Dinosaur in Trouble: proudly serving Twin Cities music geeks

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Duluth


Curling anyone?

My trip to Duluth last month was work related, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have any fun. I spent the first night (February 22nd) hanging out at Pizza Lucé, taking in some interesting music. Screamo band, Bear Garden, reminded me of just how old I am (I’m sure I would have liked that stuff if it was around when I was in high school, though). And I was a little too tired for punk rockers, Best Friends Fornever (not to be confused with Dinosaur in Trouble favorites, Best Friends Forever).


Cars & Trucks

The middle act, however, made the whole trip worthwhile. Cars & Trucks were a very nice and eerily familiar power pop band. It wasn’t until halfway through their set that it finally dawned on me that the singer/guitar player was Tony Bennett – the singer/guitar player from The Dames. I loved The Dames, but I had no idea what had become of Tony after they broke up. Yeah, one less mystery in my life! I started paying closer attention after I made that connection. Cars & Trucks were much more laid-back than The Dames (but then again, most bands are), but their music was similarly catchy. Their set was highlighted by an extremely satisfying cover of Built to Spill’s “Big Dipper.”


Charlie Parr

The next night, I caught Americana/folk/bluesman Charlie Parr at the Radisson. He had a harmonica player/steel guitar player in company, which definitely added variety to his two-hour set. He put on a very good show, but I had to leave early to get to the heated pool on the roof of my hotel. It wasn’t until I got back to the Twin Cities that I realized Charlie Parr was that week’s City Pages cover story. Whoa, dude.


View of Lake Superior from my hotel room

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