W♥M

R.I.P. John Sykes (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder)

(Read more Musicians who died in 2025)

R.I.P. John Sykes

One of blues rock’s unsung, but no less accomplished guitar heroes, John Sykes, has passed away at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. Sykes is best known for his work with band Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, his own trio Blue Murder, and for his solo work.

The news broke via the guitarist’s Facebook page:

“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer. He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.

He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog,” it continued. “In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years.

While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”

John Sykes was born in Reading, Berkshire, UK on July 29, 1959, and initially took interest in guitar at age fourteen, when an uncle taught him a few Eric Clapton riffs and he would continue practicing them on an old nylon-stringed guitar, eventually joining a band called Streetfighter.

He would leave that band to join Tygers of Pan Tang, a Whitley Bay UK band that had become part of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal, playing on their second and third albums, Spellbound and Crazy Nights, as their second guitarist before leaving to audition to play with Ozzy Osborne.

Sykes would connect with Thin Lizzy’s singer/guitarist Phil Lynott to collaborate on the single, “Please Don’t Leave Me” in 1982, and was asked to join the band soon after. Thin Lizzy would break up by 1983 (with Lynott passing away in 1986) and Sykes agreed to join David Coverdale in Whitesnake (after Coverdale’s talks with Michael Schenker and Adrian Vandenberg fell through). Sykes played and co-wrote most songs on the band’s arguably two best albums, “Slide It In’ and the 1987 self-titled record (still their best-selling) before tensions and delays found Coverdale firing everyone before the latter album’s release.

Sykes would go on to form Blue Murder with bassist Tony (The Firm) Franklin and drummer Carmine (Vanilla Fudge) Appice releasing two studio and one live album, before embarking on a solo career in the mid-90’s. Five albums would follow, and his last releases were two separate singles in 2021. Sykes leaves behind his three sons, James, John Jr, and Sean and his former wife.

courtesy Richard Aaron / Getty

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

We♥KC! January 22-31, 2025 Upcoming concerts / shows (Kansas City, MO)

Read More Natalie Jane ‘Natalie Jane’s first-ever North American headline run – is completely sold-out. She will be stopping by St Paul, at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, on March 23, 2024. Jane recently shared her new single, “Tattoos”, a song... …

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

It’s those dog days of winter, when you think it can’t get any colder and it seems easier to stay in, with a bowl of soup.

But streets have been cleared and more people staying in, means less traffic outside and hopefully better parking for any show. It also means the best NFL games of the season and playoff football in full effect, with the Chiefs hosting the AFC Championship on their quest for a historic three-peat. Good days to be a local sports fan.

As January ends, the current Broadway season continues with a recent Tony Award winner for Best Revival and a handful of interesting other shows. And anyone’s dry January concludes- cheers!

Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming week, from January 22^nd to 31st:

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

 

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 22

THURSDAY JANUARY 23

FRIDAY JANUARY 24

David Ramirez / Dylan LeBlanc, Jan 24, Knuckleheads, $25

Singer/songwriter David Ramirez has announced the March 21st release of All The Not So Gentle Reminders (Blue Corn Music), his most ambitious album to date, and is currently on a co-headlining US and UK/European tour. The twelve-song album, his sixth LP, is a creative revelation. “I love all the records I’ve made in the past,” says Ramirez. “But in making them, there was always the thought in the back of my mind of where and what it could get me… this time it was all about just the joy of making it, about having fun with it.”

Jan 24 Ramirez LeBlanc

Meanwhile, fellow singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc drew from his experience growing up as a poor kid in Louisiana on his fifth LP, Coyote (released last October on ATO Records). LeBlanc left his fans with a cliffhanger on the 2023 album’s final song, “The Outside,” which found Coyote and his girlfriend driving a stolen Camaro toward the Mexican border only to be stopped by a police roadblock. The song ends with our anti-hero grabbing his gun, unsure of his next move, his fate up in the air.

A deluxe version of the album including four additional songs, now picks up where the original LP left off. “I kind of [knew] this was going to be part of the plan,” LeBlanc says. “Just put out the rest of it and sort of tidy things up.”

The singer-guitarist grew up poor in Shreveport, LA, where he fell in with a tough crowd during his teenage years. LeBlanc himself could have easily drifted down a troubled path, but his love of music helped him avoid that. By age 20, LeBlanc had released his debut album, Pauper’s Dream. Then came two more albums and a move to ATO Records with the release of his 2019 album, Renegade.

Jan 24 Nat Jane

Natalie Jane, Jan 24, The Truman, $25

Continuing her 'Sick To My Stomach' Tour' which is named after her recent EP, released last September via Capitol Music Group/ 10K Projects. Her set will showcase everything fans have come to love about the New Jersey-raised, Los Angeles-based artist - her exhilarating vocal range, her evocative music choices, and her gift for making complex feelings feel relatable.

Natalie was one of 2023’s most viewed artists on TikTok in the U.S., landing at #2 on “The Hitmakers” year-end list. She’s racked up over 500 million combined global streams to date with hits like “AVA,” “Seven,” “Mentally Cheating,” “Do or Die,” and “Intrusive Thoughts” — all found on her debut EP, Where Am I?

 

SATURDAY JANUARY 25

Aerosmith w The Black Crowes, Jan 25 T-Mobile Center, CANCELED

SUNDAY JANUARY 26

MONDAY JANUARY 27

TUESDAY JANUARY 28

Parade (Broadway Touring), Jan 28-Feb 2, Kauffman Center, $61-$131

Jan 28 Parade

Landing in Kansas City is one of the most anticipated recent Broadway productions and the winner of the 2023 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, Parade. Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in the red hills of Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. Riveting and gloriously hopeful, Parade reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.

The New York Times said, “this revival, filled with deft flourishes by director Michael Arden, recalls an era of big casts, big stories, and big talent–a time when musicals actually felt like events.  Entertainment Weekly called it “the most gorgeous production on Broadway. ” Time Out New York stated that “Parade will echo for a long time to come.”

Parade is directed by Tony Award® winner Michael Arden, with book by two-time Tony Award® winner, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Academy Award® winner Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by three-time Tony Award® winner Jason Robert Brown, and co-conceived by 21-time Tony Award®-winning legend Harold Prince.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 29

THURSDAY JANUARY 30

FRIDAY JANUARY 31

Wayne Newton, Jan 31, Ameristar, $60-$80

Away from the desert and out on his “Up Close And Personal Tour”, Newton, a.k.a “The Midnight Idol,” a.k.a “Mr. Entertainment” has been entertaining folks for 60 years, earning his musical fame in 1963 with what would become his signature song, “Danke Schoen.” (Remember it in “Ferris Bueller” too?

Jan 31 Newton

Newton has released an amazing 165 albums and had several other hits across his career, including “Daddy, Don’t You Walk So Fast,” “Red Roses for a Blue Lady,” “At This Moment,” “The Letter,” and “Summer Wind.”

