Ms. Lauryn Hill dazzles at First Ave

Lauryn Hill was late arriving onstage at First Avenue on Tuesday. That was no surprise. Her performance was great. That was a surprise.

A big thank-you to Rohan Marley, Lauryn's man, who surprised her with a visit in Minneapolis. She gave him a shout-out late in the evening and insisted that he take a bow with the spotlight shining on him. (Then he fired up a smoke -- those illegal Marleys -- as Lauryn went into her final song, "Doo Wop (That Thing).") His presence may have had something to do with her good mood and memorable performance.

Ms. Hill -- which is what she prefers to be called -- was in such good spirits that she stuck around after her generous 109-minute performance (which ended at 1:43 a.m.) and greeted fans, posing for photos and signing autographs. That is reportedly a first on her current 17-city tour.

Musical highlights included "Final Hour" full of conviction, the Fugees' jumpin' and eventually jazzy "How Many Mics" and the festive "Fu-Gee-La" with its island vibe.

Jon Bream

Kieran spurns Jameson to sell his own whiskey

Irish pub impresario Kieran Folliard has boasted for years that the Local, his bar on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, sells more Jameson Irish Whiskey than anywhere in the world. In fact, he sells so much of the product that last week Folliard announced he will begin selling his own brand of whiskey, imported from Ireland. He's calling the new brand 2 Gingers, and plans to have it behind the bar at his four locations -- the Local, Kieran's, Cooper and the Liffey -- by St. Patrick's Day.

Folliard and business partner Peter Killen said the make-it-themselves whiskey stems from two factors. Pride is the first. "It's the dream of every Irishman to own a pub," Killen said. "And the whiskey comes next."

The second is economics: The Local's general manager, Josh Petzel, said Jameson prices went up 25 percent over a two-year period. "That was maybe the straw that broke the camel's back," Folliard said.

The brand will be made by Cooley, Ireland's last independent distillery. Once it reaches the States, Minnesota-based Phillips Distilling will bottle it. Two rosy redheads are featured on the bottle's label. CEO Dean Phillips said there's a possibility that 2 Gingers could one day find its way into liquor stores.

The 2 Gingers name is a nod to the cocktail that sparked the Local's worldwide whiskey dominance. In 2003, the pub introduced the Big Ginger cocktail, which mixed Jameson with ginger ale, lemon and lime. Killen estimates that 70 percent of Jameson sold at the Local goes into the Big Ginger and the Skinny Ginger (with diet ginger ale). The bar sells about 400 a day on average.

Folliard said he will keep selling Jameson, but his staff will push 2 Gingers as the whiskey of choice for the Big Ginger. Patrons calling for Jameson should expect an upcharge, Folliard said.

The men are confident that the taste of their new Irish whiskey -- smooth but with a bigger kick -- can stand side-by-side with a historic and beloved brand like Jameson. "We're not trying to reinvent the style of Irish whiskey that people are used to," Killen said.

Killen joked that 2 Gingers isn't some bold business move, but simply an outgrowth of Folliard's restless spirit.

"Kieran needed a new project," Killen said. "'Cause I told him we're not opening any more pubs!"

Tom Horgen

Cloud Cult bows out of 89.3 gig; Turtles playing Coachella

Our best wishes go out to Cloud Cult singer Craig Minowa, who was hospitalized last Thursday with heart problems and will likely undergo noninvasive heart surgery within a few weeks. Of course, this means that Cloud Cult will be unable to perform at the Current 89.3 FM sixth anniversary party on Friday at First Avenue. Trampled by Turtles will graciously fill in their slot, coming back right on the heels of their sold-out two-night stand at First Ave last weekend.

Friday's party is hardly the biggest gig on the books for Trampled by Turtles, though. The string pickers were also named Thursday alongside giants such as Kanye West, Kings of Leon and Arcade Fire as part of the lineup for April's trend-setting Coachella Music Festival in Indio, Calif. Another local group, Gayngs, is also on the Coachella '11 roster.

Chris Riemenschneider

Town Talk closes

Mixology fans across the Twin Cities shed a tear in their $10 cocktails this week after hearing that the Town Talk Diner had closed.

Since opening in 2006, the south Minneapolis destination at 2707 E. Lake St. has had a deep impact on Twin Cities cocktail culture. But when its original owners departed in 2008, its acclaim seemed to slowly fizzle. Still, a steady stream of talented bartenders continued to grace the retro diner counter. The last cocktail guru to run the bar before it suddenly closed Sunday said he's bummed but ready to move on.

"It's sad," said Jesse Held. "It was an institution."

The current owner, Theros Restaurant Group, has been looking for a new buyer, according to Held.

Held, who was already working part-time at The Inn, said he will now shift to full-time status at that downtown restaurant. Coincidentally, The Inn is operated by former Town Talk owner Tim Niver. Held said he's been charged with building a new cocktail program there. His list at The Inn will be "on a smaller scale, but more intense" than at the TT, he said.

Under co-owner Aaron Johnson's guidance, the bar at Town Talk was an incubator for talent in the Twin Cities. It spawned successful careers for Nick Kosevich, as well as Birk Stefan Grudem of Bradstreet, and Adam Harness of Prairie Ale House. As Held says, "the alumni is thick."

"It's exciting to know that the Town Talk Diner will live on in the people who worked there," Held said. "If any good is going to come out of this, that would be it."

Tom Horgen

'Some Assembly' retired

A decade before Girl Talk became famous for mashing up disparate rock and hip-hop samples, there was "Some Assembly Required," which also throws in news bites, preacher sermons, kangaroo mating calls -- you name it. Radio K's sonic-wizardry show has been weirding out Twin Cities listeners and scaring many a late-night driver into questioning their sobriety level for 12 years, but it's about to become a thing of the past. "Assembly" host Jon Nelson is signing off with one final show (episode No. 262!) airing Tuesday at 11 p.m. at 104.5 or 100.7 FM, 770 AM or www.radiok.org. To mark the show's finale, he's issuing an appropriately madcap compilation CD titled "50/50," featuring 50 tracks all timed at 50 seconds and made up of at least 50 percent recycled audio material. Get it at www.some-assembly-required.net.

Chris Riemenschneider

Gaiman gets Simpsonized

According to an entry in his blog this week, writer Neil Gaiman ("The Graveyard Book," "The Sandman," "Coraline") spent part of a day doing a voiceover for an episode of "The Simpsons." Modestly and almost certainly inaccurately, he worries that "Probably this is all I shall be remembered for." He is not the first author to appear on the show -- John Updike, Stephen King, Jonathan Franzen and J.K. Rowling, among others, precede him. The episode is called "The Book Job," and Gaiman plays himself. He might be yellow, Gaiman notes, and the episode will air next year.