This is why you need to come and see LiO next Thursday...
MPMF: The Heavens Roared, the Ground Roared Back
City Beat
Brian Baker
Other than an intermittent and often heavy rainfall and a cancelled show or five, Thursday was a very good opening night. The lessening rain upon arrival in downtown Friday night boded well for a drier and less drippy MidPoint experience, and so it was. For the most part.
For me, the evening began at the Know Theatre for Love in October, a truly multi-cultural band. It sounds like the high concept pitch for an MTV reality series: What if two Swedish brothers formed an arty New Wave band in the Minneapolis cradle of the Replacements civilization and then moved the whole thing to Chicago where the Blues and post modern Rock harmonize around a burning barrel at the intersection of Rock and Don't Stop. Frontman Erik Widman was spendiferous in his wide white belt and white loafers and was the jittery focus whether he was banging out rhythm on guitar or fueling the atmosphere with a wall of synth textures. At one point, Widman pointed out that, between the economy and various other social, cultural and political ills, something had to be done, and Love in October's contribution was a song called "Something's Got to Be Done" Sung in Swedish.
This one act alone eclipses any advances made in the eight years of the Bush administration, if there were indeed any. Widman and his bassist brother Kent donned masks early in the set; Erik wore a masterpiece that would have been a suitable disguise for the Pink Lantern and Kent's was a magnificent art deco rising sun half mask affair. This is what happens when you take whistling out of the musical equation. At any rate, Love in October drew a great crowd and they delivered a terrific set that combined the synth swoop of Kraftwerk and the Blues knife fight of the White Stripes. Well done.
You can read the full article on CityBeat's blog
City Beat
Brian Baker
Other than an intermittent and often heavy rainfall and a cancelled show or five, Thursday was a very good opening night. The lessening rain upon arrival in downtown Friday night boded well for a drier and less drippy MidPoint experience, and so it was. For the most part.
For me, the evening began at the Know Theatre for Love in October, a truly multi-cultural band. It sounds like the high concept pitch for an MTV reality series: What if two Swedish brothers formed an arty New Wave band in the Minneapolis cradle of the Replacements civilization and then moved the whole thing to Chicago where the Blues and post modern Rock harmonize around a burning barrel at the intersection of Rock and Don't Stop. Frontman Erik Widman was spendiferous in his wide white belt and white loafers and was the jittery focus whether he was banging out rhythm on guitar or fueling the atmosphere with a wall of synth textures. At one point, Widman pointed out that, between the economy and various other social, cultural and political ills, something had to be done, and Love in October's contribution was a song called "Something's Got to Be Done" Sung in Swedish.
This one act alone eclipses any advances made in the eight years of the Bush administration, if there were indeed any. Widman and his bassist brother Kent donned masks early in the set; Erik wore a masterpiece that would have been a suitable disguise for the Pink Lantern and Kent's was a magnificent art deco rising sun half mask affair. This is what happens when you take whistling out of the musical equation. At any rate, Love in October drew a great crowd and they delivered a terrific set that combined the synth swoop of Kraftwerk and the Blues knife fight of the White Stripes. Well done.
You can read the full article on CityBeat's blog
