W♥M

04/23/2025

Jax: May 13 to May 14, 2025

Smoking Popes and Off With Their Heads at Turf Club (22 Apr 2025)

Off With Their Heads Setlist

Focus On Your Own Family
I Am You
Keep Falling Down
Nightlife
Jackie Lee
Go on Git Now
F*** This, I'm Out

In Desolation

Drive

Their Own Medicine

Trying to Breathe

ZZYZX

The Eyes of Death

Old Man

All I Can Do

I Need You

Spare Time

I Just Want You to Know

My Episodes

Clear the Air

Smoking Popes Setlist

Born To Quit

Midnight Moon

Rubella

Gotta Know Right Now

Mrs. You and Me

Just Broke Up

My Lucky Day

Need You Around

Can't Help the Teardrops (From Getting Cried)

Adena

On the Shoulder

No More Smiles
Golden Moment
Megan
Fox River Dream
Pretty Pathetic
Allegiance
I Know You Love Me

Tour Dates

APR 23 High Noon Saloon Madison, WI

APR 24 Milwaukee - Cudahy, WI

APR 25 The Castle Theatre Bloomington, IL

APR 27 HI-FI Indianapolis, IN

MAY 14 Madison Live! Covington, KY

MAY 15 Ace of Cups Columbus, OH

MAY 16 Bottlerocket Social Hall Pittsburgh, PA

MAY 17 Ukrainian American Citizens' Association Philadelphia, PA

MAY 18 Songbyrd Music House Washington, DC

MAY 20 TV Eye Ridgewood, NY

MAY 21 Space Ballroom Hamden, CT

Read More

Smoking Popes

Opening was the Smoking Popes, Merzingers, and Luther. Great solid punk bands with 3 cord progression that makes me wish for the early days of punk. It's great that the Bouncing Souls …

Off with their Heads

Minneapolis born punk visionaries Off with their Heads is celebrating their 10th Anniversary of their Epitaph album Home. The record is being re-issued with an exclusive vinyl …

With co-headliners at the Turf Club celebrating longevity and anniversaries of record releases, it was a punk rock special in Saint Paul for Off With Their Heads and Smoking Popes.

The opener was Mary Jam, a local Twin Cities surf rock / punk band. This trio (guitar, bass, and drum) came out swinging, with a low guttural screaming approach from the lead singer. The second song, You Don’t Want to Know, was an absolute beast of a song, with driving vocals and heavy guitar riffs underneath. Mary Jam was a perfect table setter for the evening ahead, with high energy. This Is a Joke, and I’m the Joke may be the best song title I’ve heard in a long while, and was a more musical number from the band. We got a great call out about for “close week” for certain companies and accountants, with a “if you know, you know”. (Side note: there are some notable Minnesota companies whose final week of the fiscal year is right now, though it turns out that Alli’s company has a close week every month, ugh.)

The next song, Anxiety, was called “really relatable”. The mix of humor and anger was a perfect punk vibe, and Mary Jam leaned in on those fronts. Lead singer Alli was electric and the absolute spark plug for the band. A cover of Wipeout was perfectly placed and got them moving into the close of their set. A final song “about mopeds, ‘cause I like mopeds” was an appropriately silly song to end on, and Mary Jam was done with their rapid fire 25 minute set.

Speaking with Alli afterwards, we chatted about the day job (see the side note above), with a largely unspoken understanding of balancing the day job with the activities that bring you joy. We also talked about the place that a punk band plays in the current environment. Alli said there is a huge amount of uncertainty that exists now, but that all the band can do is continue to be who they are. I hope to see more of Mary Jam in the future.

Smoking Popes was on next. Described as a pop punk band, the Chicago area natives are on the road with their most recognized album, Born To Quit, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Working through the album gave the early highlight Rubella with the dual guitars, plus bass and drums from the quartet. During the third song Gotta Know Right Now, we got a great statement from lead singer Josh Caterer (who founded the band with two of his brothers) on the history and persistence of this album’s fandom. They are playing the album in its entirety and it was clear how much they were enjoying playing this for an appreciative crowd.

