Atmosphere at First Avenue on 11/9/07

By: Amber Schadewald
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   Slug, in one of his many hats - Photo by Alexa Jones God may love ugly, but when its Slug, so does most everyone else. Ugly is a harsh word—Slug simply looked like a creep. With a sketchy ‘stash and long, dirty hair hung around his face, Slug looked like an escaped convict/the creepy uncle you avoid at reunions. His music, on the other hand, was as beautiful as hip hop can be....

Conor McPherson's Shining City at The Jungle Theater on 11/9/07

By: Jon Behm
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Patrick Bailey as Ian and Cheryl Willis as Neasa in The Jungle Theater production of SHINING CITY - Photo by Michal Daniel Conor McPherson’s Shining City can be a difficult play to sit through. The dark tale of Irish loneliness and depression is not something that will leave you feeling like the road is rising to meet you. That being said, it is also a realistically unpolished play,...

David Marshall Grant's Pen at Guthrie Theater on 11/9/07

By: David de Young
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Marc Halsey, Michelle Barber and Phillep Callen in Pen - Photo by Michal Daniel Directed by Rob Melrose Run time is two hours with a 15 minute intermission.   Directed by Rob Melrose, Pen, the most recent play from actor/playwright David Marshall Grant, opened at the Guthrie Theater in the Dowling Studio November 7th. The play originally debuted in 2006 at Playwrights Horizon ...

Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House at Mixed Blood Theatre on 11/9/07

By: Jon Behm
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The Clean House - Publicity photo by Anne Marsden Lisa Rafaela Clair’s Matilde opens up the play by telling a joke to the audience entirely in Portuguese. To the non Portuguese speaking members of the audience (all of us as far as I could tell) the joke was complete gibberish. It was funny to watch though, made so through Clair’s talent for expressing meaning with ...

Battles at Fine Line Music Café on 11/7/07

By: Amber Schadewald
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   Battles - Photo from their MySpace page Watching Battles is like getting a down and dirty tour of a factory. Obnoxiously loud, the instruments act as machines, grinding, clinking, clashing and ticking, coming together into one melodious burst of energy. The Fine Line was moderately full, but there was still adequate room on the floor. I was lucky enough to be standing directly undernea...

Robyn Hitchcock at Cedar Cultural Center on 11/4/07

By: David de Young
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   Robyn Hitchcock at the Cedar - Photo by David de Young I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen Robyn Hitckcock over the years, but it surely must be approaching a dozen by now, including the Soft Boys reunion at First Avenue in 2002. In one form or another, I have most of Hitchcock’s recordings (some on multiple media formats such as vinyl and CD). I’ve attende...

Robyn Hitchcock with Sean Nelson at Cedar Cultural Center on 11/4/07

By: Jen Paulson
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Robyn Hitchcock - Photo by Alexa Jones Sunday night, armed only with a special mix CD’s worth of Robyn Hitchcock knowledge, I settled into my spot at the Cedar, quite excited to see this highly-influential singer/songwriter.   Right out of the gate, Sean Nelson treated us to a performance of his sweepingly cabaret-style and heavily lyrical songs. Nelson, lead singer of the band Harvey Danger, stuck ...

Jens Lekman at Triple Rock Social Club on 11/3/07

By: Jon Behm
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Jens Lekman - Photo by Jon Behm My girlfriend and I have an arrangement. If she ever gets a chance to run away with Jens Lekman, she will take it with no regrets. I can’t blame her. After seeing Jens on Saturday night at the Triple Rock, I would probably run away with him too. The young Swede is an incredible songwriter, musician and entertainer, not to mention the fact that he is...

La Boheme at Southern Theater on 11/3/07

By: Jon Behm
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Jill Sandager & Nathan Brian - photo by Rick Spaulding As I entered the Southern Theater on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but to be reminded of the St. Paul Caves. The theater is small and dark and completely composed of weathered looking stone. It is the perfect backdrop for the theater’s current opera, Puccini’s La Bohème, Theatre Latté Da Production...

THEMES, Casper & the Cookies and The Poison Control Center at The Turf Club on 11/3/07

By: Dan Schultz
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The Poison Control Center - Photo by Dan Schultz Some old school photographers say shoot one roll, throw it away, and then start making pictures. Not bad advice.  I certainly could delete the first 36 shots from any given night and not miss any of them. And maybe a similar rule held true for two trios at opposite ends of the bill at the Turf  Club Saturday night. Poison Control Center of...