W♥M

Mpls: June 10 to June 13, 2025

NOTE: Since I have relocated to Jacksonville, I am scaling back on Minneapolis Show Previews for June and beyond. If you have an upcoming Minneapolis (or Jacksonville) show that you’d like me to take a look at and spotlight, please email me [email protected] with the subject Minneapolis or Jacksonville, and I will be sure to add your show to my listing.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Ashe at First Avenue (11 Jun 2025) Read More Ashe Ashe’s main audience are teenage girls, and they overtook First Avenue’s dancefloor… singing along to all her songs. This is a group of pop music fans, as prior to Ashe’s ...

11 Jun 2025 Wednesday
Ashe
with Bo Staloch
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Ashe is on her Trilogy Tour, stopping by First Avenue, in Minneapolis, on June 11, 2025. The name of the tour implies that she’ll be playing songs from her trilogy of albums: Ashlyn, Rae, and Wilson.

Ashe at First Ave (08 May 2022)

We last saw Ash in May 2022 and wrote, “Ashe’s main audience are teenage girls, and they overtook First Avenue’s dancefloor… singing along to all her songs. This is a group of pop music fans, as prior to Ashe’s appearance, the DJ played to the crowd: Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me”, One Direction’s “Steal My Girl”, and ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”… each song were met with singing from the crowd. Ashe didn’t seem to mind, she seemed pleased and encourage the audience to finish some of her songs. She mentioned that when she was booking the 2022 tour, she said of all the cities, Minneapolis was the one she was most looking forward to playing. Since it was Mother’s Day, she first asked to hear from all the mothers in the audience (who were probably chaperoning their daughter to the show). Ashe was determined to make this night a very special night for the fans (and their mothers).”

Nashville, by the way of Austin, singer/songwriter Bo Staloch to open. Staloch’s new EP The Garden is out now on Capitol Records.

Tour Dates:

5/28 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse

5/30 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

5/31 – Boston, MA – Royale

6/3 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel

6/5 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall

6/6 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall

6/8 – Chicago, IL – Metro

6/11 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue

6/13 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre

6/14 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot

6/16 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox

6/17 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall

6/19 – Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre

6/20 – Los Angeles, CA The Bellwether

Blondshell at Fine Line (11 Jun 2025) Read More Blondshell Starting January 18th, Los Angeles’ Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum), will take over as support. Blondshell is still very new, having only released four singles, her debut ....

11 Jun 2025 Wednesday
Blondshell
with meg elsier
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Blondshell is back on tour to support her sophomore album If You Asked For A Picture (Partisan Records). The tour will stop by the Fine Line, in Minneapolis, on June 11, 2025.

Blondshell at Palace Theatre (17 Nov 2023)

We last saw Blondshell in Nov 2023 and said, “Blondshell aka Sabrina Teitelbaum opened the evening sporting a vintage Rod Stewart concert baseball shirt with the tagline: “Blondes have more fun.” We last saw Blondshell at Seventh Street Entry in July and it appears she has been on the road since as she promotes her self-titled debut album with songs like “Veronica Mars,” “Sepsis” and “Street Rat.” And although the crowd skewed older than her Seventh Street Entry performance, she received a favorable roar of applause for her songs “Salad” and “Kiss City.” It’s easy to see why Liz Phair picked Teitelbaum to open for her tour. Even with the age gap the two singers have a conversational persona in their singing that tends to casually if not coolly remove them from subject material that is not casual or cool.”

meg elsier to open.

Note: There is a strict 6 ticket limit. Any attempt to exceed the ticket limit of 6 per customer or household, or to game the system in any way, will result in cancellation of orders without notice. There is a transfer delay for all tickets up to 72 HOURS prior to show.

Tour Dates:

5/2/25 - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever (Album Release show) - Los Angeles, CA #

5/28/25 – Belly Up Tavern – San Diego, CA ^

5/30/25 – The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA ^

5/31/25 – August Hall – San Francisco, CA ^

6/2/25 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR ^

6/3/25 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA ^

6/6/25 – Soundwell – Salt Lake City, UT ^

6/8/25 – Gothic Theatre – Denver, CO ^

6/11/25 – Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN *

6/13/25 – Metro – Chicago, IL *

6/14/25 – Skully's Music Diner – Columbus, OH *

6/16/25 – Phoenix Concert Theater – Toronto, ON *

6/17/25 – Theatre Fairmount – Montreal, QC *

6/19/25 – Royale – Boston, MA %

6/20/25 – Brooklyn Steel – New York, NY %

6/21/25 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA %

6/24/25 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC %

6/26/25 – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC %

6/27/25 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA %

6/28/25 – Basement East – Nashville, TN %

# support from Draag
^ support from Jahnah Camille
* support from Meg Elsier
% support from Daffo

Florry at 7th St Entry (13 Jun 2025)

13 Jun 2025 Friday
Florry
with Lily Seabird
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Florry is headlining the 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis, on June 13, 2025, to support their album Sounds Like... (available May 23rd on Dear Life Records).

Lily Seabird to open.

Tour Dates:

06.05.25 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground

06.06. 25 - Montreal QC @ la Sotteranea

06.07.25 - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G

06.08.25 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Bottlerocket Social Hal

06.10.25 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe

06.11.25 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop

06.12.25 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas

06.13.25 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry

06.14.25 - Madison, WI @ Gamma Ray Bar

06.16.25 - Des Moines, IA @ Raccoon Motel

06.17.25 - Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge

06.18.25 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway

06.19.25 (Juneteenth) - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar

06.20.25 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR

06.21.25 - Athens, GA @ Flicker Theatre

06.22.25 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle

06.24.25 - Durham, NC @ The Pinhook

06.25.25 - Richmond, VA @ TBA

06.26.25 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd

06.27.25 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry

06.28.25 - Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye

06.29.25 - Medford, MA @ Deep Cuts

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

Spectra 6

Huessen - ePaper Photo Frame Read More reMarkable Paper Pro Now enter the reMarkable Paper Pro, which was just announced. This large 11.8” color display uses Gallery 3. As I previously mentioned, Gallery 3 is the superior color e-Ink display, but unfortunately, it’s very slow to refresh ....

The next generation of e-ink is here, and it is called Spectra 6.

The original Spectra had only three pigments (red, black, white), but over the years, they evolved to Spectra 6, featuring six colors: red, yellow, blue, white, black, and green… and through those combinations can produce about 60,000 colors.

The technology was introduced in April 2023, but it’s taking a long time for it to make it to market. I’ve seen earlier version of Spectra, but it was limited to two or three colors, like those red with black and white small tags in retail stores. Unfortunately, because of its slow refresh, about 20 seconds per refresh, the technology is limited to fine art, photo frames, or signage.

I’m mostly interested in seeing this tech adopted as a comic book reader. I do not mind the 20-second refresh, just as long as I can read the comic book and it looks just as good as a printed page.

Most of the photo frame is small (8 inches): Bloomin8 ($240) and Reflection Frame ($350).

The larger frame (13 inches), which is what I’m interested in, will launch with Ink Poster and Huessen, but neither have pricing or availability.

