News and notes from the scene
Closing time at Third Ear Studio
There's a certain irreducible sadness that comes with moving. The day when you close the door on a place stirs up a mix of emotions: uncertainty, mourning, hope, nostalgia. For Tom Herbers, who's run Third Ear Recording Studio in southeast Minneapolis since 1993, that day is Sept. 30.
"I don't know where I'll be come Oct. 1," he admits. "Well, I know Oct. 1 I'll still be here, frantically trying to get the last of my stuff out as people are coming in to prepare the building for demolition."
As crews prepare to turn the site into a bioscience research park, they may encounter the ghosts of musicians who have recorded at Third Ear, including Low, Fog, Andrew Bird, JoAnna James, Martin Dosh, the Glenrustles and the Honeydogs.
Since Herbers learned in June that he'd have to move, he's been jamming people into the schedule. Bird came by to lay down tracks the last time he was in town, and Fog recently stopped in for a final session.
"Third Ear is the best place to record for very simple reasons: Tom and his gear, in that order," says Fog's Andrew Broder. "He knows exactly how to use what he has, when to give input, when not to, and knows how to make you feel comfortable while you're working."
Herbers will re-establish Third Ear elsewhere, but is there any chance he'll squeeze in one last magical session?
"It'd be fun to maybe do something like that," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Just call up people randomly and say, 'Get down here and we'll make some noise.'"
- Steve McPherson
Invasion of the fat burger
Fatso's, home of the humongous 4½-pound burger(!), has moved from Anoka into the former Spirell Bar space in downtown Minneapolis. The sports bar will have its grand opening Friday and Saturday with a burger-eating contest and drink specials, including $1 shots all night. Its concept stays the same: burgers on one side and a dance floor with Top 40 DJs on the other. ... Across downtown Saturday, Spin will celebrate its third anniversary -- a lifetime in nightclub years. The dance club is gearing up for a half-million-dollar remodeling to be finished around Halloween.
- Tom Horgen
Theater community gets ready for its close-up
The third Ivey Awards celebration hits the State Theatre on Monday night, and if early ticket sales indicate interest, the Twin Cities' answer to the Tonys is on the upswing. VIP tickets, which include a preshow party at the Chambers, are up 100 percent over last year, said organizer Scott Mayer.
One draw is a special performance by Laura Osnes, star of Broadway's "Grease," who is flying in on her day off.
So what does an Ivey get you, other than a sweet paperweight and a chance to make a speech in front of 1,300?
"It has meant a huge boost in audience for us," said Paul Herwig, co-artistic director with Jennifer Ilse of "Off-Leash Area." The inventive little company has been recognized both years. "We've sold out every show we've done since 2005," said Herwig, who is hoping to make it three for three. 7:30 p.m. Monday 9/24. $30; $125 for VIP. www.iveyawards.com.
- Graydon Royce
Chloë in the afternoon
As MNfashion Weekend gets underway this weekend, the recent New York Fashion Week also featured Minnesota talent -- on the other side of the lens. Local photographer Stephanie Colgan has just returned after shooting her fourth Fashion Week. The New York Times hired her to help cover the event, moving her up a few spots on the photo pecking order.
Although Colgan photographed spring lines from such big names as Betsey Johnson, Carolina Herrera and Anne Klein, her favorite shots came from the intimate presentation of Chloë Sevigny's first fashion line (for New York boutique Opening Ceremony). The "Big Love" star presented the line in her SoHo showroom, with friends modeling the clothes. "It was pretty low-key," Colgan said. "They pretty much seemed like normal people."
Colgan sees herself more as a documentarian than a fashion photographer -- hence a plan to bring her fashion work full circle by documenting the textile itself, in production: "I'm more interested in the real world, but I love clothing."
- Jahna Peloquin
Bronze rage
"Fragonard's Shoe," a new exhibition at the Chambers Hotel's Burnet Gallery, seems to include a subtle scolding of the lavish comforts of the well-off -- a daring choice, considering that suites in this "Luxury Art" palace cost upwards of $1,000 a night.
Although the work of Brooklyn-based installation artist Jude Tallichet is far from confrontational, it's impossible not to be reminded of the gap separating the haves and have-nots. A small avalanche of bronze-coated muffins piles into one corner of the room. Nearby, a sturdy table yields to the improbable weight of a stack of bread loaves, also cloaked in metal. By placing objects of everyday nourishment in armored shells, Tallichet points out how absurd it is to equate selfish hoarding with material value. You aren't allowed to taste -- only to marvel at their shininess and sheer quantity.
Not buying it? Well, the show's title does refer to an 18th-century French painter known for mimicking the pleasure-loving indulgences of the well-to-do.
- Gregory J. Scott
Invitation to a suicide
When Askeleton releases its next record, "The Personalization," on Brooklyn's Goodnight Records, you'll have a hard time finding it on CD. That's because ringleader Knol Tate has decided CDs "are a dead medium." The plan is to release the album on vinyl and include a code allowing listeners to download the record in MP3 format along with at least six bonus tracks.
"It might be career suicide," he says, "but I'm down with career suicide."
- Steve McPherson
