"Sample Night Live" at the History Theatre

I can't believe it's been two years since I've been to Sample Night Live, the variety show held the first Wednesday of every month at the History Theatre that gives audiences a chance to sample local art (performance and visual). I attended the audience favorites show in December of 2010 and have always meant to go back, but something always comes up. So when my friend The Playbill Collector told me she was able to get some blogger tickets to this year's audience favorites show, I was happy to go along. And even happier to see that the host would once again be Loungeasaurus Rex (alter ego of the multi-talented Tom Reed). He never fails to entertain with his trademark mix of comedy, ad lib, crowd interaction, and cheesy (but good) lounge singing, all while clutching his notes in his multi-ringed hands. When an audience member told Loungeasaurus that he used to build semi-conductors, he made up a silly and clever song on the spot about semi-conductors. But not the usual definition, rather it became a song about a conductor who was not yet a full conductor. Hilarious.

But enough about the host. On to the performances. At each month's show, the audience picks their favorite act among the musicians, actors, poets, puppeteers, etc. Those winners are invited back in December, where the year's favorite is selected. The candidates include (click on each artist's name to find out more about them):

• A couple of talented guitar players - Greg Herriges, impressive on multiple stringed instruments (who was also among the favorites in 2010), and Cory Wong, who played a couple of beautiful originals (you know he's a good guitar player because he spent not a little time tuning his guitar between songs, or as he said, playing the traditional Chinese song tu ning).
• A totally unique duo of oboe and upright bass, the Vecchione/Erdahl Duo, who were, as they said, "not as bad as I expected." In fact, they're quite delightful despite, or perhaps because of, the unexpected combination. They played in support of Minnesota Orchestra musicians.
• A little humor brought to us by puppeteer Margo McCreary and Jack the dog (who was interested in the same gross things that most dogs are interested in), and the very funny stand-up comedian Amber Preston, whose comedy is local and relatable and clever, told in an entertaining conversational style.
• A musician in a category all his own - the one-man band Crankshaft. Alex Larson plays guitar, drums (with his feet), harmonica and kazoo, and sings (covers and originals), and sounds pretty awesome, in a rootsy, bluesy, rockabilly sort of way. He was my pick for favorite of the night; I really appreciate his creativity and ingenuity in creating a complete sound all his own.
• The more traditional multi-person band was represented by Electric Children, a very cool bluesy five-person band (with dancers), and the crazy Irish pub band The Dregs (also returning from the 2010 show), who took advantage of the unrated second act by turning the very lovely Christmas song "Do You Hear What I Hear" into the less lovely but much funnier "Do You Have What I Have," a song about STDs.
• The strange and funny four-person comedy improv group Meat and Cheese, who did a hilarious skit in which two members spoke in unison, all improv. Crazy fun.
• The spoken word of Maximum Verbosity, who told a twisted Christmas story (and really, aren't they all a little twisted, what with the elves and all?).
• Two folky singer/songwriter/guitar players who would be right at home at Storyhill Fest, the modern-day hippie Heatherlyn (another returnee from the 2010 audience favorites show), and the night's winner, Sarah Morris, whose lovely voice would have easily filled the theater without the aid of amplification.
• And of course, I must also mention the Sample Night Live house band, The Smarts, keeping the crowd entertained with jazzy holiday favorites before the show, during intermission, and at the end while the votes were being counted (and the winner is - the Von Trapp Family Singers... sorry, wrong variety show).

I very much enjoyed my second time at Sample Night Live, and I vow not to let another two years go by before going back. Yes, some acts were better than others, but that's the beautiful thing about Sample Night - if there's an artist you don't like, take heart, it'll be over in seven minutes, and then there will be another artist onstage, and you just might discover a new favorite. In addition to the diverse talent onstage, visual artists also present their work for sale in the lobby. And did I mention the prizes? While I didn't win, someone in my group did, as more than a dozen prizes were given out in the door raffle.

A night like this makes me appreciate artists and the amazing creativity that they display. What makes someone think - "let's pair an oboe with an upright bass," or, "I know, I'll play the guitar, two drums, cymbals, tambourine, and a harmonica all at the same time, and sound really awesome doing it," or, "I'm going give voice to a lumpy dog puppet that's as interested in smelling people's butts as real dogs are," or, "let's attempt so speak in unison even though I have no idea what you're going to say," or, "I can slick back my hair, put on a cheesy 70s suit, make up a song on the spot, and make people laugh."  Artists boggle my mind, and make me happy to live in the same world they do.

