Music
USA Today Gets ‘Low’
The new Low documentary got a mention in USA Today‘s pop culture blog “Pop Candy” yesterday, written by uber-cool pop junkie Whitney Matheson.
‘Low Movie’: Indie band gets its own doc
Here’s the writeup:
Despite having been together for 20 years, the band Low has managed to remain pretty under the radar. This year the lo-fi Sub Pop artists are being celebrated in a documentary that looks as good as it sounds.
Low Movie (How to Quit Smoking) is directed by Phil Harder, who has been documenting the band for the last two decades with a 16mm camera. His film includes lots of never-before-seen footage from the band.
I admire Harder’s dedication to getting a good shot – which sometimes means persuading the band to get on frozen Lake Superior when there’s a 30-below wind chill.
Low’s latest record, The Invisible Way, was released earlier this year. Last week Pitchfork debuted a compelling performance video for the song “Clarence White.”
Low Movie screens July 29 in New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center before showing in more than 20 cities, including San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore. For screening info and more, head to the official site.
Video Archive: Low video “Over the Ocean” premiere on MTV from 1996
MTV’s Matt Pinfield introduces the premiere of Low’s “Over the Ocean” video during the program 120 Minutes. The video was directed by Philip Harder; the song is from Low’s album The Curtain Hits the Cast.
Jack Campbell – Absentee
Video by Lakefront Films. Album release coming up July 27 with a show at Beaner’s.
Jazzy Tunes and Good Eats
One of the most awesome aspects of hanging out at the local comic shop are the quirky people who hang out there. I don’t mean the Sheldon Coopers — I mean the creators of Apocalypse City and Night of the Smurfing Dead. I mean the owner of Psher Meats, who also sidelines as a fiction writer. I mean Sir Jeff, the newest light in the kitchen at Zeitgeist, and Greg, who makes the DNT’s new creative services run like clockwork. Duluth is filled with more talented people than it has outlets for that talent.
So it didn’t surprise me that a talented light-jazz musician stopped by the shop and told us about his show tonight at Valentini’s.
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Wholesome Album Covers
Does Sexhawk’s release of the Nuts of a Warrior EP do anything to offset the old Ween album art controversy? Or is there not enough flesh?
Another (Unexpected) Duluth-Related Kickstarter
For those of you who know your comic book writers, the name Alan Moore is usually found at the top of most peoples “favorites” list (maybe because he’s an incredible writer, or maybe because he’s a fucking wizard and people are scared of him).
Anyway, I was watching Alan Moore’s Kickstarter video for the “His Heavy Heart” project, and was completely surprised to hear the Duluth connection!
Skip ahead to 3:45 if you want to hear Alan Moore drop Alan Sparhawk’s name as a collaborator on the project!
Local Music Research Discussed on KUMD
Seth Langreck, a student at UMD, was interviewed by KUMD for research started here on PDD.
Bob Dylan Duluth Concert Photos
Some things improve a bit with age. The out of focus shot above is the best I could do at the 2013 Bob Dylan concert in Duluth, but it’s better than I did in 1999, below.
So, who did better than me?
Sloppy Cloud Cult post-rainout acoustic set clips from the Twin Ports Bridge Festival
It started raining at the Twin Ports Bridge Festival pretty much the moment Cloud Cult hit the stage. About four songs into the set it started pouring. When the announcement came that the show couldn’t continue, the crowd slowly dispersed, then rushed back when the band started performing unplugged as the rain relented. When informed they needed to get off the wet stage, the band climbed into the pit area behind the guard rail to belt out another tune. Then they escaped under the stage and the downpour resumed.
Check out Nate Lindstrom’s photo gallery of the Bridge Fest at the N. Lindstrom Photo website.
Video Archive: Bad Company and Damn Yankees at the DECC Arena in 1991
Bad Company played Grand Casino Hinckley last night with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Twenty-two years ago, Bad Company toured with Damn Yankees and played the DECC Arena.
The memorable part of the show was that the news came out during the concert that the Gulf War had ended. Ted Nugent celebrated by shooting a cutout of Saddam Hussein with his crossbow. (This seemed spontaneous, but it was actually something he was doing throughout the tour, because he’s Ted Nugent and that’s what he does.)
Bridge Festival schedule confirmed … almost
We know this is ridiculous, but we promise to fit it all in and stay mostly on time. And the forecast is perfect! This schedule includes all the changes, switcharoos, and official times as of noon on the 4th of July (yes, there are still more events in the works we’ll try to update here):
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The Crunchy Bunch News
The Crunchy Bunch DJ collective is releasing its third mix-tape on July 19 at the Red Star Lounge.
Video Archive: Duluth Kiss Concert
Yes, it’s the TV ad promoting the Kiss concert at the DECC Arena in 1990, a topic also covered in a post from six years ago.
Actual Wolf – “Kerosene and Spark”
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
Video by Nicholas Sunsdahl.
Video Archive: Homegrown 2003
Here’s a sloppy VHS version of KDLH-TV’s coverage of the 2003 Homegrown Music Festival, including clips from the only Homegrown Kickball Classic ever held at the Wade softball fields — and the only time a TV news personality was invited to participate in the game.
Starfire’s fabulous mohawk appears near the end, although the quality of the video doesn’t do it justice.
PDD Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Teague Alexy vs. Tangier 57
Back in April, Perfect Duluth Day launched a series of polls, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band had the sweetest pic. Tangier 57 won the championship, and, now that the post-Homegrown grace period is up, must defend its title.
The challenger:
Teague Alexy (photo by Joshua Priestley)
The reigning champions:
Tangier 57 (photo by Patrice Bradley)
[poll id=”38″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Teague Alexy – 54.5 percent
Tangier 57 – 45.5 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
I thought I saw a squatch!!! What is Bigfoot Music Productions?
For a while now, people have been asking what Bigfoot Music Productions actually is. So, we thought we would take a minute to provide a little clarification so everyone can fully understand what we are doing. (more…)
Dylan ticket
I have a ticket to the Bob Dylan show at Bayfront, but won’t be able to make it. I’ll sell it at a reduced price. Bob Dylan on sale. Please make a fair offer, and it’s yours.
Bob Mould at Grandma’s Sports Garden
From Rock the Garden to Grandma’s Sports Garden, Bob Mould was a busy man this weekend. Here are some photos from last night’s gig with local band American Rebels as openers. Enjoy! (more…)
Low drones the Garden
So, as many of you have probably heard, Low played the “Rock the Garden” show at the Walker Art Gallery on Saturday and caused a bit of a ruckus by playing just one 27-minute song.
Now MPR asks, “What do artists owe you?”