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Vertigo Comics TV: The Sandman, Y the Last Man, and Doom Patrol

Read more Television.

Read More Neil Gaiman I didn't see Neil Gaiman on his last-ever book tour, but my sister did. She got my Sandman: Absolute book signed. Gaiman was last seen recording music with his wife Amanda Palmer, you can read my review of An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer here. …

THE SANDMAN
netflix.com

As you know I used to collect a lot of comic books, particularly DC Comics and Vertigo Comics (an imprint of DC). So I’m glad to see that Vertigo Comics-based shows are on the rise.

We’ve already got Constantine (based on Alan Moore’s Hellblazer), Swamp Thing (mostly based on Alan Moore’s reinvention of the character), V For Vendetta (based on the comic that started in the UK, but finished under the Vertigo banner), iZombie (based on the comic by Chris Roberson), Lucifer (based on Neil Gaiman’s character from The Sandman), The Losers (film based on Andy Diggle’s Vertigo comic), The Kitchen (film based on Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle’s Vertigo title), Sweet Tooth (based on Jeff Lemire’s comic ), and, of course, who could forget the extremely violent and over-the-top Preacher (based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s work).

So why are Vertigo titles so popular ? There’s a lot of reasons, comic book properties are hot, as Hollywood are looking for the next big thing. Also, since most titles on the Vertigo line were creator-owned, it’s much easier to sign a deal with the creators and take a chance to option for their works to be adapted for the silver screen.

The next big title to be given the Netflix treatment will be Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman… it’s currently in development. Everyone is excited about the adaption, and hopefully it will bring the story to a bigger audience.

They haven’t announce a date that the show will air, but based on the “First Look” at the Sandman via YouTube … I feel that the production may be in its final stages. The video looks great, and seemed really faithful to the original comic book.

Read More Constantine The Constantine finale is partly an adaptation of Hellblazer #4. It's not a great finale, especially because it doesn't wrap up all the setup from the pilot. This is probably because of two things: they lost the lead actress …

Y: THE LAST MAN
fxnetworks.com

My sister collected Y: The Last Man, when it originally printed in 2002, so I read the whole series from start to finish.

The story is about a mysterious event that killed everything on earth with a Y chromosome, leaving only Yorick and his pet monkey, Ampersand, the only male survivors on the planet. I’ve always thought it would make a good television show, so I was ecstatic to find out it was adapted in 2007, with Shia LaBeouf attached. It was around this time that DC started to collect Y: The Last Man in a slightly oversized Deluxe Collection, which I bought, to support the comic creators, Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra.

Y: The Last Man resurfaced again 2013 with director Dan Trachtenberg attached. That went nowhere, and eventually, it was up to FX to finally make the adaption happen in 2018. The original show runners, Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal, both left the show due to “creative differences”.

Filming and production for FX’s Y: The Last Man was further delayed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic… so, let’s just say it’s been a rather long road to get the show to finally air.

From the five episodes I’ve seen of Y: The Last Man, I’ll have to say that it’s pretty faithful to the comic book. There are some new changes and additions (particularly with the trans men), but I feel they were necessary for the television audiences.

A lot of critics, who never read the comic book, complains that the least interesting thing is Yorick, who is not a likeable character. While they aren’t wrong, I’m glad they made Yorick, closely based on the loser in the comic book. I would probably be more upset if they changed the character in the TV show.

His sister, Hero, gets more development in the show, which I also like… however, they should stick to the comic book and make her aggressive and anti-men.

Read More Doom Patrol I bought Doom Patrol on Bluray when I saw it was on sale for $10. It’s a great show, and I am a fan of the original source material (owning a complete run of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol). …

DOOM PATROL
hbomax.com

Now in its third season, Doom Patrol is now exclusively on HBO Max (after it originally debut on the failed DC Universe). The TV show, from the start, is based on Grant Morrison and Richard Case’s Doom Patrol … starting with “Crawling from the Wreckage” storyline. You have to understand that prior to #19, Doom Patrol was the standard DC Super group. When Morrison took over, he brought such an imagination and strangeness to the group that it really didn’t fit in the regular DC Universe. After a few years, the title was moved under the Vertigo Comics banner.

The third season starts off by wrapping up all that Candlestick Maker story from last season… quite quickly! In fact, it all just ended with the pilot of Season 3… which made me think that perhaps the pilot should have actually been the final episode of Season 2. When I see something like this, it just makes me think that the showrunners and creators just have no idea what they are doing.

So far, Season 3, isn’t as crazy as previous seasons. Pacing is really slow on the “vacation” episode, but it does introduce the new threat of the series: The Brotherhood of Evil.

In case you were a punk music fan, Robot Man can be seen with a Toadies and Rancid T-Shirt in Episode 2.

Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 2 (23 Sep 2021)

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

Rocktober: October 18 to 23, 2021

10/18: 100 Gecs at First Avenue   10/19: LANY at Armory   Read More LANY Lany was the opening act. They are a three piece synth-pop band from Los Angeles with catchy, yet dreamy, pop songs. There were songs where I almost ....

Read more Rocktober and Minneapolis Music Guide.

10/18/2021 MONDAY

100 GECS
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Excerpt By the Numbers: DFA 1979, 100 gecs, Logic1000: American duo 100 Gecs (stylized as 100 gecs) consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. Since their debut album 1000 Gecs in 2019, the band have grown in popularity, particularly in the video game Minecraft. During the pandemic, the duo released 1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues, which rework their debut album, but features callaborations with various stars, such as Fall Out Boy and Charlie XCX. According to their press release, they’ve sold out every show they’ve ever played… so expect sold out, or at least heavily attended shows in this forthcoming North American 10,000 gecs Tour.

10/19/2021 TUESDAY

LANY
with keshi
at Armory
armorymn.com

Los Angeles trio LANY is currently on tour in support of their new album gg bb xx (Interscope Records). The tour will take them to the Armory in Minneapolis on October 19th.

Keshi listed to open.

