W♥M

R.I.P. Mike Peters (The Alarm)

(Read more Musicians who died in 2025)

R.I.P. Mike Peters

Marching On in the Presence of Love--

Mike Peters MBE, the legendary Welsh frontman of rock band The Alarm and a tireless global advocate for blood cancer patients, has died at the age of 66 following a 30-year fight with various forms of the disease.

A career that spanned over five decades, Peters’ voice spoke for both the defiant and the hopeful, during his time with the band in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and his very prolific output in the years following.

Last April, just before a scheduled 50-date US tour (that we were so looking forward to), Peters was diagnosed with Richter’s Syndrome, an aggressive form of lymphoma, and despite extensive treatment at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, the cancer continued progressing until the end.

Peters was born in Prestatyn, Wales on February 25, 1959, and grew up with future Alarm band member Eddie MacDonald as a best friend. In school, he fronted an early band called Hairy Hippie to perform at his sister’s birthday doing covers, with his first proper band coming after, called The Toilets, inspired after seeing the Sex Pistols perform in 1976.

Peters and MacDonald, along with Dave Sharp and Nigel Twist would form a band called Seventeen in 1978, releasing a single the following year. The lineup would transform into the classic lineup of The Alarm (named after a Toilets song Peters penned) with the band getting signed by IRS Records and moving to London.

The band’s first single was “Unsafe Building” in 1981 on their own label, and meeting U2’s agent early on, would prove fruitful, as the bands played together at London’s Lyceum in December 1981 and the Alarm would go on to open the U2’s breakthrough War Tour, less than two years later.

“Sixty-Eight Guns” was the highest-charting UK single- just one of so many classic songs that would follow- “Marching On”; “Absolute Reality”; “The Stand”; “Spirit of ‘76”; “Rain in the Summertime”; “Sold Me Down the River”; and so many more songs of urgency and spirit.

Peters would announce his departure from the band in 1991, famously on stage at Brixton Academy, and the four would reunite only once more, coaxed by a VH-1 program over a decade later, for a one-off reunion.

Post-Alarm, Peter’s musical output only increased and this, despite getting that initial lymphoma diagnosis in 1995, just ahead of releasing his second solo album. Instead of cowering him, his condition empowered Peters further, both as a musician and a resilient advocate with a mission to help others.

In February 2004, Peters fooled the music world by blindly releasing the single”45 RPM” under the name The Poppy Fields, recruiting a much younger band to lip-sync the song in the video and the song charted in the Top 30, before the truth was revealed. As his core fan base grew, many live and limited releases were issued and fans pilgrimaged annually to Llandudno, Wales for “The Gathering” – a weekend event in celebration of the man and his music.

In 2005, Peters discovered that he was now suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia and at the same time, started a cancer foundation called Love Hope Strength (named after “Strength” lyrics) to help with the fight. The charity has since added over 250,000 people to the global stem cell registry and helped secure thousands of potential life-saving matches for patients worldwide.

In 2007, 38 musicians (including members of The Fixx, Stray Cats, and Squeeze) including Peters made a 14-day trek to the base camp at Mount Everest to perform the highest concert on land to raise cancer awareness and money to fight cancer, which was also made into a documentary.

The lymphocytic leukemia would return in 2015 before briefly going into into remission, with Peters still fighting, working and touring along with the way (he was even Big Country’s lead singer for a time!) Later projects included those with The Poets of Justice (with his wife on keyboards) re-imagining previous Alarm albums and reforming a new version of the band for more original music and live shows.

Peters is survived by his wife of 39 years, Jules (herself a cancer survivor as well) and their sons, Dylan and Evan.

“I'm walking in the presence of love, I'm walking in the seven heavens
I'm alive with the agony, the ecstasy, strive for the pleasure and the pain
I'm walking in the presence of love” – Mike Peters, The Alarm- “Presence of Love”

John C ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com

Flashback: Suede at the Fillmore, San Francisco (05 Mar 1995)

Suede at The Fillmore (05 Mar 1995) Suede Setlist This Hollywood Life We Are the Pigs Killing of a Flashboy Animal Nitrate The Wild Ones Pantomime Horse The Drowners Metal Mickey The Asphalt World The 2 of Us So Young Heroine New Generation Still Life My Dark Star Dog Man Star 1995 Tour Dates Feb 20 1995 Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI Feb 10 1995 WUST Radio Music Hall, Washington, DC Feb 11 1995 The Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA Feb 12 1995 Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI Feb 14 1995 Grand Ballroom, New York, NY Feb 15 1995 Axis, Boston, MA Feb 21 1995 Suede at Metro, Chicago, IL Feb 22 1995 Otherworld, St. Louis, MO Feb 24 1995 Heaven @ The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA Feb 26 1995 Trees, Dallas, TX Feb 26 1995 Numbers, Houston, TX Feb 26 1995 Bill's Records, Dallas, TX Mar 2 1995 American Legion Hall, Los Angeles, CA Mar 5 1995 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA Read More Suede I'm sorry, but I will never refer to Suede as "The London Suede", which they are known in the U.S. It's nice to see that the band is doing well with their release of Bloodsports …

One of the hardest and saddest things during my recent move to Florida was that I had to get rid of some things. Some things were easy to let go, such as CD-Rom/backup, but some things like old magazines, fanzines, and personal correspondences were much harder to throw out.

Select Magazine (April 1993)

Old books and magazines were first to go, I just couldn’t justify bringing them to the new home. I do miss my old Select Magazines, such as the one from April 1993 featuring Suede on its cover. Before they even released their album, no less! The band was burning hot at the time.

Needless to say, I followed the band and by the time I saw them in 1995 (I was underage in 1993 when they first came to America), singer Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler had a fight and Butler left the band. Butler’s replacement was Richard Oakes, who was at the time only 17 years old.

I honestly don’t remember much from the Fillmore show, in San Francisco, other than I remember the stage was dark with backlight and fog and the band walked on stage to a recording of “Introducing the Band”. I was in the front; my friends Melinda (RIP) and Shawn was in attendance. And I guess our friends from Sacramento: Nicole, Natasha, and Phil, were also in attendance (as described from Mel). We actually met Nicole when Oasis played Sacramento in 1994. From what I can remember, I believe they were doing fanzines about Morrissey (The Morri’Zine) and Suede (Sway).

Based on the concert poster, it looks like Chicago’s alternative band Catherine opened the show. The band broke up in 1998.

SF Gate, written by Barry Walters, described the show, “What I failed to take into account is how much San Francisco loves Suede. (The band was forced into a legal settlement with a women's music singer who has a copyright on the name Suede and henceforth has to call itself the London Suede in North America - but I can't do it.) The group has already been quoted as saying that its Slim's and Warfield gigs are among its wildest ever. It couldn't have been a coincidence that Suede chose to end its tour Sunday night at the Fillmore, its third sellout.”

Anyway, there was a special after-party, which I will leave Melinda to describe, via her Stupid Shiny Black Shoes fanzine below. Please note that I may have lost the fanzine during the chaos of my move. I have the old photo of the photo gallery from the centerfold of the fanzine, which I will present below as well. Most photos were taken by me and shows Melinda, Me, Mark, Shawn, and Nicole from 1995. Alexandrea was my friend from Portland (who later moved to New York) and she appeared on the Jerry Springer Show.

And yes, Mel and I went to Manchester, doing our Morrissey pilgrimage to the Sanford Lads Club. All those years of seeing it on The Smiths album, I thought it was green… imagine my surprise when it’s bright red!

I know Mark and Alexandrea are still around, maybe I’ll send a random hello. Still friends with Shawn. Lost contact with Nicole. Melinda died in 2010, God, has it really been that long? Still misses her.

>>>
RESCUE ME FROM THIS HOLLYWOOD LIFE!
written by Melinda for Stupid Shiny Black Shoes

This is the true story of the cheesiest, starf***er rock event I've ever witness -- Suede at the San Francisco Fillmore (05 March 1995). I had a nice chat with bassist Mat Osman before soundcheck. I found out some interesting things about Mat and other members of the band. Mat claims to dig on Snoop Doggy Snoopy Doggsh*** whatever. He also told us that Suede has jammed with Metallica and that they are good friends.

