Thirty-six years after Walker Art Center co-promoted Sonic Youth's first local gig — a twofer with Swans at First Avenue — and 18 since the pioneering art-rock band headlined Rock the Garden, its co-leader Thurston Moore is returning this weekend for a one-of-a-kind two-night stand that's essentially a 60th birthday present to him. Titled "Moore at 60," the Friday and Saturday night programs will offer an amalgamation of guitarists, horn players, poets and filmmakers, including Nels Cline of Wilco, Deb Googe of My Bloody Valentine, James Sedwards of Guapo and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth — all hand-picked by Moore. "Thurston really was heavily involved, calling up most of the participants and inviting them himself," explained Doug Benidt, associate curator of performing arts at the Walker. "It speaks to his status and reputation that most of them agreed without even knowing what it was going to be." Moore has since sketched out a plan for the improv-heavy shows, but Benidt said the crux of Moore's relationship with the Walker is to "always keep it a little mysterious and adventurous."
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Carlson steps up
Kelcey Carlson is slowly becoming the face of Fox 9 news. The Indiana native has joined Randy Meier at the desk for the 10 p.m. news, which Meier previously anchored alone. Carlson, who came to the Twin Cities in 2014 after a decade in North Carolina, will continue to co-anchor the 6 p.m. broadcast with Meier as well as the 9 p.m. show with Jeff Passolt. "I'm proud to be a part of this team," she said. Not that Carlson can do everything. Amy Hockert has taken her seat at 5 p.m.
NEAL JUSTIN
An unfortunate turn
In the program for the Guthrie's theater-themed comedy "Noises Off," company members talk about stage disasters they've encountered. They have a new one to add. A crucial part of the show is a set that swivels between acts to give theatergoers a peek at the backstage goings-on, but Saturday night the turntable malfunctioned. So the Guthrie skipped Act 2 while actor Nathan Keepers improvised a description of what the audience had missed. A faulty cable was the culprit, and Sunday's performances went off without a hitch. Saturday's crowd was invited to return to see the entire show.
CHRIS HEWITT
Keillor gets intimate
If Garrison Keillor is still smarting from the allegations that stained his legendary career, he's keeping it to himself. On Saturday, the former "Prairie Home" host gave his first proper local performances since Minnesota Public Radio cut ties with its biggest name. The venue was the Dunsmore Room in Fridley's Crooners supper club, a 90-seat venue so intimate that Keillor had to park his coffee mug on a front-row table. "Welcome to my living room," said Keillor, who opened with a line from a Shakespeare sonnet: "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state." Then he added: "Something to recite to your spouse on mornings when it's necessary," acknowledging later that his wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson, was in attendance. Keillor is scheduled to return to Crooners Dec. 16 for two more shows.N.J.
All over but the screaming
Whether Tuesday's election made you want to scream with anger, scream with joy or just scream, you might want to go to Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis on Saturday. The "1st Annual Human Scream-In" will commence at precisely 10 a.m., when participants are invited to meet at the bandstand and start screaming en masse to release "pent-up anxiety, rage, frustration and confusion," according to a Facebook page. The yelling "will continue, uninterrupted, for five minutes at which point we will cease our shouting, breathe, and move on with a new understanding of our bodies and their proximity to one another. What we do from there is up to us." The event is sponsored by Beyond Repair, a bookshop and publishing site in Midtown Global Market.
