Local music notes: The Cedar's version of a swap meet

Also: Dosh & Ghostband work it out, Roma di Luna reunites, and more.

December 5, 2014 at 12:23AM
Photo by Cameron Wittig. Dosh & Ghostland
Dosh & Ghostband joins sonic wizards Martin Dosh, left, and Jon Davis for a techno-fueled mashup. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It's the songwriter's equivalent of trading your clothes with somebody for a fun night on the town: The Cedar Cultural Center has brought back its Song Exchange series for a couple of promising pairings next week, starting with Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Haley Bonar on Thursday and continuing with Astronautalis and Mark Mallman next Friday.

Not only do the shows typically feature a little onstage interaction between the performers, they come with the caveat that each singer has to perform three of the other singer's songs.

"A bit nerve-racking," is how Romantica's Ben Kyle put it during the first Song Exchange gig last year, as Chastity Brown looked on while he sang her tunes.

The Cedar's booking assistant, Grace Evenson — who dreamed up the series while an intern — said the idea "came from recognizing the tight-knit music community we have here." Case in point: She thought of putting Mallman and Astronautalis together simply because it "would be a unique musical contrast and would make for a very fun, energetic show," she said. "It turns out they are friends, too."

Mallman confirmed as much: "Our conversations get pretty heady — mostly about books and the theatrical process of live music," he said.

Bonar has opened for Louris on a few occasions, and the two shared the stage during Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders show at the Cedar last year. The younger tunesmith turned to Twitter to solicit suggestions for which of Louris' tunes might work for her. Kyle Matteson (@solace) shrewdly pointed out they each have an original song called "Big Star." Sounds like some kind of cosmic connection.

Random mix

Better known for their one-man bands, Twin Cities sonic innovators Martin Dosh and Jon Davis have teamed up as the two-man act, Dosh & Ghostband, a more dance-oriented but no less aurally vibrant project. They're headlining 7th Street Entry on Saturday to celebrate their debut release for the Anticon label, "The Def Kith EP," offering a wild mash of drum-and-bass, house and other techno sounds alongside hints of Jamaican dub and Afro-Latin grooves. They're working on a full-length, too. Mux Mool and Aby Wolf will join their release party (11 p.m. Sat., $8-$10). …

Beloved folk-rock troupe Roma di Luna played a short, unadvertised reunion set Sunday at Icehouse, including ex-spouses Channy Leaneagh (Poliça) and Alexei Casselle (Crescent Moon). Sounds like it was a joyous enough affair that it may happen again. Some members will continue playing Icehouse once a month billed as Warey (Dec. 17 is next). … Icehouse regular PaviElle French — whose personal story is as full of ups and downs as her voice — will stage "Runnin'," a one-woman show about her life, at Pillsbury House Theatre starting Thursday through Dec. 18 (details at PillsburyHouseAndTheatre.org). …

John Swardson hosts "Ice: A Songwriter Night" in the Entry on Friday with Martin Devaney, Jillian Rae, Terry Walsh and more. Each will debut a song written on that night's theme (yep, ice; 9 p.m., $7). … It's not Black Friday, but Hymie's Records will welcome live in-store music anyway this Friday with the Ericksons and Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade (7 p.m., free.). …

Aside from their unannounced appearance on reopening night in August, the Turf Club's old-school country mainstays the Cactus Blossoms will play their first headlining set at their former home base since renovations (9 p.m. Wednesday with Erik Koskinen, $8). That's a good reminder that, even though local bookings have taken a back seat at the Turf since First Avenue took over, at least we know it's not going to be another Nye's, soon to be sold for redevelopment.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658 • Twitter: @ChrisRstrib

Gary Louris performs at Ten Oak at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, March, 2013. © Tony Nelson ORG XMIT: MIN1303161629570593 ORG XMIT: MIN1304291927122287 ORG XMIT: MIN1304302125102737 ORG XMIT: MIN1311141816481263 ORG XMIT: MIN1405021503364333
Gary Louris (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
At the Current FM 89.3 seventh anniversary party, Haley Bonar rocked the house with her soulful song set.].rtsong-taatarii@startribune.com, Haley Bonar(cq)
Haley Bonar (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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