Then we played a game where we rapidly tossed out names of contemporary pop music artists and he would give his candid opinion. I was surprised at the kind of music Osman professed to like. Suede have got this reputation as an "alternative" band. So I incredulously threw out labelmate, "Mariah Carey?" Mat said, "Well, she's better than f***king Salad." I informed him that we couldn't broadcast this interview if he was going to go on using such language. So he amended his former pronouncement, "She's better than bothering Salad." Dear boy!

I asked Mat Osman what Brett Anderson's favorite drug was. Mat first answered that it was caffeine. Then he said that no, it has to be liquor. Osman said that Anderson was a hopeless alcoholic. Later on when Mat wasn't around, I had to ask Brett Anderson himself what his favorite drug was. He unhesitatingly responded, "Coffee." I believe it from the way he was writhing and generally spastically freakin' out on stage. At the time when I asked the question he was drinking beer. Mat also said that Brett had a fetish for pliers and medieval torture devices. So, they fancied the line in Pulp Fiction about "getting' medieval on yo' ass."

Matt also told us about his favorite scene from the Doors film and the Alex Cox film "Sid and Nancy," especially the one where Johnny Rotten derides the idiotic journalist on the bus-- "stupid c***." He had a wicked sense of humor. He also joked that Smiths fans were the saddest and worst types. He winked and said that he could spot them miles away. The newest member of the band, Little Dick, supposedly has a cat named Morrissey.

At the soundcheck I met two types of parasitic hanger-ons in rock 'n roll. The worst aspect of them had to be their obviously fake British accents. One was a nice woman who failed at modeling and so turned to a dubious career in music journalism. The other was a guy, Simon's Pimp (SP) dripping with drama. Had had a hilarious t-shirt that said something like, "Scream Monster Fag." He claimed to be really tight with the drummer, Simon. SP whooped it up, cheering loudly after a very moving rendition of "The Wild Ones" during soundcheck. Most of the time, Brett would sing the first couple of verses and then move off to the side of the stage and navel gaze. They even performed a Doors song for soundcheck, that "Love Me Time Times" song!

After the soundcheck, we picked up the complimentary pair of tickets and two aftershow party passes. Unfortunately, this left Shawn out… so far. We went to a smelly and none-too-clean KFC right down the street from the Fillmore. Shawn and Vu played magic cards. I saw two Latino transvestites ordering 27 pieces of chicken and some side dishes. I marked the student paper until 10pm. Then we went to the Fillmore, but we still couldn't avoid hearing the last songs of the opening act.

We joined up with Nicole, Natasha, and Phil. At the same time everyone was trying to avoid personal enemies and scum who were also at this concert. Then it turned out that SP, the guy I met at soundcheck, knew members of our party. He said he was in charge of procuring some good lays for Simon. SP bragged that he had 10 aftershow passes. He gave our friend Shawn the once over and asked, "How would you like to go backstage? Are you straight?" Shawn looked up and answered. My eyes must have bulged when he denied being straight. Then I smiled. After he managed to score the pass, we all gathered round and Shawn sheepishly explained that it happened so fast that he thought SP was asking if he were gay, to which he replied no. Then SP came up to Shawn and said, "Oooh, you're Simon's type." We ribbed Shawn about it, but then he became rather irritable. It was really nothing.

As Wesley Willis would have said, "The show was great. The rock and roll was perfect. The rock and roll was excellent. The concert was a jam. It was goin' on!" It was more bare and stripped down than the show last year at the Warfield, but it was also more energetic. Brett was twisting and grinding while the others, especially Richard Oakes, were rocking out and madly flipping their long hair. No more fey mystic dances learned from precious old men in the third world! No more annoying stage lighting (the light shining into the audience during "Pantomime Horse" at the Warfield was unforgivable). I thought they would be exhausted by their last U.S. show, but they were in tight and top form.

Simon, the drummer, showed up at the aftershow party and graciously chatted with Shawn. He was not the gross, drooling sex maniac Shawn feared that he might be. Simon seemed to be like a really nice and jolly version of Johnny Rotten. He had reddish hair poking out in all directions and was maniacally good-natured. SP simpered up to join the nice tête-à-tête they were having and leeringly said of Shawn, "He's one of my boys." All of Suede were there except for Mat, because he was feeling ill. They were bombarded by people wanting to have them sign things and pose for photographs.

Brett Anderson was sitting in the corner talking to one of the members of Metallica, Kirk Hammett. Only one person out of the roomful of about 60 Suede fans asked for Kirk's autograph. I was surprised that anyone there knew who he was. Brett was really sunken and barely seemed to be able to raise his wrist to scrawl his sig over an album cover. He seemed like a bored and tired old git. I could have just caught him at the low moment; he looked really out of it. Too many downers probably.

Stupid Shiny Black Shoes (1995)

Read more Flashback

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

We♥KC! May 5-8, 2025 Upcoming concerts / shows (Kansas City, MO / Lawrence KS)

Read More Future Islands Future Islands will be rocking out First Avenue this Sunday. Jenny Besetzt to open this sold-out show. 7pm, $25/Sold Out. …

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

Plenty of concert news, but not from around here--

Which is both good and bad, because we don’t need the drama, but would appreciate more acts coming through.

Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter Tour” is about kick off in LA, and ticket prices have been dropping, Metric has dropped out of the Bloc Party co-headlining tour (replaced by Blonde Redhead), R&B singer Kehlani had her concert at Cornell canceled due to politics, and this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced on “American Idol” (cheesy, but we’ll try and be in LA for the ceremony and concert anyway.). Quiet around here, but not for long-

Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming week from May 5th-8th.

(ticket hyperlinks are embedded in each show’s headline)

MONDAY MAY 5

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, May 5, Music Hall, Sold Out

Australian legends Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are on the road, making their first North American appearances since 2018, and are in support of newest record, “Wild God” which debuted at No. 5 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart and No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart down under.

The Wild God Tour started on April 15 in Boston with the KC date being on the back half of the run, and has been sold out for a while. Discussing the band’s latest offering, Cave shared, “I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me. It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious.”

“There is never a master plan when we make a record. The records rather reflect back the emotional state of the writers and musicians who played them. Listening to this, I don’t know, it seems we’re happy.”

Family Sideshow (play) Through May 10, KC Melting Pot, $21.50-$32.50

In this dark comedy, a dysfunctional family reunites for a chaotic and absurd night of revelations, confrontations, and unexpected twists, all unfolding under the glow of the family’s carnival sideshow held at the theater. It’s the World Premiere of Brysen Boyd's “Family Sideshow,” the winner of the 2020 KCMPT Black Playwright Festival.

Boyd is a playwright, TV writer, and essayist originally from Tacoma, WA who served on the writing staff for HBO’s “Succession”, is the inaugural Playwright-in-Residence at Reverie Theater Company, a member of Youngblood/Ensemble Studio Theater and was an Artist-in-Residence at the Williamstown Theater Festival.

The play was also a Playwrights’ Center Venturous Prize Nominee, O'Neill Conference Semi-finalist, and 2022 Juilliard Finalist.

TUESDAY MAY 6

Future Islands, May 6, Madrid, Sold Out

Future Islands released their seventh studio album, “People Who Aren’t There Anymore” last year with a tour that followed and now, the band is back with a new standalone single titled “Glimpse.”

Recorded during the same album sessions, “Glimpse” captures their dreamy electronic sound, with a driving, dancey beat, a retro synth countermelody, and vocalist Sam Herring’s signature growl. Lyrically, it deals with a sense of communal loss and memory, describing the burning of a family home and coming to the poignant climax, “Let the green grass over me … Who is left to grieve?”

The band is in their element live – vocalist Herring is one that barely stands still, and Gerrit Welmers (keyboards and programming), William Cashion (bass, acoustic and electric guitars), and Michael Lowry (percussion) have been said to be playing at their best, according to tour reviews.

