To help hype his record the night before its release – or maybe get it banned from Amazon -- Twin Cities pop songsmith Jeremy Messersmith is going to host a "variety show telethon" for one of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos, at Huge Improv Theater in south Minneapolis on March 8.
"Join us as we partake in the joy and splendor of trickle down economics with a variety show filled with music, magic, juggling, burlesque, aerial arts, spoken word and so much more!" reads the ticket page on Huge Improv's site (seats are on sale now for $15).
Further explanation of the event, which will stream worldwide via Facebook Live, wasn't offered.
Is Bezos a few billion dollars shy of buying an entire continent, and Messersmith hopes to put him over the top? Did Bezos' company Amazon take a big hit in holiday sales because customers worldwide decided the true meaning of Christmas isn't, in fact, buying everyone an Echo? Is the Washington Post (which Bezos also owns) not able to keep up with the huge increase in online readership because of its in-depth coverage of the Trump administration?
We'll probably have to wait and see March 8 to find out exactly what Messersmith is up to. The concept makes a little more sense when you consider that his record coming out the next day via Glassnote Records is titled "Late Stage Capitalism" (available here for pre-order).
In the works for over two years -- and full of ambitious rock, orchestral and even mariachi arrangements -- "LSC" was delayed last year in part because Messersmith opted to put out his made-in-a-day ukulele album, "11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs for Ukulele."
The official release party for "LSC" isn't until March 30 at First Avenue, tickets for which are on sale now for $25 via First-Avenue.com. Unlike the Huge Improv thingamajig, he'll have his full band and some guests with him at the First Ave show. Messersmith then doesn't have another gig on the books until May 12, and that's a rather big one: He's pairing up with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra for their Symphony Ball.
The first single and opening track from the new album, "Purple Hearts," was issued last week.
