W♥M

06/18/2025

TekTok: Portable Air Conditioner

Haier 9,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

Pro

Remote

Off Timer

Adjustable Louvers

Adj. Temperature

Auto-Evaporation

Con

Noisy

Exhaust Hose

Not really portable

Very Large

Discontinued

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Jacksonville

Playing their first Jacksonville show. Despite being from Texas, the band admitted, “Ain’t gonna lie, it’s hot down here” referring to the scorching 96° F heat..…

It’s my first time experiencing summer in Florida, and I can tell you that I am not used to this weather. It gets really hot here, regularly in the mid-90s. June is the worst so far.

At first, I thought I could just tough it out, armed with only a 20-inch fan. I found myself showering two or three times a day, and as soon as I step out of the shower, I’m instantly dry due the fan blowing hot air.

Just to give you an idea of how hot it gets; my iPhone regularly overheats. I had to get a small fan to blow on it to help cool it down, especially when it’s charging (it gets so hot that the phone won’t charge above 80%).

I really didn’t have any choice in the matter, I had to buy an Air Conditioner. I don’t really have a window, so getting a window unit was out of the question. My option was cut down to a Portable Air Conditioner or an Ice Air Cooler. The Ice Cooler did not sound appealing, because you constantly need to feed it ice for it to properly work… however, on the bright side, you always have ice to keep your drinks cool.

I ended up buying a discounted Haier 9,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner for about $200 at Ollie’s (my favorite store). I believe all the units at Ollie’s were actually refurbished, as this particular model is long discontinued.

This is probably one of the best things I’ve ever bought. I can now spend time (and able to sleep) in my room, thanks to the constant cooling. It’s much more effective than a window unit, since you can roll it next to you and take advantage of the blasting cool air. Since buying it, I’ve had it running all the time. The temperature can be adjustable for comfort. The lowest setting you can go is 61° F, which is pretty cool, especially if you’re sitting right next to it.

All air conditioners will accumulate water (sucking the moisture out of the air in the room)… so this unit unit has ‘auto-evaporation’, which, if working, means that you do not need to drain it when it gets full. However, on the first few days, I had to dump out the water as the AC’s evaporation system didn’t work quite as fast.

With a standard television, the ‘Sleep’ option means that the set will turn off after an hour. The Haier Air Conditione’s Sleep option does not work the same way. Instead if you use Sleep, it will gradually heat up the room … which makes no sense to me (I sleep better when it’s colder). What you want to use is called Timer. You can set it in one-hour increments, it will automatically turn off after the specified hour.

This model also comes with a Remote Controller, which requires two triple A batteries… which I didn’t have on hand, so I have never used the remote. The AC is constantly near me, so it’s really not a problem just reaching over and changing the settings. My bed is not near the A/C, so I can see how the remote can be useful in that situation.

Standing at 27 inches high and weighing in at 50 pounds, this Haier 9,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner is anything but Portable… yet, it’s widely accepted that this really is as portable as an Air Conditioner can get. It does come with wheels, so moving it around is not as bad as you might think. The only problem is the exhaust hose that is attached to the unit. Due to the nature of these things, it needs to expels the heat, so you will need a window or an external vent. Otherwise, the heat will just be circulated back into the room, negating any cooling.

Sunflower Bean at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (June 17, 2025)

Sunflower Bean at 7th Street Entry (Jun 17, 2025)

Sunflower Bean Setlist

Champagne Taste
Lucky Number
Teach Me to Be Bad
Who Put You Up to This?
Look What You’ve Done to Me
Easier Said
Somebody Call a Doctor
22
I Knew Love
Take Out Your Insides
Sunshine
Nothing Romantic

-- Encore --
Shake

Tour Dates

6/19 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village

6/20 - Detroit, MI @ Third Man Records

6/21 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison

Previously: Sunflower Bean at Fine Line

Sunflower Bean at Fine Line (May 21, 2022)

Let me tell you about Sunflower Bean’s first Minnesota show at Turf Club (14 Oct 2015). Seven years ago, the audience were simply blown away at Sunflower Bean’s sugar sweet shoegazing songs. We witness so many fans coming up to the band and buying their album and telling them how great they were. Some of those fans were at the Fine Line show.

It seems like perhaps the band has grown, their upcoming album Headful of Sugar is leaning towards indie rock. Singer and bassist Julia Cumming seems more outgoing and confident on stage. To be fair, we said the same thing when we saw them in April 2016: “Now seasoned with a year of touring. And it shows. The trio (Jacob Faber, Julia Cumming, and Nick Kivlen) seemed completely at eased on stage, with Cumming looking and sounding more confident than their previous appearance. Even their music is a lot more upbeat (and possibly even aggressive), playing almost everything on their debut album... and especially when they announced they were playing some new (unrecorded) songs.”

