John Maus at Cedar Poster
Tour Dates
04/15/2018 Coachella
04/22/2018 Coachella 05/04/2018 Red Bull Music Academy Festival Read More
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Devata Daun (aka Nikki Pfeifer) and c.Kostra (aka Ryan Olcott) opened the show. The first 30 minutes featured Devata Daun’s sweet, atmospheric songs from her album Look (Pytch Records), then, midway, the two swap places as c.Kostra finished out the remaining 30 minutes with his new album now i feel it (Pytch Records). The seamless transition suggests that the two often work together… and it’s probably safe to say that if you see one of them at a show, the other is close behind.
Just to give you a little background, but John Maus is often associated with Ariel Pink, as the two were roomates/classmates at the California Institute of the Arts. Maus would end up as a member of the Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti stage band.
When Maus signed and released his debut record Songs (Upset the Rhythm) in 2006, he toured and built up a good reputation for his passionate performances. Then, in 2012, he just decided to take a four-year break from music. He spent that time finishing his dissertation, and gained a PhD in political science from the University of Hawaii.
Maus’ fourth album (and his latest) is called Screen Memories and came out last year. So, for the first time in four years, he went on tour to promote the record. While fans and critics were already accustomed to his solo one-man-karaoke shows, last year’s tour featured a full live band (featuring his brother Joe Maus on bass, Luke Darger on keyboards, and Jonathan Thompson on drums). After over a year of touring, the band was actually still very tight, which is important as they are set to play Coachella next week.
After a seven-year absent from Minneapolis, the show wasn’t just about Maus, it was also about his diehard fans. It wasn’t uncommon to see friends surprised and happy to see each other at the show. Or when a familiar song started to play, some people would just turn to each other and started hugging (especially hearing the opening chords to “Streetlight”). It’s heartwarming to see so many people happy to celebrate their mutual love for John Maus.
As you would expect, there was a lot of high-energy bopping up and down, fist punching the air, and plenty of sweating.
With an upcoming album Addendum (made of extra songs from Screen Memories), expect to see Maus more active in shows… and hopefully another Minneapolis date next year.
Devata Daun |
c.Kostra |
Devata Daun |
Devata Daun (art by Vu)
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John Maus | John Maus |
John Maus |
John Maus at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (05 April 2018) |
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