Too much Fringe, not enough monies: 4 suggestions to Fringe on a tight budget

by Kristoffer Tigue

The 2012 Minnesota Fringe Festival kicked off this weekend, and with 165 performances being shown in 15 separate venues, it’s impossible to catch every one. Even if you wanted to, at $12 a pop, your wallet will empty pretty quickly.

There are discounted passes offered. For instance, for $100 you can get a 10 show pass. For $50, a five show. The best deal is for students, who with student I.D. can get a five show pass for only $30. But if you’re not a student, let’s be honest, you can probably see two, three shows tops. Well, here are some suggestions for you performing arts lovers surviving on that cocktail waitress salary.

This year won’t have a shortage in the comedy department, and why should it? Laughing is one of the main reasons to attend Fringe, but the real question is which one do you choose? How about an abridged version of the complete works of William Shatner?

The Complete Work of William Shatner (abridged), performed by Snikt! Bamf! Thwip! and written by Bill Stiteler and Tim Wick, is the type of title you’d typically see applied to playwright William Shakespeare, and they’re plenty aware of that. A Shakespearean understudy named William Shatner, is confronted by the famous Star Trek character, Captain Kirk (real life Shatner’s most famous, and let’s be honest, only role). Full of pop-culture references and witty satire, this homage to Shatner is the perfect play for any Trekky, and really, just anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s. It’s probably not the final frontier of comedy but you’ll at least get to see grown men running around pretending to shoot each other with phasers.

They have a performance tonight at 5:30pm, and their next performance is Tuesday 8/7 at 7:00pm, all at the U of M Rarig Center Thrust stage. See the whole schedule at the MN Fringe Festival website, link provided above.

If Star Trek references remind you too much of a time you couldn’t get laid, you might consider checking out a burlesque show for some hilarious T & A.

As the Stomach Turns: The Musical by local favorites Le Cirque Rouge Cabaret and Burlesque, and directed by Amy Buchanan, is an homage to The Carroll Burnett Show from the 70′s. The show skirts around elements of murder, deceit, long-lost relations, experimental surgeries, exorcisms, nosy neighbors and of course, a healthy dose of tatas. If you’ve seen Le Cirque Rouge perform at the 331, you know they put on a great show, and if you’re not a fan of the musical aspect, you can rest at ease knowing you saw some cute girls (and boys) naked.

Their next performance is on Wednesday 8/8 at 5:30pm at the U of M Rarig Center Proscenium stage. See the whole schedule at the MN Fringe Festival website, link provided above.

Perhaps you’d like to indulge your intellectual side. We’ve got you covered on that, too.

Jay Gabler has been a well-known local theater critic for years, working as the Arts Editor for the Twin Cities Daily Planet and also freelancing for Vita.mn, so it’s not too surprising that he’s finally writing plays as well. Ivory Tower Burning is Gabler’s debut production in Fringe, and he’s already getting some big press for it. The play is a sociological think-piece, which takes place in 1960′s Cold War America. The plot revolves around the meeting of two sociologists, Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills, famous for their clashing ideologies. It’s Capitalism vs. Socialism, an appropriate topic for our tumultuous political times. And just to add a bit more curiosity to the matter, not only is Gabler a first time playwright for the Fringe Festival, but he’s acting in it, too.

His play’s next show is on Monday 8/6 at 10:00pm at Bryant Lake Bowl. See the whole schedule at the MN Fringe Festival website, link provided above.

Still too broke? How about a free show?

Twilight of the Mississippi (trailer above) isn’t a live performance. In fact, it isn’t even part of the Fringe Festival. You might say it’s on the fringe of The Fringe. But nonetheless, this local documentary is exactly what Fringe is all about: the supporting of local actors, local production companies, and a medium to give a voice through which previously obscure talent can be heard. Best of all, the showing is free. The documentary is a collaboration between Unseen Ghost Brigade and Closing Eye Studios, which follows a troupe of actors (Unseen Ghost Brigade), as they ride down the mighty Mississippi River on a homemade raft, giving impromptu street performances in cities along the way. However, the focus of the movie isn’t the players, but the setting, as the troupe explores issues of traffic, pollution and the displacement of people as industry and overpopulation continue to dictate the direction of one of the greatest rivers in the world.

The next screening of the movie is on Thursday 8/9 at St. Anthony Maine Theatre at 7:00pm. FREE.

The Fringe Festival goes until August 12.

5 out of 5 stars

The Ties that Bind: Deni Y. Béchard’s Cures for Hunger delivers a powerful bildungsroman about distraught lineage, rootlessness, and the invention of personal identity

by Evan Giannobile

Deni Y. Béchard’s memoir Cures for Hunger catalogs the search for identity through alienated connections to the past, plucking the resonant and often dark strings which inextricably join the lives of parents and children. Desperate to understand his own motivations and drives, Deni Béchard relies on uncovering the history and true character of his father, Andre Béchard, to help untangle his own identity in a vivid narrative of discovery, longing, and unknown family histories.