Based on the $200+ pricing of the 8-inch frames, I am going to assuming the price will double for the larger displays. The Verge said prices are expected to hit $600 for 13.3-inch and $1,700 for the 31.5-inch displays. Unfortunately, I’ll probably never buy them, as it is a little expensive for me. At that price, you can get a very nice gaming computer or maybe the Nintendo Switch 2 and not worry about their $80 game prices… or maybe a down payment for the new Sony 50-150mm f2 lens.

Anyway, that’s all future-stuff for my future-self to deal with… What you probably want to know is: what is the current state of color e-ink? Well, currently Kaleido 3 is still king. Amazon finally entered the color e-ink market with Kindle Colorsoft, using Kaleido 3, in Oct 2024. The product is a flop, because, as of this writing, the inferior glue they were using causes a yellow tint at the bottom of the screen that readers are complaining about. It is also $280 for a 7-inch product.

Remarkable Paper Pro vs Boox (note the color differences)

The biggest problem with Kaleido 3 is that the screen is dark. You cannot use Kaleido 3 without the usage of a front light. The other problem of Kaleido 3 is the resolution is often 50% of its black and white counterpart. For example, most of these panels have B&W 300ppi, but for colors it is only 150ppi. And if you compare Kaleido 3 colors to Gallery 3 colors - you can clearly see that Gallery has some additional colors - particularly yellow-ish tones.

I’m mostly interested in using these devices for reading comic books, so I need them to be the size of a typical modern comic book, which is about 12 inches (see video below for size comparison). Right now, the only product I have that fits that large 12 size is the Remarkable Paper Pro.

There are a few large 13.3 Kaleido 3 devices coming out (or came out): BOOX Tablet Tab X C ($820) and the Fujitsu Quaderno A4 3rd Gen ($720). Since they’re both using Kaleido 3 and costs more than the RPP, I feel they are dead in the water. The pricing is a little crazy, but considering that they are probably paying 150% tariff, it suddenly makes sense why they’re so expensive.

For now, between all my e-ink readers, my go-to device is the Remarkable Paper Pro, simply because comic book reading is an absolute pleasure to read because it’s using Gallery 3, which has more colors.

On paper, both Gallery 3 and Spectra 6 seems to be using similar tech, but Gallery 3 uses CMYW particles, while Spectra uses RYBW. It’s also noted that all the Spectra colors are reflective (so they look better in light), while Gallery 3 uses some transparent colors. I haven’t seen Spectra 6, but I’m almost sure he’s a better e-ink than Gallery 3. From my usage, Gallery 3 is okay, but I wish it was better and brighter (like bright white paper).

As I’ve previously mentioned in my original review the Remarkable Paper Pro is just very expensive for a limited use device.

If you’re still interested, I have made a little video talking about my favorite comic book reader at the moment.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

My number one choice for reading comic books is on the Remarkable Paper

Read more Weekend Gamer.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Ice Nine Kills at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

Ice Nine Kills at Uptown Theater (2025-05-06) ICE NINE KILLS SETLIST intro music: The Silver Scream Red Right Hand The American Nightmare Thank God It's Friday Stabbing in the Dark SAVAGES The Jig Is Up A Grave Mistake Rocking the Boat Enjoy Your Slay Freak Flag The World in My Hands Merry Axe-Mas Love Bites IT Is the End -- Encore -- The Fastest Way to a Girl's Heart Is Through Her Ribcage The Greatest Story Ever Told Meat & Greet THE WORD ALIVE SETLIST The Word Alive Is Dead... Wonderland New Reality 2012 Glass Castle Nocturnal Future Eyes Above One Of Us Life Cycles FUNERAL PORTRAIT SETLIST Generation Psycho You're So Ugly When You Cry Blood Mother Hearse for Two Dark Thoughts Holy Water Suffocate City MELROSE AVENUE SETLIST Fool and the Beggar Body Bag Deep End Through Hell Reflections Suffering ICE NINE KILLS TOUR DATES MAY 7 Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO MAY 9 The Rave Milwaukee, WI MAY 10 The Rave Milwaukee, WI MAY 11 Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival Columbus, OH MAY 13 The Fillmore Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN MAY 14 The Fillmore Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN MAY 15 The Admiral Theater Omaha, NE MAY 18 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL MAY 19 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL MAY 20 GLC Live at 20 Monroe Grand Rapids, MI MAY 21 GLC Live at 20 Monroe Grand Rapids, MI MAY 23 Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA MAY 24 The Wellmont Theater Montclair, NJ MAY 25 The Wellmont Theater Montclair, NJ MAY 27 The Pageant St Louis, MO MAY 29 Aztec Theatre San Antonio, TX MAY 30 Aztec Theatre San Antonio, TX JUN 1 House of Blues Houston, TX JUN 2 House of Blues Houston, TX JUN 4 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA JUN 5 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA JUN 6 Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL JUN 8 Fillmore New Orleans, LA JUN 9 Fillmore New Orleans, LA JUN 11 House of Blues North Myrtle Beach, SC JUN 12 House of Blues North Myrtle Beach, SC Jun. 14 - 15 Warped Tour Greenway, DC JUN 20 Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, CA JUN 27 Empower Field at Mile High Denver, CO Jul. 18 - 20 OKC Horrorcon Oklahoma City, OK Aug. 1 - 3 Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Con Rosemont, IL Aug. 29 - 31 Nightmare Weekend Cleveland, OH Sep. 12 - 14 Silver Scream Con Worcester, MA OCT 18 When We Were Young Las Vegas, NV NOV 19 Alcatraz Milan, Italy NOV 20 Halle 622 Zürich, Switzerland NOV 21 Salle Pleyel Paris, France NOV 23 Gasometer Wien, Austria NOV 24 Zenith Munich, Germany NOV 26 AB Bruxelles, Belgium NOV 27 Palladium Köln, Germany NOV 28 SaSaZu Club Hlavní Město Praha, Czechia NOV 30 Haus Auensee Leipzig, Germany DEC 1 Klub Stodoła Warszawa, Poland DEC 2 Verti Music Hall Berlin, Germany DEC 4 Sporthalle Hamburg, Germany DEC 5 Poppodium 013 Tilburg, Netherlands DEC 6 Jahrhunderthalle Club Frankfurt, Germany DEC 8 Co-op Live Manchester, UK DEC 9 OVO Hydro Glasgow, UK DEC 10 Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, UK DEC 12 OVO Arena Wembley London, UK Read More Ice Nine Kills Ice Nine Kills is on the road across for their The Silver Scream-A-Thon tour which is a two-night experience in every city that will …

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

"The Silver Scream-A-Thon is a devilish chance for us to spend twice as much time in some of our favorite haunts, presenting a grindhouse-style double feature filled with deep cuts and our signature singalongs alike," said Ice Nine Kills vocalist Spencer Charnas.

"In each city, Night One celebrates the fearsome full-length that began this era, The Silver Scream. Night Two slashes through The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood. Both evenings will unearth deep cuts from our band's haunted past, with shocks and surprises galore." 2-Day and single day tix available.