Fun fact is that he also plays 13 different instruments and has performed more than 25,000 shows in Las Vegas earning him the title of “Mr. Las Vegas”. Newton’s acting career has seen him appear in scores of tv shows and movies, including “Bonanza” and “The Lucy Show”, “Vegas Vacation,” “License to Kill,” “Sharknado: The 4th Awakens,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and most recently the comedy series “Hacks.”

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

Flashback: Wye Oak at Turf Club (05 Apr 2011)

Wye Oak Setlist The Alter Holy Holy Plains Hot as Day My Creator Dogs Eyes Civilian That I Do Mother (Danzig cover) Take It In We Were Wealth I Hope You Die -- Encore -- Doubt For Prayer Callers Setlist Fortune 5/6 Glow Arms Dressed Lung Life Of Love Heartbeat (Wire cover) You Are An Arc AWRY More Than Right Read More Wye Oak Wye Oak will be returning in 2014 with a brand new yet-untitled album from Merge Records, the follow-up to their 2011's Civilian. Singer Jenn Wasner talked to Spin Magazine about the new album… Zoo Animal Next was Zoo Animal, a band that I've seen a few times. Mostly with just Holly Newsom by herself, so it's always nice to see her backed up with a full functioning band. …

Around this time singing waitress Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack from Wye Oak stopped by the Turf Club in April 2011, as part of a promotional tour for Civilian (Merge Records).

In 2023, they released Every Day Like the Last, which the title may suggest this was their last album.

It’s been a long time since I heard from Zoo Animal. I think the last time I saw the band, it was just Holly Hansen by her lonesome, so it could be that if she’s still active, it’s just solo performances. Update: the last time the band played was in 2022, per First Avenue’s website.

As for Callers, the band that I was most impressed with at this show - this was their first and only Minneapolis appearance (according to First Avenue). The details about the band is that they are a trio (Ryan and Sara and Don) and met at Melvin's, a bar on St. Claude in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. They moved to Providence, then settled in Brooklyn.

Their Wikipedia said that after they released Reviver on Partisan in 2012, singer Sara Lucas joined the Latin alternative group LADAMA. Ryan Seaton joined Open House. Lucas left Ladama in 2023… currently she is working on some solo music.

Original report:

>>>

Wye Oak, with Callers and Zoo Animal played a late show in Saint Paul on April 5^th to a pretty packed Turf Club venue.

We've previously covered both Zoo Animal and Wye Oak before, so I won't spend too much talking about them.

The thing to note about Zoo Animal is that I think Holly Newsom has a pretty interesting way of singing. It reminds me of Thao Nguyen, the way words fade in and out. A Big Takeover writer once told me that she thought Newsom is so handsome, but she doesn't exploit it at all, which I'll agree with.

Of course, I've seen Wye Oak a few times now and it's funny to see their growth throughout the years. They mentioned that this was their seventh time playing in Minneapolis/St Paul.

I used to think they were really shy, but seeing Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack on Tuesday, they seem a lot more comfortable on stage. Also new, this time around, they had help from a Callers' horn player. I thought that was cool.

The highlight of their show is their cover of Danzig's "Mother". The story that Wasner told was that this song was fairly new and they specifically asked people in the audience to not put it on the internet - and then they found out that it's on youtube already. She seemed really crossed about the whole thing. Hearing the song live, I can mentally see Glenn Danzig's disapproval: it's just too sissy.

I mentioned how packed The Turf Club got, and surprisingly a ton of people got up close to the stage when Callers came on. This is a good indication that a lot of people were here for this opening band.

The band's sound is hard to explain, it's what you would think of jazz vocals (very smooth style by singer Sara Lucas) with art-rock math music, provided by Don Godwin and Ryan Seaton. The whole thing sounds very New York.

As you can see from their setlist, they had a little trouble deciding on which songs belong where. The titles are also codes for other songs, for instance, "LOL" is meant for their title track of their latest album, Life of Love, and "WIRE" seems obvious for their Wire cover song, "Heartbeat". It also looks like they did mostly new songs, with the exception of the intro song, "Fortune" from their Fortune album.

I did end up picking up their latest album on vinyl, mostly because I wanted to support the band and, also, I was rather impressed by the die-cut custom sleeve (you can see a picture of this cover at Western Vinyl). You often see gimmick color vinyls, but die-cut covers are still pretty rare.

Read more Flashback.

Wye Oak at Turf Club (05 May 2011)

Zoo Animal Holly Hansen (vuart) Callers

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: February 17 to February 19, 2025

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

17 Feb 2025 Jordana with Rachel Bobbitt at 7th St Entry Read More Jordana Twenty-one year old artist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jordana is touring in support of her new album Face The Wall. She’ll tour with Wallows in May, then with New York’s … Rachel Bobbitt Next up was Toronto’s Rachel Bobbitt, on her adventures through the USA. She’s joined on stage with guitarist Justice, drummer Stephen, and bassist Isaac. It was their first time in Minnesota .…

17 Feb 2025 Monday

Jordana
with Rachel Bobbitt
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Maryland-raised and LA-based songwriter Jordana returns to Minneapolis this February 17, 2025, in support of her new album Lively Premonition (Grand Jury).

Jordana at First Avenue (01 Aug 2022)

We saw Jordana in Aug 2022 and noted, “Comparing the two shows, Jordana seemed much more excited to play in front of a much larger audience. She is a real fan of Local Natives, so it’s an honor for her to play with them. And she’s made plenty of newfound fans, who would sometime shout out, “you’re awesome!” as she played on stage. As with her previous appearance, Jordana is joined on stage by guitarist/sometime keys Hayden, guitarist Sagiv Rosenstock, drummer Blake, and a bendable Gumby toy sitting on the mic stand. God, she loves that thing.”

Rachel Bobbitt at Turf Club (29 Sep 2023)

Rachel Bobbitt to open. We saw her in her first MN appearance in Sep 2023 and wrote, “Next up was Toronto’s Rachel Bobbitt, on her adventures through the USA. She’s joined on stage with guitarist Justice, drummer Stephen, and bassist Isaac. It was their first time in Minnesota, and Rachel confessed that the only thing she knows about the state is from the movie Fargo… “so no one murders anyone tonight!” she joked. Her set included some songs from her EP The Half We Still Have, such as “Two Bit”. Although her latest release is a cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams”, she actually didn’t play that track. Instead her cover of Sharon Van Etten’s “Love More” was played. This is one of her first cover that she posted in seven years ago.”

Tour Dates:

01-24 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's

01-25 Washington, DC - Union Stage

01-26 Durhman, NC - Cat's Cradle - Back Room

01-28 Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - Purgatory

01-29 Nashville, TN - The Room @ Third Man Records

02-01 Dallas, TX - Club Dada

02-02 Austin, TX - Antone's

02-05 Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar

02-06 San Diego, CA - Voodoo Room

02-07 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo

02-08 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill

02-11 Portland, OR - Holocene

02-12 Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's

02-14 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court

02-15 Denver, CO - Globe Hall

02-17 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry

02-18 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall

02-20 Toronto, ON - The Drake

02-22 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

02-23 Boston, MA - The Sinclair

19 Feb 2025 Stephen Day at 7th St Entry Read More Stephen Day The last time we heard from Stephen Day, it was in 2019, when he released his album Guess I’m Grown Now. We were supposed to see Day open for Juice in July 2019, but he cancelled. …

19 Feb 2025 Wednesday

Stephen Day
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Nashville-based soul-pop singer/songwriter Stephen Day is kicking off his 2025 tour in Minneapolis on February 19, 2025. Day’s new album Gold Mine is out now.