[ Continue Reading Sunflower Bean at Fine Line ]

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Sunflower Bean

New York trio Sunflower Bean (vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming, guitarist and vocalist Nick Kivlen, and drummer Olive Faber) headlined the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis ..…

After a very pleasant dinner with work colleagues, I got a slightly late start to head over to the show. And while I was at no risk of being late for seeing Sunflower Bean, I found myself completely locked in on getting over to the 7th Street Entry to get prepared for the evening.

First up was GIFT, a psychedelic rock band from Brooklyn, NY. Their debut album, Momentary Presence, was released in 2022. Getting started a little late, we had a bit of introductory banter where we were told it was the band’s first time in Minneapolis. The quintet (guitar/vocals, electronic music/guitar/backup vocals, bass/backup vocals, guitar/keyboard, and drums) came out loud with that spacey sound in vocals and with the various electronic sounds. After a request from the bassist, the lights dropped very low for the second song, before edging back up to a more visible level. The tenor sound of the lead vocalist, paired with the soprano backup vocals gave a good contrast to the heavy underlying bass.

GIFT followed up with their first significantly longer song (basically a requisite of the psych rock label), with all three singers giving a repeated set of lyrics with the instruments building up. A story that a song that they weren’t playing on this tour had been requested a lot resulted in that song being played with Olive Faber of the headliner joining them on tambourine. This was another longer number, with a long solo for the keyboardist and some heavily distorted vocals. A long intro with all three guitars on one of the last songs was an excellently brooding entrance and a pretty great number for the band. GIFT got back to a louder and faster tempo song, though still with heavy distortion. They closed out with a distorted autotune, which made for an interesting effect. Jumping around the stage, GIFT finished up strong and at their very loudest.

Headline Sunflower Bean, also from New York City, was up next. The indie alt band has been at it for over a decade and their newest album, Mortal Primetime came out in April 2025. The trio (Julia Cumming on bass/vocals, Olive Faber on drums, and Nick Kivlen on guitar/backup vocals) started with the fantastic Champagne Taste. Cumming had a fan directed at her face, allowing her hair and flowing black blouse to be a central visual throughout. The next number had a bit of a Black Sabbath feel, particularly with Kivlen’s backing vocals. Teach Me to Be Bad had a lively guitar solo and was straight alt rock.

Sunflower Bean had a laid-back on-stage demeanor that belied how hard they were rocking their set. I don’t know if Cumming’s experience as a fashion model plays a role, but she exuded a calm and composed mood. Look What You’ve Done to Me was a busy lyrical song, that also included some recorded piano, giving an additional layer. Easier Said gave Faber a highlight on drums, and a chance for the crowd to sing along on the chorus, as well as a long exiting guitar and bass work to close it out. 22 was a plaintive sounding song, with Cumming giving it her all, belting out the lyrics near the end. In a bit of banter, Cumming noted that she had a lot of family in the area (which maybe explained the very small child in the audience?), and how happy the band was to be in the Midwest in the summer.

Noting they had just a few songs left, there was a joke about blaming your shoes for the shoegaze (and it was a sizable pedal board). But Kivlen then noted he actually had a pedal that really was difficult to turn on, but thankfully, it all went according to plan. Nothing Romantic had a serious throw back classic rock feel and was a great choice to end the main set on. Coming back for the encore, Sunflower Bean played Shake to close things out, with Cumming asking “Minneapolis, for the love of god, make some noise”, to which the crowd happily did as the band exited the stage.

GIFT

Sunflower Bean

Sunflower Bean (Drum Head)

Sunflower Bean (Olive Faber)

Sunflower Bean (Julia Cumming)

Sunflower Bean (Nick Kivlen)

Sunflower Bean at 7th Street Entry (June 17, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 09:14 AM in 7th Street Entry, Black Sabbath, Minneapolis, Shoegazing, Sunflower Bean, Thaddeus | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/17/2025

Mozart’s Prague Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy at Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul (June 15, 2025)

Mozart’s Prague Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy at Ordway Concert Hall (June 13-15, 2025)

Program Order

Geoffrey Gordon : Gotham News (15 min)

Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) (7 min)

Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 1 (30 min)

Lento

Allegretto-Introduzione: Allegro

Allegro vivace - Adagio - Tempo 1

-- INTERMISSION --

Geoffrey Gordon: Fumée (Smoke) for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra (12 min)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Symphony No. 38, Prague (30 min)

Adagio - Allegro

Andante

Finale: Presto

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SPCO

Taking place this Friday and Saturday, at the Ordway Concert Hall, in St Paul, is Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s latest event: Steven Copes Plays Prokofiev’s First Violin Sonata. ...

In their 2024-25 season finale, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra delighted the audience and received three standing ovations throughout the afternoon at the Ordway Concert Hall. Reunited with Gábor Takács-Nagy, it was clear to see the strong connection the orchestra has developed over the years with the Hungarian conductor.

An image of the 1955 painting Gotham News can be seen at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s website.