Tour dates:

September 27 Glasgow, U.K. O2 Academy Glasgow
September 29 London, U.K. Eventim Apollo
October 5 Montreal, QC L’Olympia
October 6 Toronto, ON Coca-Cola Coliseum
October 8 Philadelphia, PA The Met
October 9 Washington, D.C. The Anthem
October 11 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
October 12 Boston, MA Agganis Arena
October 14 Columbus, OH Express Live Outdoors
October 15 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
October 16 Chicago, IL Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
October 19 Minneapolis, MN Armory
October 21 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
October 22 Atlanta, GA Cadence Bank Amphitheatre
October 23 Charlotte, NC Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
October 25 Miami, FL FPL Solar Amphitheatre
October 26 St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine Amphitheatre
October 28 Dallas, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
October 29 Houston, TX Smart Financial Centre
October 31 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
November 5 Seattle, WA WAMU Theater
November 6 Vancouver, BC PNE Forum
November 10 Salt Lake City, UT Vivint Arena
November 12 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Federal Theatre
November 13 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
November 15 Denver, CO Mission Ballroom
November 18 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

10/20: Cleopatrick at 7th St Entry   10/20: Kiefer at Fine Line   Read More Cleopatrick cleopatrick at recordBar The buzzing Canadian DIY duo released their debut album Bummer, in June (on Thirty Tigers) a title we can all relate to after the last eighteen months(!), with lead track “Victoria Park” of which vocalist Luke Gruntz …

10/20/2021 WEDNESDAY

CLEOPATRICK
with Ready the Prince
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Canadian DIY duo Cleopatrick (stylized as cleopatrick) will be playing the 7th Street Entry on October 20th, in support of their debut album Bummer (Thirty Tigers / Nowhere Special Recordings).

Ready the Prince to open.

cleopatrick Live Dates

09/26: St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
09/28: Kansas City, MO - The recordBar
09/29: Oklahoma City, OK - VZD’s Restaurant & Bar
10/01: Tucson, AZ - 191 Toole
10/02: Phoenix, AZ - The Rebel Lounge
10/03: Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
10/05: Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
10/07: San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
10/08: Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival
10/10: Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court Gallery
10/11: Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
10/20: Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
10/21: Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
10/22: Ferndale, MI - Loving Touch
10/23: Pittsburgh, PA - The Crafthouse
10/25: Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry
10/26: Washington, D.C. - Songbyrd Music House
10/28: Boston, MA - The Sinclair
10/29: Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
11/24: Tunbridge Wells, UK - Tunbridge Wells Forum
11/25: London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall
11/26: Birmingham, UK - O2 Institute
11/27: Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms

10/20/2021 WEDNESDAY

KIEFER
with Mia Gladstone
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

When There’s Love Around is Kiefer’s latest release on Stones Throw. Kiefer’ll be heading out on tour to support the new release and he’ll stop by the Fine Line on October 20th.

Mia Gladstone to open.

Tour dates:

09/26/2021 Bronze Peacock Houston, TX
09/27/2021 House Of Blues Dallas, TX
09/28/2021 Empire Control Room & Garage Austin, TX
09/30/2021 Cervantes' Other Side Denver, CO
10/03/2021 Holocene Portland, OR
10/05/2021 Chop Suey Seattle, WA
10/08/2021 Lodge Room Los Angeles, CA
10/10/2021 Soda Bar San Diego, CA
10/19/2021 Subterranean Chicago, IL
10/20/2021 Fine Line Music Cafe Minneapolis, MN
10/23/2021 El Club Detroit, MI
10/24/2021 Drake Hotel / Underground Toronto, ON
10/26/2021 The Westcott Theater Syracuse, NY
10/29/2021 S.O.B.'S New York, NY
10/30/2021 MilkBoy Philadelphia, PA
10/31/2021 Union Stage Washington, DC
11/03/2021 The Lounge Nashville, TN
11/04/2021 Amos' Southend Charlotte, NC
11/06/2021 The Masquerade Atlanta, GA

10/21: Role Model at Amsterdam Bar & Hall   10/22: Caamp at Palace Theatre   Read More binki Be sure to show up early for opener binki, a NYC-based genre-blending musician born to Kenyan immigrants, whose debut EP, Motor Function (on FADER label) with single “Invisible Fence” just dropped last month. ...

10/21/2021 THURSDAY

ROLE MODEL
with binki
at Amsterdam Bar & Hall
first-avenue.com

Tucker Pillsbury, otherwise known as Role Model, will be headlining the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on October 21st.

binki will open. We just saw him open for Glass Animals in September 22 and said, “On stage (this night dressed in a Dr. Seuss t-shirt and dollar store black cape), binki was refreshingly not afraid to have fun, or take himself too seriously, like while starting to introduce his band (that wasn’t there- he played to all backing tracks) and during closing single, “Heybb!”, he did the magic trick of having an “endless rainbow scarf” come out of his mouth, pretending to stumble about as he sang the song’s chorus, “I’m stressed, you got me feelin’ nauseous”.”

Tour dates:

9/26 Firefly Festival Dover, DE
10/13 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
10/16 All Things Go Washington, D.C.
10/17 Theatre of The Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
10/21 Amsterdam Bar & Hall Minneapolis, MN
10/22 Metro Chicago, IL
10/23 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI
11/8 Van Buren Phoenix, AZ
11/9 Constellation Room Santa Ana, CA
11/11 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA
11/12 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA
11/13 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA
11/14 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA

10/22/2021 FRIDAY

CAAMP
with Sam Filiatreau
at Palace Theatre
first-avenue.com

Ohio’s Caamp (stylized as CAAMP) will be headlining the Palace Theatre in St Paul this October 22nd.

Sam Filiatreau to open.

Tour dates:

09/28 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox SODO
09/29 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/22 - Minneapolis, MN@ Palace Theatre
10/23 - Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
10/26 - Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
10/27 - Louisville, KY @ Old Forester's Paristown Hall
10/29 - Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
10/30 - Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
11/02 - Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
11/03 - Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center
11/05 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
11/06 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
11/09 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
11/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
11/13 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
12/01 - Harrisburg, PA @ Harrisburg University
12/03 - Washington, DC @ The Anthem
12/04 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
12/07 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre
12/08 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre

10/22: Bahamas at First Avenue   10/23: Evann McIntosh at 7th St Entry   Read More Bahamas Juno Award-winning Toronto singer and songwriter Bahamas (aka Afie Jurvanen) is back on the road to support his fourth LP called Earthtones (Brushfire/Republic Records). Once again, fellow Torontonian band …

10/22/2021 FRIDAY

BAHAMAS
with Sam Weber
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, will be stopping by First Avenue on October 22nd.

Sam Weber to open.

