Concert review: Jimmy Buffett loomed large over Kenny Chesney’s U.S. Bank Stadium show

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The spirit of Jimmy Buffett was in the house Saturday night when Kenny Chesney headlined U.S. Bank Stadium for the third time.

When Chesney’s career started taking off in the late ’90s, he took a page from Buffett’s playbook and began focusing as much of his attention on building a brand as he did making music. He’s created a sort of fantasy land called No Shoes Nation where the water is blue, the bikinis are skimpy and the drink of choice is Chesney’s own Blue Chair Bay rum. And like Buffett, who died in September, Chesney’s vision relies on island escapism vibes and heavy drinking.

As such, it wasn’t as much a concert as it was a mini festival, with some fans on the premises for seven hours. Doors opened at 4 in the afternoon at the Vikings stadium, where Nashville newcomer Megan Moroney and Chesney’s longtime buddy (and Kid Rock’s former DJ) Uncle Kracker played opening sets.

Chesney typically tours with a fairly big act in tow and this time around it was the Zac Brown Band, who previously toured with Chesney in 2013, when they hit Target Field together.

Without the pressure of a headlining set, Zac Brown Band turned in a bit looser and more casual show than usual with Brown grinning throughout. As usual, hits like “Chicken Fried,” “Homegrown” and “Toes” sounded terrific and kept the audience glowing.

Also as usual, the group indulged in a surprising number of covers. Of course they played “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which has long since been a staple of Zac Brown Band concerts. But, oof, some of the other choices were ill-advised. The only reason I can come up with for the garish mashup of “You Can Call Me Al” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is to give the three-piece horn section that augmented the nine-person band a moment to shine. In a wise move, Brown let his bandmate Jimmy De Martini handle the rapping for their tragic take on “Sabotage.”

The band did play their latest single, the perfunctory “Tie Up,” as well as “Pirates and Parrots,” a song they wrote as a tribute to Buffett. And they followed it up with 2011’s “Knee Deep,” a collaboration with Buffett.

Buffett popped up yet again in the lengthy video introduction (and Blue Chair Bay rum advertisement) to Chesney’s set. From there, it was pretty much the same show Chesney performed in the stadium in 2018 and 2022. The set list drew largely from 1999 to 2012, an era where nearly every single he released hit the Top 5 if not No. 1. That’s not the case for Chesney these days. His latest release, “Home,” is his lowest-charting album in decades. The audience gave its sole single, “Take Her Home,” a tepid response at best.

For much of his current tour, Chesney plays just one night a week, so he turned in a high-energy performance full of goofy dancing and athletic sprints up and down the massive stage. But at 56, Chesney has lost some of his vocal power, and he was never the strongest singer to begin with. At times, he sounded flat and skipped notes, most notably during the main set’s final song, “How Forever Feels.”

Buffett held onto his following as he got older and the hits stopped, and despite his issues, it seems Chesney will as well.

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Loons add to best road record in MLS with 2-1 win at Atlanta United

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The last time Minnesota United played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Loons lost a trophy to Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup final in August 2019.

There was no hardware on the line Saturday night, but MNUFC remained the best road team in MLS this season, with a 2-1 win over their 2017 expansion cousins.

Kervin Arriaga welcomed the birth his baby boy on Wednesday and celebrated it with a header goal off a corner kick from his fellow Honduran Joseph Rosales in the 54th minute. In celebration, Arriaga mimicked rocking a baby to sleep and sucked his thumb.

In the 60th minute, Carlos Harvey forced a turnover and started a counter attack; Tani Oluwaseyi perfectly slotted a shot into the bottom right corner of the net. A white-hot Oluwaseyi has a team-high five goals this season.

Atlantą got a goal back in the 82nd minute and the Loons death with some nervy moments. A flick-on header started a breakaway and Saba Lobjanidze scored. Giorgos Giakoumakis put what would have been a game-tying goal off the crossbar in the 91st minute. Thiago Almada had a free kick from 25 yards out, but didn’t challenge Dayne St. Clair on the final kick of the game.

MNUFC (6-2-2, 20 points) improved to 4-1-0 away from St. Paul and have won three straight games. Atlanta United (3-4-3, 12 points) is winless in their previous five.

Loons head coach Eric Ramsay started two strikers in the 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City last Saturday, but aborted that formation at halftime.

Ramsay went back to a two-striker formation in Georgia, but with Sang Bin Jeong next to Tani Oluwaseui instead of Teemu Pukki. The wrinkle Saturday was the Loons set up in a compact 5-4-1 to cut down spaces for Atlanta.

