W♥M

When Animals Attack: Mice, Wolf, Fish, and Roosters

Read More Of Mice & Men Of Mice & Men, a name stolen from John Steinbeck (by the way of William Shakespeare), has announced a third studio album called Restoring Force to be release on January 28th on Rise Records. ...

Read more When Animals Attack.

OF MICE & MEN
ofmiceandmenofficial.com

Gold-selling hard rockers Of Mice & Men just released their seventh album Echo, via SharpTone Records.

Talking about the new record, bassist/singer Pauley said, “Echo is a collection of songs that represents a year of creating as a means of finding genuine human connection, during what could easily be considered the most tumultuous and disconnected time in any of our lives. Through every loss, every struggle, every triumph, working together on these songs brought us closer to each other and to the people who allow our music to be a part of their lives.”

Track listing:

1. Timeless
2. Obsolete
3. Anchor
4. Levee
5. Bloom
6. Pulling Teeth
7. Mosaic
8. Fighting Gravity
9. Echo
10. Helplessly Hoping

Read More Anna von Hausswolff Swedish singer, pianist and songwriter Anna von Hausswolff will be releasing The Miraculous, her third studio album on November 13th via Other Music / City Slang / Pomperipossa. ...

ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF
annavonhausswolff.org

Sweden’s Anna von Hausswolff will be releasing Live at Montreux Jazz Festival in January 14, 2022 (Southern Lord).

Talking about her experience at the infamous Montreux Jazz Festival Anna von Hausswolff remarks:

"In the beginning of 2013 I was texting back and forth with my friend Albin Oskarsson. He wanted me to come and play at a jazz festival that he was living nearby, it was Montreux Jazz Festival. At that point I was still quite unknown outside Sweden and regardless of my friend's many attempts to contact the festival they never returned to him with an offer. I gave up the idea, he did not. Later that same year he unexpectedly died and a few years later, in 2017, an email popped up in my inbox, it was a request to open for Nick Cave and the bad seeds at the Montreux jazz festival. The tragedy that Albin was still not around to share the excitement with me gave me sorrow.

But, through the magic of music comfort came. The show was an emotional turmoil of ecstasy and grief, shared with an incredible audience and atmosphere. And, eventually, I could see his face in the venue, floating above all others, smiling and waving towards me. I’m so happy to have been given this moment and I’m beyond grateful to Montreux Jazz Festival, John Harris and Mathieu Jaton who so beautifully recorded this special concert that I will keep close to my heart forever and ever."

Live at Montreux Jazz Festival was mixed on the “Queen Neve” desk, previously owned by Queen (thus the name ) and situated at the Mountain Studios in the casino of Montreux, now ­located at Svenska Grammofonstudion, Gothenburg - further capturing the magic.

Read More Samantha Fish Samantha Fish is headlining the Cedar Cultural Center on Tuesday, in support of her new record Chills & Fever. Fish has deep Motown, soul, and R&B influence on her album, as well as edgy rock ‘n roll sound. Ken Valdez to open. 7pm, $15 ...

SAMANTHA FISH
samanthafish.com

Rounder Records will be releasing Faster, a new album from Samantha Fish. Of course, there will be a tour to help promote the record… she’ll stop by Minneapolis in January 15, 2022 (with Django Knight).

Tour dates:

12/07/21 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
12/08/21 Atlanta, GA The Eastern
12/09/21 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
12/10/21 Little Rock, AR The Hall
12/11/21 Hattiesburg, MS Historic Hattiesburg Saenger
12/14/21 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
12/15/21 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
12/16/21 Kansas City, MO The Truman
12/18/21 Milwaukee, WI Rave Basement
12/19/21 Chicago, IL Park West
12/31/21 Macon, GA Macon City Auditorium
01/12/22 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
01/13/22 Aurora, IL The Piazza
01/14/22 Bloomington, IL Castle Theatre
01/15/22 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
01/16/22 Omaha, NE Waiting Room
01/18/22 Wichita, KS Cotillion
01/19/22 Des Moines, IA Wooly’s
01/21/22 Austin, TX Mohawk
01/22/22 Houston TX The Heights
01/23/22 Dallas, TX Kessler Theater
01/30/22 Komedia, Bath
01/31/22 Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
02/01/22 Wylam Brewery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
02/03/22 O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
02/04/22 Academy 2, Manchester
02/05/22 Rock City, Nottingham
02/06/22 Tramshed, Cardiff
02/07/22 Chalk, Brighton
02/08/22 KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

NICK DORIAN
soundcloud.com/nickdorian

Rooster is the title of Nick Dorian’s new album. The record name drew inspiration from his Uncle Gaetano' Guy' Valentini's love and commitment to his pet rooster. Apparently the rooster was honored with a larger-than-life statue that broke broke the Guinness World Record for being the tallest rooster monument in the world.