Tour Dates:

10/2 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
10/5 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls
10/6 – Holyoke, MA – Gateway City Arts
10/7 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
10/8 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
10/9 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
10/10 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall
10/12 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
10/13 – Raleigh, NC – Cat’s Cradle
10/14 – Charlotte, NC – The Visulite Theatre
10/15 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
10/16 – Ponte Vedra, FL – Ponte Vedra Music Hall
10/17 – Orlando, FL – The Social
10/18 – Birmingham, AL – The Saturn
10/20 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
10/21 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman
10/22 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
10/23 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
10/24 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
11/17 – Victoria, BC – Royal Theatre
11/18 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
11/21 – Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Community Theatre
11/23 – Edmonton, AB – Winspear Centre
11/24 – Red Deer, AB – Red Deer Memorial Centre
11/25 – Calgary, AB – Jack Singer Concert Hall
11/26 – Saskatoon, SK – Coors Event Centre
11/27 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
12/4 – London, ON – London Music Hall
12/7 – Ottawa, ON – National Arts Centre
12/8 – Kingston, ON – Sydenham Street United Church
12/9 – Québec City, QC – L’Impérial Bell
12/10 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre

10/23/2021 SATURDAY

EVANN MCINTOSH
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Kansas based 17-year-old singer-songwriter Evann McIntosh is touring in support of their new project Character Development via Mom+Pop. McIntosh will be playing the 7th Street Entry on October 23rd.

Tour dates:

10/23/21 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th St Entry
10/24/21 — Chicago, IL — Schubas
10/26/21 — Boston, MA – Sonia
10/28/21 — Washington, DC — Songbyrd
10/29/21 — New York, NY — Baby's All Right
10/31/21 —San Francisco, CA — Outside Lands
11/02/21 — Los Angeles, CA —Moroccan Lounge

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 ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com

Bob Mould Band at First Avenue, Minneapolis (2021-09-25)

Bob Mould Band Setlist Next Generation American Crisis Fireball Forecast of Rain Password to My Soul Sinners and Their Repentances I Don't Know You Anymore The Descent You Say You See a Little Light Sunny Love Song Celebrated Summer (Hüsker Dü) Hardly Getting Over It (Hüsker Dü) The War Voices in My Head I Fought Sunshine Rock If I Can't Change Your Mind (Sugar) Hoover Dam (Sugar) Siberian Butterfly Something I Learned Today (Hüsker Dü) New Day Rising (Hüsker Dü) -- Encore --                Flip Your Wig (Hüsker Dü) I Apologize (Hüsker Dü) Makes No Sense at All (Hüsker Dü) Kestrels Setlist Vanishing Point Everything is New Feels Like the End Don't Dream It's a Secret Grey and Blue A Way Out Read More Bob Mould “Distortion and Blue Hearts!” is the name of the new tour from Bob Mould. The guy is a legend, we’ve been listening to his music since Sugar and through back catalogs, Hüsker Dü. …

Musician Bob Mould headlined First Avenue, in Minneapolis, on September 25. The show was billed as Bob Mould Band, although if you look at the show poster, it lists Bob Mould / Jason Narducy / Jon Wurster... and deserving so, as the band is very good and their names should be recognized.

This was Halifax’s Kestrels eight and final show with Bob Mould, and what a great show to end their brief tour (being as this used to be Mould’s old stomping grounds).

The band released an album, Dream or Don’t Dream, on Darla Records, during the COVID pandemic, and so the band was so excited to finally play those songs live.

The set started with “Vanishing Point”, which singer and guitarist Chad Peck explains, “I liked the idea of the record opening with the band kicking in with this intense and hypnotic riff as opposed to a synth overture or a bunch of sound effects. This is a song where John Agnello took out some of the layered rhythm guitars to open the song up, and as a result it really jumps out of the speakers. He also ran the vocals through a Leslie which is a cool effect. Lyrically, it’s about recognizing a relationship is ending and the unease that comes with the undeniable, inevitable feeling of collapse, and recognizing distortions in your thinking. It careens between “wanting to hide” and “I don’t want to lie”, reflecting the oscillating feelings involved in letting go. The title comes from the David Markson book of the same name, one of the best I’ve read in the past few years.”

Highlight of their set was “Grey and Blue”, which features Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis playing the guitar solo. Apparently, the band met after Kestrels played at a bike shop with Dinosaur Jr. and became musical friends. The song would later be named one of Guitar World’s “essential guitar tracks”.

For alternative music fans Bob Mould needs no introduction. He’s a Minneapolis legend, having started Hüsker Dü, and later Sugar.

We’ve seen Bob Mould Band before, playing Sugar’s songs at Rock the Garden 2013… but I’ll have to admit that the band (featuring Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums), were in top form at the First Avenue show. All the songs off Bob Mould’s album Blue Hearts were played with an explosive loudness – fast and to the point.

This tour is really to promote Mould’s latest album, Blue Hearts (Merge Records), but it’s also a reflection of his late 80s and early 90s songs, which were collected in Demon Records’ Distortions 1989-1995 box set.

As you can from the setlist, the first part of the set were mostly songs from Blue Hearts. The rest of the set features early Mould solo songs and a lot of Hüsker Dü’s songs with a splash of Sugar songs.

After playing the show, Mould praised the city and the venue, writing, “Thanks Minneapolis for a super fun night! It’s great to be back “home away from home” and First Avenue always feels like home. If you’ve never been to see a show at First Ave, add it to your list of things to do. The production is amazing, the sight lines are great, and the crowds are enthusiastic.”

Bob Mould’s Blue Hearts is out now on Merge Records.

Remaining Tour Dates:

BOB MOULD BAND: DISTORTION AND BLUE HEARTS
09/28 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
09/29 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
10/01 - San Francisco, CA - August Hall
10/02 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
10/04 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
10/05 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
10/06 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk

BOB MOULD SOLO ELECTRIC: DISTORTION AND BLUE HEARTS
10/15 - Bloomington, IL - Castle Theatre
10/16 - Stoughton, WI - Stoughton Opera House
10/17 - Kalamazoo, MI - Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
10/19 - Kent, OH - Kent Stage
10/20 - Nelsonville, OH - Stuart’s Opera House
10/22 - Cincinnati, OH - Memorial Hall
10/23 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway Nightclub
10/24 - Iowa City, IA - Englert Theater

Kestrels

Kestrels

Kestrels

Bob Mould

Bob Mould Band

Bob Mould Band at First Avenue, Minneapolis (2021-09-25)

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

ford. at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (2021-09-25)

Read More Ford The Color of Nothing by ford. featuring Ayelle Fruit&Sun Headspace Pay No Mind by ford. featuring Lani Rose …

Grammy-nominated, electronic artist Ford (stylized as ford.) headlined the 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis, on Saturday, September 25th, as part of his promotional tour for his album The Color of Nothing (under the Odesza’s Foreign Family Collective label). The album originally came out in October 2020, and a remixed/reworked version called The Color of Nothing (Reprise) came out in May 2021.

ford.

ford.’s stage setup is what you would expect of a DJ setup: a laptop and some control board. Behind him were big vertical displays (with custom frames), which displays images or videos, set to sync with ford.’s music.