Tour Dates:

2/19/25 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry

2/20/25 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

2/21/25 – Indianapolis, IN – Turntable

2/22/25 – Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig

2/26/25 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

2/28/25 – Boston, MA – Sonia at Middle East

3/1/25 – Philadelphia, PA – Milkboy

3/2/25 – Washington, DC – Union Stage

3/4/25 – Carborro, NC – Back Room

3/8/25 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West

3/18/25 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East

3/19/25 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn

3/21/24 – St. Louis, MO – Duck Room

3/22/25 – Kansas City, MO – RecordBar

3/24/25 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall

3/25/25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge

3/27/25 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s

3/28/25 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre

3/30/25 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord

4/1/25 – San Diego, CA – Casbah

4/5/25 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

4/7/25 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge

4/10/25 – Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co

4/11/25 – Austin, TX – 3Ten ACL Live

19 Feb 2025 A R I Z O N A with Moody Joody at First Avenue

19 Feb 2025 Wednesday

A R I Z O N A
with Moody Joody
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

New Jersey’s Arizona (stylized as A R I Z O N A) will be headlining First Avenue, in Minneapolis, on February 19, 2025.

Nashville-based shimmer pop band Moody Joody to open. Their latest single “El Camino High” is out now.

Tour dates:

Dec 13 Phoenix, AZ, US The Van Buren

Feb 12 2025 Washington, DC, US 9:30 Club

Feb 14 2025 Toronto, ON, Canada The Danforth Music Hall

Feb 15 2025 Detroit, MI, US Saint Andrew's Hall

Feb 16 2025 Columbus, OH, US The Bluestone

Feb 18 2025 Chicago, IL, US House of Blues

Feb 19 2025 Minneapolis, MN, US First Avenue

Feb 21 2025 Denver, CO, US Summit

Feb 22 2025 Salt Lake City, UT, US The Complex

Feb 24 2025 Seattle, WA, US Showbox SoDo

Feb 26 2025 Oakland, CA, US Fox Theater

Feb 28 2025 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US The Wiltern

Mar 1 2025 San Diego, CA, US Observatory North Park

Mar 4 2025 Dallas, TX, US House of Blues

Mar 5 2025 Austin, TX, US Emo's Austin

Mar 7 2025 Atlanta, GA, US Variety Playhouse

Mar 8 2025 Nashville, TN, US Brooklyn Bowl

Mar 9 2025 Charlotte, NC, US The Underground

Mar 12 2025 Philadelphia, PA, US The Fillmore

Mar 13 2025 Boston, MA, US Citizens House of Blues

Mar 15 2025 New York (NYC), NY, US Irving Plaza

Mar 19 2025 Brooklyn, NY, US Warsaw

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Jamie xx at the Armory (01-18-25)

15 Jan 2025 18 Jan 2025 Jamie xx with Numero Group DJs at Armory Tour Dates January 20 Vancouver, BC, Canada PNE Forum January 21 Seattle, WA, USA WAMU Theater January 23 Los Angeles, CA, USA Shrine Expo Hall January 25 San Francisco, CA, USA Cow Palace January 27 Austin, TX, USA Concourse Project January 28 Dallas, TX, USA Factory January 30 Washington, DC, USA The Anthem January 31 Boston, MA, USA Roadrunner February 01 Philadelphia, PA, USA Franklin Music Hall March 09 Brussels, Belgium ING Arena March 11 Amsterdam, Netherlands AFAS Live March 12 Hamburg, Germany Sporthalle March 13 Copenhagen, Denmark K.B. Hallen March 14 Berlin, Germany Uber Eats Music Hall March 15 Poznan, Poland MTP 3A March 17 Prague, Czechoslovakia Forum Karlin March 18 Offenbach, Germany Stadthalle March 19 Milan, Italy Big Theatre - MIND March 21 Paris, France Adidas Arena Read More Jamie xx Jamie xx, the English musician, DJ, record producer, and remixer, from The xx, is headlining the Armory, in Minneapolis, this Saturday, January 18. As a solo artist, he’s been recognized with a Mercury Prize … the xx Undoubtedly one of the hottest bands is London's The xx. With their sophomore album, Coexist, just released last month, the band proved that they're not some sort of one-hit/one-trick pony. …

As an arctic blast poured into the Twin Cities in the form of a polar vortex, a propulsive beat of electronic dance music provided a welcome counter to the plummeting temperature outside.

The person behind the mixers and turntables? James Thomas Smith, better known as Jamie xx. One has to appreciate the stage name for it is a nod to the band he helped form with a group of London classmates in 2005: the xx.

Jamie xx has been on a worldwide tour, promoting his sophomore album, Waves. Starting off in Mexico City in October of last year, he has already been to ports of call like Santiago, Manila, Bangkok and Tokyo. He had four sold out shows at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC. And after spending the rest of January in the United States, he finishes up his last leg in European cities like Amsterdam, Hamburg, Milan and Poznań.

In fact, Jamie has been in a constant state of touring. That’s why there is an almost ten-year gap between his second and first album, In Colour, a fan and critic favorite that was shortlisted for a Mercury and nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album.

The Guardian has described Jamie as an “... unremittingly joyous DJ” and described his sound as warm, introspective and intoxicating, adding, “The best, most profound clubbing experiences take place in small, intimate venues, not in aircraft hangers.”

Unfortunately, Jamie’s fan base can no longer fit into a venue like 7th Street Entry. Still, his team made a go of capturing the feel of intimacy by turning the lights down low and ringing the dance floor with light towers to hem in the crowd. There were two sprawling video screens behind Jamie, but they would not be used until much later into his two-hour set.

The DJ’s who produce their own music can be viewed as alchemists, creating magic from strands of music. The best can even be seen in a jazz vein of never playing their songs the same way, but always tinkering, always experimenting behind that table of expensive equipment, as in “The Feeling I Get From You,” which started with a slower, pensive pace with falling piano chords, sounding like Pachabel’s “Canon in D”. Then a female singer, singing far away like she was in a distant alley filled with tin trash cans. And as the piano chords picked up to a danceable beat, they appeared to go underwater.

Why? Why not? It was fascinating to see where Jamie was headed. And by the time his team flipped on the giant video screens flashing audience members looking at themselves, Jamie was in full dance mode with an expansive Prince cover “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night.” Then songs from his album like “All You Children”, “Falling Together” and finishing with “Dafodil” before waving to the crowd and sauntering offstage, the reverberation of the song still sending waves through the crowd.

