Artcetera: Vikings show off stadium art by ex-players; Drake runs up overtime bill in St. Paul; Tim Kaine loves Replacements, more

Art stars and sports luminaries partied Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis, where officials unveiled the 300-piece art collection they commissioned for the halls and suites of the $1.13 billion building. Art curators Camille Speca and Tracie Speca-Ventura — sisters-in-law based in Rhode Island and California, respectively — got a shout-out from Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf and wife Jane Wilf. Legendary Vikings coach Bud Grant joined his former players Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Matt Blair for a group photo with other artists, among them Gregory Copeland, Nicholas Schleif and David Rathman. Turns out that decades ago Grant collaborated with pioneering Minnesota wildlife painter Les Kouba on a series of outdoor prints to raise money for environmental conservation. The stadium collection includes the Grant-Kouba prints, Eller's ceramic bowls, Blair's lively photo mural of his 1970s Vikings colleagues and Marshall's painting of his personal emblem, the Silver Eagle.

MARY ABBE

Drake has the No. 1 selling record of 2016, but apparently he doesn't have anywhere near the No. 1 road crew yet. The Toronto hip-hop star's sold-out concert Sunday night at Xcel Energy Center started 90 minutes late, reportedly due to delays in setting up his ambitious stage production. To his credit, he did not cut his show short, although all the other acts' sets were whittled (down to nothing in Roy Woods' case!). To our annoyance, though, Drizzy kept complaining to the crowd about how much he would have to pay in overtime fees to the local arena crew for continuing 45 minutes past the 11 p.m. cutoff time. At one point, he even mentioned a $20,000 figure — which one seasoned stage professional told us was "not even close" to the final cost, due to strict local union rules. Sorry, Drizzy, but I think the 15,000 fans who paid $47 to $147 for their tickets (or $300 for the many "platinum" seats) are better at math than you. They don't owe you anything.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

By now, you've probably heard that Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine is one of us. He spent five — or was it 10? — minutes in St. Paul, where he was born. Actually, he was 2 when his family moved to Kansas City. His other Minnesota connection is his favorite album, "Let It Be," by the Replacements, according to Richmond, Va., radio DJ Chris Bopst, who recently interviewed Kaine and talked to Pitchfork.com. Gee, we thought Kaine would be partial to the band's 1985 album "Tim."

JON BREAM

Tower of Power's acknowledgment of Prince Wednesday at the Minnesota Zoo was a bit different from the ways other visiting music stars have honored the late Minneapolis music icon. Co-founder/leader/saxophonist Emilio Castillo recalled that the last time his 48-year-old Oakland funk band was at the zoo, Prince and Larry Graham, the legendary bassist from Sly & the Family Stone who lives in the Twin Cities, were "right over there," the sax man said, pointing toward the side of the stage. Later, when introducing Tower of Power's 1972 hit "You're Still a Young Man," Castillo said, "I remember reading in Rolling Stone that Prince lost his virginity to this song."

Regina Marie Williams will return as one of the hosts of the Ivey Awards on Sept. 19 at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. Williams was at the mic in 2015 as well. This year, Mark Benninghofen will join her. Last year at this time, he was sharpening his chops to play Sweeney Todd. The awards – a celebration of the Twin Cities theater community – will be directed by Joe Chvala and feature 10 excerpted acts surrounding the announcements of winners. The Iveys can be funky, and they can cause you to scratch your head, but they are the longest lasting arts award program in this town. So, good for that.

GRAYDON ROYCE

Find coverage of the arts all week at our pop culture blog, startribune.com/artcetera, and follow us on Twitter, @entertain_mn.