Black Violin, May 6, Lied Center- Lawrence,$16-$60

Black Violin is composed of classically trained violist and violinist Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus, who combine their classical training and hip-hop influences to create a distinctive multi-genre sound that is often described as “classical boom.”

The band released their major label debut, Stereotypes (featuring Black Thought of The Roots and MC Pharoahe Monch), on Universal Music, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart and #4 on the Billboard R&B Chart.

With Take the Stairs, the pair strives to take their message of unity and inclusiveness even further, moving Wil’s vocals further forward, while continuing to explore the possibilities of merging classical virtuosity and structure with modern beats and tones.

Black Violin challenges the stereotypes and preconceived notion of what a “classical musician” looks and sounds like. “The stereotypes are always there, embedded so deep in our culture,” says Wil. “Just by nature of our existence, we challenge those ideas. It’s a unique thing that brings people together who aren’t usually in the same room, and in the current climate, it’s good to bring people together.”

Melanie MacLaren May 6 MiniBar and May 7 Replay Lounge, $13.15 / PWYC

Nashville-based artist Melanie MacLaren is on the road this spring supporting her acclaimed EP Bloodlust and is playing a two-fer in the KC metro, so you have no excuse about missing her!  “Bloodlust” is Melanie’s third solo project, following her debut EP Kill My Time and collaborative folk EP of duets called Tadpole Emporium with songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly (DUG), both released in 2022.

Produced by Max Helgemo (who produced her 2023 cover of Loudon Wainwright III’s “The Swimming Song”) the EP draws from 90’s alt-country influences and brings out her Americana sensibilities while staying true to her instinct for flipping conventions of genre on their head.

She’s also spent time on the road supporting Jessica Lea Mayfield, Charli Adams, Caleb Caudle, and DUG, and last year was direct support for Charlie Starr (of Blackberry Smoke) on his acoustic tour.

Health, May 6, Warehouse on Broadway, $25 (low tix)

The industrial rockers are out on a Spring U.S. leg of their ‘Rat Wars Expansion Tour ‘. One-man industrial band Author & Punisher will be opening as well (and we still haven’t been to this venue).

Led by vocalist Jake Duzsik, HEALTH’s current arc of reinvention and musical exploration has seen them attract larger and more diverse audiences across the world. A keen sense for collaboration and boundary-pushing has made them the band they are today.

Having fans of the band in Slipknot is an added layer that only helps too, as drummer B.J. Miller aptly notes. “To get the Slipknot nod, as it were…it’s definitely a cool thing.”

Ice Nine Kills w Hail the Sun and more, May 6 AND 7, Uptown, $99 (single day avail)

Ice Nine Kills is on the road across for their The Silver Scream-A-Thon tour which is a two-night experience in every city that will see the band play both their albums The Silver Scream on the first night and The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood in full on the second night (along with a selection of deep cuts and fan favorites).

"The Silver Scream-A-Thon is a devilish chance for us to spend twice as much time in some of our favorite haunts, presenting a grindhouse-style double feature filled with deep cuts and our signature singalongs alike," said Ice Nine Kills vocalist Spencer Charnas. "In each city, Night One celebrates the fearsome full-length that began this era, The Silver Scream. Night Two slashes through The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood. Both evenings will unearth deep cuts from our band's haunted past, with shocks and surprises galore." 2-Day and single day tix available.

Here are the KC support lineups for each evening:

NIGHT I- The Word Alive The Funeral Portrait Melrose Avenue

NIGHT II- Hail The Sun TX2 Dark Divine

WEDNESDAY MAY 7

Thornhill, with Avoid, May 7, recordBar, $22

Heralded by the band as a “bold evolution in our ever-developing sound”, Thornhill’s third and newest album, BODIES was just released a couple weeks ago.

“[Our second album] Heroine was defined by its meticulously crafted and tightly woven concept, but the weight of this careful construction sometimes overshadowed the energy of the music itself, leaving some listeners feeling disconnected,” Thornhill shares. “With BODIES, we have embraced a more immediate, unfiltered approach that feels like a lightning bolt, looking to capture the energy of ‘Thornhill right now’.”

The band continues: “The album thrives on spontaneity and freedom, foregoing rigid concepts in favor of pure, in-your-face authenticity. It’s less about delivering a carefully constructed narrative and more about creating a visceral, open-ended experience. BODIES serves as a sonic moodboard—a collection of feelings and vibes—intentionally left open to interpretation. It has an upbeat and almost celebratory, party energy at times, but also retains all the emotion and intensity Thornhill are known for, making it our heaviest and most explosive work to date.”

“With BODIES, we invite listeners to connect on their own terms,” they add. “It’s raw, personal, and unapologetically immediate—a record that thrives in the moment, capturing our band at our most authentic and free.” We last saw the Aussie band last fall on a full hardcore bill in Lawrence.

Avoid, Banks Arcade, and Ocean Grove fill out the bill of a very busy night at the club.

Lucy Dacus w/Jasmine 4.t , May 7, The Midland, $39-$203

The new album, “Forever Is a Feeling” was out just last month (via Geffen Records), and features contributions from Hozier, Blake Mills, Bartees Strange, Madison Cunningham, Collin Pastore, Jake Finch, Melina Duterte, and boygenius bandmates, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers.

Most songs were written between the autumn of 2022 and summer 2024. "I got kicked in the head with emotions," Dacus shared in a release. "Falling in love, falling out of love. You have to destroy things in order to create things. And I did destroy a really beautiful life. You can't actually capture forever. But I think we feel forever in moments. I don't know how much time I've spent in forever, but I know I've visited."

The US/Canada tour began on April 16 in Philadelphia and you’ll recall we saw her playing live flat on her back in Lawrence on her last solo tour in 2022. In partnership with PLUS1, $1 from each ticket will go toward providing critical and long-term relief for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Katie Gavin (singer from Muna, who we love) has a first solo record out, What a Relief, from last October and Manchester UK’s Jasmine 4.t is in support of debut album, You Are the Morning (both are via Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records!) are scheduled as openers, so be sure to arrive early.

Of Mice and Men w Until I Wake, Gore, May 7, Granada- Lawrence, $29.50-$35

Of Mice & Men is out on a spring U.S.headlining outing which kicks off May 6 in Dallas, then hits Lawrence and concludes May 24 in Pittsburgh. It coincides with the 15th anniversary of OM&M’s 2010 self-titled debut album.

The Gold-selling hard rockers- Aaron Pauley (bass + vocals), Valentino Arteaga (drums), Alan Ashby (guitar) and Phil Manansala (guitar) — are hitting the road this spring, with support from Gore. and Until I Wake.

“We want to thank all of our fans for the years of support, and we can’t wait to celebrate the last 15 years of music with you all at these shows,” says frontman Pauley. "We're beyond stoked to be announcing these dates with UNTIL I WAKE and GORE."

THURSDAY MAY 8

bodie w/ Gracie Binion, May 8, Encore at Uptown, $16.50

Rising Alt-Pop Singer/Songwriter bodie, known best from The Voice Season 22, released a new single, “Say So” and his headlining ‘Murder My Ego Tour’ Kicks Off May 3^rd with a KC stop on the itinerary soon after. Previous single, “whisper and the wind” went Top 10 at radio and continues charting across Billboard Airplay and Mediabase Audience lists.

That song, from his Sony/Provident debut EP “Happy to Be Here” amassed 15 million+ global streams, streaming nearly 1 million times weekly. The 14-date run features Gracie Binion as support and promises a mix of fan favorites and unreleased tracks from bodie’s ever-evolving sound.

