Rock the Garden Who: MGMT, OK Go, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and Retribution Gospel Choir Where: The Walker Art Center / Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, 1750 Hennepin Ave. When: Sat., June 19, 3:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Cost: $40 General Admission, $75 Upper Deck (includes access to the beer garden, concert green and street amenities), $150 VIP Skybox Gardens, it seems, were meant to be rocked. From Peter Rabbit shaking things up in Mr. McGregorâÄôs garden to Jay-Z at Madison Square , from Larry Legend making noise at the Boston Garden all the way back to Adam and Eve sticking it to Eden âÄî gardens have been historically helpless to a proverbial âÄúrocking.âÄù With an impending invasion from 2008 poster children MGMT, viral sensations OK Go, Brooklyn soul collective Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and local rockers Retribution Gospel Choir, the WalkerâÄôs vulnerably elegant sculpture garden doesnâÄôt stand a chance. A&EâÄôs got the sweet lowdown on whoâÄôs who at MinneapolisâÄô most kickass outdoor music bonanza. MGMT If you havenâÄôt heard of this Brooklyn twosome, either you were born yesterday, in a barn or both. The psychedelic dopers tore up the airwaves in 2008 with their synth-heavy keg party anthems âÄúKidsâÄù and âÄúTime to Pretend.âÄù Their 2010 follow-up, âÄúCongratulations,âÄù came off as a jumbled byproduct of too much drug use. But, in the music industry, too much drug use is usually preferred to not enough. OK Go These treadmill-dancinâÄô goons are known as the premier band of YouTube America, as their viral-happy video for âÄúHere It Goes AgainâÄù was all over the web pages a few years ago to the point where you wanted to tell them, âÄúOkay, go away.âÄù But with their mature and polished 2010 release âÄúOf the Blue Colour of the Sky,âÄù OK Go is a-ok in A&EâÄôs book. Retribution Gospel Choir A meat-and-potatoes rock âÄònâÄô roll project of LowâÄôs Alan Sparhawk, Retribution Gospel Choir should be the ones to provide the âÄúrockâÄù at Rock the Garden. Weather permitting, you will probably see these sub-poppers rocking in a recklessly shirtless manner. The rock âÄònâÄô roll, though? ThatâÄôs not weather-permitting; thatâÄôs simply going to happen. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings The soul trend of 2010 has been kind to this straight-outta-oldies-radio collective. Sharon Jones has the kind of voice that demands instant respect âÄî the kind thatâÄôll knock you on your knees and have you saying, âÄúYes maâÄôam, whatever you say.âÄù And, if this weekend she requests that the Garden be rocked, there wonâÄôt be one sorry bastard in the crowd with the audacity to disobey this powerful woman.
In-a-gadda-da-Walker
The summer outdoor bonanza has some powerful acts to match the perty setting.
by Mark Brenden
Published June 16, 2010
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