Nick shares, “My uncle's love and commitment to this bird is yet another reminder of how much you can get out of something so little. With love, there's always something to crow about.”

Rooster LP Track Listing

1. Television
2. Follow The Leader
3. Seahorse Valley 2
4. Seahorse Valley 1
5. Quint’s Song
6. Ankleweights
7. Offleash
8. Streamdreams
9. How Can You Believe
10. An Old Idea

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Clockology

Read More Apple I didn’t intend to get it, but after contemplating about the Black Friday prices for the new Apple Watch SE for about $200, I couldn’t pass it up. As you know, starting last year, Apple ....

One of my biggest complaint about the Apple Watch was that there weren’t many official face options for your watch. While that remains true, I have since discovered Clockology. This changes everything.

With Clockology, you can create any sort of clock face that you want. I have downloaded a few from the internet, and I’ve modified a few of them for my needs.

The app is very powerful and contains a lot of nice perks. The only drawback is that weather and certain features are not available on the non-paid version. Normally, I wouldn’t mind paying once for a feature, but unfortunately, it’s currently subscription-based (about $20 a year).

Since I don’t have access to weather, I’ve removed a lot of those features when I tweaked these clock faces.

The other thing about Clockology is that it is really clunky how to get it to work.I’ll summarize, you need to download a special “enable beta” file. Once you download the file, you need to “Watch Sync” … and voila, the Clockology will now work on your watch.

Since it’s an app on your watch, you need to keep Clockology running… which means you might have to look in your settings to let it run in the background and so on.

So, I take it back, regarding limited clock faces for the Apple Watch. Now with the Clockology app, it’s unlimited what I can do… and now my new problem is deciding which clock face to use! I’m partial to the Star Trek’s LCARS or Fallout’s Pip Boy.

Anyway, I have put together a few of my favorite Clockology clock faces that I’ve downloaded and tweaked to my needs. Download here: drive.google.com.

Enjoy,

- Weekend Gamer

Monty Python

Fallout

Super Mario Bros

Cyberpunk 2077

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

R.I.P. Stonewall Jackson

Read More Stonewall Jackson Stonewall Jackson Waterloo One of the all-time country greats who is often overlooked these days. In this cd, you get a sampling of the hits and classic album cuts from the 50's and early 60's. Stonewalls music is "real country" at it's very best. …

Country music legend Stonewall Jackson passed away on Saturday, at thee age of 89. According to the press release, he died of a prolonged battle with vascular dementia.

Additional details from 2911 Media:

Some of Jackson's hits included "Life To Go," penned by the late, great George Jones, "Smoke Along the Track," "B.J. the D.J.," and "Waterloo," which later became his signature song. Over his career, Stonewall landed 44 singles on the Billboard country chart. His 1971 Recorded Live at the Grand Ole Opry was the first "live" album ever recorded at Nashville's 'Mother Church of Country Music', the Ryman Auditorium. The late Porter Wagoner would introduce Stonewall on his show by saying he came to the Opry "with a heart full of love and a sack full of songs."

Wide Open Country's Bobby Moore profiled Jackson just last year, saying "...he's a representative of the days of smooth-voiced, sharp-dressed country singers who helped position what was once dismissed as "hillbilly" music as a commodity that would move uptown."

To keep track of all the musicians who died this year, head over to Musicians Who Died in 2021.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

A Jazzy Christmas

Read more Christmas and Jazz Notes.

Read More Putumayo The latest Putumayo world music compilation will be focusing on vintage French chanson music from the mid-1900s era. The release will be called Vintage France, and it is coming out on February 26th (tomorrow). …

PUTUMAYO
putumayo.com

This year, Putumayo is releasing Jazz Christmas, an uplifting collection of mostly instrumental jazz for the holidays. If you like World Music, chances are, you probably own a Putumayo album. They are known for compiling some of the best music from around the world.

What I like about Putumayo is their digipak packaging and extensive booklets, containing all the information you will need to know about each song and artist.

