December 2014 Posts

Clover Street Cronies – “Look Up, Look Down that Lonesome Road”

Shot by Jacob Swanson on July 5 at the ruins of the U.S. Lighthouse Station Depot.

2014: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters

2014 Duluth Gig Posters

This is by no means a comprehensive collection of the past year’s gig posters, just 126 of them that caught my eye.

Duluth Trail Condition Report for Dec. 30, 2014

Where in Duluth?

Taylor Swift

Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?

Poll: Best Local Album of 2014 (Elimination Round)

Best Local Album 2014 Nominees

Among the 50+ albums released by Duluth-area musicians in the past year, the nominees are in for Best Local Album of 2014. Log in and click away to help us identify the strongest in the field.

What was the best local album of 2014?

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This poll is now closed. The three albums below will advance to the final round of voting:

Ire Wolves – The Ascetic
Red Mountain – Scowl Lightly
Wolf Blood – self titled

Year In Review: Artist Interviews 2014 — July to December

New work by Elizabeth Kuth

New work by Elizabeth Kuth

All-in-all it has been an exciting year in the local Twin Ports art scene. I was able to interview and share the work of more than 25 artists again this year. My blog post today links to 15 of those interviews that were shared at Ennyman’s Territory from July through December.

This Week: Old Man 2014 meets Baby 2015 and more

Untitled design
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:

We’re in the home stretch of the holiday season. This week, there’s New Year’s Eve, and there’s everything else. First, the everything else — lots of concerts taking place: Dedric Clark and the Social Animals, Aurora Baer, Wolf Blood and Mary Cutrufello are all treading the boards at local venues.

Learn about the food you eat at the Zinema, see some Legos and play some Legos at the Library, skate on some open ice at the Heritage Center, get Fringe-y at Teatro Zuccone and enjoy some Ethiopian coffee and food at Jefferson People’s House.

Next, New Year’s Eve. Click right HERE to see the entire night’s menu of entertainment choices. Still growing at press time, there’s bound to be something for any reveler of any reveling style. From “subdued gathering” to “drunken blowout,” it’s all there.

Balloon View of Duluth/Superior Harbor

Balloon View Harbor, River and Natural Breakwater; Duluth to Left, Superior to Right

This postcard, captioned “Balloon View Harbor, River and Natural Breakwater; Duluth to Left, Superior to Right” raises a few questions. Perhaps the most important one is, how did that tree on the left edge get so tall?

Interviews with Local Artists

End of the year means summing up what’s been happening in 2014 so we can turn forward and face the new year. This morning I posted links to many of the interviews with local artists that I had the privilege of sharing from January through June. This was another great year for arts happenings here in the Twin Ports. Here are some of the people who make it happen.

Samples of her previous work.

Work by Karen Owlsley Nease who has recently transplanted to the North Country from Kansas City.

North Shore Camping Adventure

A late-summer camping adventure — with scenes from Duluth to Grand Portage — shot by Shun Matsuhashi. The song is “Swansea” by Bombay Bicycle Club.

Selective Focus: Light

Marissa Murdy

Marissa Murdy, untitled

Given the perpetual greige skies of Duluth this late-December, looking at last week’s light-themed photos was a necessary pleasure. And, as I can see no reason now to stop being seasonally appropriate, our theme next week will be “resolve.” Again, here’s a word that is capable of many possible valencies: tenacity, commitment, coming into view, and more.

Peaceful Duluth Day

PeacefulDuluthDay

This is a fun little project I’ve been thinking about for a while.  I thought today is as good of a day as any to post.  Did I miss any?

Favorite Duluth Albums of 2014

2014 Album Covers

Yes, it’s time once again to get all judgmental about the local music scene and pick the best albums of the year for further breakdown into a fancy PDD poll. There were at least four-dozen albums released by local musicians in 2014, which means few people have listened to them all. So, how do we begin?

Well, it’s fairly simple. In the comments to this post we ask you, the local brain trust, to mention your favorite albums from the past year, then we use that list to generate the nominees for the poll we’ll run a few days from now. It is acceptable, by the way, to nominate an album that came out late in 2013 and maybe didn’t capture much attention until 2014.

With so much local music being produced, of course, it’s hard for even devotees to feel like they have much of a grasp on everything that’s out there, but note that the list of albums linked above contains numerous links to Bandcamp pages where you can listen to many, many tunes for the low, low price of free. So browse, listen, or just spout off about how good the new album by your best friend’s band is and consider yourself an expert. It’s only rawk and/or roll, after all.

Charlie Parr – 30 Minute Music Hour

The self-taught guitarist from Duluth performs his Piedmont-style blues live in the Wisconsin Public Television studios in Madison.

Chester Bowl Freestyle Cadet’s-eye View

Last year, Chester Bowl added “Freestyle Cadet” to the list of active groups at the ski hill. These kids build and groom the jumps, rails and other stuff located toward the top of the hill. For those who don’t get to the top of the hill, here’s a cadet’s-eye view from James Holak.

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