Jamie xx at Armory (18 Jan 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

The Chinese Connection

Generated by GROK Read More Path of Exile 2 Earlier this year, in my review of Last Epoch, I wrote that Path of Exile 2 was going to launch in 2024. Well, the game has officially launched in beta on Friday, December 6, 2024. If you want to play the game … …

ELON MA
x.com

I think by now you’ve all heard that Elon Musk is a liar and cheater. Last year, Musk boasts that he’s ranked top 20 players worldwide on Diablo IV, and that was already suspicious. I personally didn’t believe it, but I didn’t really care or questioned it because, I had stopped playing the game (because it sucks).

Recently, Musk showed off that he’s at level 97 (ranked 13 worldwide) in hardcore mode on Path of Exile 2. How is that possible? Considering that very dedicated players have put in 10 hours a day to grind up to that level, and to see a guy who runs several companies … it’s just not possible. Just the time and effort, it doesn’t add up.

Turns out, Musk hired skilled Chinese players to level up his characters or that he just straight up bought those accounts. The POE2 community have built up a strong case against Musk (now known as Elon Ma).

Musk’s character is on a Hong Kong server

Musk’s account shows “Elon’s Maps” (this suggests other players are playing and not using that particular map)

Musk does not understand weapon levels

Musk does not understand the “four things” on a map

Musk does not understand how to use the magic flask

There are tons of other things, so just do a search. As someone put it, there were many indications that Musk had no idea what he was doing. You can draw the conclusion that he didn’t play the campaign or learned how all the mechanics works. To get to level 97, at that advanced level, it is insane that he does understand basic things.

Anyone who plays Path of Exile 2, like myself, can see right through the lie: that Elon Musk did not play and level up to 97. Famous YouTuber and Twitch streamer Asmongold challenged Musk, “If Elon Musk can prove that he played this account to 97, I will stream on X, starting the day that he proves it, for an entire year straight, every single stream.”

Shortly after, Musk unfollowed Asmongold and removed his blue checkmark and gaming tag. He then leaked Asmongold’s twitter message (which violated Twitter’s terms of service by the way) saying that Asmongold has editors. Of course he has editors, they’re his employees that manages and edits his YouTube accounts.

Later, Musk returned Asmongold’s checkmark, but no gaming tag.

I think what happened is that Musk wanted to impress the gaming communities out there, by showing off his high-level characters, but it backfired in his face when he chose Path of Exile 2. If he had chosen another game, like Mark Kart 8 and saying he’s ranked #15, no one would question it… just like no one questioned it when he claims to be high ranking in Diablo IV.

TikTok Read More TikTok Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Amelia Moore is currently on her iCRYONTOUR! Moore first appeared on the scene on TikTok. Her debut Teaching a Robot to Love EP came out in 2022, via Capitol Music … …

TikTok
tiktok.com

Ahead of the pending TikTok ban in the United States, many users are panicking and switching over to another Chinese-owned app Little Red Book (named after Mao’s Little Red Book). That app is even worst, in terms of censorship, as many Americans are finding out. According to Washington Post, Little Red Book censors various key words, including “546 nicknames for Chinese leader Xi Jinping”.

I think most Americans don’t realize how dangerous the Chinese Communist Party is. Every company in China is beholden to the CCP… and the parent company of TikTok is ByteDance, a Chinese company with heavy ties to the CCP. Just do a Google search and you’ll find numerous articles and photos of the CCP department working inside ByteDance.

Do you want the Chinese to own your data (even though they probably already have it)? My problem is I don’t want a country to run an app to promote pro-China stories. ByteDance’s other app TopBuzz was exposed for such things, thanks a story by BuzzFeed.

My biggest problem is that China bans so many apps, like Google, search engines, private emails, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, VPN, (anything that they can’t control) … but they have a problem that America is banning TikTok? Give me a break.

Marvel Snap

UPDATE: In compliance with the TikTok ban, Apple and Google have removed the app, as well as Marvel Snap. Turns out the parent company of Marvel Snap is ByteDance, who also owns publisher Nuverse (a subsidiary of ByteDance).

Other apps banned includes Lemon8 and CapCut − Video Editor, according to USA Today. Never heard of the other two.

P.S. Donald Trump vows to save TikTok, even though he tried to get rid of it in 2019.

Marvel Rivals Read More Marvel Comics Based on the Marvel Comics of the same title, Werewolf by Night is the latest horror film from Disney Plus. This might be the first of the new type of Marvel’s Horror titles, which will likely to include Blade … …

Marvel Rivals
marvelrivals.com

Someone asked me why I’m not playing Marvel Rivals, the hottest superhero team-based player vs player shooter, based on Marvel characters. First of all, I’m not an online gamer. I don’t enjoy playing against other players, and I’m not competitive and, to be perfectly honest, I’m not good at it.

The second thing is that gamers are saying that after a certain losing streak or at a certain level, to keep players engaged and keep playing, the server will put in A.I. bots in the game so you can easily kill them. They don’t say they’re bots, but I’ve seen the evidence, the game developer is lying to you when they say that all players are real.

The last thing, and the most damning thing, is that the game developer is NetEase, based out of China. Because they are a Chinese company, they brought over the CCP’s censorship to America. For example, you cannot say “Tiananmen Square” (an event that the Chinese government slaughtered a lot of unarmed students), “Free Tibet” (a country that China annexed and took over in the ‘50s and kicked out the Dalai Lama) or “Winnie the Pooh” (ironic that Disney is the owner of Marvel). You can’t even say “1989”, that’s how sensitive the CCP is. Can you believe that? That whole year needs to be censored.

I really think the US Defense Department should put NetEase on the same list that they placed Tencent games on.

I guess at the end of the day, I don’t want to support a game that censors Winnie the Pooh.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

Read more Weekend Gamer.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: This Week (01/26/2025)

What’s happening this week.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

23 Jan – 02 Feb 2025 Great Northern Festival at Minneapolis/St Paul Read More Great Northern Anyway, the Great Northern Festival will run January 23 to February 2, 2025, and will take place at various venues in Minneapolis and St Paul. Most of the events are free, please check their …

23 Jan – 02 Feb 2025

Great Northern Festival
at Minneapolis/St Paul
thegreatnorthernfestival.com

Minnesota’s Great Northern announced their 2025 festival lineup recently.

Great Northern at 7th Street (17 Nov 2007)

Their name actually reminded me of the band Great Northern, who I saw in Nov 2007: “… I hadn't heard of them at the time, but was impressed with their dreamy vocals over shoegazey melodies. I even went so far as to produce this drawing of them. The drawing capture (now former) bassist Ashley Dzerigian and singer Rachel Stolte talking about deer and their love of nature (note: horse shirt and crow on the keyboard).”

It would be cool if they could get Great Northern to headline a Great Northern Festival.

Anyway, the Great Northern Festival will run January 23 to February 2, 2025, and will take place at various venues in Minneapolis and St Paul. Most of the events are free, please check their website for additional information.

Some Great Northern events:

The Great Northern Launch Party – January 23 | 6:00 p.m. | The Market at Malcolm Yards.
Kick off the festival with a guided sauna tour along with a special outdoor viewing of Prince’s Sign O’ the Times concert projected onto the United Crushers building. Gather around cozy fire pits to enjoy delicious eats and signature cocktails at the Malcolm Yards food hall.