Just Broke Up was a great example of the band’s strengths, with great guitar work and Josh’s low tenor vocals driving things along. Need You Around was closer to the pop than punk sound, but still had a hard edge to it. It was interesting to hear from the band that some of the songs rarely got played over the years, and that Can’t Help the Teardrops (From Getting Cried) was definitely one of them. I really enjoyed the band enjoying themselves and there is something to a veteran band doing their thing as much for themselves as the audience.

Pretty quickly (the album is 28 minutes long, after all) we were at the album closer On the Shoulder, but the band wasn’t near done. They went straight into other songs, starting with No More Smiles, without the slightest of breaks. Golden Moment, a song off their newest album Lovely Stuff showed that the band isn’t resting on laurels. Pretty Pathetic had a solid guitar solo and an introduction of the band. With the finals song, I Know You Love Me, Smoking Popes concluded their raucous set.

Off With Their Heads finished the night, getting to take the stage last on their first evening with Smoking Popes. They are a long time Minneapolis punk band, with a litany of local musicians as former members. The band has been centered around vocalist Ryan Young, who has kept the band going for nearly twenty five years. You knew it would be intense when during initial warm up the guitar was intensely loud and the lead singer simply pointed to the sound guy to turn it up more.

This was straight punk: short, loud songs, brief solos, rapidly moving along the set. Like Smoking Popes, the band was playing an album, In Desolation, in its entirety. It also brought back some of the key early members of the band, including long time contributor Justin Francis. Before getting to the album, they played some other numbers first, including Keep Falling Down, which ended with some distortion before continuing through.

The crowd got a full, rowdy mosh pit going, with a group of fans who clearly knew all the lyrics, such as on the song Nightlife. This was a brutally loud show, but exactly what a majority of the crowd had come for. Though that volume wasn’t what I am usually looking for in a band, it was fun to watch an audience who was there for exactly that. And it a good reminder that different people respond to different things in a live music event and that there is a lot of room out there for both bands and listeners. A full night of punk scratched an itch for a lot of people, at least for one night.

Mary Jam

Smoking Popes

Smoking Popes at Turf Club (22 Apr 2025)

Off With Their Heads

Off With Their Heads at Turf Club (22 Apr 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 11:43 AM in Off with their Heads, Punk, Smoking Popes, St Paul, Thaddeus, Turf Club | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/22/2025

Minneapolis: May 22, 2025

We♥KC! April 28-May 1, 2025 Upcoming concerts / shows (Kansas City, MO / Lawrence KS)

Read More

Denzel Curry

Florida’s rapper Denzel Curry is playing First Avenue on Thursday, August 15.: Tour dates: 8/10-8/11 - San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands; 8/13 - Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre;
8/15 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

A little bit of concert and venue news,

The KC Symphony has welcomed new assistant conductors and five musicians, ahead of this Friday’s “Back to the 80’s” performance, which looks fun with a guest conductor and three guest vocalists, and the scheduled May 18 Australian Pink Floyd show at Uptown is canceled due to “logistical issues” (we caught them live in 2016 in Minneapolis for you).

Construction continues on the 15,000-capacity amphitheater in Riverside (LiveNation will exclusively book) so we’ll wonder how that will affect Azura and Starlight among venues. El Torreon’s re-opening has been delayed until late this year (at best), and we’ve heard good things about the new 650-capacity Warehouse on Broadway (except for tough parking), but haven’t been in, just yet.

Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming weekend from April 28^th to May 1^st.

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

MONDAY APRIL 28

Denzel Curry, Apr 28, Uptown Theater,$52-$158

(Note: The venue is now the Uptown Theater)

In support of his new album, “King of the Mischievous South”, esteemed Miami rapper Denzel Curry is out in support on an extensive 2025 tour. The Mischievous South World Tour, which hits Australia, North America, and Europe along with support from 454, Kenny Mason, and Clip.

The new record is a sequel of sorts to his 2012 mixtape King of the Mischievous South Vol. 1 Underground Tape 1996 and also serves as an expanded version of a similarly titled record he put out this past summer. He’s already been in Australia and New Zealand in February and moved over to North America on March 31 in Phoenix to start the leg which wraps on May 9 in Los Angeles.