   National Touring act coming to Kansas City, Lawrence, KS, Topeka, KS, or vicinity?  Let us know so we can spotlight the appearance-email [email protected]

john c ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com

BabyJake at Turf Club (27 Apr 2025)

BabyJake at Turf Club (27 Apr 2025) BabyJake Setlist What I Like About You (The Romantics cover) Aren't We Ever Gonna Be More Than Friends? Head In the Clouds Arian(e) Bread & Butter 239 Bottom of a Dirty Shoe Beast of Burden (The Rolling Stones cover) Confidant Don't Hurt Me So Bad We Got To Get Together To Be Free 2 Blind Mice (Hello Hello) Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles cover) Daddy's Coming Home Cigarettes on Patios I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover) Tour Dates Mar 29 Boise, IDS · Treefort Music Hall Apr 10 Atlanta, GA · The Masquerade Apr 11 Greenville, SC · The Radio Room Apr 12 Charlotte, NC · The Evening Muse Apr 14 Philadelphia, PA · Johnny Brenda's Apr 15 Washington, DC · Pearl Street Warehouse Apr 17 New York, NY · Elsewhere Apr 18 Somerville, MA · The Rockwell Apr 19 Hartford, CT · The Webster Apr 21 Toronto, Canada · Underground Apr 22 Detroit, MI · Lager House Columbus, OH · Ace of Cups Apr 24 Chicago, IL · Beat Kitchen Apr26 Indianapolis, IN · Turntable Apr 28 Omaha, NE · Reverb Lounge Apr 30 Denver, CO · Lost Lake Lounge May 1 Salt Lake City, UT · Kilby Court May 3 Vancouver, Canada · The Wise May 5 Seattle, WA · The Sunset Tavern Read More BabyJake BabyJake returns to the Twin Cities… this time at the Turf Club, in St Paul, on April 27, 2025. Tour dates: Apr 27 Saint Paul, MN · Turf Club … Dalmatian Club Opening the sold-out all-ages show was The Dalmatian Club from “Dinkytown”. If you’re not from around the city, this is a college-area. It’s where the Varsity Theater …

It’s been a crazy weekend in the Twin Cities. Multiple playoff teams (with the Timberwolves taking games 3 & 4 from the heavily favored Lakers), Twins baseball, Loons soccer, and the start of the UPSL soccer season, all with pretty gorgeous spring weather. Even as the weekend headed to a close, it didn’t feel that way at Turf Club, as we had a full show headlined by BabyJake.

The Dalmatian Club at First Avenue (31 Jan 2025)

The first opener was The Dalmatian Club, who we last saw at First Avenue’s Best New Bands in January. We noted they were a straight rock & roll band, and nothing has changed since then. It was high energy from the quintet (dual guitars, lead singer on bass, keys, and drums). We also got a “T-wolves in 5” from the band, as we headed into the second song. We got back up vocals from the keyboardist, which provided a nice alto harmony to the lead vocals. We had a mix of older songs and brand new, yet unreleased material. We switched to Kyle taking lead vocals after a long instrumental intro. A switch of bass and guitar led to the next number, which had just been released in the last month. This one rocked and showed where the band will grow. As the band finished their set, it was fun to see them continue to grow as a band. Ending on Stay For a While, The Dalmatian Club nailed their opening set and continue to build their fan base.

I spoke with lead singer Griffin from The Dalmatian Club about how the creative process works for the band. He said they approach it with a total freedom and each band member helps flesh the songs out. As to where the band is headed musically, he feels the indie rock and pop sound is where they are and want to be. Griffin also mentioned that an EP would be out fairly soon, so keep your eyes out for that.

Up next was tacklebox. The band has members from multiple existing bands, including Remo Drive. The opening song, Satellite Farmer, showed off the quartet’s prowess as a lyrical and guitar heavy indie band. It was mentioned that this was the band’s first performance in over a year, but you would be excused for not being able to tell. There’s a good level of comfort across the team that makes it feel like they’ve been at this together a lot longer than they have actually been. There’s a good camaraderie with the band, as they instinctively knew how to move forward across songs.

tacklebox kept a good pace in their set, as vocalist Joe Graves kept pushing things forward with a yelling singing style that really worked. Stretching across genres from indie rock to a heavier metal rock sound, this was a fun set for the band to let loose. An unreleased song followed, with a slightly more mellow vibe. They finished their relatively short set at just over 30 minutes and the turn over for the headliner began.

BabyJake (Jacob Herring) came on with full energy. A cover of The Romantics’ What I Like About Youwas an inspired opener. Head in the Clouds was a great example of BabyJake’s style, as he was all over the stage and the remainder of the quartet (guitar, bass, and drums) was grooving along in support and with back up vocals, with all three members getting their opportunities to provide back up vocals across the performance. Ariane was clearly a crowd favorite and included the speeding up of the tempo and with a wailing scream during the last chorus.

BabyJake is an aggressive performer, not only dancing around stage, but getting right up to the front at multiple points. Interestingly, he also alternated between focusing solely on vocals versus playing one of several guitars (acoustic and electric), and even switching guitars with both of his band mates for different songs.

Bottom of a Dirty Shoe was a brilliant play of the fan favorite, and the transition to Beast of Burden had the crowd singing along and had Jake out in the crowd, which the Turf Club set up makes very easy for performers to do. In the heels of that, Confidant, which had a bit of a reggae sound to it, and it had the crowd going absolutely nuts. This stretch of numbers was perfectly sequenced by BabyJake to maximize crowd reaction, and it was fun to see the audience around me totally into the moment.

There was no letting his foot off the gas, as BabyJake moved from one song to the next without any real pause. Rolling into Don’t Hurt Me So Bad, the band showed off their ability to modify a song and make it sound exactly right. In its released version, this one has piano as a main feature, but it wasn’t missed in this live performance at all. We Got To Get Together To Be Free followed with a great guitar intro and BabyJake was back to dancing around the entire stage.

Don’t Let Me Down had a full throated audience singing the chorus. It was another great moment of band and crowd connection. Cigarettes on Patios was a slightly slower paced number and allowed BabyJake the chance to be a little more soulful in his vocal styling. The set ended with a brilliant cover of I Will Survive and BabyJake finished with the punch and energy that they started with as the ended the evening.

I got to speak briefly with BabyJake afterwards. Considering they are just at the halfway point of the tour, I asked him how he keeps that energy up with so many dates left. He talked about how the opportunity to be in the stage each night always keeps it exciting and fun. But he also talked about how critical it is for him to take care of himself; little to no drinking, getting to sleep as early as possible, good nutrition and taking care of his voice. He said this tour was going well on that front and he is the farthest into a tour without losing his voice at all. We’ll hope that continues so that future audiences get the same spectacle from a talented band.

The Dalmatian Club

The Dalmatian Club

The Dalmatian Club

The Dalmatian Club

The Dalmatian Club tacklebox

tacklebox

tacklebox

tacklebox

tacklebox

BabyJake

BabyJake

BabyJake

BabyJake BabyJake

BabyJake at Turf Club (27 Apr 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Joywave with little image at The Truman, Kansas City MO (2025-04-26)

JOYWAVE SETLIST Scared Buy American Obsession Tongues Hate to Be a Bother 787 Dreamliner Somebody New Life in a Bubble I Blew Brain Damage Yellowish Sunbeam Funny Thing About Opinions Coming Apart Traveling at the Speed of Light Dangerous (Big Data cover) It's a Trip! Swimming in the Glow Destruction (played twice!) little image SETLIST THE PRESSURE BLUE NOVACAINE (unreleased) OUT OF MY MIND HOME KILL THE GHOST (unreleased) RUN FOR FOREVER Bottles WORTH IT JOYWAVE TOUR DATES Apr 28 Fox Theatre Boulder, CO Apr 30 Treefort Music Hall Boise, ID May 2 Ace Of Spades Sacramento, CA May 3 Pappy + Harriet's Pioneertown, CA May 5 191 Toole Tucson, AZ May 6 Meow Wolf Santa Fe, NM May 7 Beer City Music Hall Oklahoma City, OK May 9 Eastside Bowl Madison, TN May 10 Saturn Birmingham, AL May 11 Vinyl Music Hall Pensacola, FL May 13 Culture Room Fort Lauderdale, FL May 15 Jannus Live St. Petersburg, FL May 16 The Albatross Jacksonville, FL May 17 Music Farm Charleston, SC May 19 The Grey Eagle Asheville, NC May 21 White Eagle Hall Jersey City, NJ May 22 Sherman Theater Stroudsburg, PA Jun 27 Hard Rock Outdoor Arena Cincinnati, OH Read More Joywave That was completely the vibe for Rochester, NY’s Joywave as they played an hour-long set, in support of fourth album, Cleanse, released in February. Singer Daniel Armbruster ...