"Sample Night Live" at the History Theatre

“Art in a trial size.” That’s the motto for Sample Night Live, which is held the first Wednesday of every month at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul. It allows audience members to sample the work of local artists in one evening for one low price. Visual artists display their work in the lobby, and about a dozen performing artists take part in the evening’s program. Last night was the “Audience Favorites Show” – the audience votes on their favorite performance every month and the winners are invited back for the December show.

Sample Night Live is hosted by Lounge-asaurus Rex (aka Tom Reed), a singer/comedian/emcee in a 70s lounge-singer suit, complete with mustache and big sunglasses.  He's a funny and entertaining host, informing the audience about the performers and providing "seamless transitions" between acts.  He made up several songs on the spot; I think my favorite was "Code Monkey."  Accompanying him and several of the musicians was the house band, The Smarts.  They played before the show and during intermission; last night they did a collection of jazzy Holiday standards and originals.  They play an impressive number of instruments for just four men!

The family friendly Act I began with a performance by American Idol contestant Anthony Fedorov, who is starring in the upcoming Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Ordway Center, along with a talented local cast.  Anthony sang "Close Every Door to Me" from the show and did a beautiful job.  I already have my ticket as part of my season package at the Ordway and I'm looking forward to the show! [Update: read my review of the show.]

The first act also included a trio of children's act, and the kids in the audience enjoyed them, as did I.  First was a band called Funkasaurus-Rex (no relation to Lounge-asaurus) consisting of a tuba, trumpet, bass guitar, and drums.  The band is part of the Perpich Center for Arts Education and played a medley of songs while entertaining the crowd.  The magicians from Dew Dah Magic also performed - a magician and his two adorable kids who performed Houdini's Metamorphosis trick.  The final kids' act was my favorite - two clowns from Theatre of Fools, aka "Vaudeville for the 21st Century."  They did a few tricks and managed to communicate and entertain without saying a word.

Three musical acts rounded out the first half of the show.  Greg Herriges plays guitar and other instruments in a style he calls "world/whirled music."  He won audience favorite of the night, and hence, the year.  I don't disagree with the choice; he's very talented.  The other two acts were Scandinavian music ensembles.  The five-person Saana Ensemble sings traditional Finnish music (the members are originally from Finland), and the duo Kaivama, Sara Pajunen on fiddle and Jonathan Rundman guitar/harmonium, performs traditional and original Nordic tunes.  Both groups made beautiful music.

After intermission, Act II began with a presentation from MNTV, which airs short films from Minnesota filmmakers on public television.  I recognized a few local actors in some of the clips.  Eighteen films will be shown, beginning on December 12 on TPT2 (check your local listings).  The rest of the performers were musicians with one exception - the poet Khary Jackson aka 6 is 9.  I don't know anything about poetry slams or the art of spoken word, but it was pretty cool.  The Artists' Quarter in St. Paul hosts a poetry slam every Monday night; I might have to check it out sometime.

The first musician of the second act was the jazzy cool Christine Rosholt.  Accompanied by The Smarts, she sang a few Holiday songs including one of my favorites, "Baby it's Cold Outside."  She has a strong and beautiful voice and a cool style.  Julie Johnson and the No-Accounts are a folk trio consisting of Julie Johnson on flute/bass flute, Doug Otto on vocals/guitar, and Drew Druckrey on guitar/resonator guitar/vocals/mandolin.  Their current focus is on roots music from right here in Minnesota.  As a lover of folk music and Minnesota, I think this is a pretty cool thing!  According to their website, the "first full recording of composition/songs based on Minnesota folk music" comes out next year, and I'll be watching for it.

How can I describe The Dregs?  I'll let them do it: "Ireland's shame and a menace to sobriety, The Dregs are a band of Scandinavian-Irish posers who bring their own merry flavor of folk music to the pubs and taverns of Minnesota. With staggering behavior, these six sorry sots perform intoxicating ballads, lush anthems, and sea shanties that'll have you three sheets to the wind! So pour yourself a cold one, and get ready for a stomping, clapping, spitting, swearing, mug-swinging, good time!"  They're a lot of fun, and would probably be even more fun after a pint or two of Guinness.  The final act of the evening was a folk singer/songwriter that seemed to step right out of the 60s, Heatherlyn.  She played a couple of originals inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., accompanied by The Smarts.

I really enjoyed my first experience at Sample Night Live and will definitely be going back.  I would like to see more theater samples, because that's my thing (obviously).  It's impossible to get to all of the many wonderful theaters in the Twin Cities (although I do my best), so it would be nice to get a taste and see which ones I want to see more of.  I'll be keeping an eye on their website (you can also follow them on facebook) to see what I can sample next.  Anything that supports the community of artists in this town is OK by me.