The Great Northern Sauna Village – January 23-February 2 | Hours Vary | The Market at Malcolm Yards.
The Great Northern Sauna Village offers outdoor sauna sessions, sound bathing, forest bathing and the start and finish lines of a winter run. It also offers special sauna sessions, including Family Day, Senior Day, BIPOC Community Steam, German Aufguss and Guided Thermaculture.

Jeremy Dutcher – January 24 | 7:00 p.m. | Ice House.
Indigenous Two-Spirit singer and composer Jeremy Dutcher (Tobique First Nation) makes his Minnesota debut at the Great Northern 2025 with a show at Ice House. Sung in English and Wolastoqey, the language of the Wolastoqiyik people, Dutcher’s sophomore album Motewolonuwok blends neoclassical, jazz, and pop influences to deliver a moving and powerful performance.

Dutcher’s debut album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, was awarded some of Canada’s most prestigious music awards, including the Polaris Music Prize and the Juno Award. Don’t miss your chance to see the performer NPR referred to as “the newest light in Canada’s Indigenous resistance.”

Climate Solution Series – January 25 & 26 | 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. | American Swedish Institute.
Join us for two days full of talks, live podcasts, and community workshops. Highlights include: nationally recognized experts, Dr. Britt Wray of CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry and Leah Thomas, founder of the nonprofit Intersectional Environmentalist, will discuss climate change, navigating climate anxiety and building meaningful community. Additionally, national podcast Vibe Check, with hosts Sam Sanders, Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford, will record a live podcast about climate advocacy and making sense of the post-election and inauguration moment.

Winter Run – February 1 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | The Market at Malcolm Yards.
All ages and abilities are invited to partake in a winter run, starting and finishing at The Great Northern Sauna Village. Enjoy a healing sauna session after the run.

K’óoben Pop-Up – February 1 | 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. | Glass House.
This can’t-miss culinary cocktail party-style celebration features specialty dishes and beverage pairings from renowned local chefs including Gustavo Romero (Oro by Nixta); José Alarcón (previously Centro, Vivir); Noe Lara (Pints & Paddles); Mike Hidalgo (Rumba); Daniel Guerrero (Colita); and Daniel D Torres (Rumba).

24 Jan 2025 Frank Black with she's green and DJ Jake Rudh at First Avenue Read More Frank Black After the Pixies tour, singer Black Francis (who also went by Frank Black post-Pixies) will be doing a number of solo dates... she's green Local shoegazing band she’s green, featuring Zofia on vocals, Teddy on bass, Liam on guitars, Raines on guitars, and Kevin on drums, opened the show. Although .… DJ Jake Rudh Between bands, DJ Jake Rudh played a selection of 70s and 80s ska music videos (Madness, Specials, etc), and opening up the show was …

24 Jan 2025 Friday

Frank Black
with she's green and DJ Jake Rudh
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Local radio station The Current is celebrating their 20th Anniversary on air. They’re asking to celebrate with them with Frank Black (singer and songwriter of The Pixies) to celebrate his 30th Anniversary of Teenager of the Year, at First Avenue, on January 24, 2025.

In addition to playing the entire album, start to finish, Black has also re-issued the album on limited edition Double Gold Vinyl, via 4AD, which you can pick up at this upcoming concert.

Pixies at Starlight Theatre (24 June 2024)

We saw Pixies in June 2024 and said, “Boston’s Pixies have been going strong since their fabled 2004 reunion tour (which started in MN) and singer Frank Black (aka Black Francis) announcing his solo career was over a decade ago and going through a handful of bassists following Kim Deal’s departure in 2013. A Perfect Circle’s Paz Lechantin had been holding the position for the decade (and recording three studio albums) but she and fans were surprised earlier this spring, when news broke of her term ending.”

she's green and DJ Jake Rudh to open.

She’s Green at Turf Club (27 Sep 2023)

We saw she’s green in Sep 2023: “Local shoegazing band she’s green, featuring Zofia on vocals, Teddy on bass, Liam on guitars, Raines on guitars, and Kevin on drums, opened the show. Although, according to Zofia, the group is from the area, but it was their first time playing the Turf Club. We’ve previously mentioned their Minneapolis shows, such as in August 2023 or January 2022 … but never mentioned they’ve played St Paul. The group is still relatively new, so they’re introducing some new songs, such as “Clobber”. At least that’s the title they currently agreed on.”

Teenager Of The Year Tour Dates:

Jan 18th - LA, CA - The Orpheum

Jan 19th - El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia

Jan 22nd - Denver, CO - The Paramount

Jan 24th - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

Jan 25th - Chicago, IL - The Metro

Jan 26th - Chicago, IL - The Metro

Jan 28th - Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall

Jan 29th - Toronto, ON - History

Jan 31st - Boston, MA - House Of Blues

Feb 1st - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Street

Feb 4th - Paris, France - Le Trianon

Feb 6th - London, UK - The Palladium

25 Jan 2025 The Vaccines with THUS LOVE at Fine Line Read More The Vaccines We love The Vaccines. The UK band will be back in the city at the Fine Line Music Café (now run by First Avenue) and will be playing some tracks from their fourth studio album Combat Sports. .… Thus Love Vermont’s trio Thus Love was next on the lineup. The trio (Echo Mars, Lu Racine, and Nathaniel van Osdol) formed in 2018. They’re working on their debut album, but already released a few Demo albums. ...

25 Jan 2025 Saturday

The Vaccines
with THUS LOVE
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

The Vaccines to return to Minneapolis, headlining the Fine Line, on January 25, 2025.

The Vaccines at the Fox Theater (22 March 2024)

We saw The Vaccines in March 2024 and said, “The band proceeded to deliver a charismatically rocking set. Formed in 2010, The Vaccines rode their own wave of accolades in the UK and somewhat in the U.S., with fans like Debbie Harry attending their shows. Songs like the moody, tongue-in-cheek “Post Break-Up Sex” and the boppier “Teenage Icon” have both singalong and caustic qualities, creating a kind of cultural bridge from ‘90s Britpop to the post-9/11 indie rock chaos that swept the musical landscape. With Young’s deep, bass-y vocals anchoring guitar hooks and pop licks, he carries just enough swagger to exhort and inspire. “All My Friends Are Falling in Love,” a single from 2018 (the band just released their most recent album last year), still slaps like an early aughts rock ode written by a long-lived, once-hopeful teenager in love. Oh, the spangly, spiky bloom of the jaded indie rockstar.”

Thus Love at 7th Street Entry (14 June 2022)

Vermont’s post-punk band THUS LOVE to open. The band made it on Rolling Stones’ Artist You Need To Know for the most exciting rock album of 2024.

We saw the band in Jun 2022 and said, “Vermont’s trio Thus Love was next on the lineup. The trio (Echo Mars, Lu Racine, and Nathaniel van Osdol) formed in 2018. They’re working on their debut album, but already released a few Demo albums. Watching the band’s high energy performance and post-punk music style… it’s hard to believe that they took inspirations from van Osdol’s jazz collection.”