Silent Planet, Invent Animate, Apr 28, The Truman,$25-$47

Worlds. Will. Collide!!! Metalcore vets Silent Planet and Invent Animate are on the road together to play their 2023 records Superbloom and Heavener in their entirety, respectively. The two bands also recently teamed up for a new collaborative EP called Bloom In Heaven, which also blends their respective album titles. We checked out Invent Animate on a bill just last year in Lawrence.

We assume the stage will also get crowded as they’re expected to amalgamate to perform at least one of their Bloom In Heaven songs together as well. The trek started April 17th in TX and wraps May 16th, when both bands perform at Daytona, FL’s Welcome to Rockville festival.

Joining the bands for most dates are Pennsylvanian metalcore group 156/Silence and Sweden’s ALLT.

Korine, Apr 28, recordBar, $18

Philly darkwave duo Korine just released their fourth album, A Flame in the Dark, last month and are out on tour in support, including a fun recent weekend at Coachella. The tour hits KC around the mid-way point and is scheduled to finish in Washington, DC on May 19. Recent second single from the record is the electro ballad, “In Your Eyes” (no, not that version you’re thinking of).

TUESDAY APRIL 29

Mayday Parade Apr 29, Uptown,$41-$56

Mayday Parade – vocalist Derek Sanders, drummer/vocalist Jake Bundrick, guitarists Alex Garcia and Brooks Betts and bassist/vocalist Jeremy Lenzo – will be celebrating 20 years together this year and the Tallahassee, FL five-piece is set to release perhaps their most aspirational and ambitious effort yet: a three-part album.

The first entry, Sweet, just dropped April 18 with lead song, “By The Way.” “Being in a band for this long, sometimes you feel like you’re getting it right and sometimes you feel like you’re dancing around what you should be doing. This song feels locked in as a step in the right direction. It’s a song about trying to stay optimistic as the world and everything you know is changing around you. We hope you all enjoy it,” says Derek Sanders on “By The Way.”

The other two releases are expected later this year and into 2026 and $1 from each ticket sold will be donated to the Ally Coalition, supporting LGBTQ+ in NYC.

The Wrecks w Quarters of Change, Apr 29, The Truman, $29-$119

Alt-pop powerhouse The Wrecks have released their new project Inside, via Lava/Republic Records. This serves as the first half of their upcoming full-length album and features previously released singles “Speed” and “Always, Everytime” along with four new tracks.

On the project, frontman Nick Anderson shares: “INSIDE: is about self-realization—coming to know myself on a deeper level through both the highs and the lows. At first, that awareness felt like a cage, but over time, it became liberating. Making music is a lot like solving a puzzle, and this record was the hardest one yet. I spent a year inside my house, writing without direction, struggling with feeling lost, disconnected, and exhausted. I didn’t want to go outside, so I kept trying inside. But through that process, I rebuilt my confidence. These songs are the result of that journey. They gave me a way out—and now I get to go outside and share them with the world. I hope that people connect with it in their own way and if they do, then I set out to do exactly what I wanted to do.”

Dummy, April 29, White Schoolhouse-Lawrence, $15

Dummy, the indie Los Angeles shoegaze band comprised of Alex Ewell, Emma Maatman, Nathan O’Dell, and Joe Trainor released their new album “Free Energy” last September following their lead single/video, “Nullspace.” Their debut full-length Mandatory Enjoyment arrived in late 2021 and quickly became one of the year’s sleeper hits.

As for the rural venue, the current structure is the fourth schoolhouse to occupy the site- history swallowed the first circa 1860s structure, flooding consumed the second in 1903 and fire did in the third schoolhouse in 1928, but the fourth and current one has stayed up, being built in 1929. It’s a small and intimate space that should enhance a very personal kind of show.

Foxy Shazam, Apr 29, recordBar, $25

Foxy Shazam charged back into 2025 with a fiery new single "Rhumbatorium" ahead of their new and ninth studio album “Animality Opera”, via the band’s own label, EEEOOOAH.