Here are the KC support lineups:

NIGHT I- The Word Alive The Funeral Portrait Melrose Avenue

More about the show to come!

 

ALL PHOTOS BY JASON DOMINGUES

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

ICE NINE KILLS at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)
ICE NINE KILLS at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)
ICE NINE KILLS at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

THE WORD ALIVE at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

MELROSE AVENUE at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

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

Porch Light at Lawn Layover (May 10, 2025)

Minnesota United FC vs. Inter Miami CF at Allianz Field (May 10, 2025) Tour Dates 06/12 Los Angeles, CA Moroccan Lounge 06/23 Brooklyn, NY Baby's All Right 06/25 Milwaukee, WI Cactus Club 06/27 Rochester, MN Historic Chateau Theatre* 06/28 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line 06/29 Chicago, IL Space * supporting Night Moves porch light at First Ave (Jan 31, 2025) porch light is an indie rock band that has been together less than a year. With Jackie Uhas’ extremely strong voice (that was definitely the theme of the evening), leading the way, this is right in the alternative rock wheelhouse. Guitar riffs and driving drums featured heavily on the second song. Several members of the band were also in The Dalmatian Club, in an interesting case of double duty. porch light certainly found a friendly audience, with a lot of cheering throughout. [ Continue Reading First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2024 ] Read More porch light porch light is an indie rock band that has been together less than a year. With Jackie Uhas’ extremely strong voice (that was definitely the theme of the evening), leading the way ... MNUFC While you expect (and get) the local radio stations to sponsor certain show, how about MNUFC, the local Major League Soccer team (aka The Loons) being involved? …

MNUFC, the Major League Soccer team, also known as the Loons, had a big-time game on Saturday, with Inter Miami CF visiting. That team happens to have Lionel Messi playing for them. For those who don’t know soccer, Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, having helped his native Argentina hoist the World Cup title in 2022. The 37-year-old is finishing his professional career with a few years in MLS, and every road game is a big event for the home team Miami is visiting.

As such, MNUFC had a full outdoor set of festivities, including several concerts on their Lawn Layover stage and field outside of the stadium. Those bands were spread out over several hours, but first up was newcomers Porch Light, who we last saw as part of Best New Bands in January. (Soul Asylum would be up later in the afternoon.)

The band could not have asked for better conditions. It was as beautiful of a day as you could have drawn up: 70 degrees, sunny, with a mild breeze. And MNUFC has excellent AV setup for the bands, so it sounded great, even in the outdoors. Given the big stage, it was an opportunity to freeze up, but Porch Light had no obvious butterflies. Isaiah Trimbo’s opening drums had the band on the right foot. As in January, Jackie Uhas’ vocals are the band’s calling card, and she delivered. In the second song, she gets to let loose on the chorus and really nails it. Considering it was several hours before the game and that people were there for soccer, Porch Light was able to get a fair number into the audience.

A call out to Uhas’ grandmother, “it’s her first time seeing us” gotten a great round of cheers. We also some got some fun guitar solos that let the rest of the band show off their chops. A cover of Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You kept things moving along. Uhas told the crowd she had just lost her job and had filed for unemployment. She noted the next song had written as a joke, “but now hits a little hard”, as it started with the lyrics “Please don’t make me get a job…”.

The next song was a little slower paced and let Uhas be a little more soulful in her singing. It also had extended guitar, bass and drum solos, letting each of the band shine. A newer song, with the chorus Give Me Something, started with vocals and guitar before the others entered. A nearly 45 minute set let Porch Light show a broad range of indie rock stylings and they thanked the audience and hustled to get their gear off the stage.

I got the chance to talk to Uhas after the show. Asking about these early experiences of being on the First Avenue MainStage and now here at Allianz, she said the band is very aware of how lucky they have gotten with these early opportunities. But she also said that the band is not going to skip over steps, noting that the next year will be a lot of house shows. Porch Light has been together for just about a year, and there are lots of ways to progress and continue to hone their sound. We also chatted about the balance of going after your passion, while still needing to make the ends meet. Uhas mentioned that the band members look for opportunities that make it easier, like remote work, but that when it comes down to it, you do what you have to, “manual labor, selling clothes, whatever”. But it’s clear the band believes in themselves, and it will be fun to see where the go over the next few years.

Porch Light

Porch Light

Porch Light

Porch Light

Porch Light at Allianz Field (May 10, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Squid at Turf Club (05-09-2025)

Squid at Turf Club (09 May 2025) Squid Setlist Crispy Skin Building 650 The Cleaner G.S.K. Swing (in a Dream) Cowards Cro-Magnon man Undergrowth The Blades Well Met (Fingers Through the Fence) -- Encore -- The Hearth and Circle Round Fire Narrator FearDorian Setlist In Turn For? Aspen Every Time I.V. Forecasting Pray 4 The People Backbone (Unreleased Song) Foolin (Unreleased Song) RBF (Unreleased Song) What Happened Run Dry Acrid Taste Shame On You Tour Dates May 10 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's May 11 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall May 13 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall May 14 - Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar May 16 - Detroit, MI @ El Club May 17 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House May 19 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall May 20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts May 21 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat May 23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Read More Squid UK’s Squid is heading out on tour in support of their latest album O Monolith (out now on Warp). Talking about the new album, guitarist Anton Pearson commented, “I think we’ve been …

We last saw Squid at the Fine Line in Feb, 2024, and were pretty excited to see them again on Friday night. But first, the opening act.

FearDorian stepped on stage with his MC Ethan, and had a confession to make: “It's my first time here (Twin Cities). And if I’m being honest, it’s been the worst day of my life.” He went on to say that he and Ethan almost got arrested, and even worse, he lost the external hard drive to three years of his music. Gone!

FearDorian is young, really young, an 18-year-old rapper from Atlanta. His sound has been described by Hearing Things as “... a bespoke blend of Milwaukee lowend, Midwest emo, vaporwave, and Atlanta staples like trap and snap must.”

If I’m being honest, I have to say that I don’t know any of these subgenres. But I will say that Pitchfork said his “... beats are potent enough to leave you with a contact high.”

FearDorian is touring with his sophomore album Leaving Home and he sang songs from it like “Aspen”, “Forecasting” and a favorite of his “I.V.” He also sang the shortest song of the evening “What Happened” and a crowd favorite “Run Dry”. And near the end of the set, a stage hand stepped on stage with a camera in his left hand, waving something with his right.

“My hard drive,” FearDorian said, as if being reunited with a long-long friend.

It was a cozy fit on stage for Squid and their myriad of instruments. As we wrote in our prior review: “The band consists of Ollie Judge on drums and lead vocals, Louis Borlase and Anton Pearson on guitar, Laurie Nankivell on bass and Arthur Leadbetter on keys. As Pitchfork writes in their review of O Monolith: ‘Squid fires off in a lot of directions.’ After all, how many punk bands have synthesizers, samplers and modulators; play gongs, cowbells and tambourines; (Leadbetter plays a mean triangle) and prominently feature trumpet and cornet solos? (Nankivell)”

At the time Squid was supporting their sophomore album, O Monolith. What I know now is they had actually completed their third album, Cowards, before going on that tour.

