First Ave sonic upgrade

Friday's concert by Detroit groovers Electric Six will not only be the latest First Avenue gig recorded for a live album, but the first to feature the club's new sound system. Burnsville company Electro-Voice installed the gear earlier in the week, about a decade after the previous system was put in. The new equipment is reportedly more energy-efficient and way more "intelligent" in its sonic delivery. First Ave G.M. Nate Kranz wouldn't name the price tag, but "it was very expensive," he said. I.W. wondered if stage manager Conrad Sverkerson was nervous about breaking in the new equipment the same night as a live recording. "Nah," he said. "They can fix anything that goes wrong in editing nowadays, anyway." -CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Food truck flap

Since Monday, food trucks have been banned from outside the Fulton taproom in downtown Minneapolis. Apparently, a couple of mobile food vendors were told by city officials that the Minneapolis brewery actually sits just outside the designated food-truck zone. Twitter began buzzing Tuesday night about the big loss. City spokesperson Matthew Lindstrom said Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council Member Don Samuels immediately promised action "to expand the downtown zone to allow food trucks in the North Loop neighborhood." That's government at work! Fulton's Ryan Petz thinks the situation might have been blown out of proportion anyway. "The city isn't cracking down or hassling us about it," he said, adding that it appears the issue is moving quickly toward resolution. But until they get the go-ahead, Petz said, Fulton won't schedule any food trucks. Cheers to a speedy return, food trucks. -TOM HORGEN

Girls, girls, girls

Things are falling into place nicely for organizers of this weekend's inaugural Girls Got Rhythm Fest at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St. Paul, which added an all-ages Mother's Day show with Japan's 5.6.7.8's. Since they landed Rock Hall of Famer Ronnie Spector for Saturday's show, I.W. asked the fest crew who their dream headliners might be in future years. "We thought about Suzi Quatro for this year, but she had just broke her arm," said GGR co-founder Dana Raidt of the '70s Detroit rocker (and sadly maybe best known as Pinky's sister Leather Tuscadero on "Happy Days"). "Maybe Blondie. You never know." -CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Grand expansion

St. Paul's chi-chi Grand Hand Gallery plans to open a second shop in Napa, Calif., in June. The new venture will showcase many of the same Minnesota and Northern California artisans whom the shop already showcases, among them Minnesota fiber artist Tim Harding, painter Sarah Wieben and jeweler Emily Johnson. California stars include Jerry Kermode, whose turned-redwood bowls and wine accessories attract an international clientele. Trendy Napa was a natural expansion site for gallery owner Ann Ruhr Pifer, who has relatives and artist friends in the area. After scouting Santa Fe, N.M., and other high-end tourist destinations, Pifer picked Napa as the most promising expansion spot in part because it is "something of a second home for me already," she said. -MARY ABBE

1st Avenue freeze-out

It might be raining Monday when Slash performs at the Brick but at least he won't freeze. He told I.W. that a frigid Minnesota winter almost made him quit smoking cigarettes: "I was hanging out in Minneapolis, and you couldn't smoke in the bars. You had to go outside. It was freezing. I was like, [bleep] this. I would just quit. That was years ago. It took a long time before I actually quit." -JON BREAM

Well composed

Composer Aaron Jay Kernis is $100,000 richer. Long associated with the Minnesota Orchestra's Composer Institute, he won the Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition at Northwestern University. The award is made biennially for contributions to the world of composition. John Luther Adams was the 2010 winner. As part of the Nemmers honor, one of Pulitzer winner Kernis' works will be performed during the 2013-14 season by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Bravo! -GRAYDON ROYCE