Romeo and Juliet, A Four Humors Theater Production at Bedlam Theatre on 5/12/08

By: Carl Atiya Swanson
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Take heart, Romeo & Juliet can be saved from Baz Luhrman and other melodramatic acts that have turned Shakespeare into a cliche. Four Humors Theater makes a wonderful case for the comic awkwardness of young love in their current production directed by Jason Ballweber, a pearl of a clown in his own right.   Set in lengthways down the Bedlam’s playing space, the stage is bookended by whimsical houses, an evocation of a Twin Citie...

TV Men, a nimbus production at Intermedia Arts on 5/10/08

By: David de Young
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TV Men, a nimbus production at Intermedia Arts (Saturday, May 10th, 2008) TV Men - Publicity photo by Jon Behm   By David de Young   “Our reality is just a TV set / inside a TV set inside a TV set, with nobody watching / but Sokrates / who changed / the channel in 399 B.C” – Anne Carson.   TV Men, the latest production by nimbus and directed by ...

Podcast: HowWasTheShow/Minneapoliscast CD Review Podcast for May on 5/9/08

By: Bob Longmore, David de Young, Pat O'Brien, Jen Paulson, Stacy Schwartz
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HowWasTheShow CD Reviews for May, 2008, hosted by David de Young.  Recorded for Minneapoliscast.com The Deaths - “Peter Duncan” - selected by Jen Paulson Atmosphere - “Painting” - selected by Bob Longmore Polara -”Beekeeping” - selected by David de Young Chris Koza - “If You Carry Me” - selected by Stacy Schwartz Jayber Crow - “O My God W...

DeVotchKa at First Avenue on 5/7/08

By: Jon Behm
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Nick Urata - Photo by Jon Behm To describe a DeVotchka show you must examine its components.  Such a spectacle deserves more than blanket descriptions and generalizations. Wednesday night’s First Avenue performance was no exception.   First you have the DeVotchKa Strings – a relatively new addition to the band. They consist of a viola and cellist who, when added to band members Tom Hager...

The Swell Season with Damien Dempsey at Orpheum Theatre on 5/7/08

By: David de Young
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   The Swell Season - Photo by David de Young Full disclosure: Not only am I a fan of Dublin’s The Frames, they have been one of my favorite bands on the planet for many years. I have seen each of their Minneapolis shows since 2002 (when they played the 400 Bar) and have even seen them twice in Ireland. This doesn’t disqualify me from being able to write an unbiased review of T...

Cut Copy at 7th Street Entry on 5/6/08

By: Jon Behm
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The 80’s revival that has been slowly gaining traction over the past 5 or so years seems to have now entered all facets of life. With a few exceptions, to experience Cut Copy’s 7th Street Entry set on Tuesday night was akin to revisiting 1987, complete with synth-driven electro-pop, skintight stonewashed jeans and prominent neon colors. I am just waiting for the night when I see someone carrying a brick-style mobile phone while bouncing on a pogo-ball. ...

The Blind Shake with The Cops at Hexagon Bar on 5/2/08

By: Jon Behm
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  The Blind Shake. Photo by Jon Behm I always expect to see casualties after a Blind Shake show. After the tsunami of skittering guitars and machine gun precision drumming comes to a halt, it’s like you are coming out of a foxhole to survey the carnage. Even when they have technical difficulty (such as they did on Friday night at the Hexagon where the mics weren’t nearly loud enough) ...

Kathleen Edwards at The Varsity Theater on 5/2/08

By: David Rachac
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Kathleen Edwards - Photo by Alexa Jones I can’t say that I was totally enamored by Kathleen Edwards’ latest CD Asking For Flowers – compared to previous efforts, too many songs seemed overly orchestrated and subdued, custom-made for appearances on “Grey’s Anatomy” or NPR, but with only a couple of songs that allowed Edwards to let her inner Tom Petty out. Mix my weak enthusiasm...

Elbow at Fine Line Music Café on 4/30/08

By: David de Young
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   Elbow - publicity photo from their MySpace As the strains of “Starlings,” the opening track off their new album The Seldom Seen Kid began to play, Elbow emerged one member at a time onto the Fine Line Music Cafe stage in Minneapolis Wednesday – first each of their two tour string players, who also double as backup singers, then the band itself, each member bearing a trum...

Gem of The Ocean at Guthrie Theater on 4/27/08

By: Jon Behm
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  August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean is a bit like a Skip James song: slow to build, bitter and full of religious allusion. One particular lyric of James’s sticks with me:   I would rather be dead and six feet in my grave Than to be way up here, honey, treated this a-way   This idea is central to Wilson’s play, which deals with just what it means to be free in America ...