Slideshow: NYE with Mark Mallman, White Light Riot, & First Communion Afterparty at The Varsity Theater on 12/31/09

By: Jenn Barnett
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HowWasTheShow is proud to present Jenn Barnett's photo slide show from Mark Mallman's's New Year's Eve blow out at the Varsity Theater.   Band order as seen in this slide show is Koo Koo Kangaroo, First Communion Afterparty, White Light Riot, then Mark Mallman.   The slideshow is set to "I Just Want To Play Piano" by Mark Mallman. ...

Podcast: HowWasTheShow CD Reviews for December 2009 on 12/21/09

By: David de Young
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  David de Young does a solo Solstice edition of the HowWasTheShow podcast. Tracks featured: Greg Herriges – “Rama B Good” (http://gregherriges.com) Kari Tauring – “Winter's Come” (http://www.karitauring.com) Polara – “Closer to Heaven” (http://www.susstones.com) Jeremy Messersmith and Zach Coulter – “Norwegian Wood&...

Slideshow: Romantica at Cedar Cultural Center on 12/20/09

By: Jenn Barnett
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HowWasTheShow is proud to present Jenn Barnett's photo slide show from Romantica's CD Release Party for Control Alt Country Delete at the Cedar Cultural Center.    The slideshow is set to "Blue Heart" by Romantica.  ...

Slideshow: Sussedtacular 2009 at The Varsity Theater on 12/18/09

By: Jenn Barnett
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HowWasTheShow is proud to present Jenn Barnett's photo slide show from Sussedtacular 2009 at the Varsity Theater.     The slideshow is set to the brand new single "Closer to Heaven" by Polara.  You can download the track from the Susstones' website here.  ...

All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at Pantages Theatre on 12/17/09

By: John Olive
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Photo credit - Rick Spaulding, courtesy Hennepin Theatre Trust What is it about a naked human voice? Unaccompanied, unfancied up, pristine. There is something in it that goes to the pure essence of what it means to be human. Thus, when the nine members of Cantus take the stage in All Is Calm (produced by Theater Latte Da at the Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave, through Dec 20) and start singing, a...

Q&A with Ben Kyle of Romantica on 12/16/09

By: David de Young
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Romantica - Publicity Photo Q&A with Ben Kyle of Romantica   On December 20th, at the Cedar Cultural Center, in anticipation of Romantica’s studio follow-up to America, due out in March 2010, the band will release a new EP for fans, written and recorded in one day in Austin, Texas this spring.  The EP is called Control Alt Country Delete. During a very busy week leading up to the Cedar show,...

Photo set: 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute at First Avenue on 12/8/09

By: Erik Hess
Erik Hess's photo slideshow of the 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute at First Avenue, Minneapolis. Created with flickr slideshow.

Spiked! at Lowry Lab Theatre on 12/5/09

By: Janet Preus
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  Table Salt Productions has launched the second show in their inaugural season, an entertaining variety show slightly reminiscent of 60s-style holiday T.V. specials.   This structure would have worked just fine without the added layer of a host and hostess, played by Jim Robinson and Jen Scott. The co-hosts were meant to provide a connection — via the channel changer — to a spirited potp...

In The Heights at Orpheum Theatre on 12/1/09

By: Janet Preus
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  Broadway is taking another step in the right direction with the contemporary music and ethnic flavors of In the Heights, a slice of life in a Latino neighborhood in New York City. The 2008 Tony Award Winner is decidedly sugar-coated, but it’s also new and original – rare in musical theater produced these days – and authentically grounded in Latino culture – rarer still. This s...

Haley Bonar, Halloween, Alaska and Alpha Consumer at Cedar Cultural Center on 11/28/09

By: Jake Mohan
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 Halloween, Alaska - Promotional Photo The between-song banter at an Alpha Consumer show is usually worth the price of admission alone. Opening the second night of the Haley Bonar/Halloween Alaska double-header at the Cedar, Consumer guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker introduced the wistful “Yellow Sun” by announcing, “This song’s about cancer.” The audience&r...