Email Author Rick Mason

2012 Stories by Rick Mason

• The Bad Plus

  published December 26, 2012

  The Bad Plus are always seeking unique avenues of engagement for their genre-defying escapades. The locally bred trio return for their annual... More >>

• Graham Parker & the Rumour

  published December 19, 2012

  Snarling and sneering out particularly literate bile while his lithe band of pub rockers negotiated insidiously enthralling pop hooks, Graham... More >>

• Concrete Blonde

  published December 19, 2012

  Dark-toned post-punk trio Concrete Blonde, who emerged from L.A.'s early '80s rock scene, are back in action, and sporting a couple of new tunes... More >>

• Peter Ostroushko's Holiday Show

  published December 19, 2012

  Minneapolis mandolin maestro Peter Ostroushko has revived his holiday extravaganza after a year's retreat to harvest time. Carols and other wintry... More >>

• Tim Sparks

  published December 12, 2012

  Tim Sparks was the guitarist in Rio Nido, whose swinging classic jazz and pop material made them one of the Twin Cities' most popular bands of the... More >>

• Punch Brothers

  published December 12, 2012

  Former Nickel Creek mandolin maestro and singer Chris Thile is the nominal face of Punch Brothers. But every member of the quintet is an integral... More >>

• Andrew Bird

  published December 12, 2012

  Eclectic, eccentric, and often electric, chamber-popmeister Andrew Bird returns with his Minneapolis-heavy band after bookending the year with a... More >>

• Curtiss A's John Lennon Tribute

  published December 5, 2012

  This is the 33rd installment of Curt's annual paean to John Lennon, which began the evening the Beatle was murdered in New York, instantly... More >>

• The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show

  published December 5, 2012

  The rumbling, soul-stirring, sometimes ground-shaking voices of the Blind Boys of Alabama are a genuine marvel, weaving into harmonies as rich and... More >>

• Bayport BBQ releases live festival album

  published November 28, 2012

  On the weekend before the Fourth of July last summer, downtown Bayport baked under a scorching sun while a glorious noise, mixed with the... More >>

• Irma Thomas

  published November 28, 2012

  Irma Thomas has been a treasured soul icon of New Orleans music for more than 50 years. The power and glory of her indelible voice and her... More >>

• Dirty Baby: Nels Cline, David Breskin, Ed Ruscha

  published November 28, 2012

  Dirty Baby is a multimedia collaboration among guitarist Nels Cline, poet David Breskin, and visual artist Ed Ruscha. It was inspired by... More >>

• Os Mutantes

  published November 28, 2012

  Amid the cultural and political turbulence of 1960s Brazil, Os Mutantes joined the likes of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil in the role of... More >>

• Turbo Fruits

  published November 21, 2012

  Nashville's Turbo Fruits are a quartet led by former Be Your Own Pet guitarist Jonas Stein, whose garage aspirations now seem to share space with... More >>

• Karrin Allyson

  published November 21, 2012

  One of the premier jazz vocalists of her generation, former Twin Cities resident Karrin Allyson can scat with a vitality that recalls Ella... More >>

• The Who

  published November 21, 2012

  Nearly a half-century into his career, Roger Daltrey still twirls his microphone like a lasso and Pete Townshend attacks his guitar with his... More >>

• Sonny Landreth

  published November 14, 2012

  Slide guitarist extraordinaire Sonny Landreth combines that glorious glide with a slew of innovative techniques, often managing to sound like... More >>

• Old Crow Medicine Show / Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys

  published November 14, 2012

  Conjuring up vintage sounds meant to be played on a porch deep in the Smokies, or maybe at a moonshine-fueled hoedown in a rickety barn, Old Crow... More >>

• Lindsey Buckingham

  published November 14, 2012

  Lindsey Buckingham was a key — arguably essential — part of the volatile mix that carried Fleetwood Mac to its highest peaks in the... More >>

• Zammuto/Eluvium

  published November 7, 2012

  Formerly half of the experimental collage-pop duo the Books, Nick Zammuto leads a new quartet that goes by his surname and takes the fundamental... More >>

• Zac Brown Band

  published November 7, 2012

  The surprising Zac Brown juggernaut rolls on with this summer's release of Uncaged, crisscrossing genres and filling arenas with its tasty... More >>

• Bruce Springsteen

  published November 7, 2012

  The tenor of Bruce Springsteen's post-election arrival in St. Paul could either be celebratory release if Obama wins, or a desperate search for... More >>

• Bettye LaVette

  published November 7, 2012

  Despite scoring a couple of hits on the R&B charts when she was a teenager in the early '60s, Bettye LaVette was barely even a rumor for the next... More >>

• The Magnetic Fields

  published November 7, 2012

  On Love At the Bottom of the Sea, the Magnetic Fields dusted off synthesizers for the first time in a dozen years, returning to the... More >>

• Laurie Anderson

  published October 31, 2012

  On the cusp of a pivotal national election, performance artist Laurie Anderson arrives at the Walker's McGuire Theater for three presentations of... More >>