Tour dates:

01/18/25 - Boston, MA - Royale ^

01/20/25 - Montreal, QC - Studio TD ^

01/21/25 - Toronto, ON - Concert Hall ^

01/23/25 - Detroit, MI - El Club ^

01/24/25 - Chicago, IL - The Vic ^

01/25/25 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line ^

01/28/25 - Denver, CO - Summit ^

01/31/25 - Vancouver, BC - Hollywood Theater ^

02/01/25 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox ^

02/02/25 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom ^

02/04/25 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ^

02/06/25 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern ^

02/07/25 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up^

^ w/ The Vaccines

25 Jan 2025 Terrapin Flyer at Turf Club Read More Grateful Dead Haynes is also known as one of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead... so back by popular demand, Warren Haynes will once again lead the acclaimed Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration this summer. …

25 Jan 2025 Saturday

Terrapin Flyer
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

In 1999, Terrapin Flyer participated in a Grateful Dead jam night… and sound found themselves playing and touring with the legendary band. Throughout the years, they’ve supported various members of the band, including Jerry Garcia Band and Melvin Seals… etc.

So… bring out that tie-dye tee and expect to hear some Grateful Dead jam songs at this upcoming Turf Club show in St Paul, on January 25.

Tour dates:

Jan 25th St Paul MN Turf Club

Jan 31st Nellie’s Palatine IL Durty Nellie's Gastropub

Feb 1st St. Louis MO Atomic By Jamo

Feb 15th Sideouts Island Lake, IL Sideouts Sports Tavern

Feb 22nd Three Oaks, MI

Feb 28th Chicago IL Martyrs’

Mar 1st Chicago IL Martyrs’

Mar 7th Impact Fuel Room - Libertyville IL

Mar 15th Heroes Lemont IL

Apr 19th- May 31st Michigan City, IN Live at the Lakefront

Sep 27th Heroes Lemont IL

26 Jan 2025 Rubblebucket with Hannah Mohan at Amsterdam Bar & Hall Read More Rubblebucket Rubblebucket is headlining the Amsterdam Bar & Hall on February 15, 2023. Rubblebucket semi-recently surprised fans by mailing out invites to a combination community revitalization & listening … And the Kids And the Kids will open. We saw them in April 2018 and said, “The Northampton, MA band describes their own sound as “unconscious, accessible, existential, indie, glitter, popsicle, crisis” music and that’s as good a description …

26 Jan 2025 Sunday

Rubblebucket
with Hannah Mohan
at Amsterdam Bar & Hall
first-avenue.com

Rubblebucket, the art-pop project of Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, is currently on tour. The duo will stop by the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, in St Paul, and they’re bringing Year of the Banana.

And the Kids at 7th Street (04 April 2018)

Hannah Mohan (from the band And the Kids) to open. We saw And the Kids in April 2018 and wrote, ““I have to do some yoga first” guitarist/vocalist Mohan said after a brief set change and entrance of her band And the Kids, and the crowd wasn’t sure if this was part of the show, or just some needed stretching, but it turned out to be the latter as Mohan mentioned recent headaches from frequent couch sleeping. The Northampton, MA band describes their own sound as “unconscious, accessible, existential, indie, glitter, popsicle, crisis” music and that’s as good a description as any, as evidenced by latest full-length, Friends Share Lovers (Signature Sound Recordings) and more recent single, ‘2003’.”

Tour dates:

Jan 18 2025 Buffalo, NY, US Electric City

Jan 19 2025 Cleveland, OH, US Beachland Ballroom

Jan 21 2025 Columbus, OH, US A&R Music Bar

Jan 23 2025 Grand Rapids, MI, US The Intersection

Jan 24 2025 Chicago, IL, US Thalia Hall

Jan 25 2025 Madison, WI, US Majestic Theatre

Jan 26 2025 St. Paul, MN, US Amsterdam Bar & Hall

Jan 28 2025 St Louis, MO, US Blueberry Hill

Jan 30 2025 Nashville, TN, US The Basement East

Jan 31 2025 Asheville, NC, US The Orange Peel

Feb 1 2025 Atlanta, GA, US Terminal West

Feb 4 2025 Richmond, VA, US The National

Feb 5 2025 Washington, DC, US 9:30 Club

Feb 6 2025 Philadelphia, PA, US Underground Arts

Feb 7 2025 Boston, MA, US Big Night Live

Feb 8 2025 New York (NYC), NY, US Webster Hall

Mar 27 2025 Fort Collins, CO, US Aggie Theater

Mar 28 2025 Denver, CO, US Ogden Theatre

Mar 29 2025 South Salt Lake, UT, US The Commonwealth Room

Apr 1 2025 Seattle, WA, US Neptune Theatre

Apr 2 2025 Portland, OR, US Revolution Hall

Apr 4 2025 San Francisco, CA, US August Hall

Apr 5 2025 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US Lodge Room

Apr 6 2025 San Diego, CA, US Quartyard

Apr 8 2025 Phoenix, AZ, US Valley Bar

Apr 11 2025 Dallas, TX, US Deep Ellum Art Company

Apr 12 2025 Austin, TX, US Mohawk

Apr 15 2025 Charleston, SC, US Music Farm

Apr 16 2025 Carrboro, NC, US Cat's Cradle

Apr 17 2025 Waynesboro, VA, US The Foundry

Apr 18 2025 Baltimore, MD, US The 8x10

Apr 19 2025 Asbury Park, NJ, US Asbury Lanes

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: February 14 to February 16, 2025

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

14 Feb 2025 Rachel Grae with Holden Miller and Caleb Dee at 7th St Entry Read More Caleb Dee Caleb Dee, a local Minneapolis, six-piece band was the opener. Dee mentioned that they had also opened for Krooked Kings last year. This was solid indie pop and seemed thematically similar …

14 Feb 2025 Friday

Rachel Grae
with Holden Miller and Caleb Dee
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Rachel Grae, the singer with over 1.3 million TikTok followers and 400 million+ Spotify streams, will be headlining the 7th Street Entry this Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2025. Grae’s debut album, Journal No. 1 is out now on Virgin Music.

Caleb Dee at Turf Club (25 Nov 2024)

Holden Miller and Caleb Dee to open. We saw Dee in Nov 2024 and wrote, “Caleb Dee, a local Minneapolis, six-piece band was the opener. Dee mentioned that they had also opened for Krooked Kings last year. This was solid indie pop and seemed thematically similar to the headline. The band played an as yet unreleased song for the second in the list, with the four guitars making a rich sound. Dee invited fans to come closer to the stage, and it was one of the very few times I’ve seen that actually work.”

Tour Dates:

02/06 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs

02/07 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

02/13 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas

02/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7TH St Entry

02/19 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall

02/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge

14 Feb 2025 Eivør with Sylvaine at Cedar Cultural Center Read More Eivør Faroese folk electronica artist Eivør will be stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday, January 22nd. Her latest album Segl, which was produced by Lana Del Rey collaborator Dan Heath, is out now. …

14 Feb 2025 Friday

Eivør
with Sylvaine
at Cedar Cultural Center
first-avenue.com

Eivør has announced her return to the USA. She’ll be playing the Cedar Cultural Center on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2025.