Track Listing

1. Winter Wonderland by Tom Grant
2. The Christmas Song by Dixieland Ramblers
3. Angels We Have Heard On High by Chad Lawson Trio
4. Let It Snow by Oscar Peterson
5. I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Dixieland Ramblers
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Houston Person
7. Blue Christmas by Houston Person
8. Christmas Time in New Orleans byLars Edegran and his Santa Claus Revelers
9. Silver Bells by Papa Don Vappie’s New Orleans Jazz Band
10. Bringing In A Brand New Year by Charles Brown

Read More Nat King Cole Like many of you who grew up in the 90s, we first heard of Natalie Cole when Elvis Presley's musical director Joe Guercio had this idea of remixing her father Nat King Cole into Natalie's cover "Unforgettable", creating a …

NAT “KING” COLE
capitolrecords.com

American jazz pianist and singer, Nat “King” Cole was featured in Capitol Records’ A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined.

If you remember, Cole’s late daughter Natalie Cole did “duets” with her father’s songs, which won her three Grammy Awards in 1992 (Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance).

With A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined, it would seem they are using the same technology to have duets with modern, popular artists, such as John Legend and Gloria Estefan, etc.

The album is available on CD, vinyl, and all digital formats with an exclusive Rudolph Red vinyl available at Walmart.

Track Listing

1. Deck the Hall/Joy to the World (duet with Johnny Mathis)
2. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)/The First Noel
3. The Very Thought of You (duet with Kristin Chenoweth)
4. Auld Lang Syne (Interlude)
5. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
6. O Holy Night (duet with Calum Scott)
7. O Little Town of Bethlehem/Silent Night
8. We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Interlude)
9. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (duet with Gloria Estefan)
10. The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot
11. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire) (duet with John Legend)

Read More Bluewerks I’m actually a big fan of both Astralwerks and Blue Note… so hearing that the two iconic labels have teamed up to create Bluewerks, I’m definitely interested in hearing more. …

ASTRALWERKS
astralwerks.com

Blue Note Records and Astralwerks have teamed up for their holiday-themed lo-fi collection, Bluewerks Vol. 5: Warm Up.

When I first heard of Bluewerks in March 2021, I said, “I’m actually a big fan of both Astralwerks and Blue Note… so hearing that the two iconic labels have teamed up to create Bluewerks, I’m definitely interested in hearing more.”

Bluewerks Vol. 5: Warm Up was entirely produced by Sebastian Kamae, a Bluewerks alumnus who was featured on Bluewerks, Vol. 1: Up Down Left Right.

Track listing

1. Warm Up (Prelude)
2. Reunion
3. December
4. It's That Time
5. Home Alone
6. Ice Skating

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

We♥KC - December 1-15, 2021 Upcoming Shows (Kansas City / Lawrence / Topeka KS)

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

The holiday season is here, but things still aren’t quite the normal we’d all been hoping.  Despite a few more cancellations (see below) there’s still plenty to celebrate in the Kansas City metro in terms of live music before things wind down towards the end of the month. 

As always, check the artist and venue social pages before heading out, in case of some last-minute change of plans.
Here’s what’s happening in the area for the First half of December

(a few recommended shows are highlighted below):

12/03 Neal Francis at Bottleneck 12/03 Orthodox at The Rino 12/04 Orthodox at Bottleneck 12/04 Beabadoobee at The Truman Read More The Acacia Strain For whatever reason, this show was originally listed with The Acacia Strain to headline. The truth is, the show is actually for darkwave band She Wants Revenge. …

Wednesday December 1

Trailer Park Boys, Uptown CANCELED

Jesse McCartney, The Truman POSTPONED

Thursday December 2

Kip Moore with Gabe Lee, Uptown. $35-$159

“The Price is Right” Live!  Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland. $29.50-$65

Niko Moon with Kylie Morgan, The Truman. $17-$34

Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lyric Opera, Dec. 2-12

Friday December 3

Travis Tritt, Ameristar. $59.50-$89.50

Monophonics, RecordBar. $15-$20

Patton Oswalt, Uptown. $47-$201

Neal Francis, Bottleneck - Lawrence, $15.
Lauded Chicago-based singer-songwriter-pianist Francis is out in support of his sophomore release, In Plain Sight (on ATO Records) produced by one of our favorites, Dave (Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT) Fridmann and its lead single, “Can’t Stop the Rain” features Derek Trucks. The Bottleneck show is one of only a few chances to see him in a small room before he heads off early next year to Mexico forWilco’s Sky Blue Sky weekend and then a tour of Europe. 

Orthodox w The Acacia Strain, Kubli Khan, Dying Wish, The Rino- North KC
Fans of this Nashville-based band are celebrating, not only due to their recent signing to Century Media Records, but the chance to see them twice in the immediate area, with back-to-back shows in North KC and Lawrence.  Their 2020 2^nd LP, Let It Take Its Course received critical acclaim in the hardcore/metal press and the third album looks to be a coming-of-age record for the band.  With a solid three-band support lineup (two nights in St. Paul, MN follow), this tour has clearly hit the ground running. 