The US premiere of Gotham News by Geoffrey Gordon kicked off the program. The piece is a musical reimagining of the 1955 painting of the same name by artist Willem de Kooning which was based on mid-20th century New York City daily life. The piece began with a quiet but haunting melody that quickly gave way to a fear-inducing percussive sound effect created by the celli and basses snapping their bows against their instruments. A cautiously calm middle section desperately wanted to give hope to the audience by changing to a major key, but the music never got there. The piece ended with low notes in the bass section and intervals reminiscent of what might be expected walking down a dark alley.

Next on the program was the familiar Pavane for a Dead Princess by Maurice Ravel. In this calm and quiet work, the orchestra allowed the audience to relax by setting the scene of an airy French salon. The tempo started slowly and only increased slightly in the middle section before returning to the original largo. The French horns were featured and delivered a beautiful, crisp sound. The oboe and harp also had their moments to shine. At one point the gradual crescendo of the orchestra gave goosebumps.

The first half was rounded out by Takacs-Nagy's own orchestral arrangement of fellow Hungarian Bela Bartok’s String Quartet No 1. Prior to starting the piece, Takács-Nagy set the scene of Bartok’s life when composing the work. Bartok fell helplessly in love in 1927 only to be rejected shortly after. This piece reflected Bartok’s “love death”, as described by Takács-Nagy. The orchestra brought out the composer’s pain with their methodical and passionate interpretation. It was clear the musicians were in their groove throughout the technically demanding tempo changes and precise dynamics ranging from pianissimo to double forte across the three movements played without breaks. The audience responded with a well-deserved standing ovation and one audience member shouted, “Absolutely amazing, thank you!”

The second half began with another US premiere of Geoffrey Gordon, Fumée (Smoke) for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra. Clarinet soloist Sang Yoon Kim demonstrated his mastery of the clarinet through rapid trills, impressive dynamic range, jumps from low notes to high notes and even a clarinet growl at one point. The orchestra also did their part with expert trumpet staccatos and the strings echoing clarinet solos. At the end of the piece, the audience jumped out of their seats for another standing ovation.

The concert ended with Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Prague. The piece is signature Mozart style with a familiar, yet original, light and cheery melody that had several audience members bobbing their heads to the beat. It was clear the musicians were having just as much fun performing likely due to Takács-Nagy’s energetic conducting. At some particularly fervent moments, it seemed as if both of Takács-Nagy’s feet left the ground to bring out even more energy from musicians. His respect for the musicians was particularly highlighted when he gave a thumbs up to the oboe for coming in right on cue. The bassoons were also highlighted with several playful calls and responses with the strings. The audience gave a third standing ovation when the piece ended.

The orchestra brought a range of emotions out of the music played and finished the 2024-25 season finale leaving the audience excited for what is to come next season.

Mozart’s Prague Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy at Ordway Concert Hall (June 15, 2025)

mattk ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 10:28 PM in MattK, Ordway Concert Hall, SPCO, St Paul | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jax: July 14 to July 19, 2025

06/16/2025

Sleigh Bells at Fine Line, Minneapolis (June 14, 2025)

Sleigh Bells at Fine Line (Jun 14, 2025)

Sleigh Bells Setlist

Intro/Badly
Infinity Guitars
Justine Go Genesis
Wanna Start a Band?
Riot Rhythm
Bunky Pop
Kids
Locust Laced
Comeback Kid
SWEET75
A/B Machines
I Can Only Stare
Bitter Rivals
This Summer
Rill Rill

-- Encore --
Pulse Drips Quiet
Crown on the Ground

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Sleigh Bells

Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller are Sleigh Bells, and they are finally back after taking a small break. Last night was only their fourth show in the past two years but it felt .…

I went early to the Fine Line for I knew it was going to be a rambunctious sold-out show with its high-energy headliner and epileptic-inducing light show.

Sophie Hunter opened up the evening to a surging crowd. Not to be confused with Benedict Cumberbatch’s wife, the Sophie Hunter that took the stage was from Brooklyn and may have the shortest and best bio I have read on the First Ave website: ctrl_alt+pop+rap.

The bio may be brief, but Hunter let loose a stream of rapid-fire lyrics, part poetry-slam, part rap, backed by a raucous guitar and torrential bass that I swear kept changing the settings on my camera.

Although new to the music scene and visiting the Twin Cities for the first time, Hunter had many fans in the crowd. In fact, the first lady in line to get into the venue was front and center in the first row to see Hunter rip through “Cha Cha”, a song Hunter says is about being hospitalized against her will.

The fans had no problem keeping up with Hunter’s songs, but I felt three blocks behind. Still, I did catch a great lick here and there like from “Bionicle”:

She's a ponytail
Baby I'm Seabiscuit
She's got all the sauce of a
Four-cheese Triscuit

And

Don't worry darling
Shakespeare was a woman and
That woman is Jack Harlow
Just kidding it's me and
This line is sponsored by Target

The hilarious, saucy rhymes kept flowing with a new song “Tenfold” and “2 Shots of Patron”, a song in which the lady who was front and center handed Hunter a mini-size bottle of tequila.