Acclaimed for their over-the-top visual style and songwriting and playing, the new single features soaring vocals, underpinned by a cacophony of horns, guitars, and drums, culminating in a powerful spoken word verse by fellow artist and collaborator Shamon Cassette. As compelling as that sounds, the band is at its best live, which is its true element and arrive early for the dazzling visuals of Coney Island-based, Hot Fix Sideshow.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 30

Tommy Prine, Apr 30, Knuckleheads, $20

Son of the late John, Tommy Prine's 2023 debut album This Far South was a testimony to Prine's 20s and the defining loss, love, and growth from that era. Co-produced by close friend and musician Ruston Kelly, and Nashville engineer Gena Johnson, the album also received a deluxe version, out last June, featuring reimagined versions, a special guest and a brand-new song.

“Releasing my debut album changed so much in my life. The only things that stayed the same were my family, my pets, and my friends. Everything else changed drastically. I've had a few moments that felt like the point of no return, releasing the album being one of them. Not in a scary way, just in a way that there is no taking back art that you put out into the world. Once it has affected one other person, it has already begun its own life and will in turn change the creator's life.”

Tommy learned to play guitar by watching his father, mimicking the ways his fingers moved, he inadvertently developed his own style with influences as diverse as Gillian Welch, Outkast, Bon Iver, the Strokes and more.

THURSDAY MAY 1

Family Sideshow (play) May 1-10, KC Melting Pot, $21.50-$32.50

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

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

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

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

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

Posted at 03:56 PM in Denzel Curry, Foxy Shazam, Invent Animate, John, Kansas City, Kansas City Music Guide, Korine, Mayday Parade, Preview, Silent Planet, The Wrecks, Theater, Tommy Prine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Weekend Gamer: The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us Part II Remastered

Read More

The Last of Us

I love the video game The Last of Us, probably my personal Game of the Year in 2018 for the PS3. The game was so good, that I re-purchased it for the PS4. I probably would’ve ....

With the new season of The Last of Us airing on HBO a few weeks ago, I’ve decided to finally get around to playing The Last of Us Part II video game, thanks to the game finally being available on PC (release date Apr 3, 2025).

I love the first game, having purchased it at least three times: Last of Us on PS3, “Remastered” (traded in the PS3 at Gamestop and paid the remaining balance for the PS4 version), and again on PC (purchased Sep 3, 2023 on Steam).

I love the first game, but I didn’t really understand why the game developer Naughty Dog needed to make a second game. I suppose the first game made so much money that it was inevitable that a sequel was in the works. Personally speaking, I thought the first game ended just fine and they could have ended the story there.

If you played the first game, the HBO series did a good job adapting the game - almost to a point that if you’ve played the game, there were no surprises at all. The adaption was very faithful to the game. My only gripe is the actress they cast for Ellie doesn’t look like the video game.

Dina and Ellie

With the second game, it takes place four years after the first game, making Ellie about 18 years old. So, she looks older and chiseled in the game. Again, comparing it to the television show, it looks like the actress that plays Ellie, Bella Ramsey, hasn’t aged at all and it doesn’t even seem like much time has passed in the television show.

My other problem is the actress they cast to play Abby, Kaitlyn Dever, doesn’t look as buff or physically intimidating as in the game. I know I should overlook these things, but there is a reason why Abby is so built, and in the television show, they are probably going to ignore that part of her character.

Looking at it, I felt like maybe Kaitlyn Dever looks more like Ellie, and I would’ve been much happier if they had originally cast her as Ellie. For Abby, they should have cast someone more muscular. Maybe someone in the MMA.

Anyway, as for the The Last of Us Part II game, I’m very early in the game. If you didn’t know… a major character gets killed, and it’s really the whole revenge plot of the game. They changed the show a little to better explain motivations. In the game, it’s a complete mystery, until it’s unveiled.