Cowards is an ambitious project. It is about evil with nine songs that reckon with cults, charisma and apathy. The guidepost was Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. The inspirations ranged from David Lynch and Kate Busch to books on serial killers. “Blood on the Rocks” is inspired by the Charles Manson murders.

It was a rare treat to be so close to a band working together to create something new. The building blocks of the band are built solidly on a post punk vibe, but from there they are bound to go in any direction:

“Cleaner” a descendant of the Talking Heads.

“GSK” a sonic jam session that involved the band moving from instrument to instrument.

“Swing” a looping trumpet intro flowing into a jam session.

“Cro-Magnon Man” a little futuristic, a little robotic, nearly turning into a space opera.

“Blades” a cacophony of sound that brought the crowd to a roar.

Personally, it was a highlight of the year to see five musicians working in tandem, pushing in so many directions, and I look forward to their return.

FearDorian

FearDorian FearDorian

Squid

Squid

Squid

Squid

Squid at Turf Club (May 9, 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Brett Newski and the Bad Inventions at Zhora Darling (May 9, 2025)

Brett Newski at Zhora Darling (May 9, 2025) Brett Newski & the Bad Inventions Setlist Arrow Boxer Only Macaulay Culkin Can Save Us Now Take You for a Ride Cliche Folk Song Force the World to Contend With You Save Your Soul (Jewel cover) Garage Devil's Haircut (Beck cover) Wet Pavement Jesus Freak The Cold Casuals Setlist Mind Your Own Way Maverick Ways Kill the Lights All Your'N The Dream Cherries Every Little Thing Stumble Valerie Rattle My Bones Pinch Me The Makouts Setlist Pawn Shop County Fair I Don't Mend You Knocked Out Heart Broken Wings Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan cover) I Need To Know Crazy Lips Two Truths and a Lie Beware the Flowers Tour Dates 6/12 - OSHKOSH, WI - Waterfest (6pm early) 6/20 - CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - Newbo City Market 6/21 - HOLLAND, MI - Park Theatre 6/27 - GREEN BAY, WI - Badger State Brewing 6/28 - APPLETON, WI - Fox River House 7/4 - MADISON, WI - UW Madison Terrace 7/5 - BARABOO, WI - Tumbled Rock 7/15 - TWIN FORKS, ND - North Dakota Museum of Art Brett Newski at First Ave (July 6, 2016) Brett Newski opened up the show with his improv-ish songs. Very fun guy, really witty. Highlight of his set was getting an audience member to help play harmonica during ‘In Between Exits’. He ended his brief 30-min set with ‘D.I.Y.’... and newfound fans in the front started to sing along to his catchy lyrics, “I’m D.I.Y., I’m punk as f***. Don’t need your money, I don’t want your love.” Newski also tend to swap out lyrics to make his song more personal and timely. For example, he name dropped The Replacements in the mixtape lyrics on ‘D.I.Y.’ Also, Newski, there were definitely a lot more people last night and tonight at First Avenue than “four people in St. Louis”. [ Continue Reading Brett Newski at First Ave (July 6, 2016) ] Read More Brett Newski Milwaukee-based alternative songwriter / illustrator / podcaster Brett Newski is releasing his first book It’s Hard To Be A Person: defeating anxiety, surviving the world, and having more fun and its ...

It’s always fun to get to a venue for the first time. And one of the joys of the Twin Cities’ music scene is that you can go to a lot of shows and still have a large number of places to still discover. This is particularly true of dual-purpose sites, typically restaurants or bars that also feature live music. A number of these smaller venues play host to a variety of local or regional shows and this evening was highlighting exactly that, with Milwaukee’s own Brett Newski & the Bad Inventions playing the top spot at Minneapolis’ Zhora Darling.

Part of a group of venues that independently showed up in 2023 as part of the bounce back from the Covid pandemic, Zhora Darling is a full restaurant that has a reasonably sized side room dedicated to musical acts. It’s actually an impressively efficient set up. Coming inside from the street, there are pool tables (unsurprisingly in use), the tables for the restaurant and a bar. Back past the bar, there is the room for live music, and past that, an additional space for karaoke, which was in use. The live music room is fairly square, but creates a fairly big stage, both deep and wide. They have also done some great sound proofing, as none of the karaoke spilled in, even prior to a band taking stage.

The first opener was local band The Makeouts. We got two solo songs, with loud electric guitar and a statement, “If we start out strong, maybe people will start coming in here”. The rest of the band joined after that and the quartet (guitar, bass, and drums), filled out that very rock & roll sound. The band was all clad in black of various types, but the music was straight rock. We got a little bit of Elvis moves from the lead singer, and a very lively guitar solo to end I Don’t Mend You.

Knocked Out Heart had a slightly alt-country feel. We were told that many of the songs were off their recent album, Beware the Flowers, and as increasingly is common, is not available on Spotify or other streaming services. An “old folk tune”, Outlaw Blues, a Bob Dylan cover that was re-imagined well, allowing the vocalist the opportunity to range across various vocal styles. Announcing “another ballad”, we got Crazy Lips, an upbeat number that leaned into the guitar sound. Finishing up the set with the title track of the album, The Makeouts played perhaps their strongest song to the end.

Between sets, I spoke with Ben who told me that he would be playing keys, having recently joined scheduled second opener The Cold Casuals. Strangely, he added that he was also going to play with the headliner, and had been learning chords for songs just in the last two days. I didn’t quite understand, but also didn’t have time to ask a lot of follow up questions. It turned out to be an omen of things to come.

Brett Newski (Brett Wisniewski) is a songwriter and musician out of Wisconsin. He’s performed under several band entities, including NEWSKI, and this planned current incarnation Brett Newski & the Bad Inventions. However, Newski came up to stage prior to the second opener and performing solo. It was a street busker’s arrangement, with vocals, guitar, and tambourine on his right foot. But, as technology has allowed, he also had an impressive array of musical effects and backup vocals from his board set up. He’s a charismatic performer, and the audience continued to edge forward in the early going. The second song, Boxer, was a great example of his power as a singer, with a reverb effect perfectly played.

Newski then explained to us that he had some challenges with regular band members not being able to make this weekend’s shows. I appreciated his honest take that you can’t press on people when life is difficult for them, but it also meant that his show this evening was going to be a strange one, as he had “band members” who had been drafted in the last two days. I’m super impressed that this show went on at all, and it’s a testament to Newski’s capabilities that it hadn’t simply been cancelled. We got a request for songs, and Culkin as a solo grunge version. The song is pretty brilliant, but Newski leveled up by switching to the “bluegrass version”, showing off an ability to switch things up even within a song.

Cliche Folk Song was a perfect song to fit into the set, as he was standing there with acoustic guitar. As he was playing through, he stopped to make a great joke with Jane (drummer from The Cold Comforts) about not yawning during the song. The laughter from the audience fed a positive vibe, that brought everyone in a little closer when Newski told the audience that he is going to have his first child in August. He sang the next song, Force the World to Contend with You, written for that child and the meaningfulness was palpable. A cover of Jewel’s Save Your Soul followed, a regular in his rotation.