Saturday December 4
Carrot Top, Ameristar. $30-$105

Beabadoobee with Christian Leave, BlackStarKids The Truman. $20-$25
aka Beatrice Laus, this Filipino/British breakout bedroom-pop artist put out a new EP, Our Extended Play, earlier this year, with lead single, “Last Day on Earth” co-written with The 1975. Billboard ranked her the Top New Rock Artist of last year, and this is a chance to see what the buzz is about.
    Arrive early to see one of the metro’s most talked-about acts, BlackStarKids who recently released their debut album, Puppies Forever (on Dirty Hit Records) blending indie pop, hip hop and old skool riffs and rhythms, and any band with songs called “Jimmy Neutron” and “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun” is all right with us. 

Tech N9ne, Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland. $35-$45
Rising from the underground since 1991, the hometown hero returns for a holiday show.  Collaborating with everyone including Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently made his rap debut on recent track, “Face Off”. 

Orthodox w The Acacia Strain, Kubli Khan, Dying Wish, Bottleneck - Lawrence
(see above)
Sunday December 5
Disney Princess: The Concert, Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland. $29.50-$80

Ana Gasteyer, Yardley Hall, $35+
Expect some irreverence as this SNL alum performs on her “Sugar and Booze Holiday Tour”.

James Taylor & His All-Star Band with Jackson Browne, T-Mobile Center. $62.50-128
Two veteran light-rock legends join forces for some laid-back, 70s style good feelings. 

Joy Formidable w/Cuffed Up, Riot Room Postponed (new date TBD)

Monday December 6
David Sedaris, Kauffman Center. $58-70.
Always funny and interesting and usually stays and signs until the last person is served.

David Cross, Liberty Hall Lawrence CANCELED

Atreyu with Crown the Empire, Tetrarch and more. The Truman. $25-$50

12/08 Caroline Polachek at Liberty Hall 12/10 Anderson East at Madrid 12/15 Lindsey Buckingham at Uptown Read More Caroline Polachek After Chairlift broke up in 2017, lead singer Caroline Polachek decided to strike out on her own with her debut record Pang in 2019. Unfortunately, no long after the album came out, we were hit with the COVID pandemic …

Wednesday December 8
Gwar with Napalm Death and Eyehategod, Granada Lawrence. $30

Caroline Polachek, Liberty Hall - Lawrence, $25-28.
Still somewhat of a secret, this former Chairlift singer is worth catching is a small venue while you can and before she begins an opening trek for Dua Lipa.  She’s also on the just released Charli XCX single, “New Shapes” with Christine and The Queens (now That’s a supergroup!)

Thursday December 9
Illenium, Cable Dahmer Arena  - Independence

Friday December 10
Nane, Granada- Lawrence free w RSVP

The Driver Era w/ The Wrecks, The Truman, $25-$154

Anderson East, Madrid. $25-$89
The acclaimed Nashville singer-songwriter was just on “Ellen” and “CBS Saturday” and is out on his Maybe We Never Die Tour from the new album of the same name (on Elektra/Low Country). Filled with Southern soul, a tinge of giospel, country, Americana, and blues, we haven’t seen East since 2015, but know he’s sounding even better and more urgent. 

David Benoit, Folly. $20-$55

Home Free, Uptown. $24.50-$87

Swallow the Sun w/Abigail Williams, Wilderun, Riot Room CANCELED

Saturday December 11
Shiner with Spotlights, recordBar, $17-20
A Kansas City post-hardcore staple since the early 90’s Shiner returned with a newfound passion in 2012 re-releasing acclaimed 2001 album The Egg and playing a handful of shows to celebrate.  Last year, the band released new music in the form of Schadenfreude, their first new album in twenty years. 
The venue has become a home away from home for the band as well, filming a Dec 2020 performance there as a streaming option for having to cancel shows for pandemic-related reasons, but the band is now happily back to playing before live audiences and Kansas City, (who knows them best) is likely the most raucous audience to be a part of. 

Tony Orlando, Ameristar. $35

Tanya Tucker, Knuckleheads CANCELED

Monday December 13
Chris Isaak, Uptown. $35-$135

Tuesday December 14

Jim Brickman, Folly. CANCELED

Wednesday December 15

Lindsey Buckingham, Uptown, $35-$125.
After four decades with Fleetwood Mac, the legendary singer-songwriter has moved on to “go his own way” with September’sself-titled album (on Reprise Records), his seventh solo studio album and first new music in almost a decade. Keeping busy, Buckingham was also featured on The Killers’ “Caution” single and was even recently surprise spotted on SNL, alongside Halsey.

