Item World: Jessy Greene goes Pink

“Can you believe it? I am here in Nice, France, doing two weeks of preproduction.” So marveled/bragged Minneapolis-reared string player-to-the-rock-stars Jessy Greene, who isn’t sitting around idly during the between-albums hiatus of the Foo Fighters, with whom she toured for much of 2008-2009. Greene has gone and joined the caravan belonging to pop star Pink, who has a knack for big-production shows (and, apparently, she doesn’t skimp on rehearsal locations, either). “I start the show walking down a runway between stages playing a hard piece — yikes!” Greene reports. “I am really sore, but after watching Pink and the dancers fly around in the sky, I stopped complaining.” Greene plans to rejoin Dave Grohl & Co. later this year when they begin prepping a new album. “I do miss the Foos,” she said, “but Dave was excited for me and thought it would be a great thing to do while they take a break.”

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Walker Art Center is featured in the February issue of Art in America magazine. Elizabeth Peyton, whose retrospective just opened at the Walker, gets the magazine’s cover with her kabuki-style portrait of rocker Sid Vicious. And former Walker director Martin Friedman delivers an insightful essay about minimalist artist Sol LeWitt and his wall drawings in a 17th-century house on Italy’s Amalfi coast. LeWitt died in 2007, but Friedman and his wife, Mickey, didn’t see the drawings until last summer when LeWitt’s widow, Carol, lent them the house for a few weeks. Alternatively boldly striped and delicately penciled, the drawings fit beautifully into huge niches in the stucco walls. Then torrential rains swept in, trapping the Friedmans in a nearby grocery store, where he worried frantically that the drawings would be ruined because he’d forgotten to close the balcony doors. Fortunately, Vicenzo Galano, the LeWitts’ caretaker, saved the art before rescuing the Friedmans. “The sun came out, my anxiety vanished. Sol’s drawings were safe,” Friedman writes.

MARY ABBE

As Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons sat at the grand piano at the Pantages Theatre on Saturday, it suddenly dawned on him that he was right next door to First Avenue. “Yowsah!” proclaimed the former Twin Cities resident. “The last time I was at First Avenue was a Nina Hagen concert. I had to bring my dad to get me in. Oh, dear, it was a long time ago. He left after a few songs." And Antony stayed.

JON BREAM

Think you have got what it takes to catfight, hang out in hot tubs, spill your guts in the confessional and throw down at the bar? The folks at MTV will check out potential “Real World” cast members Feb. 28 at Sneaky Pete’s in downtown Minneapolis. Producers aren’t necessarily seeking their usual stereotypes — the frat boy, the hot chicks, the innocent one; you know the drill. This year, they say they’re focused on hiring a “diverse” cast. Among others, they’re seeking people who have weight issues, are coming out of the foster care system, are grieving or have family members dealing with immigration issues. “We’re always looking for diverse stories,” said supervising casting director Damon Furberg. “The funny thing is that we’re always trying to avoid people who are stereotypical, but when people watch the show, they tend to ascribe particular ‘roles’ to people.” Minnesota native Kasha Foster will be one of the casting directors at Sneaky Pete’s (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 28, 14 N. 5th St.).

Concertgoers at the Minnesota Orchestra’s Friday and Saturday performances of the moving Nielsen and Sibelius symphonies got a Valentine’s weekend treat: two delightful encores. After lots of love from the audience, Osmo Vänskä led the orchestra in first “Valse Triste” by Sibelius (perhaps he was thinking of those who have lost their valentines?) and then a “Slavonic Dance” by Dvoak.

MARCI SCHMITT

After a few months of testing the waters in Los Angeles, Minneapolis’ young Jonas-like family band the Abdomen have come home with a new moniker: Lynhurst. Thus, the siblings — Jake, Matt and Mari Abdo — are calling their two shows tonight and Saturday at Java Jack’s in south Minneapolis their “The Pun Is Dun” concerts. According to the band, too many people around L.A. got hung up on “Abdomen,” both because of its uncomfortable medical connotation and because Mari, 18, is not a man. The trio stuck close to home to find the new name, though: It’s a minus-one-N spin on the park in their south Minneapolis neighborhood, Lynnhurst. The reason they took out the N was another good argument for ditching Abdomen: Too many other sites come up if you do a Google search with that spelling. Under that line of reasoning, Gay Beast is another local band that should definitely think of a name change.