Someone should have posted a sign: “Caution- Big Beats Ahead”-

When both bands on the bill position their drum kits up front along the stage edge, you get a pretty good idea that percussion and rhythm will be key, and some big beats will be dropping.

That turned out to be the case as the pride of Rochester NY, electro alt-pop rockers Joywave returned to Kansas City on their “Here to Perform Tour” at The Truman downtown, in support of last May’s “Permanent Pleasure” album (via Cultco, their own imprint on Hollywood Records).

The evening began with a well-received forty-minute set from Dallas alt-rock trio, little image, in support of their 2023 major label debut album, cleverly named Self Titled (via Hollywood Records).

The three (Jackson Simmons- vocals, guitar; Brandon Walters- bass, synth; Troy Bruner- drums) have been a band since high school and remembered their last time in town was at this same venue supporting Colony House in 2023. When Simmons asked if anyone was at that show, the response was mostly crickets, but he rebounded by saying that they hope to see us all at their next time through.

The set began with new single, “The Pressure” released in January and expected to be on their next album, and they also played other yet-to-be-released cuts, so seem very eager to let the new songs out into the wild.

The band’s alternative sound features a very caffeinated drummer in Bruner (who even set up part of his kit into some audience members’ hands, so he could play in [or would that be on?] the crowd), a touch of synth embellishment from Walters, and arrangements and vocals that are similar to Walk the Moon, Wheatus, and Phoenix and they still have a lot more to say, with Simmons promising the crowd they’d return.

===

For Joywave, from the stage it looked like a night off at home. The stage was dimly lit and the curled up cat from the new album’s cover, was reproduced as a large inflatable that would sometimes rotate on a lazy susan type platform.

We say ‘night off’ because when we saw them live last time (co-headlining in 2022 in Lawrence), they were all ‘at work’- dressed in matching car wash attendant jumpsuits to support their previous album, ‘Cleanse’. This time, the band dressed in matching striped navy pajamas (one could say the “cat’s pajamas”, haha) which also seemed very comfortable to perform in.

The eighty-minute set began with one of the two singles that preceded the new album, “Scared”, then rarely-standing-still singer Daniel Armbruster introduced “Buy American” from the previous ‘Cleanse”’ as “the only song about tariffs- ever!”, getting the crowd to clap along with a simple wave of his hand.

Armbruster immediately endeared himself to the crowd, stating the band had extensively toured last year, but got home and realized they hadn’t played KC yet, so were back for another tour leg (jokingly mentioning the others on the schedule were just ‘fill dates’).

Despite a nagging sinus infection, Armbruster and the band (guitarist Joe Morinelli and drummer Paul Brenner; along with Kevin Mahoney- bass; Taylor Dubray - guitar, keys) were all musically locked in, especially on older classics like 2015’s “Somebody New” from their debut album, “How Do You Feel Now?”, which was just re-issued on Record Store Day with an additional song.

They played that bonus track, “Life in a Bubble I Blew” which was interesting to hear live, a decade-old track most just heard for the first time two weeks ago (though it was on the end of their 2016 EP SWISH). In addition, a deluxe version of the new record has also just been released, with a handful of live recordings and one new track, “Yellowish Sunbeam” (the image of which warms the cat on the album cover and was also performed live).

Armbruster announced that their longtime live engineer, James a KC native, was retiring at the end of the tour, to return home, to presumably start mixing jazz. He also mentioned his favorite song happened to be “Wishing Well” by Terence Trent D’Arby (from his 1987 debut, “Introducing the Hardline...”) and a song he would often cue up as the outro music for the band. A copy of the album appeared from backstage to be given to James, as a band ‘thank you’ but since he was manning the board in the back; it was transferred hand-by-hand by the audience, like a crowd surfer from the stage to him.

Armbruster announced the last four songs as “the hits section” and the introductory throb of their breakthrough hit with Big Data, “Dangerous” set the crowd loose. The quirky but catchy “It’s a Trip!” from 2017 followed, with “Swimming in the Glow” from the new album next, maybe not a true ‘hit’ yet, but some wishful thinking.

Unabashedly, Armbruster asked the crowd that wouldn’t like they like the night to end with ”the greatest song ever written!?!” as the band launched into “Destruction” ...played not once, but twice – “Double Destruction!!!” which had the crowd clapping along the whole time and even the most sheepish and shy, irresistibly drawn into dancing and head-bobbing. “Why be credible when you can be incredible?” reads the tracklisting of their SWISH EP that features nine versions of the song, and incredible it was, to hear it played live back-to-back.

Joywave was “Here to Perform” (living up to the tour’s title) and with an evening filled with big beats, a giant cat, playing in unified PJs, and a tribute to the greatness of Terence Trent D’Arby’s first record, the ‘pleasure’ felt after the show may not be ‘permanent’, but is likely one to remember for a long time.

ALL PHOTOS BY BRANDON CLASEN

(click on any image to enlarge and to see in full)

JOYWAVE at The Truman, Kansas City MO (2025-04-26)

JOYWAVE at The Truman, Kansas City MO (2025-04-26)

JOYWAVE at The Truman, Kansas City MO (2025-04-26)

little image at The Truman, Kansas City MO (2025-04-26)

John C ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥X / twitter.com ♥ bsky.ap

Djo at Palace Theatre (26 Apr 2025)

Djo at Palace Theatre (26 Apr 2025) Djo Setlist Runner Gloom Link Fool Charlie's Garden Basic Being Basic Lonesome Is a State of Mind Figure You Out Fly Delete Ya Chateau (Feel Alright) Gap Tooth Smile Roddy End of Beginning Potion -- Encore -- Back on You Flash Mountain with Post Animal Read More DJO Djo, the musical project of actor / producer / songwriter Joe Keery (from Stranger Things and Fargo), will be headlining the Palace Theatre, in St Paul, on April 26, 2025. Djo’s latest … Post Animal Chicago’s heavy, prog psychedelic rock band Post Animal released their sophomore album Forward Motion Godyssey on February 14, 2020, via Polyvinyl, and will be doing a national …

It was a busy weekend in the Twin Cities with both the Timberwolves and Wild hosting playoff games. The Wild were locked in a 3-3 tie with the Las Vegas Golden Knights as I made my way through downtown St. Paul, the game playing on multiple TV screens at Smorgie’s Bar, which had opened its garage door windows to the warm spring air.

As I passed the Xcel Energy Center, a security guard asked me if I was heading to the Wild game.

“Off to the Palace,” I replied.

The Palace was as packed as the Xcel by the time I arrived, which wasn’t unusual considering who was headlining.

Joseph David Keery aka Djo has a successful side gig as an actor, landing a breakout TV role as Steve Harrington in the wildly successful Stranger Things. But before all that he was living in Chicago, attending DePaul University, studying theater and playing in a band that was the opening act.

Post Animal kicked off an early evening with a robust progressive rock sound. They are from Chicago with Dalton Allison on bass, Jake Hirshland on keys/guitar, Javi Reyes on guitar, Wesley Toledo on drums and Matt Williams on guitar. They are from Chicago and are on tour with Djo, supporting their latest album IRON with a release date of July 25^th.

Post Animal at Fine Line (17 June 2023)

Playing together since 2014, we last caught them in June, 2023, opening for Temples at Fine Line, writing, “Everyone in the band took turns to take lead vocals at some point in their set, so it felt like there was really no one band leader… The band looked like they were having a very good time on stage, often moving and invading each other’s space on stage.”

The egalitarian spirit was still alive as everyone took turns at the mic with songs like “Caving In”, “Setting Sun” and a crowd favorite, “Alabaster.” Then, a new song on their upcoming album, “Last Goodbye” which was co-written with Djo, who joined them on stage.

Djo left Post Animal on amicable terms for his side gig demanded more of his time. He also took his musical career in a solo direction, already supporting his third solo album, The Crux.