His knack for melody and singular finger-picking guitar work should be revelatory to see performed live, and expect a healthy helping of solo hits and new cuts, alongside many Fleetwood Mac classics in concert.

john (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: December 17 to December 18

12/17 Yam Haus at Palace Theatre Read More Yam Haus Scrunchies, Gully Boys, The Carnegies, Static Panic, Annie Mack, Yam Haus, Faith Boblett First Avenue Fri 01/04/2019 …

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

12/17/2021 Friday

Yam Haus
with DNM and Keep For Cheap
at Palace Theatre
first-avenue.com

Indie-pop foursome Yam Haus is currently touring with Blue October… However, they’ll be headlining the Palace Theatre in St Paul, at the end of their long stadium-sized support tour.

With their latest single, “body goes”, the band lead singer Lars Pruitt talked about how the song came about, “It is a song we wrote together with Gabe Simon and Dani Poppit in Nashville, TN. Gabe said, 'do you guys wanna write a love song?' and our guitar player Seth said 'I could say a million things about love, I don’t want to.' Gabe said, 'that’s a song.' Dani added the crazy slide guitar idea to the group and initially sang that and we were like yes that makes it a lot weirder of a song which we felt it needed. For me, on a personal level it’s pretty much about me acknowledging how happy I am to be in a super solid relationship with my significant other.”

Following the completion of the Blue October tour, they’ll headline a hometown show at Palace Theatre in Saint Paul on December 17.

DNM and Keep For Cheap to open.

Tour dates

Nov. 27 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Nov. 28 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Dec 1. – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
Dec. 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Dec. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco Theater
Dec. 4 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
Dec. 5 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues Anaheim
Dec. 17 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre

12/17 Maggie Rose at 7th St Entry Read More Maggie Rose Nashville roots-rock soul powerhouse Maggie Rose released her third studio album Have a Seat. The album recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, and was produced by Ben Tanner …

12/17/2021 Friday

Maggie Rose
with Them Vibes and Dylan Hartigan
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Excerpt Girls Girls Girls: Diamond, Rainbow, Pink, Rose

MAGGIE ROSE
maggierosemusic.com

Nashville roots-rock soul powerhouse Maggie Rose released her third studio album Have a Seat. The album recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, and was produced by Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes).

Rose comments, “These songs were written during a contentious time, and there are undertones to the lyrics that are influenced by the state of our world politics and the politics of the music industry. The title Have a Seat is responsorial, placing an emphasis on inclusivity — like, ‘Here, sit down. Let’s try talking to each other.’ One of the most loving things we can do is listen and make others feel heard — give people the space to speak their mind and be themselves. However, there’s also an intended meaning to the title that points to the power in occupying the seat that’s designated to you: I am claiming a seat I believe is rightfully mine, and I want others to do the same.”

Maggie Rose On Tour

12/8 @ Asbury Lanes | Asbury Park, NJ
12/9 @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn | Brooklyn, NY
12/10 @ Birchmere | Alexandria, VA
12/15 @ Knuckleheads Saloon | Kansas City, MO
12/16 @ Shank Hall | Milwaukee, WI
12/17 @ 7th Street Entry | Minneapolis, MN
12/18 @ SPACE | Evanston, IL

12/17 L.A. Witch at Fine Line Read More L.A. Witch The first time we saw L.A. Witch, they opened up for the Kills in May 2016. We described the trio (Sade Sanchez, Irita Pai, and Ellie English) as “musically, the moody band sounded like Mazzy Star (vocally) …

12/17/2021 Friday

L.A. Witch
with Black Widows and Big Salt
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

All-girls band L.A. Witch will be stopping by the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis on December 17th. The trio recently teamed up with Atlanta’s The Coathangers to release One Way or the Highway, out now on Suicide Squeeze.

Black Widows and Big Salt to open.

Tour dates:

Nov 27 isbee, AZ at The Quarry
Nov 30 Denton, TX at Andy's Bar
Dec 2 Atlanta, GA at 529
Dec 3 Carrboro, NC at Cat's Cradle
Dec 4 Baltimore, MD at Baltimore Soundstage
Dec 5 Philadelphia, PA at Underground Arts
Dec 7 Brooklyn, NY at Warsaw
Dec 8 Boston, MA at Paradise Rock Club
Dec 9 Montreal, QC at L'Astral
Dec 10 Toronto, ON at Danforth Music Hall
Dec 11 Millvale, PA at Mr Smalls Theatre
Dec 11 Pittsburgh, PA at Mr. Smalls
Dec 12 Cleveland, OH at Beachland Ballroom
Dec 14 Columbus, OH at Skully's Music Diner
Dec 15 Detroit, MI at Magic Stick
Dec 16 Chicago, IL at Metro
Dec 17 Minneapolis, MN at Fine Line
Dec 19 Denver, CO at Bluebird Theater
Jan 14 Highland Park, CA at Lodge Room
Jan 15 San Diego, CA at The Casbah
May 4 Milan, Italy at Biko
May 20 London at Moth Club
May 24 Berlin, Germany at Kantine am Berghain
May 25 Copenhagen, Denmark at Musikcaféen
May 28 Johanneshov, Sweden at Hus 7