We got another band member finally appear, to play drums on Garage. Again, it was well timed to add the percussion layer and continue to add interest. A cover of Beck’s Devil’s Haircut, “the first song I ever heard on CD” was excellent. The rest of the Cold Casuals (sans drummer) came up to support a few songs. That full band sound (six on stage at this point), with dual vocals, made for a completely different sound yet again. The ever-progressing nature of this show was unique and ridiculously fun. Wet Pavement, “a slightly faster” (this to the band, and especially the drummer) again leaned into that dual vocals. It also seemed that our bassist was doing as much to keep the band in tune as the drummer, so everyone was pitching in, as did a keys solo. Ending the set with Jesus Freak, Newski and the improvised band had threaded a needle, creating a wonderful concert from what could have easily been disaster. Speaking with Newski, he mentioned that he really thought about canceling, but was pleased with how everything had come together.

This switch up meant that alt rock band The Cold Casuals was up last. The Minneapolis quintet was exactly in line thematically, playing a solid rock & roll sound. Mind Your Own Way was a strong start, with that dual guitars and bass leading the way, with keyboard highlights and Jane Halldorson’s great drum underpinning. Wyatt Lawson’s baritone vocals cut through all that guitar work and make for a nice contrast. A couple of covers followed, with Kill the Lights first. Lawson was having a blast with this one, getting to nearly scream his lyrics. A change of pace with All Your’n showed that The Cold Casuals could also play in the Americana space.

An older song, Cherries, was a more bluesy number and showed off some range from the band. Stumble had a great bass lick entrance (and an introduction of the band) and continued that blues rock feel. An effect on guitar was turned up full on a cover of The Zuton’s Valerie, making for a much brighter sound. Back to their originals, we got Rattle My Bones and were nearly to the end of the set. A good instrumental set up of the final song Pinch Me let the band have fun, with great wailing drums bringing things to a conclusion. An unexpected set of circumstances had affected the evening, but things had still worked out and rock & roll had successfully continued.

The Makeouts

The Makeouts

The Makeouts

The Makeouts

The Cold Casuals (Jane)

The Cold Casuals

The Cold Casuals The Cold Casuals

The Cold Casuals

Brett Newski

Brett Newski Brett Newski

Brett Newski

Brett Newski and the Bad Inventions at Zhora Darling (May 9, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis This Week (May 18, 2025)

What’s happening this week.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Bôa at First Avenue (13 May 2025) Read More bôa U.K. alt-rock trio bôa will be headlining First Avenue on May 13, 2025, in support of the new album Whiplash. Dream, Ivory (brothers Christian and Louie Baello) to open. …

13 May 2025 Tuesday

bôa
with Dream, Ivory
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

U.K. alt-rock trio bôa will be headlining First Avenue on May 13, 2025, in support of the new album Whiplash.

Dream, Ivory (brothers Christian and Louie Baello) to open.

Tour dates:

April 25 - Moody X-Fest, Rice University, Houston, TX

April 26 - Longhorn Ballroom - Dallas, TX

April 30 - The Plaza - Orlando, FL

May 1 - The Ritz Ybor - Tampa, FL

May 3 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA

May 4 - The Underground - Charlotte, NC

May 6 - 9:30 Club - Washington D.C.

May 7 - Mr. Smalls Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA

May 9 - Electric City - Buffalo, NY

May 10 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH

May 12 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI

May 13 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN

June 10 - New Century Hall - Manchester, U.K.

June 11 - Newcastle University - Newcastle, U.K.

June 12 - Queens Hall - Edinburgh, U.K.

June 14 - National Stadium - Dublin, U.K.

June 16 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, U.K.

June 17 - Stylus - Leeds, U.K.

June 19 - SWX - Bristol, U.K.

June 20 - Tramshed - Cardiff, U.K.

June 21 - 02 Forum - London, U.K.

July 31 - Aug 3 - Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL

July 25 - Latitude Festival, Suffolk, UK.

The SoapGirls at Green Room (14 May 2025)

14 May 2025 Wednesday

The SoapGirls
at Green Room
greenroommn.com

Alternative rock duo The SoapGirls is stopping by the Green Room, in Minneapolis, on May 14, 2025. Their latest single “She Don’t Wanna” is out now.

Tour dates:

May 14 Minneapolis MN Green Room

May 16 Sioux Falls, SD Bigs Bar

May 17 Lincoln, NE Witches Brew

May 18 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads

May 21 Austin, TX Come and Take it

Thursday, May 22 Houston, TX Scout

May 25 Jackson, MS Hal & Mal's

May 27 New Orleans, LA No Dice

May 29 Orlando, FL Conduit

May 30 Destin, FL Club LA

June 5 Wilmington, NC Eagles Dare

June 6 Virginia Beach, VA Scandals Live

June 11 Boston, MA Rockwell

June 12 Albany, NY Empire Underground

June 13 Providence, RI The Parlour

June 14 Scranton, PA Road to Warped Tour

June 16 Thomasville, PA Racehorse Tavern

June 17 Pittsburgh, PA Smiling Moose

June 20 Lakewood, OH The Winchester

June 21 Westland, MI Token Lounge

June 24 Des Moines, IA Lefty's

June 25 Madison, WI Crucible

June 27 Chicago, IL Motoblot

July 1 Columbus, OH Rumba Cafe

July 2 Louisville, KY Bourbon Hall

July 3 Indianapolis, IN Melody Inn

Peter Bjorn and John at Fine Line (16 May 2025) Read More Peter Bjorn and John Like many fans, we first discovered Peter Bjorn and John through their big, viral hit ‘Young Folks’ (the song was soooo massive, even a young Kanye West stole the catchy melody). …

16 May 2025 Friday

Peter Bjorn and John
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Acclaimed Swedish indie-pop band Peter Bjorn and John will be playing their breakout Writer’s Block album (the album with “Young Folks”) in its entirety, with this special US tour in May 2025. The tour will stop by the Fine Line, in Minneapolis, on May 16, 2025.

Peter Bjorn & John at Fine Line (23 June 2016)

We saw the band in June 2016 and said, “Anyway, after a five-year break (their last album Gimme Some came out in 2011), to give room for various solo projects: Peter’s solo albums, Björn’s “Yttling Jazz”, and John’s project Hortlax Cobra. With all that out of the way and a fresh perspective, the trio is back with their catchiest album yet, Breakin’ Point. Joining the trio were new touring band members, Klaus and Freya, both doing various keys and extra percussions... which is reflective of Breakin’ Point’s synth-heavy new sound. The extra production really adds a fuller sound to PB&J.”

