Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo Part of a new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Exhibit
Over the weekend, A to Z was in Cleveland and headed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. To her delight, there was a new exhibit on display called Kick Out the Jams, which focused exclusively on music from the Midwest. Our fair region was well-represented, in the form of a poster from Uncle Tupelo's Cicero's days, the Nudie suit Jeff Tweedy wore on Saturday Night Live, a recent Son Volt poster and a guitar favored by the late Jay Bennett. Several pages of hand-written Sheryl Crow lyrics and memorabilia from REO Speedwagon were also part of the display. It was very cool to see St. Louis and the surrounding areas honored alongside other great musicians such as the Replacements, Husker Du and John Mellencamp.
Annie Zaleski Jeff Tweedy at the Pageant, 2008
Weirdly enough, though, then A to Z ran into Bruce Springsteen. No, seriously -- the Boss himself was at the Rock Hall.
The museum has had an exhibit dedicated to Springsteen's life and career on its top two floors for several years now, and yesterday was its final day on display. Apparently, the Boss hadn't yet seen it, and so he showed up to check it out before it's taken down. Springsteen, museum curator Jim Henke, several other Rock Hall employees and what looked like pals of Bruce walked around the exhibit, checking out the photos, song lyrics, articles, guitars and other bits of ephemera. (Several patrons did double-takes when they realized who it was walking around.)
It's a testament to Springsteen that the exhibit wasn't closed off just for him, and he didn't arrive after hours to check it out; he walked around the memorabilia just like anyone else. (Well, somewhat: He understandably had comments to make about several of the items on display, which is, you know, kind of mind-blowing.) Before the exhibit closed, he took time out to take photos and shake hands with fans, who had kept respectful distance as he toured.
It certainly made for an eventful Sunday -- one that will long put a smile on A to Z's face.
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