Smack Shack launching a restaurant

Come summer, Minneapolis' North Loop will be swimming in lobster rolls, because in an enterprising bit of role reversal, a food truck is launching a bricks-and-mortar version of itself.

Not just any food truck, but the wildly successful Smack Shack (www.smack-shack.com), now entering its third crowd-pleasing season. Co-owners Josh Thoma and Kevin Fitzgerald are opening a permanent home for their lobster roll-po' boy phenomenon, moving into a former warehouse space at Washington and 6th Avenues N.

"This is what I've always wanted to do with the truck," said Thoma. "We looked at a lot of spaces, and when we walked into this one, we really couldn't see much. Then the landlord revealed the 26-foot ceilings and these amazing wood trusses -- they were covered by a drop ceiling -- and we knew right then that this was the spot."

"Very casual" is how Thoma describes the restaurant, which will also be called the Smack Shack. "It's going to be a once-a-week kind of place, where you can drop in wearing shorts and flip-flops. We picture it as something you would see on the coast. The building has that look and feel. It's brick, a single story, with a loading dock -- it resembles something you would see on a wharf or a pier."

That loading dock will become a 60-seat patio, leading into a 115-seat dining room with a pair of bars, one of which will offer ringside seats into a display prep kitchen. Bartenders will also serve as oyster shuckers. "I don't know that they're very excited about that," Thoma said with a laugh. "But if they know that going in, they can't complain."

Thoma describes the menu as "more coastal than strictly East Coast." Along with oysters and other chilled shellfish, the kitchen will focus on the Smack Shack's signature lobster rolls, along with an expanded po' boy selection. "And fried chicken, which I'm really excited about," said Thoma. The plan is to serve both lunch and dinner, with a late-June opening.

Fans of the 1029 Bar, the truck's home base, will be relieved to learn that the Smack Shack will continue its partnership with the northeast Minneapolis watering hole. The truck isn't going anywhere, either; it will continue to spread its lobster-roll love on Marquette Avenue.

Thoma said he's looking forward to one particular side benefit of operating a restaurant vs. a food truck, and that's hiring a dishwasher. "I've become really good at it," he said with a laugh. "But, wow, having someone else doing the dishes, that's going to be great."

• Rick Nelson

'Delayed Reaction' from Soul Asylum

Read into the title of this one however you want: Soul Asylum's long-awaited new record will be called "Delayed Reaction," and it finally has a firm release date, July 17. As reported last month, the band recently signed a new deal with 429 Records, a Los Angeles-based, Japanese-owned company offering a modern spin for veteran acts including Macy Gray, Roberta Flack, Robbie Robertson and other '90s rock-radio favorites such as Cracker and Everclear.

Most of the 10 tracks were co-produced with ex-Minneapolitan John Fields. This is the first album to entirely feature the "new" rhythm section with Tommy Stinson on bass and Michael Bland on drums.

Frontman Dave Pirner has lived part-time in New Orleans for almost two decades now, and part of the new record was made there as well as in Los Angeles and, yes, Minneapolis (mostly at Flowers Studio, we've heard). Undoubtedly, the guys will include a Twin Cities gig in their summer tour plans-- hopefully not one involving ribs, beer tickets or casino buffets.

• Chris Riemenschneider

Minneapolis scene is No. 2, says some site

Minneapolis earned a nice little nod from the chambers-of-commerce-affiliated site Livability.com as one of the "10 Cities With the Best Music Scenes Outside of Nashville, NYC and L.A." We're No. 2 on the list of midsize cities just behind Athens, Ga. Omaha and Madison, Wis., also made the cut at Nos. 5 and 8, respectively. In its report on Minneapolis, the site says, "[The] music scene usually gets respect with the words 'The Replacements,' 'Prince' or 'Husker Du' -- all artists hailing from here. First Ave, the Fine Line, Varsity Theater also get shout-outs. It's a pretty elementary look at things, but at least we got in over Omaha.

