Cloud Cult, more or less

No surprise: Even a Cloud Cult acoustic album is heavier than most rock bands' full-volume recordings, emotionally speaking.

Already a band known for turning a sudden death into a long-term pursuit of spiritual and philosophical meaning, the eight-member psychedelic chamber-rock ensemble crossed paths with another unimaginable tragedy during the recording of its new live collection, "Unplug," last December at Minneapolis' Southern Theater.

The final show in the three-night marathon was turned into a benefit for Jessica Peterson, the River Falls, Wis., woman whose ex-husband murdered their three children in 2012. Peterson herself showed up at the concert, and Cloud Cult frontman Craig Minowa knew that her 11-year-old daughter was a fan of the band's 2007 hit "Pretty Voice."

"We weren't planning on using that one on the record or even playing it at all, but of course we had to — and wanted to — in the end," said Minowa, whose own work was catalyzed by the loss of a 2-year-old son 12 years ago.

With an extra-dramatic "Pretty Voice" among its highlights, "Unplug" displays a new kind of exploration for Minowa's troupe, which will reprise the acoustic format for two sold-out shows Saturday and Sunday at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Gone are the frantic, nerve-riddled pacing and staticky electronic undercurrent of Cloud Cult's past few studio albums. Emphasized instead are the ornate, billowy string, horn and piano arrangements, choral vocals and intimate power of the songs.

For a band known to rehearse around a back-yard campfire, an acoustic album came naturally. "We already knew what it's like to perform completely unplugged," Minowa said, coming as close to bragging as he ever has in an interview.

Calling from the rural homestead he shares with wife/bandmate Connie in Viroqua, Wis., Minowa said "Unplug" fits in well as a follow-up to last year's "Love." The 2013 collection capped off many of the lyrical themes from the past decade and provided a sense of closure.

In other words, "Unplug" is far from a greatest-hits run-through, unless by "hit" you mean philosophical impact. Other fan favorites such as "Running With the Wolves" and "Chemicals Collide" did make the cut, though.

They avoided using songs already recorded as acoustic tracks, such as last year's great love song "Meet Me Where We're Going" — "anything that seemed redundant," Minowa said. And while they did revisit some tracks from "the very, very low point" in his songwriting canon — as he refers to them in stage banter heard on the new album before 2005's "We Made Up Your Mind for You" — there were many songs left off the table. "Ones that would just obviously be too hard for Connie and I to return to on an emotional level," he said.

A more pragmatic benefit of performing unplugged, the band can easily play "fly-in" gigs without hauling a trailer full of gear across the country, though the painters' canvases are still part of the shows. That ease is especially handy now that the Minowas want to tour less, with two toddlers at home. Craig is also busy scoring music for TV and film. (He spent much of the winter composing music for an indie documentary, "The Great Alone," about Iditarod dog-sledding champ Lance Mackey.)

Before settling into the Southern, the band tested out its "Unplug" show over a series of road gigs last year. While fully satisfied with the results, Minowa admitted, "At the end of the shows, we were still left with that itch to go back out there, plug in and rock. That's still very much in our blood."

Thus, this weekend's concerts and upcoming tour dates will feature two sets, first the "Unplug" format and then the normal Cloud Cult electric thing. More than in most cases, those are two distinct acts.

The second incarnation of Nick and Eddie, the Belmore/New Skyway Lounge has followed its predecessor and shut its doors after just a couple of years of impressing diners and bringing indie-flavored '70s/'80s rock shows to downtown Minneapolis. Owner Doug Anderson has given up on downtown and is looking to reopen yet another place. Its April 22 show with metal vets Y&T has moved to the Triple Rock. …

The Minnesota Music Coalition's third annual Minnesota Music Summit kicks off with a free mixer Thursday at Summit Brewery (6-8 p.m.), followed by workshops for musicians April 11-12 at McNally Smith College of Music and Minnesota Public Radio, plus evening concerts at the Amsterdam Bar with GRRRL PRTY, the Honeydogs and more. Details at MNMusicCoalition.org. …

Live hip-hop pioneers Heiruspecs will take over the Amsterdam April 26 for their first album in six years (!), "Night Falls," with openers Dem Atlas and Allan Kingdom. …

How about an alt-country/bluegrass version of Soundset? That's what we might get if Trampled by Turtles follow through on plans with Soundset co-promoter Rose Pre­sents to host their own outdoor festival outside Canterbury Park this summer. Sounds like a great idea — lowriders, or no. … Rumors of the Replacements' local summer gig plans are still in full motion, too, with St. Paul's Midway Stadium cutting out as the lead horse at this point. There's really no telling with those guys, though.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658 •