Tour dates:

09 May: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall

10 May: Pasadena, CA @ Just Like Heaven

13 May: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge

14 May: Denver, CO @ Bluebird

16 May: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line

17 May: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall

19 May: Toronto, ON @ Great Hall

21 May: New York, NY @ Irving Plaza

22 May: Boston, MA @ The Sinclair

23 May: Washington DC @ Black Cat

Mallrat at 7th St Entry (17 May 2025) Read More Mallrat Show up early to check out 19 year old Australian Mallrat. Mallrat’s sophomore EP In the Sky is out now on Nettwerk Records. …

17 May 2025 Saturday

Mallrat
with Anna Shoemaker
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Fresh off a 10-date Australian tour with Kylie Minogue, Mallrat is set to embark on her headlining world tour, starting April 29 , in Dallas, and stopping by the 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis, on May 17, 2025.

Mallrat’s latest, Light hit my face like a straight right is out now on Nettwerk Records.

Mallrat at 7th Street Entry (07 August 2019)

We saw Mallrat in August 2019 and said, “Singer/rapper Mallrat (aka Grace Shaw) came on stage to unveil her brand new crazy pink folded top (which resembles a flower of some sort). Shaw would later confess that the shirt is too big and she can’t properly move her arms… describing that she felt like a Tyrannosaurs Rex. Starting out her set with “Tokyo Drift”, she would move back and forth and smiling brightly as she sings, “and we're never on time, laughing at the wrong time”.”

Anna Shoemaker to open.

Tour dates:

04/29 - House of Blues - Cambridge Room - Dallas, TX

04/30 - Parish - Austin, TX

05/02 - Vinyl at Center Stage - Atlanta, GA

05/03 - Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC

05/06 - The Atlantis - Washington, DC

05/07 - The Foundry at the Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA

05/09 - Elsewhere - New York, NY

05/10 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA

05/12 - Space Ballroom - Hamden, CT

05/13 - Velvet Underground - Toronto, ON

05/15 - A&R Music Bar - Columbus, OH

05/16 - Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL

05/17 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN

05/20 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO

05/21 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT

05/23 - Bottlerock Music Festival - Napa, CA

05/29 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC

05/31 - Neumos - Seattle, WA

06/01 - Holocene - Portland, OR

06/04 - Voodoo Room - San Diego, CA

06/05 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA

06/11 - Park 360 (Rock For People Festival 2025)

06/14 - Paradiso - Amsterdam

06/15 - Frannz Club - Berlin

06/16 - YUCA - Cologne

06/18 - La Boule Noire - Paris

06/19 - EartH - London

06/21- Manchester Academy - Manchester

06/22 - King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow

06/25 - Workman’s Club - Dublin

08/15 - Langs Akerselva Festivalen - Oslo

DeathbyRomy at 7th St Entry (18 May 2025)

18 May 2025 Sunday
DeathbyRomy
with heffy
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

The lovechild of Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson, DeathbyRomy will be headlining the 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis, on May 18, 2025, in support of her new album HOLLYWOOD FOREVER (available April 25).

heffy to open.

Tour dates:

Apr 25 Chain Reaction, Anaheim CA

Apr 26 VooDoo Room, House of Blues, San Diego CA

Apr 27 Valley Bar, Phoenix AZ

Apr 29 Dada, Dallas TX

Apr 30 Empire Control Room, Austin TX

May 2 The Social, Orlando FL

May 3 The Masquerade, Atlanda GA

May 4 Local 506, Chapel Hill NC

May 6 Elsewhere, Brooklyn NY

May 8 Atlantis, Washington DC

May 9 Brighton Music Hall, Boston MA

May 10 The Foundry at The Fillmore, Philadelphia PA

May 12 A&R Music Bar, Columbus OH

May 13 Adelaide Hall, Toronto ON

May 14 Pike Room at The Crofoot, Pontiac MI

May 16 Blueberry Hill Duck Club, St Louis MO

May 17 Beat Kitchen, Chicago IL

May 18 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN

May 20 Meow Wolf, Denver CO

May 23 Madame Lou's, Seattle WA

May 27 Goldfield, Sacramento CA

May 28 Cornerstone, Berkeley CA

May 30 The Moroccan Lounge Los Angeles, CA

Milwaukee Metal Fest (May 16 to May 18, 2025) Read More Gwar GWAR fans know what to expect when they see a live GWAR show. Whether it be covered in bile and blood, or stage props that could be used in any top tier horror ....

15 May 2025 Thursday
16 May 2025 Friday
17 May 2025 Saturday
18 May 2025 Sunday
Milwaukee Metal Fest
at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom
milwaukeemetalfestival.com

Metal Fans Unite! The Milwaukee Metal Fest is coming up on May 16 to May 18, with a pre-party kickoff on May 15. The event will take place at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Since its original announcement, the music festival has added S.O.D. Tribute (ft. Scott Ian, Dan Lilker, Jamey Jasta), EYEHATEGOD, Pentagram, Toxic Holocaust, Bongzilla, Revocation, Ov Sulfur, Left To Die + The Lurking Corpses… now clocking in at over 60 bands on the lineup!

GWAR at Skyway Theatre (11 Oct 2019)

We’ve seen a few of these bands before, with GWAR as one of our most favorite, from Oct 2019: “You see, with each tour, there is a new storyline in the world of Gwar. Last year, the band killed Donald Trump, so this tour, the band is being impeached by the planet Earth. With a new storyline, that meant new songs (to fit with the them) and also delightful new dialogue from the band. Even if you don’t like metal music, you’ll still be very entertained by beheading (and the infamous blood squirts - so wear a raincoat to these shows!), puppets, and incredible costumes. Personally speaking, it’s the most entertaining show we’ve seen all year.”

The updated lineup is now as follows:

Friday, May 16 DOWN (Anselmo, Windstein, Keenan, Bower, Bruders) Chimaira S.O.D. Tribute (Scott Ian, Dan Lilker, Jamey Jasta) Enslaved Paradise Lost Suicide Silence Rotting Christ Wolves In the Throne Room Fugitive Pentagram Oppressor Bongzilla Wormrot No / Más Avernus Legions of Doom Nest Gigan The Lurking Corpses Ruin Dweller Bury My Demons

Saturday, May 17 Black Label Society Devin Townsend Exodus Death Angel 3 Inches of Blood Between The Buried and Me EYEHATEGOD Demolition Hammer TesseracT Left to Die Evil Dead Necrot Macabre Nekrogoblikon Revocation Brat Gorgasm Ov Sulfur Renesans Repentance Wraith SNAFU

Sunday, May 18 GWAR Arch Enemy The Dillinger Escape Plan SCOUR Amigo the Devil Sacred Reich Trouble Harms Way The Acacia Strain Frozen Soul Speed END Exhorder Deceased Toxic Holocaust Full of hell Lionheart Snuffed On Sight Jarhead Fertilizer Gates To Hell Tracheotomy

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

Mpls: June 7 to June 9, 2025

NOTE: Since I have relocated to Jacksonville, I am scaling back on Minneapolis Show Previews for June and beyond. If you have an upcoming Minneapolis (or Jacksonville) show that you’d like me to take a look at and spotlight, please email me [email protected] with the subject Minneapolis or Jacksonville, and I will be sure to add your show to my listing.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Panchiko at First Avenue (07 Jun 2025)

07 Jun 2025 Saturday
Panchiko
with Alison’s Halo
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

English band Panchiko, now featuring original members producer/keyboardist Andy Wright and singer/guitarist Owain Davies, along with new members guitarist Robert Harris, bassist Shaun Ferreday, and drummer John Schofield, will be touring America in support of Grinkgo (Nettwerk). The tour will stop by First Avenue, in Minneapolis, on June 7, 2025.