Ramsay continued to make routine halftime changes with Robin Lod, arguably the Loons’ MVP so far this season, coming out at the break and Harvey subbing in.

Each striker had a chance after a half hour. Tani Oluwaseyi was on the ball in the corner of the 18-year box and looking on an open goal after Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan collided with defender Luis Abram and were both on the ground. But Oluwaseyi’s shot went straight to a prone Guzan.

A few minutes later, Giakoumakis drive for a header, but Dayne St. Clair was in a perfect spot to deny the attempt.

Briefly

When his Loons teammates were sleeping in their Atlanta hotel pre-dawn Saturday, AWOL star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso’s account went live on Instagram. Reynoso has been letting down his club since the MLS all-star decided not to return from Argentina after skipping his U.S. green card meeting in his home country in late March. … MNUFC2 goalkeeper Alec Smir was called up for his second MLS game on Saturday; Loons backup Clint Irwin (groin) is sidelined. … Midfielder Hassani Dotson missed his second straight match with a hamstring injury. Ramsay said Friday that Dotson might be able to return for the next game, May 15 versus Los Angeles Galaxy at Allianz Field. … Ramsay was pleased to see Ipswich Town promoted to the English Premier League on Saturday. He has a connection with Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna. They both were at Loughborough University in England in the early 2010s and crossed paths again a few years ago at Manchester United.

Timberwolves out-execute Nuggets late to take Game 1

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One story heading into the West semifinals series between two of the top teams in the NBA centered on clutch time.

For the last two years, Denver has been elite in late-game situations with the contest on the line. And, since Christmas, Minnesota has been one of the worst. Opponents out-scored the Wolves by 27 points per 100 possessions of clutch time after Christmas.

Surely, if Minnesota was in a close bout with the Nuggets, it wouldn’t turn out in the Wolves’ favor.

The opposite turned out to be true. Minnesota out-executed Denver over the closing minutes Saturday in Game 1 to secure a 106-99 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 is Monday in Denver.

Christian Braun buried a corner triple to tie the game at 84-84 with more than six minutes to play Saturday, and it instantly became a contest of who could close best.

The Wolves scored on eight of their next nine possessions.

Certainly lady luck was on their side, as the next possession ended with Naz Reid banking in a 3-point shot as the shot clock expired. But Reid then turned in a putback slam on the next possession and drove baseline for an and-one the possession after that.

Anthony Edwards — who finished with 43 points, seven rebounds and three assists — hit a number of tough jumpers down the stretch and Rudy Gobert baited Nikola Jokic into a lob and then tipped it away to cause a turnover.

Minnesota opened up an 18-4 advantage to start the contest, a continuance of its dominance over Phoenix from the series prior. Denver reminded everyone why its the defending champ, though. The Nuggets immediately responded with a 21-5 run to close the quarter with a lead.

The first half was largely a slugfest. It was 44-40 Denver at the break. Timberwolves outside of Edwards accounted for just 15 points off offense over the first two quarters. Denver didn’t shoot well, either. Jamal Murray didn’t make a shot in the first half.

But the two offenses found their grooves in the third. Karl-Anthony Towns scored nine of Minnesota’s first 12 points to start the half. Mike Conley started splashing triples.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, third from left, drives to the basket as, from left, Denver Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson, center Nikola Jokic and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defend in the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 04: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves blocks a shot by Michael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter in Game One of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 04, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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Walker Art Center’s Keith Haring exhibit lives up to its title: ‘Art Is For Everybody’

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“Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody” is a particularly apt name for the new traveling exhibition of the late artist’s work, which is on display through Sept. 8 at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

“Those are his words,” said his sister Kristen Haring, who visited Minnesota for the opening. “It’s not just a marketing ploy. It’s a common phrase in Keith’s journals. One of his goals was to be accessible.”

The retrospective features more than 100 works and rarely seen archival materials from the artist, who died at the age of 31 from AIDS related complications in 1990. It includes major paintings, sculptures, drawings, video, photographs and source material from Haring’s personal journals.

A Pennsylvania native, Haring rose to fame thanks to the chalk graffiti he drew in New York City subways and while he went on to earn top dollar for his paintings, the prolific artist made his work widely available. Between 1982 and 1989, he produced more than 50 public artworks, many created voluntarily for hospitals, day cares and schools.

“Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody” includes items sold at the artist’s Pop Shop, a store in New York that sold Haring’s work and various memorabilia. The show runs April 27 to Sept. 8, 2024 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. (Carina Lofgren / Walker Art Center)

After Haring stopped his graffiti work — largely because people were taking them and selling them — he opened the Pop Shop, a small retail shop in Soho that sold his art at reasonable prices along with his imagery on everything from t-shirts to buttons to skateboards. As he once told the New York Times: “I could earn more money if I just painted a few things and jacked up the price. My shop is an extension of what I was doing in the subway stations, breaking down the barriers between high and low art.”