Published by the local institution Milkweed Editions, Béchard’s new memoir has been extolled by critics as a hard-earned and honest lyrical exploration into the dynamics of a dysfunctional family and the residue left behind. Having previously won the Commonwealth Prize with his first novel Vandal Love, Béchard now delves into the complicated relationship with his father: a compulsive, criminally-minded, freedom-seeking man who for Béchard had always occupied the fragile space between fear, disgust and admiration. Cures for Hunger is beautifully written and was listed on Amazon Canada as this year’s best nonfiction book, and Milkweed Editions is publishing the first American edition of Vandal Love as well as Cures for Hunger.

Throughout the narrative, the expectations of his parents are juxtaposed with his own desires. Upon moving back with his father, he must argue endlessly to even finish high school. To his father, books and writing are merely lazy and unproductive hobbies, and Deni’s ambition to learn overshadows his father, even in death. Yet with the constant tension between his mother and father, young Deni is exposed to the various sides of his father, much to his confusion. His adventurousness, his cunning, his charisma, yet beneath those aspects flow a strong undercurrent of violence, anger, disappointment, and alienation.

The memoir is characterized by a highly descriptive style; fluid prose paints vivid physical and emotional landscapes. As the family disintegrates, the numerous separations and reunions of his life are complimented by an equally staggering change in scenery, from the lush green valleys and lonely snow-capped mountains of his youth in British Colombia, to the decayed and poverty-ridden trailer parks of Virginia, to the wind-swept childhood of his father in St. Lawrence.  As his character develops, he recognizes the beauty in his father’s relentless hunger for excitement and freedom, yet this admiration is always paired with a clear-cut disdain and fear passed down by his mother’s and his own weariness.

Ultimately, the story is a testament to the ways tendencies and shortcomings of parents bleed onto their children via hushed arguments heard through thin walls, the stale, repeated arguments absorbed, and the unpredictability of a dysfunctional family. For Béchard, these childhood experiences must be translated with care into a form of adult understanding. Born into a lineage of dissatisfaction, self-destruction, and self-preservation, the mysterious life of his father becomes the key to Deni Y. Béchard’s discovery of himself, and ultimately his place in or outside of society.

Alas, Alas’ debut self-titled LP is evocative and full of imagery, worth the listen

[UPDATE: Live audio of Alas, Alas' "Whiskey Town" by Jeremy Kleider]

by D. Sykes

Alas, Alas offers a kind of music now very familiar to Twin Cities audiences, a traditional Americana sound that embraces the ragged edges common to hardscrabble traveling musicians.  Like many groups you can find at quieter basement shows and stages like the Acadia, they adopt a loose, living-room jam feel, like a bunch of hipster kids who got a hold of their granddad’s fiddle collection—however, Alas, Alas set themselves apart from the vast run of these groups through sheer songwriting quality and musical talent, as evidenced on their debut self-titled LP.

Alas, Alas forego the minimalism of much anti-folk for a ramshackle, wall-of-sound approach, reminiscent of a hung-over Beirut playing in a living room somewhere in Arkansas.  At more intense tempos, as on “Whiskey Bound,” they remind one of the alt-bluegrass of Duluth’s Trampled by Turtles.  At times the similarities border on appropriation, but there’s only so many chord progressions and picking patterns in the traditional Americana idiom.

They avoid the meandering jamming that’s fast becoming a common element of the subgenre, wisely choosing to instead pepper their songs with novel, perfectly timed fills and mercurial dynamics.  The longer songs would be at risk of sounding repetitive if not for this variety of execution.  The band members obviously have a tight musical bond and a strong understanding of one another’s styles, something no amount of production or polishing can fake.

“Opium” begins with an introductory attack of crazed strings and machine-gun banjo before settling into a pace more appropriate to its namesake intoxicant, and boasts a clever lyrical hook—“There’s a black dragon / Draggin’ me down.”  While the lyrics throughout the album don’t offer much in the way of unfamiliar concepts (who amongst us can’t relate to “Bury Me in St. Paul?”), they are well-executed, and are usually best appreciated as a delivery method for the talents of the band’s three vocalists.  The wide gap between Temperante’s throaty, ragged wails and Thornton and fiddler Elori Kramer’s sweet and somber tones adds even more variety and quality to the music.  The album’s essential track, “Somewhere You Didn’t Know,” is anchored by the vocal interplay between the latter two.

These songs are highly evocative and imagistic—Spencer Roth’s woozy trumpet brings to mind rain-darkened cobblestone streets in cities built before the world became a small place, while Drew Temperante’s banjo summons Appalachian mists to the imagination (especially on “Ghosts,” a tune anchored by one of the better banjo riffs I’ve heard).