Alison’s Halo to open.

NOTE: There is a strict 6 ticket limit. Any attempt to exceed the ticket limit of 6 per customer or household, or to game the system in any way, will result in cancellation of orders without notice. There is a transfer delay for all tickets up to 72 HOURS prior to show.

Tour Dates:

5/28 - Boston, MA @ Big Night Live

5/29 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount

5/30 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore

5/31 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz

6/2 - Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron

6/3 - Toronto, ON @ HISTORY

6/4 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre

6/5 - Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom

6/7 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue

6/8 - Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown

6/10 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall

6/12 - Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

6/13 - San Diego, CA @ SOMA

6/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium

6/16 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre

6/19 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo

6/20 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

6/21 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall

6/23 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Grand at the Complex

6/24 - Las Vegas, NV @ Portal at Area15

Annie DiRusso at Fine Line (07 Jun 2025) Read More Annie DiRusso The rising Nashville indie artist has just released her debut album Super Pedestrian. DiRusso says of her debut, “a lot of the album is .…

07 Jun 2025 Saturday
Annie DiRusso
with Daffo
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Nashville’s Annie DiRusso is touring in support of her debut album Super Pedestrian… stopping by the Fine Line, in Minneapolis, on June 7th, 2025.

Annie DiRusso at the Bottleneck (24 Mar 2025)

We last saw Annie DiRusso in Mar 2025 and wrote, “With just one debut album, “Super Pedestrian” (via her own Summer Soup Songs [ADA]) under her belt, singer-songwriter Annie DiRusso charged ahead on the first show of her “Back in Town Tour” with a generous and fun eighty-five minute performance, that might be hard to top, as the tour rolls on. The record was produced by Caleb Wright (Hippocampus, Samia, so there’s the connection with the opener) and follows 2023’s breakthrough EP, “God, I Hate This Place”, and two years on the road, headlining and opening for Haim and beabadoobee.”

Show up early to check out Daffo, the moniker of Brooklyn-based artist Gabi Gamberg. Gamberg's new single “Quick Fix” is described as, “about the temporary ways in which I comfort myself, habits that ultimately lead to more suffering.” Gamberg continues, “I started the song before I went on my first tour. The first verse, about eating junk and smoking, I squeezed out during a very intense writer's block. On tour, I quit smoking for my voice. When I came back from tour I still couldn’t write, until one day I started smoking again. That day I was able to finish the song, my slight regression became fuel for the rest of the words.”

Note: There is a strict 4 ticket limit. Any attempt to exceed the ticket limit of 4 per customer or household, or to game the system in any way, will result in cancellation of orders without notice. There is a transfer delay for all tickets up to ONE MONTH prior to show.

Tour Dates:

5.4 - Leeds, UK -Gold Sounds @ Brudenell Social Club

5.7 - London, England - Omeara

5.10 - Glasgow, UK - The Road to the Great Escape

5.11 - Manchester, United Kingdom - YES

5.12 -13 - Dublin, Ireland - The Road to The Great Escape

5.14 -17 - Brighton, England - The Great Escape Festival

5.16 - 5.17 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - London Calling @ Paradiso

5.23 - Durham, NC - Motorco Music Hall

5.24 - Washington DC - 9:30 Club

5.25 - Asbury Park, NJ - The Wonder Bar

5.28 - New York, NY - Webster Hall Grand Ballroom

5.29 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club Music Hall

5.30 - South Burlington, VA - Higher Ground

5.31 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB

6.02 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground

6.03 - Lakewood, OH - Mahall’s

6.05 - Detroit, MI - El Club

6.06 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

6.07 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line

6.08 - Milwaukee, WI - Vivarium

6.10 - Saint Louis, MO - Off Broadway Nightclub

Mei Semones at 7th St Entry (09 Jun 2025)

09 Jun 2025 Monday
Mei Semones
with John Roseboro
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Brooklyn’s Mei Semones is touring in support of her debut album Animaru (Bayonet Records). The tour will stop by the 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis, on June 9, 2025.

John Roseboro to open.

Tour Dates:

Wed. May 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg*

May 29 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live*

May 30 - Washington, DC @ The Atlantis*

May 31 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room*

June 2 - Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5*

June 3 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR*

June 4 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar*

June 6 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups*

June 7 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall*

June 8 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club*

June 9 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry*

June 11 - Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch*

June 12 - Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall*

June 13 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB*

June 14 - Boston, MA @ Red Room Cafe 939*

July 11 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada

July 12 - Austin, TX @ Parish

July 15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar

July 16 - San Diego, CA @ Quartyard

July 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room

July 19 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

July 21 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall

July 22 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret

July 23 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza

July 27- Minamiuonuma, Japan @ Fuji Rock Festival

~ supporting Panchiko
* with John Roseboro

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

Top Ten Morrissey Cancellations

David Bowie with special guest Morrissey Read More Morrissey Legendary Mancunian singer Morrissey announced a brand new 2025 tour on his official website. Of course, the top comment on his official Facebook page is “I’m too scared to buy a

With the recent Morrissey’s postponement of his entire USA tour, due to “a severe sinusitis attack,” I have decided to put together a top ten list of my favorite reasons for Morrissey to cancel a gig.

#10 Good Charlotte (Isle Of Wight Festival 2005)
In an official statement, Morrissey had to cancel Isle Of Wight Festival in 2005 because he lost his drummer. From that statement, I thought the drummer died… but, in fact, Dean Butterworth left Morrissey to join Good Charlotte.

#9 First of the cop with a gun in his hand (Italy 2017)
According to Morrissey, he said that Italian police pulled a gun on Morrissey. Morrissey was going to book seven Italian dates (including Macerata Opera Festival), but after this gun-happy officer experience, he decided to cancel the Italy tour. Of course Italian police disagreed with Morrissey’s story.

#8 Too cold (Greek Theatre 2022)
Morrissey left early because it was “too cold outside”. Look, I get it, if I’m freezing, I would stop too. Maybe the venue could have given Morrissey a coat? Mittens? This cancellation could have been avoided! The temperature was in the 50s during the concert.

#7 Ailing Singer (2004, 2009, 2013, 2022)
“Ailing Singer”, “recurring illness”, “band illness”, and “Still Ill” (named after the Smiths song) are some of my favorite excuses for cancelling shows. Sure, it paints a poor picture of Morrissey’s health.

One year (2013), and I quote, “bleeding ulcer, Barrett’s esophagus and double pneumonia.” Good god, Morrissey, why are you even getting out of bed!