Djo took the stage with a full band, some of the members like Toledo and Reyes had played the set before. He also played the role as band member instead of a rock star by covering up his famous hair and filling the first few songs with strobe lights to give the concert photographers a challenge.

All was fun as his vibe was laid-back and West coast cool, at times speaking into the mic with songs like “Basic Being Basic” and “Delete Ya”. Everyone in the crowd knew all the lines and sang along to them as well as “Charlie’s Garden” and “Lonesome Is a State of Mind.”

It was a full crowd and a young crowd, and they seemed to connect to Djo’s songs about navigating a life in your twenties like “Figure You Out” which felt personal and “End of Beginning” which was about going back to Chicago and realizing things will never be the same.

“Another year older, another year wiser,” Djo said after the song. “Another year… We’ll see.”

Remaining Tour Dates

April 28 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Temple Theatre

April 29 - Toronto, ON - History

May 01 - Washington, DC - The Anthem

May 02 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner

May 03 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall

May 05 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel

May 06 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel

May 07 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel

June 01 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Olympia

June 02 - Glasgow, UK - O2 Academy

June 03 - Manchester, UK - O2 Victoria Warehouse

June 05 - London, UK - O2 Forum Kentish Town

June 06 - London, UK - O2 Forum Kentish Town

June 07 - London, UK - O2 Forum Kentish Town

June 10 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Poolen

June 11 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene

June 13 - Stockholm, Sweden - Annexet

June 15 - Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands - Best Kept Secret Festival

June 16 - Cologne, Germany - E-Werk

June 17 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys

June 18 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja

June 20 - Scheebel, Germany - Hurricane Festival

June 21 - Tuttlingen, Germany - Southside Festival

June 23 - Paris, France - Élysée Montmartre

June 24 - Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso

June 25 - Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso

Post Animal (with Djo)

Post Animal Post Animal

Djo

Djo Djo

Djo

Djo (with Post Animal) at Palace Theatre (26 Apr 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Martin Sexton at Dakota Jazz Club (26 Apr 2025)

Martin Sexton at Dakota Jazz Club (26 Apr 2025) Martin Sexton Setlist The Beatles: Abbey Road Come Together Something Maxwell's Silver Hammer Oh! Darling Octopus's Garden I Want You (She's So Heavy) Here Comes the Sun Because You Never Give Me Your Money Sun King Mean Mr. Mustard Polythene Pam She Came in Through the Bathroom Window Golden Slumbers Carry That Weight The End Her Majesty Diner Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You Diggin' Me Glory Bound Ain't Nobody (Rufus and Chaka Khan cover) Hold On Hallelujah -- Encore -- This Little Light of Mine (traditional cover) You Are My Sunshine (traditional cover) Tour Dates Apr 29 The ELM Bozeman, MT Apr 30 The Wilma Missoula, MT May 1 Liberty Theatre Hailey, ID May 3 Blue Note Napa Napa, CA May 3 Blue Note Napa Napa, CA May 4 Blue Note Napa Napa, CA May 4 Blue Note Napa Napa, CA May 6 Soho Restaurant Santa Barbara, CA May 7 The Regent Theater Los Angeles, CA May 8 Belly Up Solana Beach, CA May 9 191 Toole Tucson, AZ May 10 FUSION Albuquerque, NM May 11 UNIT B, by Chocolate Maven Santa Fe, NM May 30 Avalon Theatre Easton, MD May 31 Outpost in the Burbs Montclair, NJ Jun 1 Greenwich Odeum East Greenwich, RI Jun 5 Daryl's House Pawling, NY Jun 6 The Colonial Theatre Keene, NH Jun 7 Aura Portland, ME Read More Martin Sexton Legendary singer songwriter Martin Sexton is on the road again, this time with a twist. He’s performing The Beatles’ Abbey Road album in its entirety, as well as some of his … The Beatles The Beatles. Really, a giant of rock giants. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Apple Records/EMI recently re-released all of the Beatles albums re-mastered ..…

Martin Sexton stopped by for two shows at The Dakota in Minneapolis on Saturday. I caught the early show, with the tour titled The Martin Sexton Abbey Road Tour, in which, you guessed it, he’s doing a play through of The Beatles final album.

Martin Sexton is a veteran singer & songwriter who has been active on the folk rock scene since at least the early 1990’s. His tenacity in moving up from busking in Boston and self-producing his first album, the wonderful In The Journey. He’s a prodigious touring singer, routinely with 100 shows or more a year. And with as many albums as he has, he has a rich catalogue to draw upon in his concerts. Rolling Stone calls out his “soul marinated vocals” and that vocal strength certainly is his calling card.

Playing the entirety of Abbey Road as a solo performer is a fascinating challenge, as the album is complex and layered. Sexton showed instantly that he was game, with an echo effect and percussion off the electric guitar for Come Together. He also got the audience involved with singing along and rhyming in “Minne-appo-leeze”. He ended with an in person fade out by simply backing away from the microphone.

His first bit of patter gave us the background of his interest in music being linked to hearing Abbey Road at home as an early teen. “I’m doing this thing [the Abbey Road concert] because it led me to doing this thing [his music career]”. The song Something got us an extended open mouth whistle solo showing a creativity with limited options. It helped a tremendous amount that Sexton wasn’t trying to replicate the album, but reinterpreting it in his unique singing and playing style.

Oh! Darling was sensational, letting Sexton really sail with the vocals. His take on Octopus’s Gardenwas playful and hit the right idea with that number. Noting that I Want You (She’s So Heavy) completely changed his idea of what The Beatles were also put him in the hardest song of the evening for someone performing alone, but he pulled it admirably. As he finished, he noted “that’s the end of side A”. Sexton also switched to acoustic guitar to perform a country version of Here Comes the Sun. He worked in more audience sing along and some of his trade marked yodel. While Sexton used humor and talent to make it look easy, it was easy to take for granted how much work he was doing. Becausereally showed all of the complexities in guitar work, vocal modulation and pacing to hold that song together by himself.

Sexton moved quickly through several of the next songs, though putting a nice spin on Mean Mr. Mustard and scatting his way into She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. This medley style was key to keeping the audience engaged and making the whole thing more manageable. There was a proper pause before starting Golden Slumbers, which was perfectly suited to Sexton’s voice and guitar. The End is, well, nearly the end of the album and Sexton rocked it.

After a very brief break, Sexton came out and started a new set, back again to standing and on electric. He began with Diner, “the only song I have that has the word Minnesota in it”. A fun fact, he mentioned that the song’s origins come from being at Mickey’s Diner in downtown St. Paul and that he started writing the lyrics while sitting there. Sexton was in his element with songs from his great albums such as Black Sheep. When he got to Glory Bound, the audience burst into applause at the first chords. This was nearly perfect and had the audience nearly silent as they took it in. Hold On was a pandemic era song that was actually joyful and Sexton had more singing from the crowd (“I love that Twin Cities choir.”)

After Hold On, Sexton said his when his wife first heard it, she thought the lyrics were pretty similar to an 80’s rock song. Sexton amusingly discussed the “rock and roll river”, where there are so many songs with similar ideas or chord progressions, joking, “you put in a little, you take out a little”. He then proceeded to demonstrate it in action, singing part of his song, Hallelujah and then snippets of many songs using the same chord progression, including With Or Without You, Let It Be, Take Me On, and others, saying “I could do this all night”.

Sexton appeared one more time with an encore on a banjo with a special history, coming from his grandfather. He used it to sing two relatively short, but touching songs with This Little Light of Mineand You Are My Sunshine. And with that, Sexton had to go and get ready for the second show of the evening. That realization truly showed the professionalism and the love that Sexton has for this road he has chosen to travel.

