Laurie Lindeen

Last year the former Zuzu's Petals vocalist/guitarist made a bigger splash than expected with Petal Pusher, a look at that seedy underbelly of life as a touring band. Lindeen recounts night after night spent in dank bars and clubs across the United States and Europe. The stories are, at times, truly the stuff of horror, but just as often are sweet and funny. It's clear that she loved it for as long as she could until the weight of outside forces (being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in particular) finally made her rethink what, exactly, there was to look forward to besides another sub-par meal eaten from the back seat of a tour van and one more night spent playing in a filthy dump somewhere in Europe to a not-quite-large-enough crowd. The look at this side of the music business from a female perspective is more than a little eye-opening, and proved popular enough to be released in paperback, which Lindeen will be celebrating tonight with a reading and music from cover band Retrofit, who will be playing songs from each decade of Lindeen's life ('60s-'90s) that Petal Pusher walks us through. 18+.
Sat., Nov. 8, 8 p.m., 2008