While that was visually cool to see, at first, the flood were too busy dancing to pay attention. Speaking of the crowd at the 7th Street, they were mostly of a younger audience, who heard ford.’s music via Spotify or some streaming services.

Reunion Island’s Nasaya, opened the show. Unfortunately, we could not cover due to prior commitments.

Remaining Tour Dates

Sep 30 Holocene Portland, OR, United States
Oct 1 Elderbrook Seattle, WA, United States
Oct 2 Fortune Sound Club Elderbrook Vancouver, BC, Canada
Oct 3 Fortune Sound Club Vancouver, BC, Canada
Oct 7 Elderbrook Seattle, WA, United States
Oct 14 Casbah San Diego, CA, United States
Oct 15 Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, CA, United States
Oct 16 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO, United States
Oct 17 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO, United States
Oct 21 Soundwell Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Oct 23 The Roxy Theatre Los Angeles, CA, United States

ford. at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (2021-09-25)

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

Flashback: The Get Up Kids at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (2011-07-10)

Setlist Your Petty Pretty Things I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel Regent's Court Action & Action No Love Off the Wagon Overdue Shatter Your Lungs Red Letter Day Woodson Pararelevant Shorty Holy Roman Campfire Kansas Rememorable Don't Hate Me Walking on a Wire -- Encore -- Girls & Boys (Blur cover) Holiday Don't Hate Me Beer for Breakfast (The Replacements cover) Ten Minutes Read More The Get Up Kids As far as I know, The Get Up Kids doesn’t have a new album, but their breakout album Something To Write About got a “Deluxe” reissue recently. The band also appeared on Episode 3 of Vagrant Records: 25 Years on the Streets …

With The Get Up Kids playing the Turf Club in St Paul this coming October 03, 2021, let’s take a look back at the band 10 years ago, at the defunct Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on July 10, 2011. They were just as popular now as they were a decade ago.

>>>
The Get Up Kids haven't been around for a few years, but they are NOT forgotten, as evident by the nice turnout for the band on a hot Sunday evening at the Triple Rock Social Club. And you know what that means: three bands for triple the rock.

Major Crimes

I thought the first band, Major Crimes, sounded great. They were tight, was especially impressed with the drums. As it turns out, this trio went under the name Brian Bonz and the Major Crimes (Bonz is the drummer), but what's interesting is that Bonz is not doing the vocals on stage. Instead, singing duties were left to the guitarist and bassist.

The Globes

The Globes were up next. I thought their debut Barsuk album, Future Self, was well produced, and I was glad to see they carry their spacey progressive rock sound live. As expected, they did a lot of songs from their album, complete with strange neck playing of the guitars, cowbells, and weird loops and guitar pedals.

For those who aren't familiar with The Get Up Kids, they were maybe unfairly grouped together with the emo scene of the 90s. This scene includes such hot acts like Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, Jimmy Eat World, and Saves the Day. While the band hated this tag, I believe it also help boost their rise in popularity.

What I liked about their setlist, is that they get it right: they'll sandwich new songs between old favorites, like "Woodson", etc. You can always tell which one were the old songs as everyone is singing along.

Jim Suptic told this story about how they were at Summerfest and they had started a massive "USA" chant. Hilariously the "USA" chants was repeated throughout the show.

When the last song, "Walking on a Wire", was done, the crowd went into the usual "USA" chant for the traditional encore. The true irony is that they opened up their encore with a cover of UK's Blur song "Girls and Boys". This is quite an interesting cover choice for the band, and as much as I enjoyed the cover, the song was lost on its younger audience who has probably never heard of the song and/or could care less.

The other three encore songs included two Get Up Kids favorites "Don't Hate Me" and "Ten Minutes", and between those two songs was another cover: The Replacements' "Beer For Breakfast". The 'Mats was clearly a song choice chosen for the Minneapolis show. Outro song was Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". I don't know if the outro song was a request by the band, but it seems quite fitting for this show.

The Get Up Kids' fifth studio album, There Are Rules, was released in January. Go see them on tour to welcome them back.

The Get Up Kids at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (2011-07-10)

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

Female Assassins: Kate, The Protege, Gunpowder Milkshake

Read more Movies and Television.

Read More Kill Bill The latest releases are The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984) (Alexander Fu Sheng’s last film) and Clan of the White Lotus (1980) (which inspired much of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill). …

KATE (2021)
netflix.com

The action/thriller film, Kate landed on Nextflix last night to terrible reviews. Based on various Female Assassin films, I think this one is actually one of the better ones. Sure, it’s not breaking new grounds: the assassin with a heart of gold, the assassin with nothing to lose (she has less than 24 hours to live), and the assassin trying to find out the mystery behind her “last job before retiring”.

I thought director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan did a fine job with the script he was given. I like the hyper-stylized action sequences, obviously highly influenced by Japanese manga. Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead did a great job in the role of Kate, although I find the name of the film rather boring. They should’ve named the film “Seasonal”, which is her assassin name they reference before she was poisoned.

Woody Harrelson, plays Kate’s trainer and handler, and the first time I saw him in the film, I pegged him as the mastermind behind Kate’s final killing spree. Surely it couldn’t be that obvious?

There is a slow down in the plot when Kate has to kidnap Kijima’s neice, Ani, at a Band-Maid concert, to lure the Yakuza boss out of hiding. The unlikely teamup of Ani and Kate becomes almost like a bad comedy.

Critics compared Kate to John Wick or Kill Bill, but I think a better comparison is to La Femme Nikita, particularly when you saw the flashback with Kate’s first assassin mission.

Synopsis

Slipped a fatal poison on her final job, a ruthless assassin working in Tokyo has less than 24 hours to find out who ordered the hit and exact revenge.

