Paramount preps for busy spring weekend

Published 10:13 am Thursday, March 29, 2012

The St. Cloud-based Fabulous Armadillos and Collective Unconscious team up to perform the Eagles tribute “Takin’ It To The Limit” at the Paramount Theatre this Saturday. — Photo provided

Austin has a jam-packed weekend at the Paramount Theatre.

A supergroup of sorts is bound to make you lose your mind Saturday.

“Takin’ It To The Limit,” an Eagles tribute show, will come to the Paramount courtesy of the Fabulous Armadillos and Collective Unconscious. Both St. Cloud-based bands have toured the state on and off for almost two years showcasing some of The Eagles’ greatest hits.

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“There probably won’t be any songs you don’t know,” said Paul Diethelm of the Fabulous Armadillos. Diethelm helped form the Armadillos about seven years ago, doing about four shows a year based on musical themes like Woodstock and ’80s music. In contrast, Collective Unconscious is a group that loves to perform whole album shows, like covering Abbey Road.

“We’ve all known each other for a long time,” Diethelm said. “We just happened to play in different groups.”

The two are combining for a nine-man show in Austin this weekend. If you’re ready for a peaceful easy feeling, make sure to get tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show this Saturday. Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door and $5 for students. The supergroup will make sure there’s no wasted time.

“It’s a match made in Heaven,” Diethelm said. “No, wait … it’s a match made in Hell. You know, ‘Hell Freezes Over?’”

The Berrymans return

On Friday, the night before the Eagles tribute, The Berrymans will take the stage at 7:30 p.m., celebrating their return trip to Austin with some new and classic folksy material during a free concert. The duo of Lou and Peter Berryman have spent 35 years touring around, having fun, and growing together as musicians. They’ve been featured on plenty of shows, and many Minnesotans will know them from their stints on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”

“We still love it very much,” Lou said of her and Peter’s musical partnership.

The two met in high school when they were 17 and helped each other bring out the best in their musical talent. Lou describes Peter as a cross between Will Rogers and Jacque Rouges, since he writes the lyrics for their songs. Lou works on the instrumentation citing her love of 20th century showtunes, musicals, piano pieces and classical music as influences.

All of that gets mixed into the folksy, homemade sound the Berrymans are known for.

“We are definitely rooted in folk music,” Lou said.

They return to Austin for the third or fourth time in their career and are excited to be back at the Paramount.

“We have played in Austin … we love playing in Minnesota,” Lou said.

The concert is free and is sponsored by Southeastern Minnesota Libraries Cooperating.