By the time Sleigh Bells took the stage, there was not an inch on the main floor that did not have a fan. And the duo of Alexis Krauss on vocals and Derek E. Miller on guitar, backed by keys and drums, did not disappoint as they kicked the music into a frenetic overdrive with songs like “Infinity Guitars”, “Justine Go Genesis” and their origin story “Wanna Start a Band?” from their latest album Bunky Becky Birthday Boy.

Sleigh Bells at Fine Line (Sep 3, 2016)

We last saw Sleigh Bells at the Fine Line Sept, 2016 writing:

Sleigh Bells is known for their unique sound and high-energy shows. They played to a full house on Saturday night at the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis and proved that nothing has changed. Their songs are upbeat and powerful. They mix elements of punk rock with indie-pop and almost electronic beats.

Sleigh Bells have not slowed down as Krauss and Miller were already saturated with pools of sweat by the time a fan in the audience made an unusual request by holding up his phone with two words illuminating “Riot Rhythm”.

And so Sleigh Bells played the song until the light show began to glitch and they momentarily stopped until Krauss forcefully chimed, “Do not worry about the lights if it f*cks with the other sh*t.”

And so the band continued while the technicians raced to keep up. After all, there was no stopping them as they played the hyper-kinetic “Bunky Pop”, a song that is dedicated to the point of view man’s best friend. As Miller told Flood Magazine:

“So, what’s a dog like? They can be destructive, but not in a sinister way. They come into the room and chew your shoes up. Maybe they sh*t on the floor, but you still love them. Dogs are hyper enthusiastic.”

Then a brief reprieve as Krauss tried to catch her breath after expending the energy required for two hours of a jazzercise class. “We’ve spent two days in Minneapolis,” she gasped between breaths. She said she found some great places to eat and even went to the library. As a new mother she is on the lookout for new books and dedicated the next song “Kids” to all the new parents.

But they were not done after kids as they ripped through the rest of their set like it was five minutes, only slowing (briefly) down for the effervescent “Rill Rill” in which Krause made her way to sing in the middle of the crowd.

Sophie Hunter

Sleigh Bells	Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells	Sleigh Bells

Sleigh Bells

Sleigh Bells at Fine Line, Minneapolis (June 14, 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 10:45 PM in Dave, Minneapolis, Sleigh Bells | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stone Arch Bridge Festival, Minneapolis (June 14, 2025)

Stone Arch Bridge Festival (June 14-15, 2025)

Saturday, June 14

Star Tribune Stage

Sawtooth Witch

Smokin Joe

Unattractive Giant Monster

ELOUR

Chad Atkins

Pullstring

The Right Here

Leslie Rich and Rocket Soul Choir

Cities 97.1 Stage

Amanda Brown Perry

Eli Gardiner

Leslie Vincent

Third Date

Scott Allen and the List

Betty Won’t

Danger Pins

The Walker Brothers

Sunday, June 15

Star Tribune Stage

Sawyer’s Dream

Zoey Says Go

Couch Potato Massacre

Radiator Girl

Willows

Burning Blue Rain

Cities 97.1 Stage

DGS

Zachary Scott Johnson

Quantum Mechanics

Dan Israel

John Magnuson Trio

Shug E

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Stone Arch Bridge Festival

Later in June, on the weekend of the 14-15th, is the Stone Arch Bridge Festival in Minneapolis. They’ve yet to announce the music acts, but you can find out more at stonearchbridgefestival.com as they update soon. …

Since we were going to be in downtown Minneapolis to see Sleigh Bells at the Fine Line, we came a few hours early to stroll through the Stone Arch Bridge Festival, a festival that is in its 31st year, a festival ranked #16 in Sunshine Artist Best of 2024. (The Minnehaha Falls Art Fair ranked #5).

I can understand the high ranking for both art festivals, due to the location of the events. The Stone Arch Bridge Festival starts from one end at Gold Medal Park and meanders along West River Parkway past the Guthrie Theater, Mill City Museum, the Stone Arch Bridge (currently close and under construction), then past the imposing buildings of the United States Postal Service and Federal Reserve, and finally a quiet stretch along the Mississippi River crossing under the Nicollet Island Silver Railroad Bridge and ending at 4th Avenue.

Cactus Blossoms at Grand Old Day (June 1, 2025)

The festival wasn’t nearly as long and as grand as Grand Old Day in St. Paul, but by its location it offered more unique places along the river to drink a cold beer from Pyres Brewing Company or a hot coffee due to the cooler, damp weather that settled in for the weekend. (The saddest person I saw at the festival was the food vendor trying to sell sno-cones.)

Like Grand Old Day, there were music acts. But unlike Grand Old Day, the two music venues were almost on opposite ends of the Parkway, which made for long strolls through the pockets of vendor booths selling everything from oil paintings, woodworking and landscape photography to other curios like a booth solely dedicated to taxidermized insects.

