Summer Music & Movies
, the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s popular annual series of free concerts and film screenings in Loring Park, returns with
Six the Hard Way
, Mondays, July 19-August 23. This year’s series features one of film’s hardest tough guys, Steve McQueen, in six of his most memorable movies from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The films will be paired with a diverse selection of musical acts, including crooner Har Mar Superstar (formerly a Twin Cities resident), the breakdancing R&B love machine who has been creating a national buzz recently from his over-the-top live act. Other musical performers include Twin Cities hip-hoppers Traditional Methods, the melancholy pop of The Owls, local alt-country honky-tonkers Trailer Trash, the jazz-rock fusion of Redstart, and a performance by djTRIO, featuring Walker Artist-in-Residence Christian Marclay with fellow New Yorkers DJ Olive and Toshio Kajiwara. Music begins at 7 pm, and films follow at sunset (approximately 8:45 pm). Local notables spin music between the bands and films. In case of rain, events are canceled, not rescheduled, unless otherwise noted. For more information, call 612.375.7622.
Summer Music & Movies is copresented by the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. Promotional assistance provided by City Pages and Cities 97. Walker without Walls is made possible by generous support from Target.
To hear music from the bands featured in this year’s series, please visit http://calendar.walkerart.org.
SUMMER MUSIC & MOVIES: SIX THE HARD WAY
MONDAYS, JULY 19-AUGUST 23
LORING PARK, FREE
MUSIC BEGINS AT 7 PM; FILMS BEGIN AT DUSK (APPROX. 8:45 PM)
JULY 19*
MUSIC: Har Mar Superstar
Har Mar and Steve McQueen . . . can you feel the love, Minneapolis? Local boy gone big returns home to crank up his cheeky R&B love machine with a one-man performance that slides between Sly, Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Captain Underpants. Get a salacious groove on with the portly Casanova NME magazine named “Rock and Roll Man of the Year 2004.”
DJ: Peter Scholtes
MOVIE: The Thomas Crown Affair
Directed by Norman Jewison
McQueen stars as Thomas Crown, the mastermind behind a risky bank heist, and Faye Dunaway plays insurance investigator Vicky Anderson, whose job it is to nail him. Featuring high-’60s style and design, the film is complemented by multiscreen effects and an amazing score by Michel Legrand. 1968, U.S., color, 16mm, 102 minutes.
*Note: In the event of rain, this band and film will be moved to the Woman’s Club Auditorium, 410 Oak Grove Street.
JULY 26
MUSIC: Traditional Methods
Traditional Methods revives the lost art of live hip-hop in its rawest old-skool forms while infusing the best of its newest directions. New, Sarah White, and Shiz mix conscious lyrics and the pure chops of live instrumentation in their take-no-prisoners performances—further proof that national hype about the Twin Cities’ hip-hop scene is justified and just beginning. Sean McPherson (bass), Kevin Hunt (drums), Josh Peterson (guitar), and Tasha Barron (keys).
DJ: Tony Paul
MOVIE: Baby, the Rain Must Fall
Directed by Robert Mulligan
After his release from prison, Henry Thomas (McQueen) rejoins his wife (Lee Remick) and daughter, but the constraints brought on by family life and his own restlessness cause him to violate his parole by joining a rock band. 1965, U.S., BW, 16mm, 100 minutes.
AUGUST 2
MUSIC: The Owls
The perfect sound track for modern living—deceptively lush vocals and supple arrangements with lyrics that remind us we all balance on life’s razor-sharp edges. Having been compared to the shoe-gazey Slowdive and heartbreaker Cat Power, this Minneapolis quartet takes it one step further, injecting a feather-light shot of sweetness into their melancholic pop. Allison LaBonne, Maria May, and the Hang Ups’ Brian Tighe (vocals, guitar, bass, keys) and John Jerry (drums).
DJ: Leah Nelson
MOVIE: Love with the Proper Stranger
Directed by Robert Mulligan
Remarkably racy for the era, this film featured a topic unfamiliar in major Hollywood films at the time: Angie (Natalie Wood), a Macy’s salesperson, becomes pregnant after a one-night fling with shifty musician Rocky (McQueen) and decides to schedule an abortion. Through family interventions and cleared-up misunderstandings, the two start to develop deep feelings for one another. With Edie Adams, Tom Bosley, and Vic Tayback. 1963, U.S., BW, 16mm, 102 minutes.
AUGUST 9
MUSIC: Trailer Trash
Two-step the evening away to the twang and twist of Minneapolis’ beloved trailer-court kingpins. Nate Dugan and his band of honky-tonkers have been a local alt-country staple for more than a decade. Dugan (guitar, vocals), Tyrone Broughton (pedal steel), Jon Duncan (keyboards, accordion), Dan Gaarder (guitar), Keely Lane (drums), and Andy Olsen (bass).
DJ: Shelley Miller
MOVIE: Bullitt
Directed by Peter Yates
Bullitt (McQueen), a San Francisco police officer, battles the mob to discover who killed the witness in his protection. McQueen handles all of the excitement, including one of the most famous car chases in the history of cinema, with steely coolness. Nothing distracts him from his resolve, not even his girlfriend (Jacqueline Bisset). With Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall, and Norman Fell. 1968, U.S., color, 16mm, 113 minutes.
AUGUST 16
MUSIC: Redstart
Wendy Lewis and her all-star lineup offer potent lyricism and sumptuous sonics that are layered and then pulled apart through jazz-tinged rock riffs. Redstart members sport impressive pedigrees and have been or remain involved in other successful endeavors such as Fog, Jazz Dogs, Happy Apple, The Melismatics, and Rhea Valentine, to name a few. Lewis (voice, guitar), Martin Dosh (drums), Michael Lewis (upright bass), Jeremy Ylvisaker (guitar), and Greg Lewis (horns).
DJ: Marianne Combs
MOVIE: The Getaway
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Playing Doc and Carol, husband and wife on the lam, McQueen and Ali MacGraw fell in love on the set of this film. Having been denied parole, Doc cuts a deal with a crooked politician to perform a bank heist in exchange for his freedom. Carol helps with the arrangements, but with all the double- and triple-crossing going on, they don’t know who to trust. With Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Slim Pickens, and Bo Hopkins. 1972, U.S., color, 16mm, 122 minutes.
AUGUST 23*
MUSIC: djTRIO (Christian Marclay/DJ Olive/Toshio Kajiwara)
A rare free performance by New York–based turntablist/visual artist Christian Marclay (Walker artist-in-residence). Marclay’s forward-thinking trio takes turn-tablism beyond scratch beats into a haunting found-sound experiment rooted in the context of free-improvisation. djTRIO, which features the deejay as an instrumentalist working collectively in a group, has performed at festivals and museums around the world. Marclay also performs at the Triple Rock Social Club on Saturday, August 21, with George Cartwright, Andrew Broder, and others.
DJ: Chris Strouth
MOVIE: The Magnificent Seven
Directed by John Sturges
This American adaptation of the Japanese classic Seven Samurai (directed by Akira Kurosawa) is set in an impoverished Mexican backwater. The villagers hire seven gunslingers to protect them from marauding bandits. McQueen plays Vin, a drifter who joins the others in this classic Western. With Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Horst Buchholz. 1960, U.S., color, 16mm, 128 minutes.