Eivør writes:

I am thrilled to announce that I will be bringing my Enn album tour to the US and Canada throughout February of next year. These will be full band shows with only a limited amount of tickets available. Our label friend Sylvaine will be joining us as support.

Tickets will go on general sale this Friday, Sep 27th, at 10.00 am local time. However, a special fan pre-sale will begin TOMORROW (Sep 26th) from 10.00 am local time. To access the pre-sale tickets please enter the password ‘ENN’ on the ticketing page.

Sylvaine to open.

Tour Dates:

Feb 2 - Vancouver, BC - The Pearl

Feb 4 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre

Feb 5 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

Feb 7 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord

Feb 8 - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco

Feb 11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall

Feb 12 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater

Feb 14 - Minneapolis, MN - Ceder Cultural Center

Feb 15 - Madison, WI - Majestic

Feb 16 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

Feb 18 - Toronto, ON - Great Hall

Feb 19 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount

Feb 21 - Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre

Feb 22 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg

Feb 23 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore

15 Feb 2025 Michigan Rattlers at 7th St Entry Read More Michigan Rattlers Michigan Rattlers to open. Tour Dates 02/23 – Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall 02/24 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn 02/25 – Fayetteville, AR – George’s Majestic Lounge 03/09 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club …

15 Feb 2025 Saturday

Michigan Rattlers
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Michigan Rattlers returns to touring in support of their third album Waving From A Sea.

Tour Dates:

2/12 – Columbus, OH – A&R Bar

2/13 – Indianapolis, IN – Turntable

2/14 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

2/15 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry

2/18 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown

2/20 – Denver, CO – Meow Wolf

2/21 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge

2/22 – Boise, ID – Neurolux

2/24 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lous

2/25 – Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret

2/26 – Portland, OR – The Showdown

2/28 – San Francisco, CA – Brick + Mortar

3/1 – Los Angeles, CA – The Peppermint Club

3/2 – San Diego, CA – Casbah

3/4 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit Live

3/7 – Austin, TX – 3Ten at ACL Live

3/8 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada

3/9 – Houston, TX – Bronze Peacock at HOB

3/12 – Kansas City, MO – Encore at Uptown Theatre

3/13 – St Louis, MO – Old Rock House

3/27 – Lexington, KY – The Burl

3/28 – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme

3/29 – Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig

4/8 – Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom

4/10 – New York, NY – DROM

4/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Milkboy

4/12 – Washington DC – Pearl Street

4/13 – Raleigh, NC – Kings

4/15 – Greenville, SC – Radio Room

4/17 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage - Vinyl Room

4/18 – Orlando, FL – Tuffy’s Music Box

4/19 – Tampa, FL – Skipper’s Smokehouse

4/21 – New Orleans, LA – Chickie Wah Wah

4/24 – Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall - 1884 Lounge

4/25 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn

4/26 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Hall

4/27 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar

4/29 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Crafthouse

4/30 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop

5/1 – Buffalo, NY – Rec Room

5/2 – Syracuse, NY – Funk N Waffles

5/4 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair

5/6 – Portland, ME – Portland House of Music

5/7 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground

5/8 – Montreal, QC – Le Belmont

5/9 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern

5/16 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrews Hall

16 Feb 2025 Benjamin Booker with Kenny Segal at Turf Club Read More Benjamin Booker New Orleans' Benjamin Booker opened up the show with a 40-min performance of this nice mix of rock/punk/blues fusion music. We recently caught Booker at Northside Festival, in New York …

16 Feb 2025 Sunday

Benjamin Booker
with Kenny Segal
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

Benjamin Booker will be touring in support of his first new album in seven years: Lower. The record is due out January 24, 2025, via Fire Next Time Records/Thirty Tigers.

Benjamin Booker at Northside Festival (12 Jun 2014)

We saw Benjamin Booker in Jun 2014, and wrote, “As a giant warehouse, renovated into a concert venue, House of Vans sits in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. Thursday’s show started off with Benjamin Booker, a New Orleans guitarist accompanied by Max Norton on drums and an additional guitarist. Having only heard one song, his single “Violent Shiver,” I only had a vague idea of what his music would sound like. “Violent Shiver” seems to be the most pop-ish of his mainly garage, punk rock sound with an extra mix of blues. With about a hundred people in the crowd, Booker managed to ignite a slight most pit by the third quarter of the set. Booker has a traditional rocker (doesn’t that sound like an oxymoron) stage presence, swinging his guitar around (to the point where the microphone stand fell, though it remains to be seen if that was purposeful or not), seemingly not giving a shit, and screaming his lyrics at times.”

Kenny Segal to open.

Tour dates:

2/2 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar *

2/4 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room *

2/5 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room*

2/6 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel *

2/8 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios *

2/9 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's *

2/10 - Boise, ID - Neurolux *

2/11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *

2/13 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre *

2/15 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge *

2/16 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club *

2/18 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean *

2/19 - Detroit, MI - Magic Bag *

2/21 - Toronto, ON - Longboat Hall *

2/22 - Montreal, QC - L'Esco *

2/23 - Boston, MA - Crystal Ballroom *

2/25 - Brooklyn, NY - Public Records *

2/26 - Brooklyn, NY - Public Records *

2/27 - Philly, PA - Kung Fu Necktie *

2/28 - Washington, DC - Union Stage *

3/2 - Asheville, NC - Eulogy *

3/3 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5 *

3/5 - Nashville, TN - 3rd and Lindsley *

3/7 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia *

* with Kenny Segal

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Roman Rabinovich Plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20

Roman Rabinovich (Vuart) Program Order Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Horn Quintet (16 min) Matthew Wilson (horn) Eunice Kim (violin) Maiya Papach (viola) Hyobi Sim (viola) Richard Belcher (cello) Igor Stravinsky: Concerto in D, Basel (12 min) Francis Poulenc: Le bal masqué (The Masked Ball) (18 min) Roman Rabinovich (piano) John Moore (baritone) -- INTERMISSION -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 (30 min) Roman Rabinovich (piano) Read More SPCO After a long hiatus, the The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (often abbreviated to SPCO) is pleased to announced the return to live performances on September 10 and 11. Like with all the live venues around town ...

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra kicked off a three-day run of performances featuring guest performer, pianist Roman Rabinovich. As usual for the SPCO, the performance was at the Ordway in downtown St. Paul. For those who haven’t been, the setup of the Ordway is efficient. It has a main vertical layout, with two levels of balcony at the far end. The first level of balcony actually wraps all the way around, including three rows of seats behind the performers (which for this performance was mostly populated by a school class). It was an almost completely sold out show at 11AM on a Friday, showing the strong audience support for the Chamber Orchestra.