Read More Lionsgate If you buy new Lionsgate movies, you are now required to download their Lionsgate VIP app to get access to your digital copy. Of course, the first thing I did was trying to bypass this by using their website …

THE PROTÉGÉ (2021)
protege.movie

I think a lot of action fans really liked The Protégé from Lionsgate, but I had some problems with it. We’ll get into that later.

The Protégé is a story about Anna (played by Maggie Q), an assassin seeking revenge for the murder of her mentor/father figure Moody (played by Samuel L Jackson). Along her journey back to Vietnam, she meets her rival, another assassin called Rembrandt (played by Michael Keaton). I had no problems with the cast, but I think it’s rather the tone of the movie. All the action seemed like a joke, like the characters knows they’re bullet proof or something so the audience never really think the main characters are ever in trouble. That goes for all three major leads. That’s my main problem, never once did I believe any of these actors can fight. Even if the actors did their own stunts, I just didn’t buy it as an audience.

My other problem is that for a movie to take place in Vietnam, it sure didn’t look like it. In fact, none of the actors appearing in the third act of the film were even Vietnamese (or Asian)! I know this probably has something to do with COVID restrictions of shooting in another country, but at least employ Asian-looking henchmens.

I think the movie is fine, but I probably won’t be buying the Bluray when it comes out.

Synopsis

Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody – the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival – is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves even tighter.

Read More John Wick Thankfully, the link contained a reference to the one-time generated code - and I manually typed that into Vudu account on my computer to finally get a digital copy of John Wick 3. …

GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE (2021)
netflix.com

This Netflix film, Gunpowder Milkshake is absolutely terrible. I think it has to with the comical over-the-top action. I know some people thinks it’s cool, but it just takes me out of believing in the film.

The people who liked the film, defends it by saying that it’s just a dumb fun movie and you don’t really think that hard, you’re going to have a good time. You can say that for any of the Fast and Furious movies… but at some point, I just want a good story. Unfortunately, Gunpowder Milkshake, doesn’t deliver on the story or the action.

The film stars Karen Gillan as Sam, a young assassin, who would team up with her assassin mother, Scarlet, to save a young girl called Emily.

I think the writers tried to build up this assassin world, by introducing “The Library” with their assassin librarians (which includes Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, and Carla Gugino). It sounds like John Wick and the Continental Hotels, and that weird assassin world.

Synopsis

When an assassin veers off mission to rescue a child, she triggers a war with a powerful crime syndicate — and reunites a gun-wielding sisterhood.

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

Glass Animals w/ binki at Azura Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS (2021-09-22)

Glass Animals Setlist Dreamland Life Itself Tangerine Black Mambo (partial) Hot Sugar Hazey The Other Side of Paradise Space Ghost Coast to Coast It's All So Incredibly Loud Your Love (Déjà Vu) Take a Slice I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance) Gooey Youth Pork Soda -- Encore -- Tokyo Drifting Heat Waves binki Setlist Revolve Clay Pigeon Invisible Fence Sea Sick Landline Heybb! Glass Animals Tour Dates 09/24/21 Columbus, OH EXPRESS LIVE! 09/25/21 Dover, DE Firefly Music Festival 09/27/21 Richmond, VA Virginia Credit Union LIVE! 09/28/21 Philadelphia, PA Skyline Stage 09/29/21 Boston, MA Leader Bank Pavilion 10/01/21 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica 10/02/21 Detroit, MI Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre 10/27/21 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl 10/28/21 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl 10/29/21 San Francisco, CA Outside Lands Festival 03/04/22 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Federal Theatre 03/08/22 Portland, OR Keller Auditorium 03/09/22 Portland, OR Keller Auditorium 03/10/22 Vancouver, BC Doug Mitchell Thunderbird 03/11/22 Seattle, WA WaMu Theater 03/13/22 Salt Lake City, UT The Union 03/14/22 Denver, CO The Mission Ballroom 03/16/22 Madison, WI The Sylvee 03/17/22 Minneapolis, MN The Armory 03/18/22 Chicago, IL University of Illinois 03/20/22 Milwaukee, WI Miller High Life Theater 03/21/22 Indianapolis, IN Old National Centre 03/22/22 Louisville, KY The Louisville Palace Theater 03/23/22 Saint Louis, MO The Factory 03/28/22 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium 03/29/22 Washington, DC The Anthem 04/01/22 Toronto, ON History 04/02/22 Toronto, ON History 04/03/22 Montreal, QC MTELUS 04/04/22 Montreal, QC MTELUS 06/14/22 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater 06/15/22 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater binki Tour Dates 09/24/21 Express Live! Columbus, OH 10/13/21 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA 10/23/21 Saint Andrews Hall Detroit, MI 11/09/21 Constellation Room Santa Ana, CA 11/11/21 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA 03/04/22 Arizona Federal Theatre Phoenix, AZ Read More Glass Animals Glass Animals highly successful tour continues, in support of last year’s Dreamland (on Universal Music) and held over from its beginning instantly sold-out gigs in small clubs ... binki Be sure to show up early for opener binki, a NYC-based genre-blending musician born to Kenyan immigrants, whose debut EP, Motor Function (on FADER label) with single “Invisible Fence” just dropped last month. ...

"I think this is the best show we've ever had"-- Glass Animals singer Dave Bayley.

Often, the best nights to see a show at an outdoor amphitheater are later in the season – the air is cool and crisp, less of a rain chance, and none of the oppressive summer heat and humidity.  On such a night with a chill in the air, Glass Animals decided to host a pool party for some 18,000 of their area friends. 

With a set looking like a hotel pool deck, complete with pastel colors, neon lights, a diving board, palm trees, and basketball goal, with a backdrop that was fashioned after a late ‘80s computer terminal screen (with accompanying 8-bit graphics), the band played to its largest area crowd to date on their Dreamland Tour (which continues for almost another year). 

Kansas City loves the band, and the feeling is very mutual as this was one of the first U.S. metro markets to embrace their music.  W♥M thinks quite fondly of them as well, beginning by getting a direct recommendation from none other than legendary UK DJ Steve Lamacqat SXSW in early 2014, we then caught them later that fall, at a much bigger venue in 2016, at another sold-out show in 2017, and most recently, at a blink-and-it’s-sold-out small club show in early 2020 in advance of the new record,shortly before the global pandemic lockdown. 

To start the evening at Azura Amphitheater in the KC suburb of Bonner Springs, binki (real name Baraka Ongeri) warmed up the audience with a half-hour genre-merging set of hip-hop, bedroom indie-rock, and dancehall, in support of his just released first EP, Motor Function (on the FADER label). 

His own background began first on the theater stage, with the Pennsylvania-born musician thinking initially of an acting career, until choice beats, grooves, and verse combined during his college days at the University of North Carolina,to have him consider something different.  The result is a musical stew, in the vein of Brockhampton or the UK’s King Kruleand whose live opening song, “Revolve” had purposely glitchy vocals and followed by “Clay Pigeon” that he has said was inspired both by Confucius and David Bowie.

On stage (this night dressed in a Dr. Seuss t-shirt and dollar store black cape), binki was refreshingly not afraid to have fun, or take himself too seriously, like while starting to introduce his band (that wasn’t there- he played to all backing tracks) and during closing single, “Heybb!”, he did the magic trick of having an “endless rainbow scarf” come out of his mouth, pretending to stumble about as he sang the song’s chorus, “I’m stressed, you got me feelin’ nauseous”.

During the between-acts break, the video backdrop screen graphics showed a dial-up connection trying to (slowly) download a folder, as a novel means of keeping time for the crowd, until the main show would start.  The lights went down as a pixelated“Dreamland Tour” logo appeared on-screen and Glass Animals started playing the album’s title track, with the audience collectively yelping and shrieking in delight. 

The near ninety-minute set managed to work in seventeen songs, most culled from latest album Dreamland (on Wolf Tone/Polydor/Republic), released over a year ago, but still very fresh thanks to all the radio airplay the band has continued to receive. The Oxford UK quartet remains the same four since the band’s inception, childhood friends Dave Bayley– vocals/guitar; Drew MacFarlane– guitar/keys; Ed Irwin-Singer– bass/keys; and Joe Seaward– drums.

“Oh my god, Wow!  It’s good to be home, guys!” the constantly-in-motion Bayley remarked as the set started, visibly impressed with the size of the sold-out crowd.  “Life Itself” throbbed with ground-shaking bass from the many subwoofers up front in the pit area, and the crowd sang the chorus back at the band with glee.

“We have missed you guys!” Bayley said, prefacing “Tangerine” and the crowd was happy to oblige, their pent-up excitement no longer held back from a year-and-a-half of pandemic restrictions and the fact that most missed the band’s March 2020 club appearance, but this was a venue with forty-five times more people than that last intimate appearance in the area.  “So many heads out there” Bayley said, continuing to be thrilled by the turnout, “this is crazy!”

As Bayley sang “say the reason why I can calm you” from 2014’s “Hazey”, the throng was anything but calm as they jumped and sang along, retro game graphics would dot the screen during “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”, and it was heartwarming to see band members’ old family home movies as “Your Love (Déjà Vu)” was played. 

The savvy and loyal audience was even aware of the band’s brand-new single, “I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” added as a bonus track to Dreamland and grounded by a smooth Irwin-Singer bass line,singing along and heeding Bayley’s plea to just let go and release, to fully take in the moment. 

The “peanut butter vibes” of 2014’s “Gooey” segued into 2016’s “Youth”, culminating in the set-ending “Pork Soda” and one lucky fan up front getting the highly sought-after whole pineapple that rested on stage right for most of the show, as the crowd chanted“pineapples are in my head” and Bayley remarking, “I love you guys, this city is special, man!”

The two-song encore began with the song they opened with in March 2020, “Tokyo Drifting”, the first of five singles released prior to the newest album itself and their best was saved for last as “Heat Waves” would close out the evening. It’s the band’s biggest single to date (topped the Billboard Alternative chart) and is an irresistible pop earworm that remains in heavy local airplay, over a year after its release.

With the crowd still roaring, Bayley blushed, “These shows have been amazing, this is like the icing on this cake” as the rest of the band met him up front to take a final bow, then all waved goodbye as the computer screen background “shut down” to signal the show’strue end. 

The Dreamland Tour continues for Glass Animals, but by playing to sold-out crowds of even bigger audiences than ever and hosting their own kind of live nightly“pool party”, it’s clear they’re living out their own best dreams.

binki

binki

binki

binki

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals at Azura Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS (2021-09-22)

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

Heartless Bastards at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (2021-09-22)

Heartless Bastards Setlist All This Time Extraordinary Love (Erika Wennerstrom song) Got to Have Rock and Roll How Low Skin And Bone A Beautiful Life Dust HYHH Photograph The River Went Around The World Arrow Down In The Canyon Doesn’t Matter Now Revolution Swamp Parted Ways -- Encore -- Sway Gray Mountain Tele Novella Setlist Never Words That Stay One Little Pearl Paper Crown It Won't Be Long Wishing Shrine Technicolor Town Stephanie Says (The Velvet Underground cover) Crystal Witch Trouble in Paradise Read More Heartless Bastards Acclaimed rock ’n’ roll band Heartless Bastards is currently on tour in support of A Beautiful Life (Sweet Unknown Records/Thirty Tigers). The album comes out September 10, 2021. … Tele Novella Tele Novella will be touring with Heartless Bastards. Their sophomore album Merlynn Belle is out now on Kill Rock Stars. …

Acclaimed rock ’n’ roll band Heartless Bastards headlined the Fine Line Music Café, in Minneapolis, on September 22nd, as part of their promotional tour for A Beautiful Life (Sweet Unknown Records/Thirty Tigers).

Austin’s Tele Novella (featuring Natalie Ribbons and Jason Chronis) opened the show. This was the band’s first time in Minneapolis, so they seemed really excited to finally play here.

I’ll have to admit, having seen so many shows, that Tele Novella’s European doll costumes were a breath of fresh air. They looked good as a band, and, better yet, they sounded fantastic live. Almost every song on their set were taken from Merlynn Belle, their first album with Kill Rock Stars.

The two non-Merlynn Belle songs were a cover The Velvet Underground’s “Stephanie Says”, which bandleader Natalie Ribbons said was recorded for a Wes Anderson tribute album I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson (which came out in 2014 via American Laundromat Records)… and their set closer, “Trouble in Paradise”, which was one of their first single, taken from Cosmic Dial Tone (Lolipop Records).

As expected, the majority of Heartless Bastards features live tracks from their latest A Beautiful Life album… which doesn’t actually kick in until the fourth song, starting with “How Low”.

The band actually played some older songs early in their set, such as “All This Time” taken from the 2006 album of the same name, an Erika Wennerstrom solo song, “Extraordinary Love”, and “Got to Have Rock and Roll” from 2012’s Arrow .

