Artcetera: Despite smoke alarm, concert blazes

They couldn't get much right their last time in town, but this time the Jesus and Mary Chain didn't even let a fire alarm derail their performance Tuesday at the Palace Theatre. Opening their U.S. tour in St. Paul, the Scottish rockers were nearing the end of a surprisingly hiccup-free set when the newly refurbished theater's fire curtain suddenly dropped in front of them mid-song as alarm lights near the exits started flashing. According to production staff, the system was triggered by the heavy smoke the band pumped onstage for their stormy pre-encore finale "Reverence." After almost a 10-minute lull — in which the nearest thing to panic was fans worrying that they wouldn't get to hear "Just Like Honey" (saved for the encore) — the band nonchalantly returned to the stage. "We talked about it and decided to just do this again," lanky singer Jim Reid said as they restarted "Reverence." At its previous local gig at First Ave in 2012, the band also restarted several songs — but only because they kept mucking them up. This time, it rolled through old classics with verve while making an excellent case for its first new album in nine years, "Damage and Joy."CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

First Avenue is hosting a warmup gig for the X Games — that knee-skinning extravaganza taking over the grounds of U.S. Bank Stadium July 13-16 — and it's a party that Rhymesayers fans probably won't want to miss. Hometown favorite Prof will team up with Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic along with the label's rising young star Dem Atlas. Tickets, at $25, go on sale Friday and are likely to sell out fast. Rhymesayers' flagship act, Atmosphere, will headline one of the nightly concerts scheduled during the X Games, along with Flume and A Day to Remember.C.R.

Evidence that the Walker's blue rooster is a big deal: The 15-ton, gray, stainless-steel pedestal that will hold Katharina Fritsch's "Hahn/Cock" was placed in the north end of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on Tuesday. Don't get too excited: The ultramarine-blue bird — destined to be the star of the newly renovated garden — is still in Europe and won't be delivered until the week of May 22. Meanwhile the garden itself remains a construction zone, with bricks and sod still being laid for the June 3 reopening celebration.

JENNA ROSS

Chris Thile must really hate all those old "A Prairie Home Companion" reruns. After his abbreviated 13-episode "pilot season" as the public radio show's new host, Thile decided to add two live programs at the Fitzgerald Theater this month. Saturday, his guests will be singer-songwriter Josh Ritter, "Late Show With Stephen Colbert" bandleader Jon Batiste and comedian Emma Willmann. Next weekend he'll welcome My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, alt-pop chanteuse Aimee Mann and New York stand-up Hari Kondabolu. Thile's second season will begin Oct. 7 at the Fitz — this time with a 26-episode slate.

TIM CAMPBELL

As the Playwrights' Center celebrated its 45th anniversary with a gala last week at the Blaisdell manor in Minneapolis, the 200 or so guests lavished praise on the many talents the center has nurtured, including the late August Wilson. The crowd included Stephen McKinley Henderson, co-star of Denzel Washington's film adaptation of Wilson's "Fences." The night's honoree was director and playwright Marion McClinton, who shepherded Wilson's later plays to Broadway. In an emotional speech, he thanked the center and "this great community" for giving him "reasons to live." Guests showed their love with checks, too, bidding on trips and three plays written on the spot by Aditi Brennan Kapil, John Olive and Philip Dawkins. The center raised $113,000 that night.

The Twin Cities' longest running literary series will host two big TV names as part of its 21st season announced Thursday. Hennepin County Library's Pen Pals series will kick off Sept. 26-27 with Alan Alda, the "M*A*S*H" star turned science educator, talking about his new book "If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?," while former CBS anchor Dan Rather is on tap Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The lineup boasts some fiction-minded superstars, too: Pulitzer winners Jennifer Egan (Oct. 26-27) and Colson Whitehead (Feb. 1-2) and National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward (May 3-4). Season tickets go on sale Monday; call 612-543-8112 or go to supportHCLIB.org for info. T.C.

Find more coverage of the arts at our blog startribune.com/artcetera and follow us on Twitter @entertain_mn.