there's a great show opening this weekend at the soap factory which is gonna feature some kickass bands. i would have hot ticketed it if i'd remembered it, but it's so darn hard to keep up with all the great stuff, sometimes something slips through the cracks. here's the info:

the exhibit is by 7-ply culture and it's skating-related.

for more info:
soap factory
7-ply culture

> Exhibiting Artists:
> Ed Templeton // Luke Hunt // Erin Knutson // Pat Smith
> Derek Maxwell // Eric Carlson // Joe Rizzo
>
>
> Saturday, Sept 3, 3 - 10 pm
> Exhibition opens
> Skate shop art show
> Bring your board - some of this art is skateable
> Bands:
> The Fuck Yeahs // Doomtree (still confirming) // Brother and Sister
> Thank You // Useless Wooden Toys
>
> Sunday, Sept 4, 12 - 6 pm
> Skating and demos
> Exhibition
> DIY art projects
>
> Monday, Sept 5, 3 - 10 pm
> More skating
> Skate shop art show competition judging
> Exhibit closes
> DIY art projects
> DJs / party
> Video screenings
> Bonfire
>
>
> Sponsors:
> Radio K // Red Bull Energy Drink // ROBOTlove
>
>

caught plastic constellations at the entry on friday, missed building better bombs. damn. i really wanted to catch stef fronting a band. next time. anybody else make it to this one? TPC killed it, per usual, and i overheard stef tell aaron mader that he had the best stage presentation of any MC in the TCs. mader explained that it's because he gets to hold a guitar, and i can attest that that's true; nothing makes you feel like an idiot quite like singing back-ups and having nothing to do when the song really kicks in. of course, mader knows better than to really call himself an MC, and stef was mostly joking, but the whole band is really compelling to watch. especially matt back on the drums, who's in desperate need of some of those kurt rambis-style glasses lassoes. they kept sliding down his nose and often even off the bridge. after the show i asked him if he's ever crunched them under the bass drum pedal, which he hasn't, but we also agreed maybe in addition to a stickbag he needs to get a glasses bag that he can just pull new specs out of when he needs them.

The OLYMPIC Hopefuls

I'm sorry, but I'll be dead int he cold, cold ground before I recognize the name change. I happened to catch the second half of the Olympic Hopefuls' set at the State Fair on Saturday, and it was most excellent (all the more so when I found out that it was their third sat of the day... keeping up that level of energy for three back-to-back-to-back shows takes a lot of gumption; I'm talking gumption levels similar to those showed by the Polar Expedition Husky Dogs I'd seen earlier that morning at the Fair. But I digress). They have energy and they have melody, and they have a Moog Liberation (the keyboard that looks like a guitar). That's a potent combo to stumble into when you're walking around in a grease daze, thinking that the best you're going to do musically is a Johnny Horton tribute singer.

Aside from the music, seeing the Olympic Hopefuls got me all agitated about the situation witht heir name (I'm sure you've heard this, but just in case you haven't: the International Olympic Committee, who are a bunch of dicks who will leave no stone unturned in their quest to suck every drop of money out of the Olympic franchise, threatened legal action if the band didn't change their name, which the IOC claimed was infringing on their copyright). And I came to a conclusion... I'm pretty happy with my band, and have no intention of leaving. But if, for whatever reason, I do end up starting a new band any time soon, it'll be called "The Olympic Trademark Lawyers Are a Bunch of Douchebags."

so on wednesday night my friend bitzi had her going away party in grand style at the triple rock, which has suddenly become the place to have your big parties. it was a solid lineup of bands, and i couldn't stay for much of anything, but i did get to see crescent moon doing his acoustic singer/songwriter thing. what is it with hip-hop guys? first of all, martin devaney leaves heiruspecs to pursue a singer/songwriter career and now alexei's wearing a sportcoat and a little straw hat? i'm kidding, but seriously, i really admire alexei for stepping outside of his bag to do something new. i mean, this is a guy that many around town revere as one of, if not THE best MCs to ever grace the twin cities, and here he is writing and covering folk ballads. he's learned enough about stage presence with odd jobs, kill the vultures and backing up atmosphere to hold it down and he's so good-natured that it's hard to argue with this latest experiment. the interplay between him and his wife on "the banks of the ohio" was terrific and, yes, heartwarming. alexei is once again proving that he's got the stones to try just about anything and make it stick.

Welcome to the Pulse of the Twin Cities Music blog. Through this site, we're hoping to stay fluid within the Twin Cities music scene, and we need your help. Our crack staff of writers is on board and they'll be posting tidbits about upcoming shows, questions about local bands and lightning-quick impressions of concerts. This works best when everybody gets involved, responding to the seeds sown by the writers and getting us hip to what's going on.

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