In the game, as is seen on the television show, Joel and Ellie’s relationship has fallen apart. The two aren’t as close as they were in the first game, and … and we’re also introduced to Ellie’s love interest, Dina. The Dina character, I have zero complaints about, as she looks and acts like the game. The video game Dina does remind me of someone I know (interesting to note that her name is also ‘Dina’, but with an ‘e’), especially with her hair and prominent nose.

I’ve forgotten how slow the game is in the beginning. It’s almost like half of it are pre-rendered movie. Playing the game on an ultrawide monitor is great… except every time a movie is shown, it cuts to widescreen. It is kind of annoying, but at least the game supports ultrawide for gameplay.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

04/21/2025

My Morning Jacket at the Armory (04-20-2025)

My Morning Jacket at Armory (20 Apr 2025)

My Morning Jacket Setlist

Out in the Open
Compound Fracture
Beginning from the Ending
Evil Urges
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
Time Waited
I’m Amazed
Lay Low
Honest Man
Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
with Dave Simonett
Like a River
he Way That He Sings
Off the Record
Steam Engine
Master Plan
Everyday Magic
Circuital
Die for It
Gideon

-- Encore --
Victory Dance
Purple Rain (Prince cover)
with Grace Cummings
One Big Holiday

Grace Cummings Setlist

Something Going ‘Round
Raglan
A Precious Thing
Here Is the Rose
Fly a Kite
Common Man
(Unknown)
Ramona
Heaven

Read More

My Morning Jacket

This is the second night for My Morning Jacket at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis. While Friday's MMJ show featured local Hippo Campus, Saturday's support will come from Lizzo. ....

Grace Cummings

Opening the show was Melbourne’s Grace Cummings. She’s joined on stage with her brother on guitars, Tyler on drums, Lino on bass (she also thanked her driver, ....

We last saw My Morning Jacket at the Palace Theatre in June, 2023 and it was a highlight of the year for the band knows how to put on a show.

My Morning Jacket at Palace Theatre (20 June 2023)

In the review, I mentioned that “...they played some pretty good pre-show music, music you normally wouldn’t hear at a rock show with songs like “Caravan” and “Mood Indigo” from the Duke Ellington Orchestra.”

Waiting in the Armory for the opening act, the pre-show music played Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates and “In a Sentimental Mood” by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which I took as an omen that the show would be just as entertaining.

Grace Cummings opened up the evening with a nine-song set. She is from Melbourne, Australia and is supporting her third album, Ramona. She has a powerful voice and a commanding presence. I heard shades of Cat Power. A photographer covering the show, Brandon, mentioned PJ Harvey.

Cummings played her first three songs with a band before moving to a couple of solo songs, one on the piano and the other acoustic guitar. At that point I heard echoes of Bob Dylan, which Cummings cites as an influence, even naming her latest album after his song “To Ramona”.

When she invited her band back on stage it was full-tilt with a sound that filled the cavernous venue, especially “Heaven”.

Looking at MMJ’s setlist on setlist.fm, it became apparent that they have no intention of playing the same songs night after night. Maybe that’s the prerogative of a band who has played close to thirty years together and is supporting its tenth album Is. Still, there must be a lot of scrambling backstage to keep up with the instrument changes and lighting that seemed to be schemed for each individual song.

From Louisville, Kentucky MMJ the band consists of Jim James on lead vocals and guitar, Tom Blakenship on bass, Patrick Hallahan on drums, Carl Broemel on guitar and Bo Koster on Keyboards. And for close to two and a half hours they kept their fan base enthralled with songs that always seemed to build into epic jams. “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” would be a case in point.

There wasn’t much patter for the songs blended right into each other. James did take a moment to say that they had the day off on Saturday and had a wonderful time in Minneapolis going to an art museum and dining at 112 Eatery.

For “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” James invited Dave Simonett from Trampled by Turtles on stage who sang, then pulled his daughter from the wings to do a little dancing.

After the reggae-tinged “Off the Record” MMJ closed with “Die for It” and “Gideon”. And for the encore the gorgeous “Victory Dance”, then inviting Cummings on stage to cover Prince’s “Purple Rain”. And although four hours had almost elapsed since Cummings took the stage, the audience had enough to shake the floor for “One Big Holiday”.