I accumulated plenty of steps. So, it was nice to sit among the ruins at the entrance of the Stone Arch Bridge at the Star Tribune Stage or at a mini amphitheater along the Mississippi at the Cities 97 Stage. The bands I briefly caught along the way:

The Right Here, a young group of musicians, describing themselves as a “jang-a-lang-a-lang band from Minneapolis” Their rockabilly meets punk sound echoing through the crowd and surrounding ruins of the mills.

Danger Pins, also from Minneapolis. Looking like a rock band. Playing like a rock band. Their sound a perfect mix of laid-back psychedelic rock drifting along with the Mississippi which flowed behind them.

The Walker Brothers minus one brother, so Joseph had to pick up another guitarist while Jay attended another gig. Still a nice, easy sound of R&B and soul swimming with the world beat of Joseph's South American upbringing.

Leslie Rich and the Rocket Soul Choir, a Belfast singer/songwriter residing in Minneapolis. Due to the distance between venues, I only caught the last two songs and wished I had been there for more as the summer sun began to fade behind the looming clouds and oncoming drizzle, a setting not unlike the one usually found in Rich’s hometown.

1 / 16

The Walker Brothers at Stone Arch Bridge Festival (June 14, 2025)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 05:26 PM in Art, Dave, Festivals, Minneapolis, Music, Music Festival, Sleigh Bells, Stone Arch Bridge Festival | Permalink | Comments (0)

Softcult at Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville (June 15, 2025)

Softcult at Jack Rabbits (15 June 2025)

Softcult Setlist

Drain
Pill to Swallow
One Of The Pack
Perfect Blue
Someone2Me
Love Song
Heaven
Uzumaki
Haunt You Still
Gloomy Girl
Take It Off
House of Mirrors
Spit It Out

she’s green Setlist

Graze
Willow
Purple
Paper
Figurines
smile again
bleed
Mandy

Dark Spring Setlist

The Scene (Jazz)
Pretty People
Drown
Kitty Kitty Bang Bang
Your Resolution
Suspension

Tour Dates

06/17 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC

06/18 - Black Cat - Washington, D.C.

06/19 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

06/21 - The Foundry - Philadelphia, PA

06/22 - The Middle East - Cambridge, MA

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Softcult

Canadian grunge and shoegaze band Softcult (twin sisters Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn) will be headlining Jack Rabbits, in Jacksonville, on June 15. .…

she's green

Local shoegazing band she’s green, featuring Zofia on vocals, Teddy on bass, Liam on guitars, Raines on guitars, and Kevin on drums, opened the show. Although .…

Canadian grunge and shoegaze band Softcult (twin sisters Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn), played to a very young crowd at Jack Rabbits, in Jacksonville, Florida, on Father’s Day, June 15th.

There was already a lineup outside the venue when I got in line. The crowd was young, dark, goth, edgy… but surprisingly some older fans too. I made the mistake that they were all chaperoning, but they were just fans of Softcult. There were a pair of young women who were there strictly for she’s green, so overall, this was a great turnout for Sunday, especially on a ‘holiday’.

Opening up the show was local band Dark Spring (not to be confused with Cleveland’s Dark Spring), celebrating their one-year anniversary playing live. The group played mostly from their new EP Ivylena, which came out in May 2025. With one exception, “Your Resolution” is taken from their debut release The Cardboard Buildings (November 2024).

The band is very young, led by guitarist/singer Kennedy, with keyboardist Isaac, drummer Seamus, guitarist Kadedynn, and bassist Jason. There was a role change, as Jason took over drumming for Seamus to take the lead vocals on the song that he wrote, “Pretty People.”

I spoke with the band after, and they mentioned their gig at The Walrus (which, by the way, is hosting Quintron, minus Miss Pussycat, on June 19) was pretty awesome, especially with the fog machine and mood lighting. Looking at their photos on their phones, it does look more dramatic vs Jack Rabbits, which showed a black and white movie, projected on the background throughout all the bands that played.

Next up was Minneapolis’ she’s green, with singer Zofia Smith, guitarist Liam Armstrong, guitarist Raines Lucas, bassist Teddy Nordvold, and drummer Kevin Seebeck.

she's green at Turf Club (Sep 29, 2023)

Since W♥M is mostly based in Minneapolis, we’ve seen our local band a few times, in Jan 2025 (with Frank Black), March 2024 (with Glixen), and Sep 2023 (with Jesse Jo Stark). We didn’t see them in Jan 2022 on account that I go into Winter Hibernation.

All this is to say that we like the band and have been keeping an eye and ear on the band since they formed. Most recently, I was happy to see that she’s green signed a record deal with New York City’s Photo Finish Records. Legends has it, that Shane Friedman, the A&R of Photo Finish, was in Minneapolis to scout talents and happened to see she’s green play a house party (in a basement) in June 2024, and instantly wanted to sign the band after seeing them “hypnotize the entire crowd.”

