Named for the late bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, the Minnesota-based quintet Monroe Crossing performs some of the most joyful music I’ve ever heard. They played two vibrant sets this evening, combining woeful lyrics with a banjo sound so bouncy, I couldn’t stop smiling. I will confess right now that several songs about heartbreak, abandonment, loneliness, […]
Category Archives: Arts
Film Series: Buena Vista Social Club
I’m focusing on documentaries this year for my local film discussion series, and we kicked things off on Thursday with Wim Wenders’ musical documentary Buena Vista Social Club. As he follows the lives of Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, and other legends of Cuban jazz, Wim Wenders works with great elegance and subtlety. I always sense […]
Little Shop of Horrors
Over the weekend, I watched my friend Michael perform in Little Shop of Horrors, and I had a bit of a surprise: the play ended unhappily. Crazy green mutant plants took over Skid Row, everyone (human) died, and the girl-group chorus wrapped everything up by singing “Don’t Feed the Plants.” And actually, that was a […]
“There’s a heaven, and there’s a star for you…”
On Friday, a group of us went to hear Daniel Johnston at First Avenue. We’d seen The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a recent documentary of the folk singer’s life and work, and we’d come away entranced by his raw, childlike songs. Daniel Johnston’s musical career has been disrupted by repeated bouts of severe mental illness, […]
Boiled in Lead
Boiled in Lead, the legendary Minneapolis folk band, performed at the Mabel Tainter Theater on Saturday night. They’re promoting their new album, Silver. It’s been nearly ten years since I last heard them in concert, and I shrieked like a teenager when my friend Susan told me she had tickets. They played Macedonian tunes, Estonian […]
Global Voice: Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen is touring the States with the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in both King Lear and The Seagull. Last night–on one of the knight’s few nights off–he was the Guthrie Theater’s speaker for their annual “Global Voices” forum. It was a delightful and inspiring event. Looking relaxed and happy, McKellen strolled onto the […]
“Reader, I married him.”
I went to see Alan Stanford’s adaptation of Jane Eyre at the Guthrie Theater on Sunday night. I’m trying to remember the last time I was so deeply moved by a live performance, and I’m not able to come up with anything. Jane Eyre was just stunning. Having loved Jane Eyre for thirty years (and […]