Supersized at the Cedar

Accustomed to performing every Wednesday at Nye's, Molly Maher and Her Disbelievers celebrated the release of their CD, "Merry Come Up," last Friday at the packed Cedar Cultural Center. Actually, it should have been billed as Molly Maher and Her Extra-Large Band. In addition to the cast of players who sometimes sit in at Nye's, she welcomed opening acts Jon Rodine and Matt Wilson, and Curtiss A on harmonica. Not only was it rare to see Curtiss A as a sideman but the usually garrulous Dean of Scream didn't even step on anyone else's moment. With all those musicians onstage for the encore of the Band's "Across the Great Divide," I.W. turned to Maher's day-job boss, Nate Westgor of Willie's Guitars in St. Paul, and commended him for "paying her handsomely" so she could afford Her Extra-Large Band. No, Maher later confided to I.W.: "I called in a lot of favors."

  • JON BREAM

Best beer pourer ever

Who knew pouring a beer could be this hard? Or that you could be flown to Buenos Aires for serving a good Stella Artois? That's exactly where Sean Besser Hank found himself this week. After winning the Belgian beer company's stateside competition, the St. Paulite advanced to the World Draught Masters. Apparently, there is a nine-step process to pouring a proper Stella -- something about "cleansing," "sacrificing" and "beheading" the beer. Hank ended up taking fourth place at the international finale, but he's still our champ.

  • TOM HORGEN

Ceramics trophy Kudos to University of Minnesota ceramics professor Tetsuya Yamada, who this week won the grand prize at the Gyeonggi International Ceramix Biennale. Considered the most prestigious award in contemporary ceramics, it comes with a $50,000 cash prize. Held in South Korea, the competition draws entrants from more than 70 countries. On the U of M faculty since 2004, Yamada has exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and at galleries in New York and Switzerland.

  • MARY ABBE

'Billy' and the kid Zach Manske, 12, of Woodbury, has been cast as the title character in the touring musical "Billy Elliot!" Now in rehearsals, he will be rotated into the show in the next few months. "Billy Elliot!" maintains a stable of young actors who play the title character. A dancer for four years, Manske won the junior national champion title at Starquest competition in 2010. He also won the 2010 Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest.

  • ROHAN PRESTON

Electric Fetus delivery Even though its CD "Neon Blue Bird" was released this summer, Ollabelle, the old-timey gospel-blues band from New York, had no discs to sell at the Dakota Wednesday, blaming Federal Express for failure to deliver on time. So bassist Byron Isaacs recommended shopping at the Electric Fetus in south Minneapolis. "Where did that name come from?" asked singer/guitarist Fiona McBain. Said Isaacs: "Maybe that's where the 'Neon Blue Bird' came from."

  • JON BREAM

Drive-by memoriam Besides playing many of their own death-filled tunes Tuesday at sold-out First Avenue, Drive-By Truckers co-leader Patterson Hood spiked "Sands of Iwo Jima" with the emotional news that his great uncle George, the song's World War II vet subject, had passed away just a day earlier. Hood also made posthumous shout-outs to local music heroes Bob Stinson and Karl Mueller in the night's finale, Jim Carroll's "People Who Died," and he praised the Replacements and Hüsker Dü before the Truckers' ode to musical mayhem, "Let There Be Rock," which references AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne. "While I was seeing them [in concert], I was dreaming about the bands from your town," Hood said. Too bad the coffins seem to be nailed on those bands.

  • CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Putting the Z in bizarre Andrew Zimmern is coming home -- in more ways than one. The Twin Cities-based TV personality will star in "Bizarre Foods America," a new Travel Channel series that's an offshoot of "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern." Among the adventures in the Twin Cities-focused Jan. 24 premiere: Judging a cookoff at a local VFW, bow-fishing for carp and tasting dishes made with meat glue. Naturally, the Jucy Lucy will also make a cameo.

  • NEAL JUSTIN

Peeved about Peavey When I.W. got a look at the plans for a Peavey Plaza makeover in downtown Minneapolis, a headline popped into mind: "New Plaza Is Less Depressed." That's because the new Peavey steps down to just 4 feet below street grade, a lot less than the old plaza, which bottomed out at 10 1/2 feet. For those who hold the original plaza in high regard, the unveiling was just plain depressing. Landscape-architecture preservationist Charles Birnbaum, in a blog at the Huffington Post, called the plan "a watered-down version of Chicago's Millennium Park," and said Minneapolis "blew it." That has to sting, since Birnbaum was originally a partner on this plan with Minneapolis firm Oslund and Associates. The plan won a thumbs-up from a City Council committee midweek. Stay tuned, as the full council votes on a new Peavey Nov. 4. Funding? TBA.

  • CLAUDE PECK