A lot of tired Prince fans begged off the after-parties that followed last week's nearly five-hour Xcel Energy Center tribute, but Stevie Wonder was apparently just getting started. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer made it over to Morris Day & the Time's post-1 a.m. set at First Avenue in impressive time, arriving only about an hour after he left the stage in St. Paul. He stood at the railing and swayed to the music in a roped-off part of the balcony for what was believed to be his first time at the club, and then he hung out and talked to friends at a table long after the 2 a.m. cutoff. The Time certainly made it worth his time, too, playing their first First Ave gig in 20 years and throwing in a cover of "D.M.S.R." to honor Prince.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Sign of the Times
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is a world-class conductorless ensemble. Are they exactly what America needs this divisive election season? The SPCO players spent last weekend in New York City, where they played a season-opening concert for the 92nd Street Y. The program featured the New York premiere of "O Mikros, O Megas (This Tiny World, This Enormous World)" by American composer George Tsontakis. Also featured was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 with SPCO artistic partner/solo pianist Jeremy Denk. The concert dazzled New York Times music critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim. She described the performances as "fiery" and "velvety." In an amusing twist, she also used the concert as a metaphor for equity and democracy. "To me, it was also a reassurance that, in certain quarters, participatory democracy is alive and well."
CHRISTY DESMITH
Exit the Fringe
Another leader is leaving the Minnesota Fringe Festival weeks after its executive director resigned and just as it battles a lawsuit. Associate Director Ann B. Erickson said goodbye Thursday to the Fringe, where she has worked for six seasons. Her abrupt departure for "personal reasons" comes weeks after executive director Jeff Larson announced that he was stepping down as head of the state's largest performing arts festival. Larson had been with the organization since 1999, rising to take the reins in 2013. Both departures come as the festival is being sued. Controversial Arizona actor Sean Neely filed suit against the fringe after his pedophilia-themed show, "Having Sex With Children in My Brain," won a slot in the unjuried festival, but was later rejected.
Rohan Preston
Off the rails
While they mainly paid homage to American railroads tied to their new album of train songs, singer/songwriters Joe Henry and Billy Bragg talked about a lot else in their sold-out collaborative set Monday at the Cedar Cultural Center. Henry paid tribute to his two recently deceased heroes, Muhammad Ali and New Orleans music master Allen Toussaint. "I think the ring was just there to let us know about the man," he said of Ali's transcendence. Bragg, meanwhile, predictably weighed in on the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the assumption that it's already been decided. "That's exactly what we thought about Brexit," the British folkie injected, saying that England's vote to leave the European Union "wiped out our innate sense of superiority to your political system." Anyone feel like bragging?
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
High school reunion
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's fetching revival of "Camelot" has struck a deep chord with a cast of another production of the show — the 1968 crew from Robbinsdale High School. More than 40 students from that school production — some from as far away as California and Colorado — are coming for a reunion Friday at Chanhassen. Choreographer Marcia Chapman and director Neal Luebke will be there; his pupils over the years included longtime Guthrie actress Sally Wingert. Some members of that cast went into showbiz, including Jeff Jones, who became a film editor in Los Angeles, and Michael Nelson, a playwright and arts marketer.
Rohan Preston
Find more coverage of the arts all week at our pop culture blog startribune.com/artcetera and follow us on Twitter @entertain_mn.