12/18 Chicano Batman at First Avenue Read More Chicano Batman Chicano Batman to open. The cape crusader was last seen at SXSW with their new song “Black Lipstick”, featuring back up vocals by Saudia Yasmein. …

12/18/2021 Saturday

Chicano Batman
with Los Retros
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Los Angeles’ Chicano Batman will be headlining the mainroom at First Avenue this December 18th. The group latest album Invisible People came out on ATO Records in 2020… but obviously with the pandemic, this will be the first time we’ll hear the songs live in Minnesota.

Los Retros to open. The band recently shared their new single, “Solo Tu”, which was inspired by a classic Spanish love song… and it is their first Spanish-language song.

Tour dates:

12/09 Nashville, TN: Brooklyn Bowl *
12/10 Atlanta, GA: Terminal West *
12/11 Raleigh, NC: Lincoln Theatre *
12/13 Boston, MA: Paradise *
12/14 New York, NY: Webster Hall *
12/15 Philadelphia, PA: Union Transfer *
12/17 Chicago, IL: Concord Music Hall *
12/18 Minneapolis, MN: First Avenue *

* w/ Los Retros

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda With a retro look, legendary flourishes, and the power to save Hyrule, the Game & Watch™: The Legend of Zelda™ system is a jam-packed tribute to 35 years of the Legend of Zelda series. Adventure through three iconic classics and enjoy all-new old-school fun with this stylish handheld system. • Included are three Full Legend of Zelda games; The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The adventure of Link, and the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. • There's also a version of the Game & Watch classic, Vermin, starring Link, and a playable clock and timer. Read More Nintendo Switch I’ve wanted the Nintendo Switch since I first heard about it last October 2016. The system launched in March 2017, but it immediately sold out everywhere. …

Surprisingly, I’ve been really enjoying the recent Diablo II: Resurrected , that I pre-ordered on the PC … I loved it so much that I ended up re-buying it on the Nintendo Switch.

Speaking of Nintendo, I’ve recently added the latest Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda to my gaming collection. If you have last year’s Nintendo Game & Watch: Super Mario Brothers, then you know what to expect with this new Game & Watch.

One thing is for sure, Nintendo makes really good hardware. The Game & Watch is well-made, looks great with the new color scheme (gold & bright neon green), and the D-Pad and buttons feels good. The best part is that the battery life will lasts you weeks on a charge. I put the original Mario Bros in off mode and turned it on six months later and it still held a good battery charge!

The Zelda Game & Watch comes with three games: the original classic The Legend of Zelda, the sequel Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and the Gameboy The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Since I’ve never own the Gameboy, I never played the original black & white Link’s Awakening version… however, Nintendo re-made the game in 3-D and in color for the Nintendo Switch in 2018. I did buy and played the Switch version, however, I never beat it. I got to a point in the game that I didn’t know what to do or where to go, so I just gave up. I will probably re-visit this game in the future and hopefully win the game (or at least just play the original version).

As for the first two original Zelda games, yes, I’m proud to say that I did beat them both when I was very young. Our family was fortunate enough to own the original Nintendo Entertainment System (that came bundled with light gun and Duck Hunt)… so I know those original games very well. Beat Super Mario Bros, beat Zelda, heck, even beat Dragon Warrior (aka Dragon Quest).

The sad thing is that now that I’m much older, I don’t think I’ll have the time to actually play and beat Zelda again. I did started playing the first game again, by entering in a cheat code – holding down the A button for a few minutes and it will start the game with full hearts.

Using that cheat, I found and beat about three dungeons. At first the world can be overwhelming… but as I started to play, the world does seems much smaller than what I remembered.

Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun with it. I still have such fond memories of it… and playing it again for the first time in years, it just remind me of a simpler time.

I can’t say I would recommend the Game & Watch to anyone, only for those who grew up with the original classic Nintendo. I feel it’s overpriced at $50. This should be a $20 or $30 item… if it was in that lower price range, I would buy them as gifts.