Martin Sexton at Dakota Jazz Club (26 Apr 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Flashback: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at First Avenue (25 May 2003)

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at First Avenue (25 May 2003) Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Setlist Sin Taxi (Do Not Feed the) Oyster Dynamic Calories (Unknown) Phantasies Water and a Seat Vanessa From Queens Craw Song Animal Midnight Jo Jo's Jacket (Unknown) Dark Wave Witch Mountain Bridge Us -- Encore -- Church on White Jenny & the Ess-Dog (Replacements cover) Old Jerry Tour Dates Feb 17 2003 The Blackbird, Portland, OR, USA Feb 25 2003 Bimbo's 365 Club, San Francisco, CA Mar 21 2003 Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR Apr 30 2003 Club Congress, Tucson, AZ May 3 2003 Emo's, Austin, TX May 8 2003 Echo Lounge, Atlanta, GA May 9 2003 The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC May 10 2003 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC May 16 2003 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA May 14 2003 Irving Plaza, New York, NY May 15 2003 Irving Plaza, New York, NY May 20 2003 Beachland Ballroom , Cleveland, OH May 22 2003 Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI May 23 2003 Metro, Chicago, IL May 24 2003 Todd Wehr, Milwaukee, WI May 25 2003 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN May 31 2003 Berbati's Pan, Portland, OR Jul 18 2003 Prospect Park Bandshell, Brooklyn, NY Aug 13 2003 Tweeter Center , Mansfield, MA Aug 18 2003 Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ Aug 20 2003 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD Aug 21 2003 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH Aug 23 2003 Alpine Valley Music, East Troy, WI Aug 24 2003 UMB Bank Pavilion, Maryland Heights, MO Aug 26 2003 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO Aug 28 2003 USANA Amphitheatre, West Valley City, Aug 31 2003 White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, WA Nov 30 2003 Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA Dec 1 2003 El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA Dec 3 2003 Slim's, San Francisco, CA Dec 5 2003 Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR Dec 6 2003 Showbox Comedy , Seattle, WA Dec 13 2003 Double Door, Chicago, IL Read More Pavement I wasn't expecting Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks to play any Pavement songs, but I was sure hoping he would (I'm not the only one hoping, everybody in the audience … Azita Opening up the show was Azita, from Chicago. She spend her entire set behind the Cedar's piano, which had a tall back, so she had to play in an awkward position with her back to some of the crowd. She commented that the Cedar ...

At this point, I’ve seen Pavement (one of my first concert in 1994) and band leader Stephen Malkmus half a dozen times now. It is because when I was living in Fresno, California, we claimed Pavement as a “local band” (when in fact they are from Stockton). If you look at the map, there’s Merced, Modesto, and then Stockton, north of Fresno. Still, we were proud of Pavement and their international stardom when they blew up with “Cut Your Hair”.

Malkmus at the Electric Fetus (12 June 2005)

I’ve shaken hands with members of Pavement, and eventually did formally meet Malkmus at the Electric Fetus for an autograph in June 2005: “Earlier in the day, Malkmus was at the Electric Fetus to do an in-store performance and a meet & greet. I had him sign my Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain deluxe reissue. Malkmus is great, he was friendly and did not mind signing Pavement stuff (unlike some difficult artists). He even let me take a picture of him.”

Recently, I found out I’ve seen Malkmus in 2003, via a ticketstub I found while cleaning out my basement to move to Florida. A few things I should point out about the ticket - it is a complimentary ticket (#12). Let me explain how the First Avenue/7th Street Entry complimentary ticket system work, if you aren’t familiar. In the early days, in order to drive up attendance for some shows, First Ave staffs would give you free tickets to random shows if you are one of the first few people standing in line for one of their shows.

Since I was an avid concert goer (and generally one of the first people in line), I have received hundreds of free concert tickets. Including free tickets to see Le Tigre, Mogwai, and many others. Of course, getting a comp ticket doesn’t guarantee entry into the show. Once capacity is reached or a show is sold out, First Ave can refuse entry. I’ve never been turned away, that’s because I’m usually one of the first people in line.

I personally think that was a great system, as it awarded the most diehard First Ave fans and it does boost up attendance and also let fans discover (and become) fans of some unknown bands.

For this particular show, it was 21+ and over… and if I recall, generally 21+ shows do not do well on a late-night Sunday show (the show started at 9:30pm because shows took place much later back then). I used to stay to the encore, so waking up early to work on Monday morning was a real struggle for me.

Azita at Fillmore (28 Apr 2024)

Looking at the ticket, what is really cool is that Azita was the opening band! We saw Azita with Fred Armisen in Apr 2024 and mentioned, “ Drag City recording artist Azita Youssefi (aka AZITA), from Scissor Girls, opened the show with a music set. She played some songs from Year and How Will You?, including the title track, early in her set. She apologized to the audience and recognized that most people weren’t expecting a music set. She even joked that her show is “Music for Comedians”, because Fred’s show is called “Comedy for Musicians”. Later on, she joked that Fred’s set is, “gonna be different, just a heads up.” Azita ended her 30-min with a lively song, “Gotta Get It.””

2003 Tour Dates (setlist and touring information provided by setlist.fm).

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at First Avenue (25 May 2003)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Yukimi at Fine Line (25 Apr 2025)

Yukimi at Fine Line (25 Apr 2025) Yukimi Setlist Intro/Prelude Make Me Whole Stream of Consciousness Break Me Down Eli Nam Sad Makeup Runaway No Prince Pink Cloud (Little Dragon song) Peace Reign Army Dreamers (Kate Bush cover) Winter Is Not Dead -- Encore -- Rules of School Jaxon Feels Good to Cry Tour Dates 4/27 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre 4/29 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom 4/30 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile 5/2 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore 5/3 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues 5/4 - Los Angeles @ The Fonda Read More Yukimi Yukimi (of Little Dragon) is on a solo tour, in support of her debut album For You (due March 28 via Ninja Tune)… stopping by the Fine Line, in Minneapolis, on April 25, 2025. … Little Dragon The last time we saw Sweden’s Little Dragon was in May 2015 and we said, “I'm happy to report that Little Dragon is all grown up. Since we last saw the Swedish band in November 2009 …

It was an extremely busy Friday night in downtown Minneapolis with a regular season baseball game of the Twins hosting the Angels at Target Field and Game 3 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs with the Timberwolves hosting the Lakers at Target Center. Just a few blocks over, and with a lot fewer jerseys, Yukimi headlined a show at Fine Line.

AKKO opened the evening. AKKO (full name Andrew Koalska) is a DJ and multi-instrumentalist from Saint Paul. This is a DJ set up, and AKKO is playing a lot of original beats and music here. The starting point was a deeply funky electronic sound. Layering in the electronic keys and other sounds on top of the programmed percussion, he has a real sense of style. This is the kind of DJ electronica that gets people grooving. And with AKKO in a controlled dancing while manipulating all of his instrumentation, the crowd slowly warmed up to the beats.

By the time the first sampled lyrics hit and were part of a transition to the next section of the set, AKKO had picked up the rhythmic pace. A horns heavy section continued to pull people closer to the stage. This was a tough assignment, as the dance heavy set from AKKO probably wasn’t what the audience was expecting for an opener. But his upbeat stage presence may have helped him win the day. AKKO continued to work his way through a 40 minute set and left the stage, likely with a few new fans.

Yukimi (full name Yukimi Nagano) is a Swedish singer & songwriter. She’s best known as the lead vocalist for the electronic music group Little Dragon, a long-time band that formed in high school in the late 1990’s and has been together with the original line up ever since. They have released seven albums, including the Grammy nominated Nabuma Rubberband. Yukimi released her debut solo album, For You, in late March of 2025 and is in the middle of her North American tour in support of the album.

Yukimi was electric, in sunglasses and with an open Japanese fan on hand (also the backing motif of three large fans behind the band), she came out soulful on Make Me Whole. She got to the first of a set of percussion instruments she used throughout the evening. A quick hello to the audience and the band continued on. The band was a quintet, with guitar, bass, keyboards and drums backing Yukimi’s vocals. Break Me Down was described as a song written to “get back to a better space”, and Yukimi’s vocals once again had a blues style that the music is centered on. A cute note that the next song, Eli Nam, got the requisite “aww’s” from the audience.

