The Wake

This past Saturday, the Sound Gallery Recording Studio and Warehouse held the Clapperclaw Festival, an independent music and arts festival showcasing a large array of local talent. I walked in just in time to catch the $5 ticket, as opposed to the $12 I would’ve had to pay after 7 PM. This was a pretty effective pricing technique, as it encouraged me to come early and take in the event in its entirety. As soon as I realized the promise of free drinks was not simply a marketing ploy, I proceeded to get in line for my first of (too) many of the night. The space was amazing, and reminded me a lot of the warehouse galleries and music venues I attended while living in Chicago. The event inspired much meandering, as there was a lot to see and do throughout the night. Oh, and again, there were free drinks. The event was in support of Free Arts Minnesota, which aims to mentor and empower youth through art programs. Some of the work of those within the program, all under age 13, was displayed and struck me as rather sophisticated for their age. I remember drawing giant turtles on Mars on my desk back then.

There were two floors which separated the music and fashion show area and the art instillations and film. A lot of the art was impressive, ranging from screenprints to paintings to graffiti using street signs for canvases. From Steve Lang’s intricate collage work to Shawn Dalsen’s graffiti-influenced pieces to Ema Cook’s vibrant and striking animal paintings, it was evident that there is some amazing artwork being produced in the Twin Cities. I caught a couple of the films that were playing throughout the night, though I am often pretty wary of amateur film. Brian Perkin’s We’re Anonym.us was an odd bout of short episodes where everyone wears masks in a supermarket, and then out of nowhere some cartoon figure rides a skateboard and screams or something. It was quite odd and quirky, and I couldn’t really decide it it was good odd or bad odd. I settled on just plain odd. I saw only a few episodes of it, the rest can be seen at the website. Melody Gilbert’s Married At The Mall was a mildly interesting account of couples who wed at the Mall of America. Containing intimate interviews with 8 different couples tying the knot at the mall, I made it through 3 before I moved on. Travis Lou Wavescorx’s Clapperclaw commission Kissing With Teeth was my favorite of the films, a short centering on the relationship between a man and his dog. The thing that made this film great was the dog, who was a surprisingly good actor. The film was sweet, funny, and not afraid to depict a dog taking a crap on screen in the midst of all the cute footage. The dog made an appearance at the showing, basking in the admiration of his fans. Awwww.

Clapperclaw brought a whole night of great music, including rappers Cecil Otter and Big Quarters, rock bands XYZ Affair, Peter Adams and Speed’s The Name, plus DJ sets from DJ Real Talk Radio and Cool Money in between sets. I didn’t catch a lot of the music up til the end, because there was so much else to see and do, but I could sense some real great energy coming from the crowd. Being in a warehouse, there was no stage but a section of the floor with a carpet on it that acted as the stage. By the end of the night, this suggested barrier was not paid much mind by the droves of dancing drunk girls and hand-waving fans. Big Quarters brought the pandemonium as always, though didn’t get as much love from the audience as they deserved. With the energy this duo puts into their music, I expected nothing less than the entire crowd getting down, but that seems to be too much to expect from people. Cecil Otter, surprisingly not drunk, got the spot moving as the final act of the night, dropping introspective raps which culminated the night beautifully. Overall, this was a pretty amazing event; very cheap, free drinks, supported a good cause and exposed me to a huge amount of great local art. Hats off to you, Clapperclaw, and I can’t wait til next year.