• Chris Riemenschneider

Mayor hits up Vita.mn 'Mad Men' party

A sold-out crowd nestled into the cozy, classic Jax Cafe in northeast Minneapolis on Sunday for Vita.mn's "Mad Men" season premiere party. Hosted by DJ and midcentury enthusiast Jake Rudh, the party was as swanky and memorable as ever, with guests dressed to the nines in 1960s garb -- ladies in wiggle dresses and '60s shifts, and men in narrow suits with skinny ties (with the notable exception of stylist Richard Anderson, who was dressed as his female drag persona Bitch Flowers in full go-go, beehived glory). Even Mayor R.T. "Coolest Mayor Ever" Rybak made a surprise appearance.

"I love 'Mad Men,' but [wife Megan O'Hara and I] don't get AMC," Rybak told us Wednesday. "So I tweeted, 'Is there a bar or restaurant that's showing it?' and everyone said Jax. It was sold out, but we went upstairs, poked our heads in and had a Manhattan and Old Fashioned, respectively."

• Jahna Peloquin/Jay Boller

Pete Campbell listens to the Current, eats Jucy Lucys

For years, "Mad Men" star Vincent Kartheiser has been saying how much he adores his native Twin Cities. Now, he's singing the same praises to the New York Times. In an interview Sunday, the actor behind Pete Campbell listed 89.3 The Current as his favorite radio station. "It's a public-radio channel that pretty much plays the best music you ever heard, back-to-back, all day long," he said while also giving a shout-out to Garrison Keillor. If that weren't enough, Kartheiser introduced the Times to the Jucy Lucy, although The Paper of Record spelled it "Juicy Lucy." Kartheiser singled out Matt's Bar and the 5-8 Club.

• Neal Justin

The Brick offers opening-night refunds

After a nightmarish opening March 19 for the high-profile new Brick nightclub with headliner Jane's Addiction, the club's proprietors made an unprecedented offer last week: full refunds, including service fees, or tickets to a future Brick concert. "We owe you an apology for the issues you encountered during the show," local general manager Jeff Kehr said in an e-mail sent last Thursday. "We are listening to your comments and feedback and are committed to making the necessary changes at the Brick to ensure that your next concert experience will be much more enjoyable." To claim the refund, e-mail a copy of your ticket(s) and confirmation to customerservice@thebrickmn.com.

• Jon Bream

Flaming Lips/Bonny Bear collab flops

A collaboration that has been buzzed about for months, the new track by the Flaming Lips with special guest Bon Iver hit the Web Tuesday and pretty much fizzled upon impact. What could have been a psychedelic dream team sounds like a nightmarish afternoon on brain-numbing codeine. Titled "Ashes in the Air," the song will be featured on "The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends," a limited-edition vinyl set to be released on Record Store Day, April 21. Other participants include Ke$ha, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Erykah Badu, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Biz Markie and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.

• Chris Riemenschneider

Slamming hunger with D-Will

Rookie showman Derrick Williams has helped the Timberwolves to an (almost) winning record. Now he's hoping to throw an assist to the Emergency Foodshelf Network. On April 5 he'll host the charity event Bowling for Soup at the Mall of America's Sky Deck Lanes. Bowl with the Wolves star and help stock area food shelves with cans of soup. Each strike and spare bowled will raise additional cans. Bring in a nonperishable food item and promoter JD Style Group will match your donation. (6-9 p.m. April 5. Fourth floor, Mall of America. $20 per person or $70 for four. All ages. www.bowlingforsoup.eventbrite.com.)

• Tom Horgen

Chicken lady, balloon ninjas at Of Montreal show

The lyrics were often downbeat, touching on self-loathing, suicide and depression, but the music was mostly rippingly upbeat as Of Montreal played First Avenue on Tuesday night. The Georgia-based trippy rockers, fronted by Kevin Barnes, played four songs from their newest CD, "Paralytic Stalks," released earlier this year. The rest of the 14-song set was drawn from earlier releases, including "Hissing Fauna," "Satanic Twins" and "Skeletal Lamping."

Barnes, who wore a turquoise tux jacket, white jeans and an asymmetrical haircut, sang, danced and played guitar and keyboards. His comments to the enthusiastic audience were minimal, but stage antics included balloon-dispensing ninjas, human video screens and a long-armed white creature that resembled a cross between the chicken lady and a mutant angel. The young throng sang along to the prolific band's songs and later crowd-surfed a cape-wearing superhero from the lip of the stage all the way to the club's back balcony.

• Claude Peck