Erik Bodin, from Little Dragon, was on drums and often back up vocals and clearly had some fans in the crowd. The rest of the band was great support, with four vocal parts in the song Sad Makeup. Yukimi noted that she was pleased to have finally gotten the album out, and it is clearly a labor of love for her. Thankfully, it’s also exceedingly listenable musically. Runaway highlighted Yukimi’s alto voice, and was the first to have some noticeable vocal reverb effects. This one also featured a funk keyboard and bass riff that was used to allow Yukimi to introduce the band.

Although this may be a debut album and tour, Yukimi and team (particularly Bodin) have the wealth of experience to lean on, so it should be no surprise that the pacing and ordering of the songs, and the latter between was fully professional. There didn’t seem to be any wasted moments and things ramped up and got more complex, particularly on the closing of No Prince. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we got a Little Dragon cover, with the band playing Pink Cloud. After a quick “band meeting” where Erik gave instructions to the band, we started Peace Reign with everyone but the keyboardist on various percussion. It was goofily fun and the audience ate it up.

Slowing it down a little in tempo didn’t keep things any less fun, with a Kate Bush cover of Army Dreamers. After completing the main set, the band returned for an encore. Bodin started things off on stage by himself with an extended drum solo, with the rest of the band following to play Rules of Schoolwith another long drum solo and flute in this total jam session. Finishing up with Feels Good to Cry, Yukimi and crew rode out of Minneapolis on a high note.

AKKO

AKKO AKKO

AKKO

Yukimi

Yukimi Yukimi Yukimi Yukimi

Yukimi at Fine Line (25 Apr 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Five for Fighting (with string quartet) at Liberty Hall, Lawrence KS (2025-04-25)

Five for Fighting (with string quartet) at Liberty Hall (2025-04-25) FIVE FOR FIGHTING SETLIST World The Riddle Easy Tonight Two Lights 100 Years Four for Fighting (string quartet medley) Chances Ocean If God Made You I Just Love You (with Olivia Lee) Superman (It's Not Easy) -- Encore -- Cats in the Cradle (Harry Chapin cover) with Lace & Lee FIVE FOR FIGHTING TOUR DATES (String Quartet tour dates) APR 26 #The Admiral Omaha, NE APR 27 #The Cotillion Ballroom Wichita, KS APR 29 #City Winery St. Louis, MO APR 30 #Park Theater Mcminnville, TN MAY 2 #The Ludlow Garage Cincinnati, OH MAY 3 #The Flagstar Strand Theatre Pontiac, MI MAY 4 #Goodyear Theater Akron, OH MAY 7 #City Winery Nashville, TN MAY 11 #Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC MAY 13 #City Winery Atlanta, GA MAY 14 #Newberry Opera House Newberry, SC MAY 17 #City Winery Pittsburgh, PA MAY 19 #Rams Head On Stage Annapolis, MD MAY 20 #Birchmere Alexandria, VA (full band dates with Vertical Horizon) AUG 13 *TempleLive Columbus Columbus, OH AUG 14 *Arcada Theatre St Charles, IL AUG 16 *Scissortail Park Play Pavilion Oklahoma City, OK AUG 17 *Bomb Factory Dallas, TX AUG 19 *Arvada Center Arvada, CO AUG 20 *Avalon Theatre Grand Junction, CO AUG 22 *The Union Event Center Salt Lake City, UT AUG 23 *Knitting Factory Boise, ID AUG 24 *Knitting Factory Spokane, WA Read More Five for Fighting Since most of you work on the weekdays, I suggest Saturday’s show, featuring Grammy nominated, platinum-selling artist Five for Fighting (aka John Ondrasik). The full band features drummer Randy Cooke …

With food, everything seems better with bacon; with songs, everything seems better with strings!-

We’ve seen it already with so many long-term acts- from Elton John to Metallica, Kiss, and Yes, to hear their songs put to a classical arrangement, whether with a full symphony or some smaller grouping.

For 90’s hitmakers Five for Fighting who opened their 2025 String Quartet Tour in downtown Lawrence at Liberty Hall, the case was again made that songs transform and become better. If not better, then certainly enhanced, and made bigger-sounding and more elegant.

The evening began with a friendly twenty-minute set from NYC female folk duo, Lace & Lee who brought the spirit of 1960s and 70s storytelling, with a fresh best-friends-who-finish-each-other’s-sentences vibe. Caroline Lace and Olivia Lee started collaborating together at NYU Tisch after meeting on a train and discussing their love of a fantasy book, and even have a song about going into a city Walgreens to buy strawberries. So, some charming very slice-of-life songs, and the pair mentioned they’re about to enter the studio to record an EP.

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John Ondrasik aka Five For Fighting has had a long and illustrious musical career that actually started back in the days of hair metal and working with the likes of Whitesnake/Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo. After grunge changed the musical landscape, Ondrasik found himself back on piano where he musically began, eventually getting signed and on the radio and having his songs featured in high rotation on almost every Triple-A (album adult alternative) station in the country (like Minneapolis station Cities 97).

He’s re-invented himself a bit in the meantime since, getting more placements in film and tv soundtracks, and still gigs with a full band (his tour with Vertical Horizon starts in August after this tour ends) in-between doing these string quartet runs. This configuration has carried on for more than a decade and has been preserved on a self-released 2018 live album.

The ninety-minute set began with the 2006 Top15 single, “World” that lyrically asked, “What kind of world do you want?” a question that’s asked maybe even louder today, than two decades ago.

“Easy Tonight”, the band’s first hit, was played early in the set, prefaced by Ondrasik admittedly having mixed feelings about the song now considered an “oldie”, and a funny story about hearing it played, after sitting down at a wine bar in Lake Tahoe.

Ondrasik had always been a supporter of the military, entertaining troops abroad, offering guest list passes to military families, and he always plays a song in the set as tribute- this time being the poignant “Two Lights”, the title track from that same 2006 album.

As he wondered aloud about the history of the theater, he had heard that it was about 100 years old (113 actually, but close enough) and said if he happened to have an appropriate song to play, this would be the perfect time... So, cue up hit single, “100 Years” which he remarked in still used in weddings, graduations, and even funerals, with the key being at whatever age you might be, you generally fall into the era of one of the verses.

The musical highlight of the night was undoubtedly the medley performed by the string quartet (Matt Szemela; Melissa Tong; Chris Cardona, and Topeka, KS’ own Emily Brausa on cello), mixing classical numbers with the likes of a-ha, Led Zeppelin, and Queen songs, even working in “Carry On My Wayward Son” and Wichita Lineman” snippets for the Kansas crowd.

Szemela again shined on a musical duet with Ondrasik on “If God Made You” and the sweet “I Just Love You” was prefaced by the story of Ondrasik sent to an ashram retreat in hopes of finding inspiration for his next album, only to find out how much effort the schedule and workshops took, with the one bit of relief at the end of the day, being able to have a short conversation with his then-young daughter. As the song played, Olivia Lee from the openers joined in the chorus and the surprise reveal was that she was the daughter that inspired the song.

The band’s biggest hit, “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” had turned 24-years-old Ondrasik said, and admitted how proud he was to have performed it during the 9/11 Tributes, and how within the last few weeks, it has found renewed life as a collaboration tribute to the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The one-song encore turned out to be, not a FFF song, but a familiar cover, as the band tends to work in at the end of these shows. Although the lyrics and keys to Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” sat propped on his piano all night, Ondrasik instead chose what he considered a “perfect or near-perfect” song, Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” which they slightly sped up to play as more of a waltz.

And with a final bow and wave, the night was over, and with Five for Fighting, it was just like we thought- everything’s better with strings!

(click on any image to enlarge and to see in full)

FIVE FOR FIGHTING at Liberty Hall, Lawrence KS (2025-04-25)

FIVE FOR FIGHTING at Liberty Hall, Lawrence KS (2025-04-25)

FIVE FOR FIGHTING at Liberty Hall, Lawrence KS (2025-04-25)

LACE and LEE at Liberty Hall, Lawrence KS (2025-04-25)

John C ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥X / twitter.com ♥ bsky.ap