Shortly after, she’s green went on their first tour with Glixen, and now on their second tour, with Softcult.

For this tour, the band played quite a few new songs, starting with their new single “Graze”, which kicked off their set. They kept their biggest hit, “smile again” on the set, playing it close to the end. The crowd seemed to really dig “bleed”, which could have been a great song to end their set.

she’s green said that this was their first time playing Jacksonville. They have left a good impression, as I noticed a few people rushing to buy their vinyl after they played their set. I talked to the guy next to me, Robert, before she’s green came on stage and he said he’s never heard of the band. I may have hyped them up a little, as Robert was one of the first people in line to buy the she’s green record. It was great to see local (Minneapolis) bands doing good.

Softcult closed out the show. The twin sisters Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn originally formed pop/punk band Courage My Love in 2009 (we mentioned the band was part of Canadian Blast in 2013), but broke up the band after they felt their record label was stifling their creativity. Shortly after breaking up the band, the sisters formed Softcult in 2020, with a debut single “Another Bish” in January 2021.

The band’s recent EP Heaven came out May 2024, which is building up to their debut album, in 2025. We’ve already got a sneak preview with their single “Pill to Swallow” (the second song on their set), from the forthcoming new album.

Although people describe the band as ‘grunge’, I find that they lean closer to DIY Riot Grrrls with their stance on women’s rights and anger towards the establishments. I can see them fitting right in with Joan Jett, Bikini Kill, and Pussy Riot. It’s good to see that their message through their music is inspiring a new generation of fans.

Dark Spring

Dark Spring (Seamus)

she’s green

Softcult (Mercedes)

Softcult (Phoenix)

Softcult

Softcult at Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville (June 15, 2025)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 08:41 AM in Canada, Canadian Blast, Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, Quintron, She's Green, Shoegazing, Softcult | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/15/2025

Mpls: July 12 to July 14, 2025

Julia Wolf at Turf Club, St Paul (June 14, 2025)

Julia Wolf at Turf Club (June 14, 2025)

Julia Wolf Setlist

Loser
FYP
Kill You Off
Hydra
Last Summer
Pearl
Wishbone
Burning House
FOR THE GIRLS
Limewire
Hoops
Life Is a Storm
Sunshine State
Jennifer's Body
You've Lost A Lot of Blood
In My Room

Worry Club Setlist

Nothin
I Suck
DEDBODY
DEATHBLOW
BORED
In My Ear
little f**ker
Anything Else
Same Name

Schedule

Turf Club, St Paul

8:00pm
Ellis
----

8:45pm
Worry Club
----

9:30pm
Julia Wolf

Tour Dates

June 15 -- Cobra Lounge -- Chicago, IL

June 16 -- A&R Music Bar -- Columbus, OH

June 17 -- Velvet Underground -- Toronto, ON

June 19 -- Brighton Music Hall -- Boston, MA

June 20 -- AMH -- Long Island, NY

June 21 -- Atlantis -- Washington, DC

June 22 -- Motorco -- Raleigh, NC

June 24 -- Radio Room -- Greenville, SC

June 25 -- The Loft -- Atlanta, GA

June 26 -- Basement East -- Nashville, TN

Previously: Julia Wolf at Fine Line

New York’s Julia Wolf (aka WOLF), opened the show. We last mentioned that she released her debut EP Girls In Purgatory… so most of the songs played were taken from the debut, including “Falling In Love” and “In My Way”.

She also had some new songs that haven’t been released yet. One of those songs, which I’ll call “Get Off My D**k” (based on a partial setlist that she released on her Facebook page), was written after being stood up from a record label. Let me explain, you see, a major label expressed interest in her music, so they scheduled a meeting with her in person, in Los Angeles. When the day of the meeting came, Julia Wolf waited and waited, and realized the label wasn’t going to show up. She never explained what happened, but I just got the impression that the label just forgot about it or something. I guess something good came out of it, we got a song out of it.

[ Continue Reading Julia Wolf at Fine Line (April 2, 2022) ]

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Julia Wolf

Italian-American indie-pop artist from Queens, NY, Julia Wolf (aka WOLF) released “RBF: Part 1,” an exclusive Spotify Singles track as a part of the platform’s first-ever Fresh Finds program. ...

On an unseasonably cool evening in St. Paul, it was very warm in the Turf Club, for a night of indie rock & pop headlined by Julia Wolf.

The first opener was Canadian singer & songwriter Ellis. Having opened for bands such as Soccer Mommy, Ellis (full name: Linnea Siggelkow) has released two albums, including 2024’s No Place That Feels Like. The band came out as a trio (vocals/guitar, bass, and drums/programmed music). Ellis was kneeling on stage right before the start, but a technical glitch held them off their start for a few minutes, with a resulting grimace from Ellis. But soon enough, they were off and running with a quieter intro song. Then she grabbed a guitar and the next number was significantly louder and livelier. This was very much a dream pop sound, with the vocals modulated by reverb/echo effect. Backup vocals from the bassist and drummer were a nice layering, and there was a lot of musical overlay, and though it was hard to tell how much was the programmed music, it helped create an ethereal tone to their music.

