Item World: Local news and views

Soundset gets serious There were many memorable moments Sunday at Soundset, the biggest hip-hop concert in Twin Cities history (about 20,000 fans swarmed to Canterbury Park). For instance, P.O.S. urged fans to clap their hands, adding: "You, too, VIP. You ain't that special." Desdamona turned a song about an unhealthy relationship into a war cry that nobody "deserves to be treated like [expletive]." Seattle rapper Macklemore opened up about everything he has "lost to the disease of addiction." Most moving was the Face Candy improv tribute to Mikey "Eyedea" Larsen. The late rapper's pals Carnage and Kristoff Krane pulled lines off the top of their heads and straight from the heart, culminating in Larsen's mom releasing a bundle of balloons into the air with poetic messages written on them. Said Carnage, "He left the planet. He didn't leave us."

No love from Amazon The online powerhouse Amazon.com has released its list of what it calls the top-20 most well-read cities in the United States. Noticeably absent: Minneapolis and St. Paul --or any city in Minnesota. How can this be? Aren't we well-read? Don't we visit libraries at a furious clip, and don't we have more bookstores per capita than just about anywhere else, and aren't we avid readers of newspapers and magazines? Minneapolis and St. Paul have, for years, ranked in the top 10 of Central Connecticut State University's "most literate cities" list, so what's up, Amazon? Its list is based purely on orders from Amazon -- and, even then, only those since Jan. 1, 2011, in both print and via Kindle. What about library use? What about indie bookstores? What about Barnes & Noble and Nook? No. 1 is Cambridge, Mass., probably because all those Harvard profs urge their students to buy textbooks via Amazon.

Fountain of sorry Jackson Browne was not only profusely apologetic for his 11th-hour cancellation May 4 because of a sore throat but, at his make-good show Sunday at the State Theatre, he played about every local card he had in his hand. His mother was from St. Paul. He had cousins in the audience. Minneapolis-St. Paul was the first U.S. area he visited after spending his first three years in Germany. He even localized some lyrics on "The Load-Out," about the next show in Mankato and "Purple Rain" on the video. The way Browne was going, I.W. thought he might dedicate "Fountain of Sorrow" to second-row fan David Kahn, the boss man of the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves.

Down the wrong alley The award for the most un-PC party of the year goes to Bootleggers. On Friday night, the downtown Minneapolis bar is sponsoring something it's calling "Dwarf Bowling." Bargoers will strap a little person onto a skateboard and roll him into bowling pins. Insane. Moreover, Howard Stern's favorite little person, Beetlejuice, will host the night in a strange "paid to party" gig (it's also his birthday). Apparently, Snooki was busy.

Stained alive Jason Isbell may not know his history of Twin Cities venues all that well, but he proved he knows a legend or two about the Replacements. Reading a warning sign Saturday at the Turf Club that says not to hang from the circular light fixture above the stage, the former Drive-by Trucker cracked, "That's probably here because of Tommy Stinson. That, and the vomit stains on the ceiling." The latter bit was a reference to the purported decorating contributions the 'Mats left behind at Ardent Studio in Memphis while making the "Pleased to Meet Me" album. They cannot be blamed for any of the Turf Club's suspicious stains, however.

Somewhere over the pond Tracie Bennett had just closed her show in London, flown to New York and puddle-jumped to Minneapolis for a little meet-and-greet at the Guthrie Theater. She seemed fragile and genuinely daunted by being in Judy Garland's home state and overlooking the Mississippi River. Bennett plays the legend in "End of the Rainbow," which finished an extended run in Bennett's native Britain and is slotted for Jan. 28-March 11 at the Guthrie and then bound for Broadway. "The play is about the price of fame," Bennett said. "End" journeys through the last few months of Garland's difficult life in London. She had a nightclub gig, a new hubby in Mickey Deans, and a raging addiction. The Guthrie showed a short trailer portraying Garland's decidedly unglamorous final days. Be careful if you go watch the trailer. You'll get sucked into a million Garland clips on YouTube and before long, you'll have wasted half the morning on the Liza Minnelli/Lorna Luft "Tale of Two Sisters" show.