Item-World: Blowing off the candles

Blowing off the candles Like any parent out of town on her child's birthday, Suzzy Roche felt compelled to call daughter Lucy on Sunday night. So she pulled out her cell phone during the Roches' concert at the Fitzgerald Theater. Lucy, a singer/songwriter (whose father is Loudon Wainwright III), had her own gig Sunday at Joe's Pub in New York City. So, not surprisingly, Suzzy got Lucy's voice mail. Roches fans at the Fitz were disappointed that they didn't even get to sing "Happy Birthday" after the beep. Later in the show, Suzzy tried calling again with no luck. One male fan asked for Lucy's phone number. Of course, the Roches don't give out their phone numbers, or their ages. And, after a third unsuccessful call, Suzzy concluded: "Lucy blew us off."

JON BREAM

A perkathon If you ever wondered if Rachael Ray is as perky in person as she is on "30-Minute Meals," the answer is an emphatic "yes." After waiting outdoors in the cold for one hour, then two more inside the Block E Borders bookstore, I.W. was finally face-to-face with the Food Network personality. Ray posed for photos with Minnesota Lynx players and chatted with children in line. Claiming she likes Minnesota weather better than most locals do, she pleasantly greeted each customer as she signed her newest cookbook -- including a copy for I.W.'s husband, whom we hope will take the hint and start cooking.

MELISSA WALKER

Diablo's doodles? With all the buzz zipping around Diablo Cody's film "Juno," we knew it would be mere days before the inevitable phrase coinage ensued. Here's entry No. 1: "The Juno effect," courtesy of Gawker.com. It tacked the phrase onto a couple of recently announced celeb pregnancies: that of 16-year-old Nickelodeon sweetheart/little sis to Britney Jamie Lynn Spears -- who caught a screening of Cody's movie just hours before the news broke -- and Britpopper Lily Allen, who is an adult, but could pass for 16, but whatever. Let's see what happens to "That's one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet," from Rainn Wilson's cameo in the Golden Globe-nominated movie.

KRISTIN TILLOTSON

A musical memorial The great jazz saxophonist Frank Morgan's life will be celebrated Sunday -- on what would have been his 74th birthday -- at the Artists' Quarter in St. Paul. Morgan died last Friday of complications from colon cancer, two weeks after returning from his first tour of Europe. "It was a great thing for him to get to play with some old friends in Europe," said Lance Taylor, Morgan's second cousin by marriage, with whom he had lived for the past two years since returning to his hometown. Saxophonist Irv Williams and other local musicians will participate in the 3 p.m. memorial service.

Road to Nashville Bunkers is hosting a send-off party Saturday night for former GB Leighton band members Jason Perri and Jim Carey, who are moving to Nashville with the stated goal of becoming stars. The violinist and keyboardist, respectively, have launched a new country duo called Perri & Carey, sort of a slick cross between Brooks & Dunn's camaraderie and Rascal Flatts' hair. "I figure if Bon Jovi can qualify as country nowadays, so can I," Perri said by phone as he was literally on the road to Nashville with his family. He and Carey are already working on an album there with some Music Row pros, and with local music vet James Klein managing them. Leaving GB Leighton was tough, Perri said, but frontman Brian Leighton "knows that musicians are all egomaniacs, and we'd be taking our own shot at fame when we had the chance."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Sneaking in 'Snaker' It was five years ago this past Thanksgiving weekend when local blues/folk luminary Dave Ray passed away, and his former bandmates Spider John Koerner and Tony Glover have found an appropriately coy way to remember their friend around the holidays. When they played the 400 Bar this time last year, the duo brought along a copy of Ray's Scrooge of a song "I'm Mad at the Fatman," recorded in 1992 for a Rough Trade holiday CD. "I thought it'd be cool to play it as an antidote to all the Xmas treacle," Glover recalled. Not content to just listen along, he and Koerner took a page out of the Natalie Cole playbook and played along. "It felt kind of spooky, [and] made me miss Dave more deeply," Glover said. The bit was such a hit that they plan on doing it again when they return to the 400 Bar on Thursday.