Before getting to the star guest performer, there were two opening numbers with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. First up was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Horn Qunitet, composed in 1782. This piece obviously features the horn, but also includes two violas, a violin and a cello to round out the performers. Matthew Wilson was excellent on horn, and the rest of the performers were solid, especially Eunice Kim on violin. The first movement was very light and airy and flew along. The second contrasted with a much more pastoral sound before ultimately returning to the opening themes.

The second number was Igor Stravinksy’s Concerto in D, Basel, featuring a much larger number of performers of the Chamber Orchestra. Notably, this was composed in 1946 and was Stravinsky’s first as a naturalized American citizen. The first movement could easily be the score for a tense, Hitchcockian thriller. Some discordant moments in the second movement, and the plucked notes to end it, only further that impression and in many ways, was a highlight of the show.

Roman Rabinovich is an Israeli pianist who has performed extensively through Europe and the United States, as well as being a composer of his own. He came to the stage for Francis Poulenc’s Le Bal Masque (The Masked Ball), composed in 1932 and which featured about ten performers. This is a fun and almost silly sound at times, although it’s clear that the underlying music is challenging, demonstrating the real skills of the Chamber Orchestra. Trumpet was featured at several key moments, while baritone singer John Moore had the task of singing quite surrealist lyrics in several of the six movements. I don’t think you often use the word slapstick when describing classical music, but this got close (in a good way).

After intermission, Rabinovich and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra returned to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, composed in 1785. While Rabinovich was largely playing a supporting role in Le Bal Masque, he was definitely the star feature in this Mozart piece, backed by what appeared to be the entirety of the Chamber Orchestra. And given it is Mozart, there’s a lot of notes to play. Rabinovich made it largely look effortless, with multiple runs up and down the piano in the early going and an extended piano solo section in the middle of the piece. The Chamber Orchestra supported him well and that interplay was fun to watch. Rabinovich is also a performer at the piano, with slightly exaggerated arm movements, fully turning his body towards the Chamber Orchestra when he had periods of not playing, etc. It was a good give and take that helped elevate the performance. An appreciative audience took to their feet to thank the performers, who will be back for the next two days with this enjoyable set of music.

Rabinovich Plays Mozart at Ordway Concert Hall (17 Jan 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Flashback: Light Pollution at Hexagon Bar (08 April 2010)

Light Pollution 2010 Tour 04/16/10 Schuba's Chicago, IL 04/17/10 WIUX, Bloomington, IN 04/26/10 Johnny Brenda's Phila, PA 04/27/10 Mercury Lounge, NY 04/28/10 Black Cat, Washington DC 04/29/10 Midnight Cafe, Medford, MA 04/30/10 Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY 05/01/10 Jelly NYC, NY 05/02/10 Ottobar, Baltimore, MD 05/03/10 Twisted Branch, Charlottesville, VA 05/04/10 Pilot Light, Knoxville, TN 05/05/10 Zanzabar, Louisville, KY 05/12/10 BELLY UP ASPEN ASPEN, CO ^ 05/13/10 LARIMER LOUNGE DENVER, CO ^ 05/14/10 RIOT ROOM KANSAS CITY, MO ^ 05/15/10 RACHAEL’S CAFE BLOOMINGTON, IN ^ 05/17/10 GROG SHOP CLEVELAND, OH ^ 05/18/10 MAXWELL’S HOBOKEN, NJ ^ 05/19/10 BOWERY BALLROOM, NY ^ 05/21/10 JERKY’S PROVIDENCE, RI ^ 05/22/10 NORTHERN LIGHTS, NY ^ 06/04/10 LINCOLN HALL CHICAGO, Illinois 06/05/10 RIVOLI CABARET TORONTO, ON % 06/06/10 PETIT CAMPUS MONTREAL, QC % 06/07/10 GREAT SCOTT ALLSTON, MA % 06/08/10 KNITTING FACTORY BROOKLYN, NY % 06/09/10 MERCURY LOUNGE NEW YORK, NY % 06/10/10 DC9 WASHINGTON DC, DC % 06/11/10 KUNG FU NECK TIE Philadelphia, PA % 06/13/10 JACKPOT SALOON LAWRENCE, KS * 06/15/10 LARIMER LOUNGE DENVER, CO ! 06/18/10 THE CELLAR DOOR VISALIA, CA @ 06/19/10 AUDIE’S OLYMPIC FRESNO, CA @ 06/20/10 RICKSHAW SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ 06/21/10 DOUG FIR LOUNGE PORTLAND, OR @ 06/22/10 917 MAIN VANCOUVER – BC @ 06/23/10 THE VERA PROJECT SEATTLE, WA @ 06/25/10 BLANK CLUB SAN JOSE, CA @ 06/26/10 SPACELAND LOS ANGELES, CA @ ^ w/ Phantogram % w/ This Will Destroy You * w/ Holy F*** ! w/ The Sadies @ w/ A Place To Bury Strangers Read More Light Pollution So when I was told that Light Pollution was playing at the Hexagon Bar, I jumped at the chance. I mentally pictured a six-sided room, crazy disco lights, and retro-style seats. Imagine my disappointment …

2010 was a big year for Chicago’s Light Pollution. The band had a massive push and promotion that year, but as far as I know, after all that touring, the band disappeared in 2011.

Anyway, prior to playing the 7th Street Entry with Delorean in November 16, 2010 and Casiokids in August 24, 2010, the band stopped by the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis on April 8, 2010.

Unfortunately, the Hex burned down as part of the unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd in May 2020.

Original report:

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One of my lame goals is to see every venue this little Minneapolis town has to offer. So, when I was told that Light Pollution was playing at the Hexagon Bar, I jumped at the chance. I mentally pictured a six-sided room, crazy disco lights, and retro-style seats. Imagine my disappointment when in actuality, it’s just a regular dive bar. To add insult to injuries, I’ve actually been to this bar before.*

Reading about Chicago’s Light Pollution, you quickly see that most blogs will mention that their sound is similar to Animal Collective or Grizzly Bear or Deerhunter (or insert any animal name band) ... which is actually a turn-off if you don't particularly enjoy those pots & pans bands. Fortunately, though, seeing them live, I can tell you that I don't think they sound like those nature bands. While there is the occasional weird pre-recorded backing sound or the warpy keyboard, it's safe to say that they're just an indie rock band.

Mid-way into their set, they played the highlight of the show: “Good Feelings”. This song was memorable for the fact that there were dueling keyboard for the intro.

I did get a chance to chat with singer/guitarist Jim and bassist Jed. Among other things, the last time they were in Minneapolis, they played to zombies (it’s a thing here in Minneapolis, where every year everybody turns into a zombie and walk very very slowly from bar to bar). Also, they are not a fan of the Illinois tolls.

Anyway, Light Pollution will debut their Apparitions album on June 15^th, 2010, via Carpark Records. They are the first midwest to be sign by this Washington, DC-based label... who you might know originally signed Beach House (and look where they are now!) I do have a reviewer lined up to review the album in early June... so you'll hear about them again soon enough.

* Of course, at the time, I didn't know the name of the Hexagon Bar - I was just “along for the ride” as they say.

Read more Flashback.

Light Pollution at Hexagon Bar (08 April 2010)

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