As the main lights came up and I was getting ready to leave, a fan came over to let me know, “They brought it tonight,” After a fist bump, he repeated, “They brought it.”

Remaining Tour Dates

04/21 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater #

04/25 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace **

04/26 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace ††

04/27 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace ^^

04/29 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace ##

04/30 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace ^

05/02 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory at The District ^

05/04 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

08/05 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater

08/06 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater

08/08 – Bonner, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater

08/09 – Woodinville, WA – Chateau St. Michelle Winery

08/13 – Dillon, CO – Dillon Amphitheater

08/15 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

08/16 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

08/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium

08/20 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl

08/22 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre

10/08 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

10/10 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met

10/11 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met

10/13 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway

10/14 – Portland, ME – State Theatre

10/16 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount

10/17 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount

10/18 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount

10/20 – Newport, KY – MegaCorp Pavilion

10/22 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee

10/24 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed

10/25 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed

10/26 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed

10/29 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle

10/31 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre

11/01 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre

w/ Special Guests
^ Bendigo Fletcher
# Grace Cummings
** Lacey Guthrie
†† Future Killer
^^ The Jesse Lees
## 10th Street Dre and Maggie Halfman

Grace Cummings

My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket at Armory (20 Apr 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 11:44 PM in Dave, Grace Cummings, Jim James, Minneapolis, My Morning Jacket, Prince, The Armory | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jax: May 10 to May 12, 2025

Bob Mould at the Palace Theatre (04-19-2025)

Bob Mould at Palace Theatre (19 Apr 2025)

Bob Mould Setlist

Star Machine
The Descent
Neanderthal
Here We Go Crazy
You Need to Shine
Fur Mink Augurs
The Ocean
Daddy’s Favorite
Black Confetti
Next Generation
American Crisis
Fireball
Forecast of Rain
I Don’t Know You Anymore
You Say You
Hardly Getting Over It*
Celebrated Summer*
Hard to Get
When Your Heart is Broken
The War
Flip Your Wig*
Siberian Butterfly
Losing Time
Hate Paper Doll*
Something I Learned Today*
Chartered Trips*
Makes No Sense at All*

* Hüsker Dü song

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. …

Midway through the set, lead singer Rick Valentin of Poster Children stated a rule. “Rule No. 1. Don’t talk during the show.”

I’m not sure if the rule was for the audience. It did pertain to the band along with other punk rock rules. Rules like play fast and play loud and no instrument changes. Also, get plenty of cardio training in before going on tour so you can play loud and fast with no breaks between songs.

Poster Children formed in 1987 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and its members took to the proscenium stage at the Palace Theatre like they were still in their Twenties. Valentin was joined on stage by Jim Valentin on lead guitar, Matt Friscia on drums and Rose Marshack on bass.

Special shout out to Marshack who bounced around the stage with so much energy, I would like to see the band in twenty years just to see her raging into her twilight years.

By the end, though, Marshack was out of breath, but still took the opportunity to thank everyone for coming out. Valentin said that it was her birthday and got the audience to sing her birthday song, fast and loud, and for some reason, twice.

Bob Mould next took the stage and adhered to the above rules. In fact, he blistered through the first half of his set before even stopping to grab a breath.

Mould was joined on stage by Jason Narducy of Verbow and Split Single on bass and John Wurster of Superchunk and The Mountain Goats on drums.

We are big fans of Mould and have seen him multiple times over the years, last as a solo act at the Cedar Cultural Center in Oct, 2023 and with his band at First Ave in Sept, 2021.

The front half of the set was devoted to the six albums Mould has made with Narducy and Wurster, including his latest, Here We Go Crazy. The second half was devoted to songs from Hüsker Dü, a band he formed not far from the venue when he was a college student at Macalester.

Although Mould has much love for the Twin Cities and will be the keynote speaker for the 2025 Commencement at Macalester, there were no asides or trips down memory lane. After all, that would have violated rule No. 1.

Fun Fact: Last week I was playing the Wednesday crossword puzzle on the Vox website when I came across this clue: