A newsroom typically has a few people look over a printed proof page before it’s sent to the printer. This is used to check for copyediting errors, headline typos and layout mistakes. It’s hard to imagine how this one got past everyone at the Mankato Free Press in Minnesota.
As is unfortunately the case, the “G” of grapefruit in this headline was cleverly substituted for a slice of the fruit, which was woefully inadequate. What you see was actually printed and distributed in today’s edition of that paper. The story’s gone viral, but there has yet to be an official response from the paper. Maybe it will come in an editorial in the next issue.
I know newspapers aren’t perfect—I’ve made my share of egregious typos and headline mistakes—but never have I had an idea this asinine translate to a printed page, let alone an actual printed newspaper. Aspiring layout designers and copyeditors are welcome to apply in Mankato, they’re probably hiring.
It’s official: Jeff Mangum, frontman and musical genius behind the band Neutral Milk Hotel, will play the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma on Tuesday, April 9.
Tickets, $30 each, go on sale Wednesday, March 6, at noon. They’ll be available at the Last Record Store in Santa Rosa—cash only, but only a $1 service charge—and through the Phoenix Theater’s site.
Mangum, a famously reclusive figure for a decade after releasing the landmark album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, has slowly re-emerged and performed live over the last few years. (We reviewed his show at the Fox Theater in Oakland here.) In the Aeroplane still manages to hover near the top of most “Best Albums of the 1990s” lists, and shows no sign of slowing in terms of influence and scope.
This is another show for the history books at the Phoenix Theater, which has of late hosted instant-sellout shows with Snoop Dogg and Animal Collective. (And don’t forget Hanson, which had teenage girls camping outside the Phoenix Theater for two days before the show.) My guess is tickets will sell quickly for this one, too.
Luckily, as evidenced by his recent shows, Jeff Mangum plays well-arranged setlists of classic material, and still has that same reedy, hypnotizing voice. Get ready, folks.
Fuzz at the Knockout, SF
“Wow, this sounds a lot like Black Sabbath” was the first thought that popped into my head last night at the Fuzz show in San Francisco. “These long haired dudes kinda look like Black Sabbath, too,” I thought. “But that drummer isn’t hiding behind two bass drums and only has two cymbals. And there’s no singer. This is really, really great! I never liked Ozzy’s voice, and these guys sound like a way bigger band than just a three-piece.” But all these great conversation starters were wasted on my own mind, however, because Ty Segall’s latest musical venture was so damn loud nobody in the Knockout would have heard a stampede of elephants running down Mission Street.
Despite what it sounded like, there was only one guitarist, Charles Moothart. Segall is really the one known for cranking out the rockingest rock with his incredible his guitar tones, but here he’s on drums. More on that later. Moothart’s appropriately fuzzy guitar was fat, so fat, in fact, that it shook my ribcage. Maybe it was a warning, like by body was saying, This Is Almost Too Much Rock, Be Careful. His solos were tasty, like hot jam dripping off a shortbread biscuit tasty. And then there was the hair–so much hair, it was everywhere.
Now Segall, who is a guitarist in something like three other bands, might be on the hook for battery if those drums decide to press charges. He beat them like they owed him money, like they insulted his mother, like they keyed his 1967 Mustang. His ferocity did not dimish the speed of the band’s last song, which kept a blistering pace for four times longer than most punk songs. Not only this, but he sang for some of the songs, most of which were new and will probably have lyrics soon.
The crowd at this Noisepop show may have been a little too hip for its own good. The feeling on the tiny dance floor was that familiar precipice of moshing, where either age, vanity or self consciousness kept people from truly smashing into each other like idiots. Instead, a couple of buzzed dudes in gingham shirts sort of pushed each other around a little, eliciting nervous smiles from the wary crowd around them. In a different setting, this would be the ultimate circle pit band.
Co-headling was OGB III, who took the stage after Fuzz. This band was delicious, filled with ooey-gooey cheese and mushy, fatty pork. Slathered in curtido and spicy salsa, they were too hot at first, but soon went down smooth with a cold Mexican beer. No, wait, that was the pupusas at Los Panchos. No offense to OGB III, but nothing was going to top what we had just seen and heard, and we wanted to leave on the highest note possible.
On a side note, local group Blasted Canyons opened, and were pissed off the whole time about, among other things, their monitor mix. Their playing reflected this attitude it in a bad way. But on the plus side, they did have an Oberheim synthesizer, which is high on the list of things that make really cool sounds. The Knockout is a great bar, with plenty of character and a decent dance floor and stage. It’s too loud and really small, which usually makes every show better. This night was no exception.
The Tattoos & Blues Festival was held at the Flamingo Resort Hotel February 24, 2013. See our photos from the ink- and needle-laden day by clicking on the slideshow below!
Our news story this week is about a local family that adopted two toddlers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC.
The DRC’s flag.
It’s a story with a hopeful ending for those two children set in the midst of a tragedy that many people know nothing about. As we explain in the piece:
“Since 1998, the DRC has been the sight of massacre and sexual violence so overwhelming that the few writers covering it tend toward comparison rather than digits. Incited by the same militant refugee group responsible for the Rwandan genocide, the First Congo War—sometimes called the African World War—involved nine countries, twenty armed factions and has claimed the lives of roughly 5.4 million people. A 2006 report commissioned by the UN relief effort UNICEF puts it like this: “[E]very six months, the burden of death from conflict in the DRC is similar to the toll exacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.” Though the exact number of rape victims in this bloody travesty is unknown, the report estimates them to be in the hundreds of thousands. “Sexual violence is consciously deployed as a weapon of war,” it states. Abortions are punishable by imprisonment, and yet women and girls who are raped and become pregnant often become social pariahs, rejected by even their families, according to the document.”
