The Concert Starts... Tomorrow

Adding to the inconsistency that makes up Easter, tomorrow night I am going to see Steve Earle at First Avenue. I'm going with Emily's uncle and a few of his friends. Since I've lived here, I haven't missed a Steve Earle in Minneapolis show yet (or at least to my knowledge). But I almost missed this one. It was Emily's uncle who told me about the show and his friend who bought me a ticket. Phew. This is why it pays to have friends who are cooler than you are!

He's touring after putting out The Revolution Starts... Now, required cathartic listening for anyone still smarting from Bush's re-election. If you can listen to that album while reading a Jim Hightower book, it is possible to feel optomistic about the power of the people, and even an individual, to change the direction of this country.

A preview of tomorrow night's show from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

When he won a Grammy last month for best contemporary folk album for his relentlessly political "The Revolution Starts ... Now," Earle was resolute about espousing his leftist beliefs and making his gigs be "Commiseration Grand Central" for people disillusioned by the presidential election. "I know why I'm out there singing every night more than I have at any other time in my life," he said. "If I'm not [angering] the New York Post and Fox News, I'm not doing my job." Moorer's voice is prettier but no less fearless as she sings about life's misfortunes. She'll also sing backup for Earle, who is her new beau.