With A Beautiful Life, particularly with their song “You Never Know”, we previously mentioned that band leader Erika Wennerstrom wanted a “Wes Anderson film, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’… There’s a sense of adventure and innocence that youth embodies whether it’s with love or goals and dreams. This song is a reminder to stay open. Life is short. Take chances.”

Perhaps it is Wenerstrom’s shared love for Wes Anderson that led her to ask Tele Novella to tour with them.

Heartless Bastards’ A Beautiful Life is out now on Sweet Unknown Records/Thirty Tigers.

Remaining Tour Dates

09/27 – Millvale, PA – Mr. Small's Theatre
09/29 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
09/30 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
10/01– Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
10/02 – Washington, DC – Union Stage
10/04 – Carrboro, NC – Cat's Cradle
10/05 – Atlanta, GA – Smith's Olde Bar
10/07 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater
10/08 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
10/09 – Kerrville, TX – Kerrville Folk Festival
10/29 – New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall
10/30 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
10/31 – Santa Fe, NM – Tumbleroot Brewery
11/01 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole
11/03 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
11/04 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
11/05 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
11/06 – Oakland, CA – Starline Social Club Ballroom
11/08 – Sacramento, CA – Harlow's Restaurant
11/09 – Arcata, CA – Arcata Theatre Lounge
11/11 – Eugene, OR – Sessions Music Hall
11/12 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
11/13 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
11/14 – Missoula, MT – The Wilma
11/15 – Bozeman, MT – The ELM
11/17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Commonwealth Room
11/19 – Fort Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre
11/20 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
11/21 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
11/24 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler Theater

Tele Novella

Tele Novella

Tele Novella

Heartless Bastards

Heartless Bastards

Heartless Bastards at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (2021-09-22)

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

Parker Millsap at Turf Club, St Paul (2021-09-21)

Tour Dates 9/23 - St Louis, MO at Off Broadway 9/24 - Louisville, KY at Headliner's 9/29 - Cincinnati, OH at Memorial Hall 9/30 - Columbus, OH at Rumba Cafe 10/01 - Pittsburgh, PA at Thunderbird Cafe 10/02 - Cleveland, OH at Beachland Ballroom 10/03 - Ferndale, MI at Magic Bag 10/04 - Toronto, ONT at Great Hall 10/06 - Burlington, VT at Higher Ground 10/07- Cambridge, MA at The Sinclair 10/08 - Holyoke, MA at Gateway Arts Center 10/09 - New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom 10/10 - Albany, NY at Lark Hall 10/12 - Philadelphia, PA at WXPN 10/13 - Washington, DC at Union Stage 10/14 - Carrboro, NC at Cat's Cradle 10/15 - Asheville, NC at The Masonic Temple 10/16 - Nashville, TN at Basement East 11/11 - Springfield, MO at Springfield Brewing Company 11/12 - Wichita, KS at WAVE 11/13 - McAlester, OK at Dancing Rabbit Festival 11/15 - Tomball, TX at Main Street Crossing 11/16 - San Antonio at Sam's Burger Joint 11/17 - Austin, TX at 3TEN Center 11/19 - Dallas, TX at Granada Theate 11/20 - Oklahoma City, OK at Douglass Auditorium Read More Parker Millsap Parker Millsap is "an Oklahoma native brought up in the Pentecostal church" with a self-titled album that came out February 4, 2014 via Okrahoma Records/Thirty Tigers. … H.C. McEntire Had not heard of Heather McEntire before. She was suggested by one of those 'you might like this too' apps. Love this album, no bad tracks, it's Americana country/folk, 'When You Come For Me' my favourite on it. …

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Parker Millsap returned to the Turf Club, in St Paul, on September 21st, 2021, nearing the start of his new tour for his latest album Be Here Instead.

Opening the show was H.C. McEntire (Heather McEntire), a country/folk-ish singer, formerly of Mount Moriah. H.C. played several singles, including “Time, On Fire” and “High Rise”, before testing out some new songs that were not recorded yet (and they’re still working it out).

H.C. had a Spinal Tap moment, thanking Milwaukee. Fellow band mates quickly corrected her, “we’re in St Paul!”

After an embarrassing pause, H.C. started emphasizing “Saaaaint Paaaul” whenever she mentioned the city.

We first saw Parker Millsap at SXSW in Mar 2014, and described him as “an Oklahoma native brought up in the Pentecostal church … with lots of songs about religion. Old time feel and a great version of "You Gotta Move", a Rev Gary Davis song covered by the Rolling Stones on Sticky Fingers.”

A lot have changed with the fifth album Be Here Instead, which marked a stylistic shift from folk / old time music to more experimenting with pedal effects and drums focused. This may have something to do with his departure from writing all his songs with his guitar and notebook, to asking his live band to work with him. The album was also produced by legendary John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Waxahatchee), who helped brought in Nashville singer Erin Rae, for Millsap’s song “The Real Thing”, making it the #1 song on the Americana charts.

Millsap started his set with “Hands Up”, followed by “It Was You”, getting the audience to put their hands up and dancing in excitement.

The turn out for the Turf Club show was terrific, most fans were fans from word of mouth or hearing his songs on radio stations, such as NPR.

Parker Millsap’s Be Here Instead is out now on Okrahoma Records.

H.C. McEntire

H.C. McEntire

H.C. McEntire

Parker Millsap

Parker Millsap

Parker Millsap at Turf Club, St Paul (2021-09-21)

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

Rufus Wainwright / José González at Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO (2021-09-20)

