Chris Thile/Star Tribune photo by Aaron Levinsky
Spotting a Minnesotan during Saturday's performance of "Live From Here" was like a playing a stage version of "Where's Waldo?" The series, which spun out of "Prairie Home Companion," has eliminated almost all of the cast members that live in the state and has only four scheduled shows in the Twin Cities this season.
But host Chris Thile hasn't completely forgotten where the radio series came from.
"St. Paul, my home away from home," he said, holding court at the Palace Theatre with a guest list that included Dirty Projectors, the Skylar Brothers and Anna & Elizabeth. The two-hour show included a sketch about long Midwest winters, a tribute to the state's Andrews Sisters and a reading of a poem written by our own Louise Erdrich.
One of the highlights of the early evening came after the show had gone off the air. As many in the crowd filed out, Thile tore through a foot-stomping version of "Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms" with help from Elizabeth Roberts-Gevalt on banjo and new band leader Mike Elizondo on the stand-up bass.
"Live From Here' will broadcast Saturday from the Fitzgerald Theater with special guest The War and Treaty.