Still, if you’re a Zelda fan, you need to have this. It’s small & light enough that you can just put it in a coat pocket.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: December 14 to December 15

12/14 Houndmouth at Fine Line Read More Houndmouth Houndmouth is headlining First Avenue’s mainroom on Tuesday. Show up early to check out Frederick The Younger, touring in support of Human Child. ....

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

12/14/2021 Thursday

Houndmouth
with Ona
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Indiana’s Houndmouth is touring in support of their fourth album Good For You. They’ll stop by the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis.

West Virgina’s Ona (Singer/guitarist Bradley Jenkins, keys Brad Goodall, bassist Zach Johnston, drummer Max Nolte, and guitarist Zack Owens) to open.

Tour dates

11/26 Indianapolis,IN - The Vogue
11/27 Indianapolis,IN - The Vogue
12/10 Columbia,MO - The Blue Note
12/11 Des Moines,IA - Wooly’s
12/12 Madison,WI - Majestic Theatre
12/14 Minneapolis,MN - Fine Line
12/16 Milwaukee,WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
12/17 Chicago,IL - Thalia Hall
12/18 Chicago,IL - Thalia Hall
12/23 Huntington,WV - The Loud
04/19 Mr. Smalls Café @ Millvale, PA
05/03 Elevation 27 @ Virginia Beach, VA
06/02 Schellraiser Music Festival 2022 @ Mcgill, NV

12/15 Glorious Sons at Varsity Theater Read More The Glorious Sons The Glorious Sons Palace Theatre Sat 07/13/2019 (6:30pm/$29.50) Rock band The Struts is back! The UK group released YOUNG&DANGEROUS last year on Interscope Records. ....

12/15/2021 Wednesday

The Glorious Sons
with American Scarecrow, Brother Elsey
at Varsity Theater
varsitytheater.com

JUNO Award winning, two-time CRIA Platinum-certified and six-time CRIA Gold-certified rock group The Glorious Sons will stop by the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on December 15, as part of their “Unfinished Business” tour.

The band also recently opened for The Rolling Stones, which was a real honor for them.

Tour dates:

12/10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
12/11 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
12/12 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
12/14 - Chicago, IL - Metro
12/15 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
12/17 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
12/18 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection
1/14 - Victoria, BC - The Royal Theatre*
1/15 - Victoria, BC - The Royal Theatre*
1/18 - Mission, BC - Clarke Theatre*
1/20 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom*
1/21 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom*
1/22 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom*
1/25 - Vernon, BC - Performing Arts Centre*
1/27 - Grand Prairie, AB - Bowes Event Centre
1/28 - Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Convention *
1/29 - Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall*
1/31 - Red Deer, AB - Bar & Stage*
2/1 - Red Deer, AB - Bar & Stage*
2/3 - Lethbridge, AB - Enmax Centre*
2/5 - Saskatoon, SK - TCU Place*
2/9 - Regina, SK - Conexus Arts Centre*
2/10 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Place*
2/11 - Thunder Bay, ON - Community *
2/16 - Ottawa, ON - TD Place*
2/17 - Peterborough, ON - Memorial Centre*
2/19 - London, ON - Bud Gardens*
2/21 - Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square*
2/22 - Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square*
2/23 - Windsor, ON - Chrysler Theatre*
2/24 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre*
2/26 - St. Catharines, ON - Meridian Centre*
3/3 - Montreal, QC – Mtelus*
3/4 - Quebec City, QC - Impérial Bell*
3/10 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall*
3/11 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall*
3/12 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall*

*w/special guest JJ Wilde

12/15 Allen Stone at Fine Line Read More Allen Stone Allen Stone w/Samm Henshaw at The Truman (POSTPONED) He may look like a busking hippie but Stone has become a seasoned and confident live performer, this time out on his Building Balance Tour …

12/15/2021 Wednesday

Allen Stone
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

American soul/R&B singer and songwriter Allen Stone recently released Apart on ATO Records. He will be stopping by the Fine Line in Minneapolis on December 15 to promote the new record.

We caught Stone in Dec 2018 and said, “Highlights also included a Stone solo section of ‘Where You're At’ (a positive song about living in the present which the crowd sang along with) and ‘Give You Blue’ (prefaced by Stone’s openness about anxiety and depression and not being afraid to ask for help) and the new ‘Taste of You’, a sample of the new Jamie Lidell-produced music to come in 2019.”

