Thursday news and reviews

Here's a look at what arts stories are making headlines...

Cloud Cult's Scott West paints with rhythm and story - Sheila Regan, City Pages

Scott West may be best known for the live paintings he creates during Cloud Cult concerts, but this weekend he has his own solo show at Tarnish & Gold Gallery featuring studio paintings he's been working on since the beginning of 2010.

Nathan Keepers is 'Fully Committed' at the Jungle - Ed Huyck, City Pages

Eight years ago, a 22-year-old Nathan Keepers auditioned for a play at the Jungle Theater that he'd never even heard of. The one-man tour de force turned it into a hit, and now he is back for another run of Fully Committed.

Telling "the big story": Native voices are strong in Minnesota literature and theater

- Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet

There has been quite a bit of buzz recently about Native American writers, particularly with the landmark production of Native writer Louise Erdrich's Master Butchers Singing Club at the Guthrie Theater. In fact, the Native writing scene here in the Twin Cities has been going strong for quite some time due to a tight, supportive network of artists who encourage and support each other, combined with a number of institutions that have been fostering Native voices.

Peter Rowan's family inspires new album - Britt Robson, Star Tribune

Americana great Peter Rowan "comes home" to bluegrass with songs of innocence, experience.

Open Eye Figure Theatre's "The Cabinet of Wonders" is a typically strange little show

Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet

Curious objects abound in the mysterious home of Christina (The Opener) and Leopold Carcass. Among the rats, wishbones, and contraptions--such as a chalk that's attached via retractable cord reel to Leopold's buttonhole, or a cupboard that is worn like an accordion--the two half crazy family members wander in a Beckett-like world of nonsense and secrets.

Mudshark Premieres This Week at Bryant-Lake Bowl

- Michelle Los, Minneapolis Live Music Examiner

True love means looking at the underbelly of someone (or something) and learning to love all the nitty-gritty, grimy, and occassionally scary (or at least perturbing) secrets you find there.

Walker Art Center spotlights Ousmane Sembene, "father of African film"

Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet

The Walker Art Center is presenting all nine of his feature films in the series Ousmane Sembene: African Stories; they range from intimate character studies to unabashed satire

Hear Ruby Isle's take on 'Welcome to the Jungle'

- Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

The track comes off the synth-pop trio's remake of the entire 'Appetite for Destruction' -- another daring stunt by frontman Mark Mallman.

Audition jitters - Matthew A. Everett, TC Daily Planet

Putting on his playwright's hat, blogger Matthew Everett considers the challenges of casting his play about gays in (and out of) the military.

Allen Ginsberg and the Quiet Librarian - Courtney Gerber, mnartists.org

Terrence Williams, a volunteer tour guide at the Walker Art Center, remembers his lifelong friendship with the legendary Beat poet.

Dar Williams at the Guthrie: Giving and taking

- Brenda Karunya Peters, TC Daily Planet

Guitar clutched close to her body, Dar Williams walked on stage Saturday night at the Guthrie Theater to a room full of cheers and excited applause.

Still standing - Paul Levy, Star Tribune

John Kriesel somehow survived a roadside bombing that claimed his legs and two buddies. Although his story has been often told in the media, it's still hard not to feel something as you read this all-too-real tale of tragedy and hope.

Sara Bareilles, in control at the Pantages

Kate Gallagher, TC Daily Planet

After the popular success of her 2007 single "Love Song," it was fitting for Sara Bareilles to take the stage at the Pantages to "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates. Her second album, Kaleidoscope Heart, was released in September, and Bareilles is hoping to keep making her dreams come true.

Spider John Koerner documentary screens at the Trylon - John Ervin, City Pages

Whatever revolutions Minnesota has seen in rock and folk music for the last five decades, guitarist and blues shouter Spider John Koerner has witnessed them all and, more than likely, helped bring them about.

Outdoing Guy Ritchie at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Asian Film Festival- Jim Brunzell III, TC Daily Planet

After its successful 27th annual Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival in April and Polish Film Festival in August, MN Film Arts is now unveiling another themed film festival--In Search of Asia: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Asian Film Festival.

Late-blooming Broderson - Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune

It wasn't until she was in her 60s that Lucille Broderson began studying creative writing, when she signed up for a class at the University of Minnesota.

"From Here to There: Alec Soth's America" tracks the artist's roaming eye- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Paging through the catalog to Alec Soth's exhibit From Here to There, I wondered why more hasn't been said about the similarities between Soth and Bob Dylan. Both are native Minnesotans, both have a sharp eye for detail and a gift for fluid narrative, and both have a Teflon-like imperviousness to critical deconstruction.

(Note: this is actually a day old, but I missed it yesterday. )

The Boy Friend at Lakeshore Players Theatre

-Claudia Haas, Minneapolis Performing Arts Examiner

The Boy Friend by Sandy Wilson is a musical romp of wide-eyed love and silly flirtations.

Dandy Warhols easily please an easy-to-please crowd at the Fine Line

Natalie Gallagher, TC Daily Planet

For die-hard Dandy Warhols fans, Thursday night's show at the Fine Line was absolutely perfect. It was one of those beautiful occasions where the band knew exactly who they were playing to, the audience knew exactly what they were going to get, and all parties got to have a rollicking good time.

• After five years, State of the Arts comes to a close
• Park Square’s second stage to open Friday
• Most critics find ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a dreamy delight