A bit of welcoming banter followed (including a, “We’re from Hamilton, Ontario”) before they dug back into the music. There was a good amount of fan engagement from the start, with the crowd pressing up to the stage (not always the case at Turf Club). There were a couple of moments where those vocal mic effects nearly muted the lead singer. The next song was “going to be a little mossier” and got nearly all the lights turned off, largely silhouetting the band. It included a frenzied mid-song solo, with a particularly strong showing for the drummer. The bassist was busy with pedal work prior to another intense musical section. The band was certainly working hard in the bridge before inevitably dropping back to that dreamy pop sound to end things. That cycle was repeated through the next several songs, creating a certain roller coaster feel to the set, with that repeated build and release. Ending with the song Home, we had the drummer take guitar duties and the bassist take drums, with the lead singer headed out into the audience. It was an excellent finish to a fun opening set.

Chicago-based indie punk pop band Worry Club was up next. Chase Walsh, the creative center of the band, has mostly focused on releasing singles, and several EPs, including 2023’s All Frogs Go to Heaven. That punk label was obvious from the jump, with the opener Nothin being an absolute beast. The quartet (guitar/vocals, guitar, bass/backup vocals, and drums) came out hot and it looked like they were determined to keep the energy bar at maximum (evidenced by the lead singer losing his hat in the second song and never looking back).

Dedbody had a great guitar riff underneath and it felt like the vocals were driving things forward. The lead singer was all over the stage any time he wasn’t singing at the microphone, and was the ringleader to the high energy antics. A bit of banter for a certain President’s birthday was pretty hysterical. Those fantastic guitar licks kept things moving at an almost unbearable pace, but the band was able to maintain it (this was not a case of youth being wasted on the youth). In My Ear was more upbeat (not sure how that was possible), with a brighter tone and an audience-taught choral section to end the number. An as yet unreleased song followed and was perhaps their slowest of the evening. It helped Worry Club that they had the vocals turned all the way up and were clear as a bell. Another new song, Anything Else, started with a solo guitar before the rest of the band rejoined and included a change of guitar mid-song (not sure I’ve seen that before). Finishing with Same Name, Worry Club had made a big impact on the crowd and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing bigger venues or headlining their own tour in the near future.

Headliner Julia Wolf came to the stage to finish the evening. The Long Island, New Yorker has been in the music scene for quite a while, but released her debut album in 2023 and the follow up, PRESSURE, earlier in 2025. The trio (vocals, guitar, and drums) came out very loud (a water bottle on stage looked to be ready to tip over with the first drum beats). Wolf was clearly pleased with the audience’s initial reaction and leaned into that response. By the time we got to the third song, Kill You Off, it had the crowd roaring with the first guitar licks and maybe had louder vocals from them than Wolf. Hydra was similar and Wolf has some very committed fans.

Wolf had some minor vocal effects going on, but was the central sound for sure. Although drums were very loud at the stage, stepping back a little ways evened that out. Wolf used a quick round of banter to get the crowd even more riled up prior to Pearl, which had some more pop elements and evoked a sense of a Caroline Polachek song. Rolling back to one of her earliest numbers, this was one of those moments of an and band audience in tune with each other. There’s a certain smile that a musician gives that can’t be anything but pure joy of the moment, and Wolf got to have several of those in this set. A “stripped down” Burning House gave the band an opportunity to recharge. Wolf noted that the evening had sold out, thanking the crowd before launching back onto songs from the recent album.

Limewire started with a bit of programmed music that the band quickly layered on top of well, with a stellar guitar close. Life Is a Storm played on the edge of electronic pop and showed some musical genre range for the band. This slower section of the set list gave Wolf the chance to be a little more soulful in her singing. Jennifer’s Body had one of the more visceral reactions and cameras out across a large amount of the audience. When they were given the chance to sing the refrain, they did not disappoint. The introduction to the band let everyone know it was almost over. You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood and its acoustic sound felt like the start of an encore. Finishing with In My Room, Julia Wolf reigned supreme at Turf Club, leaving to thunderous applause.

Ellis

Worry Club

Julia Wolf

Julia Wolf at Turf Club (June 14, 2025)

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

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06/14/2025

Book Report: DC Finest

DC Finest: Batman Year One and Two (Nov 5, 2024)

Pro

Price

Large Volume

Availability

Rare Titles

Uniform Look

50 Titles Announced

Paper Stock

Con

Softcover

Incomplete

Erroneous Credits

Missing Title Cards

Miscoloring

Cropped Art

No Special Features

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Comic Books

I’ve previously mentioned that the very first comic book that I purchased with my own money, a whole $1, was Crisis on Infinite Earths #1. I didn’t know it then, but this little comic book forever …

Here is a rare book report for you. Amazon has reduced many of the physical-only DC Finest books, as part of their Father’s Day sale. In addition, if you buy two books, you save an additional 50% off the second book, resulting in about less than $20 per book. Retail price is $40, so this is a very good savings, considering that these titles were launched fairly recently.

