After 32 years at 24th & Hennepin, Uptown Minneapolis bike and skate institution,
The Alternative Bike & Board Shop, is moving to Lake & Lyndale. Not many details were available at press time, but according to Joel Erickson, the Alt will open in their new location on April 1. They'll now be on the same corridor as the
CRC Coffee Bar. Stay tuned for further developments.
Yesterday afternoon I saw these guys walking past the CRC Bar going to Twin Town guitar shop. Judging by their dress and comportment, they were obviously in a band. I don't mean your typical indie-rocker/greasy bangs, either. They just somehow looked
cooler than the average Uptown hipster. (Kinda like Cheever, above) Then two of them came in for coffee and I recognized them from some Vice Records promo we got down at One On One.
Living Things, from St. Louis. I'd read about the band and heard
of them, but never actually listened to their music. So the boys put me on the guest list for their show at the Ascot Room. I had to go downtown to the Post Office last night so I piloted the XtraCycle past the Quest to see how late a venture this would turn into, having the 6 a.m. wakeup call, and whatnot. To my surprise, Living Things were slated to go on at 9:15. Sweet. I locked up the bike-truck and entered the Ascot Room for the first time ever. I enjoyed a couple of delicious Budweisers in the "over 21 cattle pen," then walked over stage-left as Living Things took the stage. Lillian Berlin, the lead singer, who bears more than a little resemblance to a young Steven Tyler, wore a turquoise pants, matching vest, and a red ruffled tuxedo shirt. He lead the band thru a set of dirty-boy, electric-blooze rock, early Aerosmith meets AC-DC, and a good measure of showmanship. I soon decided that 6 a.m. would be knockin' early enough so hit the road on the XtraCycle. If you like the rock and the roll, you'd be wise to check out Living Things.