It’s a risky decision to load up your band with so many sustained tones—Alas, Alas also features a fiddle and bass fiddle, and the central-yet-subtle role filled by rhythm guitar is often left to Katie Thornton’s accordion.  They make it work excellently, the wailing and soaring of these instruments reflect lyrical themes—alienation, loss, addiction, reflection.  Let’s just say they chose a very appropriate band name.

With members often scattered across the country, it can be rare to get the opportunity to see Alas, Alas.  If you can handle a 150 mile drive, their next live show is on August 3, at Thomas Owens Park in Two Harbors (at least it’s free). In the meantime, their album is one of the best things to come out of our fair cities’ folk scene in recent memory, and definitely warrants a few long listens.

by Kristoffer Tigue

Brian Hart has been drawing since he was a child. When his family took him to the public library, he’d always check out how-to-draw books. By the time he was 15, he was savoring the full works of Picasso and Gjon Mili’s extra-exposed photography. Born in St. Paul, he moved to Sioux City, Iowa with his family when he was six years old. In 2005 he decided to move back to his home state, finding residence in Minneapolis, and has showcased his incredibly textured light drawings at the Cult Status Gallery and the Future Presence Gallery.

An almost serendipitous discovery, Brian started playing around with his phone screen while exposing it to his Digital SLR, when he realized he could do much more with ultra-exposed photography—physically manipulating small LED lights to draw on his camera in the same way that photographers have been taking those cityscape photos with the blurred car lights on the highway. It started with writing his name but has moved onto some pretty incredible pictures. I met Brian at the Star Bucks inside the downtown Minneapolis Target shopping center because we both love corporations. It was like hosting an interview inside some sort of corporate turducken. Good coffee, too.

Kristoffer Tigue: When did you realize this was something you could do? How did you discover Light Drawing?

Brian Hart: One of my first jobs was working in a public library and re-shelving books. Which was great for me I’ve always been kind of more of an introvert. When I was really young, like between eight and twelve, every time I went to the library it’d be like how to draw a horse or how to draw cartoon characters—how-to-draw books.

I didn’t do much else, but draw. I was very like, kept to myself.

I remember seeing Gjon Mili. He was a photographer for Light Magazine. He went to Picasso sometime in the early to mid part of last century, in the 40s maybe. He showed Picasso these images he was taking of figure skaters he would attach lights, tiny lights, which back in the 40s I don’t know how they were powered, but he would attach tiny incandescent lights to figure skaters. Their feet and their arms and everything. And then would take slightly longer exposures, not super long exposures, but longer exposures of them showing their movements and everything. And he showed them to Picasso and Picasso right away was like ‘Oh, this is great, we should do this.’ He was like ‘I want to do a drawing for you.’ So, while they’re always known as Picasso’s Light Drawings they were Gjon Mili’s photographs. That’s the first time I ever saw those images.

I disc golfed a lot in college. One of my friends told me about these tiny lights that you could get and tape on your discs and play at night. Something, I remember, totally changed. It was the idea like ‘oh, you can make drawings with your camera’ but it was more than just that. [With my phone] I was like, ‘well I’m going to try and draw a face.’ And it was awful, but I was getting really energized by it.

When I got back from that trip I had the little lights [for disc golfing]. And then I just started making this body of work.

How do you prevent capturing the movements of the people or yourself in the drawing from being too noticeable?

That is a very popular question and it just baffles me, because that question would go away if you just did one. It’s just so dark. We draw in black environment with no light, and sometimes very low light.

But I’ve seen certain ones outside where you can see the moon, you can see a background, it’s minimalized. I’m surprised by how much I can’t see you guys.

I guess as far as that goes, I’m a little surprised, too. And it’s not like we ever go out intentionally with like dark clothing. Some people do, and it does go further to hide them more.

In your Hands series, you have to memorize up to 24 different photographs—many that require precise placement to make the complete image. How difficult is that process and how many takes did you find yourself doing until you got it right?

There’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of planning, and so that’s pretty tough. Specifically with the Hands series, when I did those that was over two nights in my apartment before I had air conditioning and it was getting really hot.

So you didn’t do many takes, then?

No, and I really rarely do second takes or third takes or kind of like work to perfect it. I like the humanness in the lines, how it looks hand drawn. So, I like scraggily, I like the imperfection.

That’s cool. It reminds me of The Black Keys. They don’t like to do a lot of takes on their recording. They like the idea of it sounding like it wasn’t polished, like, completely polished.

Yeah, and I like that, too.

“[adam become sun]” is probably one of my favorites. How did you go about making that one?