Haring’s father taught him how to draw

Kristen Haring, who is on the board of the Keith Haring Foundation, is the youngest of Haring’s three sisters. He was 12 years old when she was born and he took her under his wing. Growing up in what Kristen called a lower-middle class home, the pair shared a room.

“When I was born, he was just starting to make his own identity and break from the family,” she said. “I had no preconceived notion of who he was, that’s how he explained it to me. He was always showing me new things and teaching me new things. We spent a lot of time together. He’d take me in my stroller to the public library. And we continued to maintain a relationship after he moved to New York.”

An untitled Keith Haring work from 1982 features barking dogs, a recurring theme in his work. “Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody” runs April 27 to Sept. 8, 2024 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of the Broad Art Foundation)

Without much disposable income, Keith’s father entertained him and his sisters by playing games based on drawing. “They would draw on the newspaper with crayons and draw on scrap paper. They used to practice drawing together. My father would say ‘How close can you get to drawing a perfect circle?’ or ‘Close your eyes and try drawing something,’ ” Kristen said.

He moved like a dancer

Haring’s work can come across as simplistic, but the exhibit crucially includes video footage of him at work. He did not sketch in advance, but instead would draw a border and then create with a free hand, using paint, chalk, marker and other media. He also worked quickly, translating the image from his head onto the canvas in front of him.

“To see him in motion … I think he moves his body almost the way a dancer does,” Kristen said. “He could paint a three-foot diameter circle in one sweep of his arm. I have heard people who are in the arts say there’s something very special about the quality of his line and the way he could draw like that.”

A series of televisions throughout the exhibit show vintage footage of the artist at work, part of “Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody” which runs April 27 to Sept. 8, 2024 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. (Kameron Herndon / Walker Art Center)

Dancing figures, barking dogs and crawling babies are among the recurring motifs in Haring’s most famous work, but he also addressed any number of societal issues, from environmentalism to religion to race. He was active in the nuclear disarmament and anti-Apartheid movements as well as the HIV/AIDS crisis, which became especially personal after he was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and AIDS the following year.

“If you look at his artwork through the lens of 2024, you would think he was always out (of the closet),” Kristen said. “He wasn’t always out. Outside of a limited circle, he did not have — nor did other queer people have — the space and safety to say he was gay. It really was HIV/AIDS that made him finally take the stance that someone’s got to say something.”

“Art Is for Everybody” includes public service posters he created for National Coming Out Day and the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), the grassroots political group that worked to end the AIDS pandemic. “He was not just doing drawings for ACT UP, he was at the meetings, at the rallies, writing letters and giving money. When he said in an interview with Rolling Stone that he was HIV positive, he had friends who stopped calling him. It took guts and not everyone stood up and responded to him in the most gracious way,” Kristen said.

The Walker Art Center’s Keith Haring exhibit features several examples of his art that addressed the HIV/AIDS crisis, including this 1989 poster for ACT UP. “Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody” runs April 27 to Sept. 8, 2024 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of the Keith Haring Foundation)

The Walker made an impact on Haring

The exhibit acts as a sort of homecoming for Haring, as the Walker commissioned him for a residency in 1984. At that point in his career, his work was in galleries in New York, Europe and Japan. Almost all were commercial venues. The Walker residency changed that.

Deliberately left unfinished as he was in the final days of his battle with AIDS, this painting was one of the last works from Keith Haring. “Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody” runs April 27 to Sept. 8, 2024 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of a private collection)

“It was the first time he was received by an institution on American soil and it meant so much to him to be taken seriously in his own country,” Kristen said. “After he visited the Walker, he kept talking about it to me with a magical quality. That visit made a real impact on him.”

Kristen said her brother had a wonderful spirit and presence. Prior to his death, he established the Keith Haring Foundation, which controls and licenses his work. It has also given away nearly 50 million dollars, with a dual focus on helping to enrich the lives of underprivileged children and supporting organizations that engage in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care.

“He wasn’t a saint and I don’t mean to be unrealistic about the fact he was a complete human being, but he had an amazing energy and real warmth. He was very present. And when he was a 31-year-old who was staring death in the face, he decided the way he wanted to leave the world was by continuing to do charitable projects.”

‘Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody’

When: Through Sept. 8
Where: Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls.
Tickets: $18
More info: 612-375-7600 or walkerart.org

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