Hippo Campus in color
They came. They saw. They smiled. A lot. And so did most of us back home who knew just how quickly but readily Hippo Campus made their national TV debut Tuesday. The Twin Cities pop-rockers, ages 19-20, performed their tune "Suicide Saturday" on "Conan" with only a few days' notice after impressing the show's music booker during last week's South by Southwest Music Conference. "What a ride it's been for this band," Conan O'Brien rightfully marveled in his introduction. His TeamCoco crew joked on their website beforehand, "We like Hippo Campus so much, we're starting a tribute band, Rhino University. We're terrible, so you should probably just stick to Hippo Campus." Even more funny was this tweet from the band just before hitting the stage: "We're peeing ourselves." They'd better hit the port-a-potties before their Aug. 1 Lollapalooza gig in Chicago, which was announced the next morning.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Not Current
When Judith Hill was recording with Prince at Paisley Park, he showed her some of the sights of the Twin Cities. For instance, they went to the Dakota Jazz Club to see Lisa Fischer, one of Hill's co-stars in the Oscar-winning documentary "20 Feet From Stardom." But apparently Prince didn't give the former finalist on NBC's "The Voice" a thorough briefing about all important things musical in the Twin Cities. On Sunday, when he invited a handful of Twin Cities media members to Paisley Park to preview Hill's album, "Back in Time," she was asked by Jim McGuinn, program director of 89.3 the Current, if she would play on the Current. "No," she said without hesitation. "But I'll play Bunker's." Then Prince apologized and explained that the Current was a radio station, not a nightclub. I.W. will be checking the Current's playlist to see if Hill's music gets airplay.
Jon Bream
Fly girl
St. Paul native Gemma "The Jet" Kirby flew into the national spotlight Monday night with an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman." The 25-year-old, who has been projected out of a cannonball more than 500 times, was the leadoff guest, making an impressive flight on the street outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City. Kirby, who performs with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, got her start at age 16 with Circus Juventas in St. Paul.
Neal Justin
'Dark Knight' dialogue
During the past 25 years, Walker Art Center's program of Dialogues & Film Retrospectives has presented outstanding filmmakers from a broad variety of backgrounds: Hollywood celebrities (Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Jodie Foster); international notables (Taiwan's Ang Lee, Germany's Werner Herzog, France's Marcel Ophuls); prominent oddballs (John Waters, Guy Madden), and even Minnesota-bred talents (Jessica Lange, Terry Gilliam, Joel and Ethan Coen). But never has it presented a billion-dollar box office genie like Christopher Nolan, the director/screenwriter behind "The Dark Knight" franchise and 2014's much discussed and debated sci-fi epic "Interstellar." He'll be the guest at a dialogue with Variety chief film critic Scott Foundas May 5, and the focus of a Walker full-career retrospective running May 7-24. For ticket info, go to www.walkerart.org.
Colin Covert
Answering the call
Sounds of Blackness director Gary Hines called Coré Cotton out of the audience at Ordway Concert Hall last week to join the Grammy-winning choir on "Optimistic," their 1991 hit on which she sang some of the lead vocals. Luckily, Cotton, a full-time attorney and associate member of the Sounds, was wearing a black outfit just like the rest of the singers. She knew her vocal lines and choreography. She just seemed reticent to dance off the stage with the rest of the Sounds at the end of the number. But lead singers Jamecia Bennett and Pat Lacy insisted — and honored Cotton with high-fives and hugs.
Jon Bream
New kind of songbook
They're calling it a mash-up, but surely there is a more artful way to describe it — a marriage? A symphony? A poem? Four of last year's Minnesota Book Award winners will read next month, followed by a performance of original music inspired by their books. Melanie Hoffert, Carrie Mesrobian, Matt Rasmussen and Ethan Rutherford will read at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Bedlam Theatre in St. Paul's Lowertown. Original music written and performed by Ipsifendus Collective (made up of musicians from such local bands as Dreamland Faces, Bookhouse, Painted Saints and the Poor Nobodys) will follow. The songs will be recorded and made available on the Minnesota Book Awards website, www. thefriends.org.
LAURIE HERTZEL