#6 Animal serial killers (Jimmy Kimmel Live 2013)
Just 24 hours before the show, Morrissey cancelled his Jimmy Kimmel appearance, stating, “I can’t take the risk of being on a show alongside people who, in effect, amount to animal serial killers [referring to Duck Dynasty].”

#5 Kristeen Young, germ spreader (USA Tour 2014)
According to an official statement, Morrissey had to cancel his entire US tour because he caught a cold from his supporting act, Kristeen Young. That’s right, all 13 dates in June 2014 were cancelled.

Look, even if you got a cold, you don’t blame someone else for giving it to you… certainly, not in a public press statement. Young, of course, refute Morrissey’s claim, which you can read at Morrissey-Solo: “I did not "confess to a horrendous cold". On Monday, June 2nd, I had an allergy attack that was over within 16 hours…”

Morrissey wanted Young off the tour and according to Young, “was asked to leave [the tour]… that there would be a new support band in Boston.”

#4 England for the English (Madstock 1992)
This Morrissey appearance was in controversy. When Morrissey brought out and waved and wrapped the Union Jack flag, singing “The National Front Disco” - a song about a boy who joined the National Front (a far-right, fascist political party), because he wants “England for the English”… people naturally thought Morrissey was saying keep England white. Some people in the crowd may have disagreed and the audience got rowdy and started throwing cans on stage and shouting and fighting the security guards. The show ended early, and Morrissey had to cancel out his second Madstock appearance, despite being scheduled to appear the next day.

If you read interviews with Morrissey, you get a sense that Morrissey really does believe that he wants to keep ‘England for the English’, and rejected all foreign invasions - including from America.

#3 Cannibalistic flesh-eating bloodlust (Reykjavik 2015)
Morrissey is vegetarian, and he demands that all venues are meat-free whenever he performs. This actually includes security searching fans for illegal items, like meat products. Most venues will comply, and have shut down their meat services, but the Harpa Concert Hall in Iceland refused. As a result, Morrissey is quoted as saying, “I love Iceland and have waited a long time to return, but I shall leave the Harpa Concert Hall to their cannibalistic flesh-eating bloodlust.”

#2 The Smell of Burning Animals (Coachella 2009)
As The Guardian explains, “The singer was performing a set laced with Smiths hits when, midway through his performance, he was overcome with fumes from the backstage barbecue. "I can smell burning flesh ... and I hope to God it's human… The smell of burning animals is making me sick. I just couldn't bear it.””

#1 “David Showie” (Outside Tour – 1995/1996)
Morrissey was David Bowie’s support for his Outside Tour in 1995/1996. After a few shows, Morrissey dropped out.

Bowie, in his own words, said he didn’t find out that Morrissey wasn’t going to perform until 45 minutes before the show. That, Morrissey already headed back to London. Bowie maintains that Morrissey was sick, but I felt that the truth was that Morrissey did not want to open for another artist.

I’ve read later, from Morrissey, that “David Showie” wanted to control which songs Morrissey would play, and even wanted to join Morrissey on his set to do a duet. That sounds great, but in Morrissey’s mind, it was unwanted.

After Morrissey left the tour, Bowie put Morrissey on his enemies list: rejecting to duet with Morrissey for a cover of The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” in 2006 (to be included on Moz’s album Ringleader Of The Tormentors) and rejecting the usage of a photo of Morrissey and Bowie as the cover sleeve for EMI’s reissue of The Last Of The Famous International Playboys in 2013.

As soon as Bowie died, Morrissey went ahead and released Cosmic Dancer featuring a photo of David Bowie and Morrissey on its cover. Morrissey claimed that Bowie had “no legal rights to the photograph.” While that is true, it was clear that Morrissey did not respect Bowie’s wishes.

I danced myself into the tomb
Is it strange to dance so soon?

BONUS: How soon is no? (Roundhouse 2008)
In 2008, Morrissey had a residency at the Roundhouse, in London. Near the end of the week, on Friday night, he was struggling with singing and walked off the stage after four songs. This caused Saturday and Sunday shows to be rescheduled. The Roundhouse did not have any opening, so they offered Morrissey The Forum, but, as written by ratty, “they tried to move the show to the Forum, but Morrissey refused, because he played there in 1999 and had no desire to return.”

Read more Every date that Morrissey has ever cancelled.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Future Islands at The Madrid Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

FUTURE ISLANDS SETLIST King of Sweden The Tower A Dream of You and Me Walking Through That Door Plastic Beach Peach Ran Balance Give Me the Ghost Back The Sickness City's Face Swept Inside Say Goodbye For Sure Glimpse Seasons (Waiting on You) Long Flight Tin Man -- Encore -- Ancient Water Vireo's Eye Little Dreamer OPEN MIKE EAGLE SETLIST Very Much Money (Ice King Dream) Relatable (peak OME) (How Could Anybody) Feel at Home Death Parade I'll Fight You Bucciarati Microfiche Ziggy Starfish (Anxiety Raps) FUTURE ISLANDS TOUR DATES May 07 Omaha, NE The Admiral Theater May 09 Oklahoma City, OK Tower Theatre May 10 San Antonio, TX Paper Tiger - Main Stage May 11 El Paso, TX The Lowbrow Palace May 13 Anaheim, CA House of Blues Anaheim May 14 Las Vegas, NV Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas May 15 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Block Party May 18 Gulf Shores, AL Sand In My Boots May 20 Orlando, FL The Beacham May 21 Miami, FL ZeyZey Miami May 23 Asheville, NC Burial Beer Co. Forestry Camp May 24 Richmond, VA The National May 25 Harrisburg, PA XL Live Jun 27 Glasgow, UK Bellahouston Park Jun 28 Liverpool, UK Liverpool Olympia Jun 29 Glastonbury, UK Glastonbury Festival Jul 01 Antwerp, Deurne OLT Rivierenhof Jul 02 Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg Jul 03 Dortmund, Germany JunkYard Open Air Jul 05 Barcelona, Spain Vida Festival Jul 07 Zürich, Switzerland X-tra Jul 08 Milan, Italy Triennale Milano Teatro Jul 11 Madrid, Spain Mad Cool Festival Jul 12 Lisbon, Portugal NOS Alive Aug 02 Montreal, QC Osheaga Festival Read More Future Islands Future Islands are on tour in support of their seventh album People Who Aren’t There Anymore (4AD). The tour will stop in at the Palace Theatre in St Paul on June 29, 2024. …

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

Recorded during the same album sessions, “Glimpse” captures their dreamy electronic sound, with a driving, dancey beat, a retro synth countermelody, and vocalist Sam Herring’s signature growl.

Lyrically, it deals with a sense of communal loss and memory, describing the burning of a family home and coming to the poignant climax, “Let the green grass over me … Who is left to grieve?”

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

Open Mike Eagle provided opening support. 

More about the show to come!

 

ALL PHOTOS BY BRANDON CLASEN

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

FUTURE ISLANDS at The Madrid Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

FUTURE ISLANDS at The Madrid Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

FUTURE ISLANDS at The Madrid Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

OPEN MIKE EAGLE at The Madrid Theatre, Kansas City MO (2025-05-06)

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