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| Rouge Citizen |
After watching a few of the performances, checking out the art, and browsing through some old records, I bumped into a few of my musician friends. We took off as the outside festivities of the block party started to wrap up in the receding twilight.
Later that night we would attend an epic punk rock show at the Hexagon Bar. The frustrated angst of fast and furious punk music accompanied patrons carousing around and looking at local records available from the artists performing that night: The Blind Shake, Spray Paint, The Fuck Yeahs, and Rabbit Holes. There were also multiple record labels with vinyl records available for purchase: Learning Curve Records, Modern Radio Records, Guilt Ridden Pop, Old Blackberry Way, Double Asterisk, Moon Glyph, and Cat People. While I didn't get any pictures of the bands, their intensity imbued the bustling crowd with energy, excitement, and anticipation. One of the most notable songs was a fast and furious repetition of words that went: Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael.
It was an impressive feat of linguistic gymnastics and has stuck with
me since that night, yet sadly I'm unsure which band
performed the song. The headlining act was The Blind Shake, an intense local band my friends had specifically come to see. Overall Record-store day was fun and entertaining. 
On Sunday I had a few events planed to continue my musically saturated weekend,. My plans began with attending a Choral / Bluegrass Concert at a Church in Southwest Richfield, MN. The Choir was the Carpe Diem Vocal Ensemble and they were Accompanied by a chamber orchestra. The bluegrass band was called Ginstrings. As I have eluded to in my past posts, I enjoy all forms of music across the whole spectrum of genres. So, despite a glaring contrast from the chaotically intense punk music of the previous night, I will include the events I attended consecutively because I am not beholden to the record industry or some strict, formulaic, pigeonholed, perspective towards the local music scene. 
My mother sings in the choir for the church my parents attend. Their Church choir is linked to the Carpe Diem Vocal Ensemble via their mutual choir director Clark Howard Duhrkopf. My mother invited our immediate family to see the choir perform because last week they announced Carpe Diem has been chosen to sing at Carnage Hall in New York City next January! So, since my mother's choir is affiliated with the Carpe Diem Vocal Ensemble, it is possible my mother will be performing with the group next January, because the church group was invited to join the Carpe Diem Vocal Ensemble on stage in New York. I am so happy for my mother and all her choir friends for getting the chance of a lifetime to perform in Carnegie Hall. The Choir and their orchestral accompaniement were fun and entertaining. They included a beautiful brand new piece called Breath by Daniel Roeder, which they had sung for it's world release the night before. Daniel Roeder was also in attendance, and after hearing the song he wrote, he even sang along with the choir as a soloist for the song Music of Heaven by Jason Robert Brown. 
In between two sets of the Choir, the Ginstrings performed their bluegrass songs. They were impressively skilled performers. The Slap bassist kept rhythm beautifully as the banjo plucked speedily away, the Slide guitar swept from note to note, and the violin scurried over it all in harmonious knee slapping good times.
Later in the evening Sunday, I headed back off to the West Bank again. There were two shows directly next to one another that I wanted to see . The shows that night were at Palmer's Bar and across the street at The Nomad World Pub.
The music started earlier at Palmer's that night than at the Nomad so I dropped in to see Charlie Parr playing before The High Crimes. They played some more excellent bluegrass and blues music filling the crowded little bar. The acoustic design of Palmer's lends for some of the best sounding shows in the Twin Cities area, but the small quarters makes it a very tight fit when it's crowded, although the enormous iconic patio in back allows the crowds fresh air if it get's overwhelming inside. 
After listening to Charlie Parr perform for a while, and chatting with some people, I headed into the Nomad to see Mississippi Rising play. I had seen them once before at the Itmusic.us website launch party at The Sound Gallery in Minneapolis and this performance impressed me just as much as that one did. They aren't as polished as some of the more seasoned bands in the cities, but considering they just started gigging last month I think they have the potential to really draw a crowd as they build their network in the scene. 
After dancing hard to their rocking groves I made my way back across the street to catch The High Crimes who are one of my favorite local bands and a great group of people.
This was the third week of The High Crimes Sunday residency at Palmer's and a tribute to the Black Crowes. Their rock holds true to the spirit of long hair, wailing tenor lyrics, catchy riffs, soaring solos, and precise easily danceable rhythms. 
There is one last event I have to include from this last week in the snowy spring music season. On Monday night April 22, 2013, after a weekend of wonderful musical entertainment, I biked and bussed through yet another snowstorm to Honey in northeast Minneapolis. The opening act for the night was a wonderfully mellow and melancholy acoustic singer song writer Joshua Kloyda.
That was followed by another great performance from The Jelly Project.
Then the night was finished off by the birthday boy getting on stage
with his band The Lone Crows. The show was a birthday celebration for Tim Barbeau the lead singer and guitar player for The Lone Crows, a band I have written about before and who keep delivering awesome blues rock to the Minneapolis Music scene. This is a young band of dedicated musicians bound for big things. Tim just turned 21 and all his bandmates are similarly youthful.
I am so happy that he will finally be able to attend all of the other local Minneapolis bands' shows he previously wouldn't be able to attend unless he was performing. I feel that is one of the great constraints on live local music's accessibility; people under age are excluded from attending most local music shows simply because most of the establishments where musicians can get booked are 21 plus. Although some people, like myself, are constantly seeking out new experiences and exploring where the world will take them by seeking out new music, I know that once people turn 21 many of them have already gotten into their life groove. Thus, unless people have friends in bands, most people ignore the burgeoning music scene because by the time they turn 21 they have already found what they value for entertainment in their life, whether it be going to movies, watching TV, playing video games, going to quite dinners, or anything else in the world. I think it would be good to include more youth in the local music scene in some way to integrate all the local music that goes under appreciated by the millions of people who live here. On that, I must wrap this up and get prepared to head off to a show tonight at the Driftwood Char Bar for a fun free night of music by Peregrine Perspective and Mississippi Rising (One of the Bands I saw last Sunday night)
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| Happy Birthday Tim |