The UNICEF report concludes that global news doesn’t tend to follow this terrible epilogue to the Rwandan Genocide for some reason, perhaps its long history, the country’s deep poverty and the aura of hopelessness that hangs over it all. If you want to find out more about the situation in DRC, here are some resources.
Lock up your daughters—Emily Dickinson is alive! Well, no, not really. She is still dead. But Barbara Dana, author of A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson, is doing her best to resurrect the famed poet. Dana is an expert on all things Dickinson, and brings the pride of Amherst, Mass. back to life by dressing up as the famous poet and sharing the knowledge and insight she’s acquired over the years of writing about and portraying Dickinson on stage. Come and meet Emily/Barbara on Tuesday, March 5, at Copperfield’s Books. 140 Kentucky St., Petaluma. 7pm. 707.762.0563.
Denny Tedesco, director of ‘The Wrecking Crew,’ provides a behind-the-scenes look at the uncredited Los Angeles studio musicians responsible for playing on hundreds of hit songs by the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, the Monkees and many more. Led by drummer Hal Blaine and featuring pioneering female bassist Carol Kaye, the group is truly the Funk Brothers of Los Angeles; this is their Standing in the Shadows of Motown. See the film on Tuesday, March 5, at the Napa Valley Opera House. 1030 Main St., Napa. 7pm. $10. 707.266.7372.
Layzie Bone, Wish Bone, Flesh-N-Bone, Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone are back to represent, respect and recognize as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Together for longer than most marriages last, the group is celebrating their 20-year anniversary reunion with a show this week at the Phoenix—and a new record set to be released in May. With songs featured in soundtracks for famous movies like Batman and Robin and blaring out of every single car on the cruise in 1993—“Crossroads,” anyone?—the group plays on Saturday, March 2, at the Phoenix Theater. 201 E. Washington St., Petaluma. 8pm. $35—$100. 707.762.3665.
Famous for stepping outside of traditional ballet technique and focusing on natural movement, Isadora Duncan mixed her love of freedom and ancient Greece to create a unique style of her own—until she met her tragic death in 1927, after her scarf got caught in the wheel of her Amilcar and broke her neck. Eight decades later, dancer Lois Flood steps in and brings her moves to life in celebration of Women’s History Month on Sunday, March 3,, at the Occidental Center for the Arts. 3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental. 4pm. $10. 707.874.9392.
Ready for summer to begin? Since 1997, the Expendables have offered a pleasant, sunny blend of reggae, ska and surf rock, from the Warped Tour stage to headlining venues coast to coast. Their album titles give a hint into their aesthetic—Prove It, Open Container and Getting Filthy—and perhaps guitarist Raul Bianchi will offer attendees news on the hair straightener specifically designed for male pubic hair he claims to spend his free time developing on Tuesday, March 5, at the Mystic Theatre. 23 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. 8:30pm. $16—$18. 707.765.2121.
It's official: Jeff Mangum, frontman and musical genius behind the band Neutral Milk Hotel, will play the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma on Tuesday, April 9.
Tickets, $30 each, go on sale Wednesday, March 6, at noon. They'll be available at the Last Record Store in Santa Rosa—cash only, but only a $1 service charge—and through the Phoenix Theater's site.
Mangum, a...
“Wow, this sounds a lot like Black Sabbath” was the first thought that popped into my head last night at the Fuzz show in San Francisco. “These long haired dudes kinda look like Black Sabbath, too,” I thought. “But that drummer isn’t hiding behind two bass drums and only has two cymbals. And there’s no singer. This is really,...
Our news story this week is about a local family that adopted two toddlers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC.
The DRC's flag.
It's a story with a hopeful ending for those two children set in the midst of a tragedy that many people know nothing about. As we explain in the piece:
"Since 1998, the DRC has...
Lock up your daughters—Emily Dickinson is alive! Well, no, not really. She is still dead. But Barbara Dana, author of A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson, is doing her best to resurrect the famed poet. Dana is an expert on all things Dickinson, and brings the pride of Amherst, Mass. back to life by dressing up as...
Denny Tedesco, director of ‘The Wrecking Crew,’ provides a behind-the-scenes look at the uncredited Los Angeles studio musicians responsible for playing on hundreds of hit songs by the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, the Monkees and many more. Led by drummer Hal Blaine and featuring pioneering female bassist Carol Kaye, the group is truly the Funk Brothers...
Layzie Bone, Wish Bone, Flesh-N-Bone, Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone are back to represent, respect and recognize as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Together for longer than most marriages last, the group is celebrating their 20-year anniversary reunion with a show this week at the Phoenix—and a new record set to be released in May. With songs featured in soundtracks for famous...
Famous for stepping outside of traditional ballet technique and focusing on natural movement, Isadora Duncan mixed her love of freedom and ancient Greece to create a unique style of her own—until she met her tragic death in 1927, after her scarf got caught in the wheel of her Amilcar and broke her neck. Eight decades later, dancer Lois Flood...
Ready for summer to begin? Since 1997, the Expendables have offered a pleasant, sunny blend of reggae, ska and surf rock, from the Warped Tour stage to headlining venues coast to coast. Their album titles give a hint into their aesthetic—Prove It, Open Container and Getting Filthy—and perhaps guitarist Raul Bianchi will offer attendees news on the hair straightener...
