise shortly thereafter by playing another standard Program rocker.
There was a request from the crowd for a song they could dance to (this always happens at The Carpet---the locals there have no problem interrupting a show for a dedication, or to jump up onstage to announce someone's bachelorette party. Johnson obliged with a cover of Spooky.
Our Golden Smog moment came as Danny Murphy came up to play guitar. First, they played If I Only Had a Car, and after the request, they played Spooky. Murphy was leaving the stage, but came back for this one. Johnson also played at least one new song. Perhaps a new full-length release is in the works? The last few songs were among my favorite Program rockers and Johnson even tried at one point to morph into Iggy and the Stooges’ I Wanna Be Your Dog though the rest of the band didn’t play along. They closed with the energetic sing-along Freight Train, a cover of a song by Sister Double Happiness, which Johnson has clearly made his own.
I've said before that people have got to “get with The Program.” This was a great opportunity to see this band for a very reasonable price. And you never know what special guests are going to show up at a Program gig. That's why I try to attend every single one.
I do regret missing the opportunity to see Peter Buck play with the band last Monday at the 400 Bar. Buck is an old friend of the Johnson brothers from the Run Westy Run days. He was in town a day early to play a benefit for Karl Mueller there with The Minus 5, The Program, and Bright Eyes. He played on Tuesday with R.E.M. for the MoveOn.org swing state tour.
Location Info:
Red Carpet
Artist Info: Kraig Johnson and the Program, The High Heels
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