Rufus Wainwright Setlist Trouble in Paradise Damsel in Distress Unfollow the Rules You Ain’t Big Secret Sister Romantical Man Peaceful Afternoon Only the People That Love This One’s for the Ladies (that lunge!) Poses Argentina Harvest (Neil Young cover) So Long, Marianne (Leonard Cohen cover) My Little You Early Morning Madness Hatred -- Encore -- Alone Time Going to a Town José González Setlist With the Ink of a Ghost Lovestain Down the Line El Invento Cycling Trivialities Visions Void Horizons Head On Open Book Line of Fire (Junip song) Leaf Off / The Cave Blackbird (The Beatles cover) Crosses Heartbeats (The Knife cover) Rufus Wainwright / José González Tour Dates 09/23 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop 09/24 – Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre 09/25 – Carmel, IN - The Palladium 09/26 – Detroit, MI –Cathedral Theatre 09/28 – Washington, DC – The Anthem 09/29 – Boston, MA – The Orpheum Theatre 09/30 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 10/01 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre Rufus Wainwright Tour Dates 10/03 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount 10/06 – Southampton, England – O2 Guildhall 10/08 – Gateshead, England – The Sage 10/09 – Edinburgh, Scotland – Usher Hall 10/10 – Manchester, England – Bridgewater Hall 10/12 – Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England – City Hall 10/13 – York, England – Barbican 10/15 – Cambridge, England – Corn Exchange 10/16 – Liverpool, England – Olympia 10/18 – London, England – The London Palladium 10/19 – London, England –The London Palladium 10/20 – Brighton, England – Brighton Dome 10/22 – Southend-on-Sea, England – Leas Cliffs Pavilion 10/23 – Exeter, England – The Great Hall 10/25 – Birmingham, England – Symphony Hall 10/26 – Oxford, England –New Theatre Oxford 10/27 – Cardiff, Wales – St. David's Hall Read More Rufus Wainwright Rufus Wainwright is currently on tour in support of Unfollow The Rules – The Paramour Sessions, a live recording of his 2020 album Unfollow the Rules (plus other classic songs from his discography). … José González It's official, José González entire North American tour is sold out*. This is Gonzales' first solo tour dates since 2008 (we previously saw him with Junip in 2011 and 2013), so fans …

Forget the season premiere of The Voice Monday night on television-

The place to be was in Kansas City at the Uptown Theater to hear the real thing- one voice that soared like a bird, and another floated like a cloud.

2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and visionary singer-songwriter-guitarist José González combined forces to launch the first stop of their Unfollow The Rules in The Local Valley Tour before a loyal and eager audience. 

Wainwright is out in support of not only last year’s successful Unfollow the Rules (on BMG Records) but also a live companion piece just out, Unfollow the Rules- The Paramour Sessions recorded during the pandemic at a stately LA mansion, while González released his anticipated fourth solo album, Local Valley (on Mute Records) just last week.

With a city mask mandate still in place, and required vaccination proof per the venue, entry on a slightly rainy evening was very brisk and easy.  Once inside, the crowd was generally very respectable and quiet to the two performers that really require this during their performances, in order to fully appreciate each of them. 

José González began the evening first, alone atop a center stage pedestal with a simple backdrop that resembled the reflection of a wilderness pond behind him.  His dedicated fans were so happy to see him, yelps and whoops came from the crowd just from tuning of his guitar. 

González began his hour-long set with 2015’s “With the Ink of a Ghost”, his lilting delicate vocals dancing amongst the clouds like a firefly in the woods, nicely setting the mood for what was to come.  Following with “Lovestain” from his 2003 debut, it was clear that the setlist was selected very deliberately, not only to showcase the new record, but to also take listeners both new and old, through an almost twenty-year journey of his work.

“El Invento” was the first of the new songs, sung completely in Spanish, showing his range as a lyricist, and that was soon followed by a set centerpiece of four additional new songs. “Line of Fire” is not only on the new record, but also a cover of his own, from his on-again/off-again band Junip, formed in 1998 with friend Tobias Winterkorn, and The Beatles’ “Blackbird” was one of the very first songs he learned to play, and proved a sweet and authentic cover. 

The encore-less set would end with another cover, “Heartbeats”, a 2002 hit for Swedish electronica duo The Knife, which made perfect sense as González is not only a longtime resident of Gothenburg where that band originated, but its lyric, “One night of magic rush, the start, a simple touch” seeming very apropos, to describe the set. 

After a brief set change, the mood switched from the opening notes of Rufus Wainwright’s ninety-minute set to more of an intimate cabaret, with Wainwright joined by only three additional and very adept musicians– guitarist/musical director Brian Green, Jacob Mann on keyboards/piano, and Alan Hampton on bass guitar/upright bass, all dressed in dapper patchwork-pattered suits. 

Wainwright enhanced his own outfit, with sequined ruby slipper loafers (very appropriate for Oz-famous Kansas) and the back of his jacket emblazoned with a large crown and letter “R” above it.

Though a running theme of songs of dread punctuated the set, most were done uptempo and/or heartily enough with Wainwright’s room-filling stage vocals, to set aside any feelings of anxiety to just enjoy the act of going to see live music again, starting with four songs from the latest record. The album’s title track, was conceived with help from his now ten year-old daughter, Viva (also Leonard Cohen’s granddaughter) and Wainwright admitted particular nervousness in performing the swaying “You Ain’t Big”, which name-checks local nearby towns of Topeka, Wichita, and Lawrence, KS.

“Secret Sister” was culled from a recent soundtrack of a film about activist nuns and the new “Romantical Man” was inspired by walks in London and seeing a statue of 18^th Century Welsh actress Sarah Siddons.  Wainwright joked that he usually dedicates the new “Only the People That Love” to everyone in the world… except for one person, but with the current un-vaccinated situation, maybe broadens that out to just some 75%.

“Poses” from 2001, remains Wainwright’s favorite song to sing, and he again proved why, performing it solo on piano, his voice reaching to rafters as he crooned, “you said watch my head about it”. A couple of Canadian-centric covers would follow, re-interpreted of course with Wainwright’s climbing vocals reaching into territory each of the originals, could never venture, and both are featured on Northern Stars, a limited release he sells only at shows. 

“My Little You” was again inspired by his daughter, and the chaotic cacophony of “Early Morning Madness” both captured the seesaw emotion of its title and was a show highlight that musically personified the bleakness of addiction.  Wainwright confessed the set was ending in an “uptempo darkness” with “Devils & Angels (Hatred)”, inspired in part by an 18^th century opera he has seen with his late mother twenty years ago. 

The two-song encore began with the closing track from Unfollow the Rules, and Wainwright solo on piano for “Alone Time”, somber but hopeful in promising to be back in the lyrics. The band rejoined onstage for the night’s closer, 2007’s “Going to a Town”, a world-weary protest song that took on additional and completely new meanings in these current times. 

With very little noticeable rust to shake off on this opening night of the tour, Rufus Wainwright and José González shined not only in their songwriting and performance, but the night was also a masterclass in the voice, far more accomplished and authentic than anything that might have been on TV the same night. 

(click on any image to see it in full and enlarged)

 

Jose Gonzalez

Jose Gonzalez

Jose Gonzalez

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright at at Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO (2021-09-20)

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