Dakota Discography

I’m pretty sure — since I don’t have kids — I actually don’t have to! (Gray hair notwithstanding.)

Until further notice, Dakota Disco is inactive.

by Ruth Milne

The Black Hills Community Theatre box office opens at 7 p.m. tonight for the 7:30 p.m. performance of “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.” I recommend that you arrive early — the super-cheap Wacky Wednesday tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservations or season tickets will be accepted.

Admission is $10 all ages tonight to see the colorful, family-friendly musical, the first in BHCT’s 2009-10 season. Performances (and the box office) are at the BHCT theater space next to Radio Shack in the Rushmore Mall.

Go to www.bhct.org for more information.

The play continues at regular prices through October 4.

by Ruth Milne

When I first heard Jason Mraz on the radio, I was shocked. Almost drove off the highway. Not because I loved the song — wasn’t really my style — but because the song didn’t sound exactly like the song before it, and didn’t sound exactly like the song after it. That’s just not the sort of thing one expects in 2009!

The laid-back singer-songwriter’s Gratitude Cafe Tour takes him through Rapid City next week, when he performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in the Don Barnett Arena at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. All tickets are $39.50 plus fees.

Go to gotmine.com or call 1-800-GOT-MINE for details.

by Ruth Milne

Click here to read what swell things rollingstone.com has to say about the Kickback, a hip rock band that has played here more than once — notably, they opened for Costes in that legendary show at the Dahl a few years back. Unlike Costes, the Kickback kept their pants on.

The reviewer calls them Chicago-based, but we all know about their SoDak roots.

by Ruth Milne

Or coffee, maybe. It’s so hard to tell:

by Ruth Milne

All you kids who made it through the first week of school can celebrate this Friday, Sept. 4, when “Pizza Booking” presents a hardcore concert at 7 p.m. at The Retired Enlisted Association. It’s $9 all ages, and here’s the flyer:

Now, it’s pretty clear that the headliner is The World We Knew, and locals include Benicia and others to be announced. But who the heck is the second band listed? Underwear War? It takes a little work to figure out what that spiky scribble actually says.

To see the band name in a legible font, click to read the rest of this entry: (more…)

by Ruth Milne

This is the final weekend for the Central States Fair — if you haven’t seen it yet, come on down. The midway and carnival close for good at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30.

Click here for the full schedule.

by Ruth Milne

The 64th annual Central States Fair officially kicks off at 3 p.m. today, when the carnival and midway opens. Admission is just $2.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, the fair spills over into downtown Rapid City with a parade at 11 a.m.; during the rest of the fair’s run, which continues through Sunday, Aug. 30, activities will all take place at the Central States Fairgrounds off Lacrosse Street in north Rapid City.

The fair promises ten days of Elvis impersonations, chainsaw art, poker tournaments, PRCA rodeo, country & western music, pig wrestling, and so much more. Click here for the full schedule.

by Ruth Milne

If you stopped by the Firehouse on a Sunday evening this summer, then you’ve had the pleasure of watching the Commodities perform. I happened to catch them last Saturday at Dublin Square, and I was quite impressed.

The first thing you think when you see this band is “Man, these kids are young.” Once they start playing, all you can say is “Wow.”

The group features Aaron Vidal with drums and vocals, Johnny Hastings on guitar, and Connor McGuire on bass. With their moms along as chaperones, they’ve been spending the summer performing at bars and other venues, and the experience shows in their stage presence and professional-quality talent. The Commodities could outperform most bar bands around (and not just because these kids aren’t old enough to drink themselves talentless by the end of the night).

Playing to a crowd of regulars twice their age, as well as a bachelor party, a bachelorette party, and a random guy who gave his underpants to the bride-to-be, the trio entertained them all with a set that included many songs written long, long before the musicians were born. The Commodities can handle a broad range of tunes, from the Monkees to the White Stripes, ZZ Top to John Mayer, as well as a few originals. It’s pretty ballsy to tackle a song that was written by Bob Dylan and most famously performed by Jimi Hendrix, but the Commodities treated “All Along the Watchtower” with the respect it deserved, and the end result was solid.

But the original material was the highlight, especially the acoustic “Seattle,” a rain-soaked love song written just a few days prior. This week the band is Minneapolis recording an album; I’ll be watching for it to appear in the coming months.

The guitarist has to be heard to be believed; his riffs were fantastic. And for the Cars’ “Just What I Needed,” Hastings’ rendition of the keyboard solo on guitar was spot-on, cleanly executed and stylish.

You can catch them at the Firehouse next Sunday, August 23, and then from 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday, August 28, on the McDonald’s stage at the Central States Fair. Admission to the fair is $2.