My friend Adam, just this like crazy positive dude, like so happy all the time. Adam spins fire pouy. [He] broke his stuff out and I was like ‘oh, I want to photograph you doing that.’ The only direction I gave Adam, that I can remember, was just being like ‘try not to move too much, try and keep it contained to a sphere.’

How long did you expose it for?

Three to five minutes.

So, do you have a favorite of yours?

Well, Lauren [Matysik, my girlfriend], and I did that one recently when she’s on the couch. I really like that one.

Are there any local artists that you’ve been digging that you think we should also be digging?

Joe Aschebrock. I love his painting style. Very abstract. All his composition, and a really good guy on top of it.

Alex Kuno. He shapes wood, adding things on top of it. He like dances on this line of super fucking creepy and really masterfully done paintings.

Laura Stack. Her paintings are so beautiful.

And all these street [artists], like EleventhWonder. All these kids who are doing illegal work most of the time, but great, it’s awesome.

I thought I saw you did collaboration with Eric Reiger (Hot Tea)?

Not yet. I want to and I think he wants to, so that’s really exciting the shit out of me. He just got done with that instillation at 35th and Chicago.

What’s next for your drawings?

Serious light drawing work on film. I’ve always known, and I can’t wait to see exactly how, that light will react differently on film than it does on digital.

If you want to check out Brian’s work in person, he’s holding two gallery openings in Lowertown St. Paul on September 7—one at Air Sweet Air and the other at Echo Arts.

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It’s more than something that simply exists here, it’s a hub of creativity, a womb of support and love—it’s an integral part of our identity. Our city is rich with art, and we’re proud of it, however, if you’ve lived in Minneapolis, if you consider yourself a Minneapolitan, you know Music forever remains King.

In these series we interview different local bands and have them talk about the music scene that supports them. Specifically, we talk to them about other local bands for, hopefully, some wet, wild, steamy-hot Band on Band Action.

Episode #2: Matt Homan of The Japhies

by D. Sykes

With a rousing live show and a shiny new LP on the way, The Japhies have become a highly respected outlet for the pure rock and roll that many in the Twin Cities have abandoned.  A band with much more depth than the average cock-rock outfit, they pursue their music with dedication, without taking themselves too seriously or falling into the quagmire of irony and pretentiousness so common in these trying times.

I met up with their bassist, Matt Homan, to go turn in a jar of change for rent money and play Vice City.  We laughed, we cried, we discussed the resurrection of the local rock scene and talked shit about people from Arizona.

D. Sykes:  So what’s your deal?  You once said your favorite band is Mötley Crue?

Matt Homan:  I don’t really have a favorite band.  I enjoy Mötley Crue because Vince Neil killed Razzle from Hanoi Rocks back in the 80s.  They were drunk and they were going to the liquor store to get more drunk, and he fuckin’ wrecked his sports car and killed Razzle, dude…

That’s inspirational for everybody, really.  Follow your dreams.  That’s what I’m about dude, I guess really I’m a freedom fighter.

What other bands around town are you listening to?

The local music scene is not really my thing.  I don’t want to talk shit—that dude from Howler got in a lot of trouble for talking shit.

And then they invited him to play Rock the Garden.

Like, everybody was super pissed off at him.  But he was totally right.  Almost everything he said was totally right, and if I was in the position that he was in, to say the things that he gets to say, I would totally say the same fuckin’ thing.  But much harsher.  It’s a very insular thing they got goin’ on here.

I don’t know.  I don’t really like music.

Talk about the music fatigue for a bit.  Because I feel like this sets in for a lot of musicians who are playing a lot of shows, and it’s starting to become a job for them, you lose that passion to go out and see other bands.

I like to check out what other bands are doing, but I don’t just sit there and take in what they’re trying to do—I’ve completely lost the ability to enjoy watching someone else’s band, ‘cause I’m just pickin’ it apart, especially if they’re playing something similar to what I do.

But do you ever see a local band and feel like they’re doing something you can feel a kinship with?

First time I saw Black Church Service I was like—fuck yes.  My whole band was just very happy that they existed.

Do you feel like there’s a bit more of a genuine rock scene coming back here?

It really feels like it.  There’s always been that offshoot scene of the RapeDoors and the Rock & Roll Whores type bands.  They kind of take cues more from shock rock, it seems.

Yeah, Nicole [Rode, vocals and drums for RapeDoor] is shocking.  But genius.

And Johnny Hardcore [vocals, Rock & Roll Whores], he’s got that whole thing going on too.

There’s always been that element, of just, y’know, straight rock.  Straight, non-pretentious rock and roll.  But it’s not really embraced by the Current or any other media establishment or fanbase in the Twin Cities.  I’m not really sure why.  But then they started paying attention to us for some reason.  The Goondas are another straight rock band that’s been embraced by that whole Current-listening thing.