Tour dates

12/02 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
12/03 Albany, NY - Empire Live
12/04 Philadelphia, PA - City Winery – Philadelphia
12/05 Boston, MA - City Winery - Boston
12/08 Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre
12/10 New York, NY - City Winery New York
12/11 New York, NY - City Winery New York
12/13 Detroit, MI - St Andrews
12/14 Chicago, IL - City Winery
12/15 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
12/31 Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre
1/10 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom
1/11 Charlotte, NC - Underground
1/13 Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
1/14 Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live
1/15 Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
1/16 Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre
1/18 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
1/19 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
1/21 Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
1/22 San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
1/24 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
1/26 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
1/28 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
1/29 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
2/01 San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater
2/03 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
2/05 Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
2/07 Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
2/08 Denver, CO - Summit
2/10 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
2/11 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Apple Watch SE

Read More Apple The iconic iPhone 7 has been announced by Apple yesterday (September 7th). It is the latest and greatest from the company, and they are getting a lot of negative feedback about the lack of a headphone jack ....

I didn’t intend to get it, but after contemplating about the Black Friday prices for the new Apple Watch SE for about $200, I couldn’t pass it up. As you know, starting last year, Apple introduced their “budget” Apple Watch, the SE, which strips out some features.

What’s missing from the SE is a faster/latest processor, no ECG and blood oximiter sensors, no always-on display, and lacking UWB or 5GHz Wi-Fi communication capabilities. If you absolutely have to one of those things, then you need to buy the new Series 7.

My biggest complaint is that you must have an iPhone to use with the Apple Watch. I believe you can only have one active watch at one time, so if you own multiple Apple Watches, it only works with just one.

The other complaint is that battery life is absolutely bad. You need to charge it every day. To be fair, most smart watches requires you to charge once a day. My Amazfit GTR 2 advertised battery life of 7 days, but in reality, it’s really only two or three days. So battery life just sucks all across the board.

My last complaint is there aren’t many watch faces officially available from Apple. I’m assuming that it will get better over time. There are many third party watch face makers, but none of them are very good. The really good one costs subscription fees, which I would rather not pay for. If they sell individual face for, say $1, I wouldn’t mind paying for one or two… but unfortunately, there’s not many choices.

Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the new watch. I feel it’s “fast enough” for my needs, and it has all the health tracking abilities in other smart watches. My two health focus is sleep tracking and heart beats… but obviously, you can use it to track various other things, like standing up or walking/running.

One of the coolest thing going from my Amazfit watch to the Apple Watch is that Apple has some applications built for WatchOS… which Amazfit some some Android Watches don’t have. For example, I used the calculator on my watch (for tipping) and showed up the compass on the watch to my brother.

Another perk in the Apple brand that you may not be aware of, is all the many, many, many accessories you can get for the Apple Watch. Need a new wrist band ? There are a million bands out there. Don’t want to pay $100 for Apple’s Milanese Loop ? There are knock-offs you can get for $15 (which is exactly what I did for a similar Milanese Loop at Walmart).

So, if you’re keeping track, I’m officially 100% into the Apple Echosystem, owning the new iPhone 13, iPad Pro 12.9 (2021), Apple TV (HD), and, now, the Apple Watch SE (2021).

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Divinity: Original Sin II on the iPad

Read More Larian Studios I have been hyped about Baldur’s Gate 3 since Larian Studios announced their teaser in August 2019. I’ve already mentioned that I was a massive fan of Black Isle Studios …

You know I’m a big fan of Larian Studios, the Belgium company that is currently developing Baldur’s Gate III (which I already pre-ordered) and the successful Divinity series. While I haven’t loved the original games from 2002, I came around with 2014’s Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel Divinity: Original Sin II.

Sadly, I haven’t beaten either of the Divinity: Original Sin saga, but from all my hours of gameplay, I love it. So much that I’ve decided to spend $25 to see how Divinity: Original Sin II will work on my iPad Pro 12.9. I saw that it supported Bluetooth controller and keyboard, but I will likely just use touch to play.

In the past, I’ve played around with Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II on the iPad, but those games originally came out in 1998 and 2000 (and yes, I bought and played them back then).

With Divinity: Original Sin II, which originally came out in 2017, on the iPad, I was just eager to see a semi-recent, modern game on the iPad. We all know that Apple have never been known for video games… so I’m glad to see companies, like Larian, take a chance.

So, for some bad news, those with older iPads, they cannot run the game. The game will run on iPad Pro 2018 to 2021 (basically any iPad with the A12 Bionic chip or later). The other bad news is that the game will take up at least 18GB of storage, so if you have an 32GB iPad, it’s going to take up half your space!

Even many users might feel that $25 is expensive (especially for an iPad app), you have to understand that this is a first-class game. I’ve played the PC, I’ve paid $50 for the game originally, so $25 is really bargain, in my opinion…. But it’s true, $25 is a million times more expensive than the typical $1.99 iPad.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com