Just a little background on DC Finest, for those who don’t keep up with comic books. This is a line of full-color trade paperbacks that DC Comics is promising an affordable large-volume book collecting and compiling stories in chronicle reading order. These books are in response to Marvel’s popular Epic Collection, which launched in 2013… so DC is very late to the party.

With the benefit of waiting, DC has decided to make all the DC Finest in uniform, standard trades. For example, the cover has a square art with the collection title in giant standard fonts (note: no logos), the spine lists the year of the collection, and it seems the background colors are character related (Superman: dark blue, Batman: black, JLA: red, etc.) I don't really love the front cover design, but for example, I would have prefer to have the title on top vs on bottom.

They all have a standard look, so they look great when you put it on your book shelf. My only complaint is that the size of the DC bullet is not all the same size, as it depends on the pages in the collection. Some books, like Batman: Year One and Two are over 600 pages, compared to Event Zero Hour Part One, which is only 500 pages. Personally speaking, I wish they were consistent make all the books to be about the same pages. For collections that falls short of 600 pages, I’m sure you can throw in bonus related-stories or special features like full scripts or interviews or original pencil pages, etc.

With about 50 books already announced, this is a great way for new and old fans to read DC’s entire history, from 1938 to 2011. Why 2011? That’s the year DC rebooted to the “New 52” (as a result of Flashpoint), which is basically modern DC. In short, the DC Finest line will not be collecting modern stories, they are only concentrating on pre-Flashpoint books. That’s fine with me.

With the sale and previous purchases, I have in my collection five DC Finest books to read. Due to the large number of pages, they do take me much longer to go through, as not only do I want to read everything, but I also like to take a moment to admire the art. I’ve read through the Teen Titans: Judas Contract and Batman: Year One and Two.

DC Finest Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (Feb 4, 2025 )

I’ve little complaints about the Teen Titans book, mostly because the collection has a new version of The Judas Contract. All the previous reprints were using the printing plates of the 1988, which alters the original pages to remove credits and titles in favor of a marbled title. Seeing the The Judas Contract restored to its original presentation was much needed. DC also had the book recolored, so there are some things miscolored, but it’s all very minor stuff. You’ll only notice it if you had the original books to compare to the new colors.

What I also really like about the new DC Finest Teen Titans book is that it collected all the story leading up to the The Judas Contract, all the crossovers (like the Titans appearing with Superman in Action Comics), as well as the aftermath of the dissolvement of the H.I.V.E. organization. This is thanks to the DC Finest format, which allows for the entire year to be collected in the same book. Previous Judas Contract collection only reprinted the core four issues plus the annual.

With that said, I think the only glaring problem was that it was missing the fourth page of World Finest #300. DC made an effort to reprint the cover and the first three pages, but totally forgot there is a fourth page that is buried later in the story.

Otherwise, this DC Finest: Teen Titans - The Judas Contract is well worth picking up, if you wanted to learn about the famous storyline or an old fan (like myself), who wanted a refresher and easy way to read the story without going through your back issues and pulling out those issues. It’s all collected here, plus even more from various titles to give you the full story. Highly recommended.

The other book I read through was DC Finest: Batman Year One and Two. Year One is a much-celebrated story by Frank Miller (who also revolutionize Batman with The Dark Knight Returns) and art by David Mazzucchelli (the same team of Daredevil: Born Again). Year Two, not fondly remembered, all except that Todd McFarlane drew 3/4 of the story.

I’ve no complaints about the story and collection, but some of DC’s coloring choices puzzles me. For one, DC decided to revert back to the original Richmond Lewis newsprint colors. I think this would work if the book was printed on newsprint, so you’re limited to 64 colors. With modern printing and paper (the DC Finest uses a very bright reflective semi-glossy heavy stock paper), it opens up a wide spectrum of colors. When DC collected Year One, Lewis went back and recolored the series to match the visuals on the new paper. To me, the new colors work much better … but I can also understand DC’s decision to reprint the original colors. However, reprinting the original color on glossy paper is wrong, according to Mazzucchelli, “they printed the book on shiny paper, which was never a part of the original design, all the way back to the first hardcover in 1988.”

Although DC has decided to use the old colors for Year One, they did the opposite for Year Two - which has updated colors by Steve Oliff (who is not even credited in the DC Finest book). DC also decided to remove the title card art by Alan Davis, to replace it with a generic title and credits… which made no sense to me. Why remove the essential artwork?

I have three more DC Finest books to go through, and if there’s something interesting to note, I’ll review them… otherwise, my conclusion is these books are wonderful value for the money. Based on what I’ve seen, so far, these are massive collections for a very good price… but not a lot of care or attention was put into it. So, if you want a sloppily put together book, for very little money, DC Finest is at their finest!