We saw them as competitors, in a way.  Because there was nobody else.  But now there’s, fuck man, there’s, BloodnStuff… We played with a band called Blueclaw, young kids.  That was cool, I like those guys.

And I’m talking about rock bands that aren’t trying to be throwback acts.  Doing what you like because it’s fun, not because this certain style of dress and this certain style of fuckin’ reverb through this amp is gonna go together real well.  Playin’ music like it’s a cocktail dress or some shit.

My favorite place to play is Palmer’s.  Any band we play with there is fuckin’ awesome.

I think your band is, if not the only, one of the only bands that’s getting played on both the Current and 93X.  What is it about your music that’s getting people from a mainstream rock station to play it as well as the supposedly indie-rock station?

I’m not really sure…You see all these people in the Minneapolis music scene, and other music scenes too, and they have  these awesome guitars and they got this cool gear, and they never open it up…they all have the resources to own Camaros and shit, and they drive the speed limit.  [The Japhies] try to open it up, make it loud…I think a lot of the crossover appeal probably has to do with Reed [Wilkerson, vocals]—Reed’s voice, Reed’s demeanor, Reed’s persona…that’s really what ties all the music together.  Ben [Havorka, guitar] and I will get together and do some pretty strange shit musically and lyrically, and Anthony [Gore, drums] is always doing a lot of stuff that isn’t necessarily “okay” in modern indie rock.  There’s a lot of weird elements going on there and Reed adds a kind of palatability to what we do.  He really ties the room together.

Any current favorite local records?

I like this band called Brain Tumors [he hands me a pair of tapes].  These are two different albums.  Check them out and look at the track listings.

Everything they put out is called Whatever Man, Fuck Everything.

And the tracks are all called “Bullshit” and “Who Cares” over and over again.

That’s fuckin’ genius.  They’re maybe my favorite local band.  The shows are fun, they don’t take themselves too seriously…[they] swear that they play their songs for real sometimes, I’ve never seen it…mostly it’s just this huge loud fast thing of noise, and the singer’s throwin’ beer at everyone.

I’ll go to the punk shows and the hardcore shows; that’s really the only time I go out to see local music.  It’s like the most organic, non-pretentious scene in the city.  And initially I thought all those people would be fuckheads, but they’re all pretty fuckin’ nice, dude.  They just do their own thing, they don’t give a shit about the Current and they don’t give a shit about Vita.mn, they don’t give a fuck about the City Pages, and that’s really nice.  They’re just loud, and they’re gross, and it’s fuckin’ cool.

Any other major thoughts about the music landscape here right now?

It’s shifting, right?

It is, I think.

I mean, that’s kind of cool.  That makes me hopeful.   We’ve lost that whole thing with the Replacements.  We’ve lost that whole kind of attitude.  I’m not from here so I only hear what people tell me it was like before.  But indie rock…really didn’t go away with grace.  Indie rock didn’t bow out when it should’ve.  I think people are just fuckin’ sick of it, and that’s too bad for indie rock ‘cause it’s gonna get shit on for about ten years until people come back to it.

I’m hoping that maybe rock and roll is still relevant.  I feel like it is.  I’ve loved punk and metal and classic rock my whole life, and I think a lot of other people have, too.

Indie rock, I just never really got.  The droning guitars, the not opening up your gear to its full potential, the lyrics you can’t hear ‘cause there’s so much fuckin’ reverb…I don’t get it.  Play your fuckin’ Jaguar all day long, it doesn’t make your music good.  You play that Les Paul like a bitch, dude.  Get an acoustic, that’s what you meant to play.  If you wanna be a singer/songwriter fuckin’ do that, there’s no shame in that!  Do your thing.  Go get some Maker’s Mark and a…fuckin’ vegan muffin or whatever.  I dunno, fuck off.

But there’s people in Minneapolis who support rock and roll.  Mary Lucia’s a big supporter of rock music.

She is, yeah.

I have a lot of respect for that.

I guess my part in all that is, like, I have this fantasy world that I try to manifest where rock and roll is powerful and rock and roll can be consumed for four hours straight in a night, and that whole attitude can be conveyed to people and it’ll do some good in the world.  But people don’t see things the way I see things.  That’s just the way I wish the world was.

I like Minneapolis’ reaction to us.  I like when people hate the Japhies, I enjoy that.  I really do, so keep it comin’.  And I like when people like us, that’s cool too.

As long as it’s a passionate reaction.

Right. That’s really it—like, I’ll take hate, dude, I will take you hating me.  That’s fine.  You’re still fuckin’ talkin’ about me.  As long as I’m in your consciousness one way or another, that’s a win.

Wet Hot Minneapolis Summer

by D. Sykes

Minnesotans appreciate the summer more than most people on the planet.  Each year we suffer through seven to nine months of horrid desolation, snow emergencies, and sliding on ice all the way to the liquor store every night.  When the warm months finally roll around, we feel a primal and powerful urge to have as much fun as humanly possible.  However, since we’re so adept at complaining, we’re pretty bad at actually enjoying ourselves.

So here’s a quick guide to making the most of your passive-aggressive Twin Cities’ summer, the way we know best: riddled with underlying and often hypocritical criticism.

5.) Build a bike, ride it everywhere, become a superhero and save the world

Scientific studies show that if only 3.3 million people were to completely forego the use of automobiles and ride bikes instead, unicorns would fly out of Mount Vesuvius and fart out ozone-layer-repairing nanobots so fast you won’t even be able to listen to an early Crass EP before trees start growing up through the abandoned streets.

Incidentally, this is the approximate population of the Twin Cities metro area.

Some of us have known this for years—the folks frequenting bike shops, attending Critical Mass and Black Label rides, or drinking Black Label.  They were mocked as fools and asked how they planned on getting their bass amp all the way from their mom’s house in Maple Grove to the gig at Memory Lanes.  Now that we know the truth, what do you want on your hands:  bike grease, or blood?

4.) Go to a music festival, see a bunch of bands you hate

You’ve bitched all year about how the Current’s been overplaying the latest flavor of indie pop, now it’s time to really prove your conviction and pay out the ass to go see it.  The Twin Cities are ripe with various festivals, featuring both local bands you’ve heard of a bunch but never paid a cover charge to see before, and indie one-hit wonders you missed last time because your roommate got too stoned to buy tickets to First Ave before they sold out.  Since Minnesotans also have deeply ingrained inferiority complexes, we also get the opportunity to worship bands that have bitched our scene out in the international music press (Howler) or abandoned it to go make a series of identical records elsewhere (the Hold Steady).

3.) Get addicted to drugs

Like losing your virginity or finding out your favorite actor is a Scientologist, this is an essential and necessary milestone for any young man or woman.  Each class of drugs has particular qualities that make summer the ideal time to pick up a habit:

Alcohol:  It’s summer, all the patios are open and everyone is drinking all day anyway.  Nobody’s gonna look at you funny.  If you’re a student, you’re not in class so your parents might not even care.  Plus, alcohol is a social lubricant necessary to deal with the awful people you’ll have to be involved with for everything else on the list, and it pairs nicely with all the other drugs with which you can develop problems.

Cocaine:  Sitting around waiting for three hours for some shady dude to show up and sell you some chalkdust that’s been stepped on more than Kurt Cobain’s distortion pedal is a lot less unpleasant when you can sit on your front stoop and drink 40s the whole time.

Heroin:  You’re gonna be sweaty and itchy anyway, so most of the immediately obvious negative side-effects are already happening.  If you have central air (or a window unit situated near your TV) this might be your best choice.

Pills:  I started writing this section, but accidentally took a six-hour nap instead.

Psychedelics:  Given their high cost, low availability, quickly-developing tolerance, and complete destruction of one’s ability to function in normal society for 6-18 hours a go, psychedelics are often a difficult class of drugs with which to build a nice habit.  However, it’s beautiful outside, and it’s only gonna get more beautiful when you’re completely faced on some unpronounceable substance a guy in a fuzzy top hat sold you.  Stick to dropping way too much acid or eating a half-pound or so of mushrooms every time you don’t have work the next day and you should do just fine.

And remember kids, avoid bath salts and plant food.  Other people’s faces are not an appropriate lunch to post pictures of on Facebook.

2.) Have drinks and lunch on the patio, take pictures of it with your smartphone and post them on Facebook

You’ve got friends that are sitting at home in their AC composing status updates about their feelings regarding Game of Thrones, and they want to live vicariously through your lunch.  Give them what they want.

1.) Go to Hidden Beach, sit with a small and isolated group of friends, talk about how it used to be cool

It seems sometimes that the people of the Twin Cities only do things so we can complain about them later.  In the summer we don’t have time to do this, so it’s important to complain about things while you are doing them.  Otherwise you may have to start a blog, which will just eat up more of the time you should be spending at the beach.

by D. Sykes

As a long-time fan of Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo, Travis and Sonia Even’s primary project, I’m compelled to compare them to side-project Lovely Dark–an instinct exacerbated by the new band’s similar thematic obsession with divinity and naturalism.  While similar at their core, Lovely Dark is a thoroughly unique sonic experience. Both lyrically and musically, these songs rely on minimalism and graceful delivery to make their impact.

Lovely Dark is what music journalists once referred to as a “supergroup,” back before everyone and their mom was in three different bands. They’re a bunch of musicians from wildly different backgrounds, all in a grip of different groups, some of which have received positive media attention.  While Territories has its flaws, the record is an example of talented musicians crafting a coherent and original sound together.

The most immediately surprising element of their style is its sparseness—there’s a lot of space in this recording, and it’s mostly used to great effect. Throughout the album, aural themes of drone and tremolo-picked guitar consistently emerge amongst the wash of ethereal vocals and varied instrumentation.  Restraint seems to be the modus operandi, however—and nobody’s feet get stepped on, something surprising coming from such an experienced group of musicians.

Unfortunately, that same restraint sometimes leads to the tracks sounding similar, despite their often intriguing hooks.  Tracks like “Phoenix” easily slip into the background without making an impact, but other songs like “Three Legged Crow” (featuring a simple yet effective dark synth line with shockwaves of guitar leading into the chorus) demand the listener’s attention with their unique instrumentation.

While Lovely Dark seems to lose some of the passion of their live show in the studio, especially vocally, there is still a consistent and interesting interplay between the band’s three very distinct singers–the Evens and bassist Kent Thomson. Sonia Even’s wistful and haunting pipes and Thomson’s gruffer delivery are one of the best elements of Lovely Dark’s sound.

The instrumental element of the band seems to thrive a bit more in the studio environment.  Rounded out by lead guitarist Brian Lake and dual drummers Max Becker and Ben Johnston, they’re certainly a precise and meticulous bunch.  This serves both to exacerbate the band’s frequent concessions to pop sounds (one is often reminded of artists like Natalie Merchant or Sarah McLachlan) and elevate the more progressive elements of their music.  Songs like “The Great Furnace” and “Words in the Earth,” a tune anchored by a simply fantastic fingerpicked acoustic, move elegantly through unconventional structures and make the most of the band’s diverse musical abilities.

Given that this conglomerate of folk-prog multi-instrumentalists all belong to other projects, chances to see them live are a bit slim.  I would encourage discerning local music fans to take the opportunity to do so, however, as their live show is the ideal introduction to their sound.  You can both check out upcoming dates and stream tracks from Territories on their website.

PRIDE 2012 photos

by Kristoffer Tigue

Photos by Kristoffer Tigue

If you missed today’s annual Gay Pride Parade, we’ve got you covered (kind of). The streets were blocked off from the public, limiting the shots.

With President Obama backing same-sex marriage last month and our state’s own Marriage Amendment, banning same-sex marriage coming to vote in November, this year’s Pride Parade was a particularly charged one.

Opponents to the amendment swarmed downtown Hennepin Avenue, gathering signatures, asking for pledges and even financial donations to fight the upcoming bill. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and MN Governor Mark Dayton both made personal appearances at the parade, receiving huge cheers from the crowd (unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any usable photos of them).

But there were plenty of other highlights in the parade, including drag queens, foam machines and as always, lots and lots of skin. Enjoy the photos and don’t forget to vote NO on the Marriage Amendment in November.

by Kristoffer Tigue

Data, data, data. The internet is ubiquitous and overbearing. Everyone and their aunt has a blog and praise Jebus, you simply don’t have the time to check out every friend’s personal feelings and creative expressions. However there is light in the haze. There are some proverbial needles in that stack that are worth the search, and luckily for you, we did the heavy lifting. Here are 5 recommended local websites you probably don’t know about that are worth the trouble of perusing.

1. Hazel & Wren

Paper Darts set the standard for local literary magazines, both in print and online since they popped out of inexistence back in 2009, but that didn’t stop local sisters Amanda and Melissa Wray from jumping into the mix. Adequately armed with their pen-names, Hazel & Wren, and a pinch of wit and a critical eye, they launched their online literary magazine in early 2011.

(Photo courtesy of hazelandwren.com)

The visual appeal of the site screams Paper Darts, but the material inside has taken on a very distinct personality of the two sisters. Columns like Three Things To Start Your Week, where three pieces of art are organized under a similar theme, or What We’re Reading, their literary review segment, are smart and savvy with a hint of offbeat earnestness. In addition, What We’re Reading often reviews local authors, such as Arlene Kim, Kelly Barnhill and Catherine Friend, to name a few.

But what really stands out with Hazel & Wren is their How-To advice. Anywhere from how to copyright your work, to advice on applying to an MFA program, to learning how to make your own book bindings, they’ve really filled in their own niche and have truly become something that isn’t just Another Lit-Mag.

2. Minneapplesauce

Bobby Maher, Erik Martz and Andy Voegtline have decided to slow things down with their new multi-media website, Minneapplesauce.com. Their website, which they launched earlier this year, won’t be updated daily or even weekly. Instead, they hope to run it at a leisurely pace, in the fashion of good ol’ print magazine.

The site is as unconventional as it is colorful—the Nabokov of online creative hubs. Their idea seems to be avoiding categorization, other than that of art, varying between fictional short stories, photography, poetry, music and even audio-fiction.

The topics are eclectic too, varying from quirky pieces of Paul Bunyan to dark, disturbing, Woyzeck like phone calls to girlfriends. And while the speed at which they update their content may be lacking, the content itself may be well worth the wait.

3. Existential Dread For Beginners

This site will make you laugh, and I’m not talking about one of those forced, superficial laughs you give most of your friends everyday out of kindness. I’m talking about a deep down, life is finite and you’re-a-speck-in-an-everlasting-sea-of-emptiness-and-meaninglessness kind of laugh.

(Photo courtesy of existentialdreadforbeginners.tumblr.com)

A collection of short-shorts, the main character, bravely written in the 2nd person (in other words, it’s you), ventures through the days experiencing some profound sense of dread, as the conclusion that life is beyond his pathetic existence becomes more and more apparent.

One day your drug dealer is quoting Nietzsche. The next day you’re attempting to bond with your kidnappers over the shared love of Fugazi, just to realize that every relationship you’ve ever  had is just a futile attempt to escape the loneliness and abandonment you’ve experienced your whole life.

Robert Fones, the author, delivers with consistent irony in every post, and although he’s an obscure author (for now), he’s managed to prove his stories are well worth your time. Read this shit.

4. Minneapolis Summer of Love Calendar

The site itself isn’t directly linked to art, but in a sense, it’s the essence in which art is created.

In an interview with MPLS.TV, one of the site’s anonymous creators explains how the site, which is basically a summer calendar, aims to be the reincarnation of the flower child, the great American revolutionary lover. And if you can say anything about those days of the flower children, it’s that that time of rebellion truly produced some great art.

The site’s promoted events all revolve around the idea of love. Love in public policy. Love in sexuality and relationships. Love of your own body.

Some of their highlighted events include Best of the 48 Hour Film Festival, the Rhinestone Gorilla Burlesque and a city favorite, Critical Mass.

5. Aephy.org

The irony that if you’re reading this you’ve already heard of our site is not lost on us. Thank you for your patronage, and we hope you continue to check in with us, every Wednesday and Sunday (but in reality whenever we can god damned do it). God bless America!

3.5 out of 5 stars

A decade later, Zadie Smith’s The Autograph Man is still an easy recommendation

by Evan Giannobile

Zadie Smith’s latest novel The Autograph Man will be familiar territory for the cultural studies major. Characterized by the strange place occupied by popular culture in the intellectual realm, Smith delves into a world where fiction has eclipsed real life.  Published in 2002, the novel chronicles the stunted growth and uncanny obsessions of Alex Li-Tandem, a half-Chinese, half-Jewish 27 year old who has turned his childhood hobby, collecting autographs, into a rather unrewarding job and unhealthy obsession. He doesn’t deal directly in the realm of the famous but in their scribbles, their sanctified chicken-scratch meant to be collected, bought, and sold. Through this medium the novel offers a thoughtful critique on the dark and lonely realm of cultural obsession.

As her second novel, there were high expectations following the commercial and critical success of her first novel, White Teeth, which beautifully explores the conflict between the preservation of cultural identity and the pressures of assimilation experienced by immigrants of various ethnic backgrounds.

While the novel didn’t quite win over critics and the public as did her first novel, The Autograph Man still speaks to Smith’s literary prowess. Her writing style is strong and well-developed, making the book more of a quick read and less reminiscent of a competition to see who can write the longest grammatically correct sentence (13,955 words, ugh).  Smart and savvy, Smith’s attention towards the natures of representation, desire, and transcendent religions paired with a literary playfulness makes for a novel dense with ideas sans the abject seriousness and melodrama.

The life of Alex Li-Tandem revolves around the procurement of an autograph by the Golden-Age cinema star Kitty Alexander, and since turning all of his attention to this incredibly sad goal, all other aspects of his life have wilted considerably. The reader finds Alex awaking from an acid trip—his car totaled, his girlfriend injured and incensed, his friends legitimately concerned over his mental health, and it’s the 15^th anniversary of his father’s death, which he is still grieving.

Within this context, Smith explores life super-saturated with stock expressions, emotions, and responses conditioned by popular culture. For Alex Li-Tandem, entertainment functions as ritual, stripped of any inherit importance. The religious-less main character floats in disillusion as the plot explores suspended mourning paired with the after-effects of too many movies.

As a comedic romp “around the hollow things of modernity,” Zadie Smith succeeds in cataloging the phenomena where the Celebrity and nearly anything related to them gains near-spiritual significance. As he has surrounded himself in the relics of a world preserved in celluloid, a jowl-less world where gravity ignores plucked, perky eyebrows, Alex-Li Tandem is doomed to deal “in a shorthand of experience. The TV version. He is one of this generation who watch themselves”.