Show #10 2/10/06

Where:

Leaning Tower of Pizza
2501 University Ave S.
Mpls.

When:

02/10/06

Who:

Paste?
Mise en Place
Slowflight

Set list:

• Greetings Spacelings


• Cheating in Film School


• Twenty Seconds


• Greetings Earthlings


• Expectrum


• The Map


• The Plot


• Assault and Flattery


• Blackmail Sweet Blackmail


• Another Gesture


• The Radio


• The Test


• Subpar Criminals

Photos by Karla Suckling:







Thanks to all of you who came out to support Mise en Place at the Leaning Tower last Friday night, as the band played their tenth show. That's right . . . ten "shows" in four months! The band is truly living up to its reputation as the Coldplay of Edina.

By the way, for those of you who missed Friday's remarkable event, which can never be repeated and was undeniably one of the greatest musical events in the history of last weekend around the University of Minnesota campus, there is not much to report except the usual . . . Mise en Place using electricity and physical objects (even some red ones) to play music. The electricity was particularly choice on Friday, with shocks flying from the microphones to anyone who dared approach. The most newsworthy item of gossip from the show was the debut of the Mise en Place Battle Axe and, of course, the equally astonishing debut of new band member Red Drumsticks. Attendees of the show were heard to make comments like, "Wow, the drums are really alive tonight . . . no, seriously, are they alive?" and, "Is there gun powder on those heads?" Sorry, folks, the drums were as dull and dead as usual, and no one in the band hunts (except for . . . well, Cory Rath). No, indeed, it was drummer Shaun Westphal's new red sticks that made all of the difference on Friday night.

By the way, Mise en Place really needed Red Drumsticks to follow up the stunning performance of Slowflight, i.e., the Modest Mouse of Blaine, who played a set of music that would have sounded right at home at Red Rocks. Red Drumsticks was also essential to stave off the usual challenge posed by Paste?, who once again went out and delivered a solid set of heavy, catchy pop music.

The next stop for the Red Drumsticks? Well, after singer Drew Patrick's bed for 3 nights a week this month (the negotiations went well for bassist Cory Rath, or as the band likes to call him, Mr. Four-Nights-Per-Week-Plus-Valentine's-Day-With-Red-Drumsticks . . . see also), it will be Big V's on Friday, March 2nd . . .

Mise en Place's weekend didn't end with the show at The Leaning Tower. The band "trekked" (no pun intended) northward to God's country (that's Mora, MN, for the uninformed) to watch The Groove rock The Crystal Bar and Grill on Saturday night. The Groove, of course, is an all-tube rock quartet that takes no prisoners. The band features Jon Gorham (the legendary producer of Mise en Place's Pinecurtain sessions) on guitar and vocals, duties he splits with his Groove co-conspirator Dave Olson. The witty and shameless Steve Williams plays bass for The Groove, while the machine-like "Scott The Machine" hammers the drums in a machine-like fashion.

Fun was had by all, to be sure. Note that Mise en Place's venture coincided with what is apparently one of the most important cross-country ski races in the history of the world (in other words, what Olympics?). The combination of locals and skiing enthusiasts made for some amazing interactions between the patrons and your favourite band. At one point, a local (?) ski-bunny accused Mise en Place of being heterosexual. [Drummer Shaun Westphal, known for his skills in deductive reasoning, eventually figured out that she meant metrosexual, or -- in Shaun's case -- Chicago-sexual.] Later in the evening, Drew Patrick shook off an abrupt rejection by a ski-chick (he idiotically gave an honest answer to the question, "Are you in the race tomorrow?", turning a "sure thing" into a "see you later") by dancing to the set-closer with local vixen Bangs O'Hoolihan, despite the desperate attempt of bass player Cory Rath to steal Bangs from Drew.

The highlight of the evening, though, was certainly The Groove, who not only played their hit "Kiss Goodbye" at Mise en Place's request, but also generally rocked the house with a nice mix of Groove originals and a motley bunch of cover songs. The Groove played some Mise en Place favourites off of WHOLE LOTTA LOVESEAT (see link to The Groove's website) and some newer Groove originals, including an inimitable imitation of a well-known band from Athens, GA.

Mise en Place would like to take this occasion to thank The Groove for a fun night of great music and to single out Jon Gorham for special gratitude for all of his beyond-the-call-of-duty work in getting Mise en Place's "The Plot" ready for inclusion on the most recent edition of Copper Press. And, do not fret, there is more to be heard Mise en Place's studio sessions with Jon . . .

By the way, Mise en Place does have copies of Copper Press to sell, along with women's tee shirts and metrosexual stickers. As always, Mise en Place has streamlined all relevant band information in 78 different web locations. Check the MySpace site for sounds. Check the official site for official information. Check this blog if you just care too much about Mise en Place. Finally, for your own sake, please check out Cory's MySpace site . . .