This service wasRaitted too funky The late Twin Cities sound engineer extraordinaire Steve Raitt was saluted with joyous noise and heartfelt words Sunday at jam-packed Bunkers Bar and Grill. Drummer Bobby Vandell gave a long, often humorous eulogy; singer/saxophonist Maurice Jacox offered a short, eloquent one, and local legend Willie Murphy gave a touching tribute in both words and song (an original on piano). One of the most moving moments of the three-hour-plus memorial came during an all-star jam of James Brown's "It's Too Funky in Here," the tune Raitt always sang with his bands. During a funky solo by Ricky Peterson, a framed photo of Raitt fell off Peterson's organ. He caught it and continued to play, clutching the photo in one hand and jamming with his other. "I couldn't let Steve fall," Peterson told I.W. later. Raitt never let any of his bands fall, either.
JON BREAM
Taking the dull out of Duluth A sign of how tilted the talent-to-venue ratio is up in the Twin Ports, Duluth's 11th annual Homegrown Music Festival kicks off Sunday at the northernmost Pizza Lucé and lasts through next weekend without any repeat acts (although Rich Mattson is playing with both the Bitter Spills and Tisdales). Favorites such as Trampled by Turtles (returning to the Cabooze tonight and Saturday), Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank, the Keep Aways, Rivulets and Two Many Banjos will perform throughout the week at different locations, including Sacred Heart Church and Fitger's Brewhouse, along with another welcome wave of lesser-knowns. See DuluthHomegrown.com.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Don't look back The troubadour took the stage alone Sunday at the Varsity Theater and began playing a Dinkytown-appropriate opener, "She Belongs to Me" ("she's got everything she needs, she's an artist, she don't look back"). "That last song was by Bob Dylan; the remaining songs are by Robyn Hitchcock," said the self-same troubadour before bringing out his all-R.E.M. backing band -- Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin -- with an unapologetic disclaimer: "Yes, we're middle-aged men playing 'beat music.' Rock 'n' roll is an old man's game." They proved it, too, with a sizzling 90-minute set that had the crowd -- likewise, a lot of middle-aged guys -- rocking a bit more gently, but happily all the same.
TIM CAMPBELL
Wing's next biggie What he wrought on Minneapolis' Lake Street in 2000, photographer Wing Young Huie intends to bring to University Avenue in St. Paul. The king of urban and street photography previewed his ambitious plans at a sold-out Pecha Kucha (www.pecha-kucha.org) event at Intermedia Arts last Friday. Huie showed some photos and said he's planning at least 360 color and black-and-white images to be installed at sites along at least 4 miles of the busy commercial street, from Raymond to Western Avs. Included will be several nighttime slide shows on outside walls. The project, with a budget around $150,000, is being underwritten by Public Art St. Paul and the Joyce Foundation. Huie plans to launch the show next spring. The University of Minnesota Press will issue a book around the same time.
CLAUDE PECK
