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Mei Semones at 7th St Entry (Jun 9, 2025)
Tour Dates * with John Roseboro Read More
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On a cool summer evening (the best time of year!), it was a jazz influenced evening with Mei Semones headlining at 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis.
Getting things started was John Roseboro. The Brooklyn, NY based artist is a leader in a sub-genre labeled post-bossa nova, taking the laid back, syncopated samba rhythms and updating with more meaningful lyrics than its Brazilian predecessor. His debut album, Human Nature, came out in 2021 and he’s been busy ever since, releasing more music, with 2024’s Fools being most recent. Coming out on stage solo with guitar, Roseboro opened with How to Pray, and encouraged the audience to sing with him. That finger picking style looked so easy, but you could see the skill underneath it.
Roseboro had a charming and amusing banter that had the audience laughing and feeling at ease. He thanked the crowd for coming early and how he appreciated it for “a sold out show for Semones!”. I Took the L got us a “there’s a saxophone solo here” and more laughs, but Roseboro didn’t need any support as he easily carried his songs through. A small hiccup on sound was quickly corrected and Roseboro thanked the sound guy Andrew (“the MVP!”). These were efficient numbers and Roseboro moved them along with either brief banter or quick guitar interludes. He went from a love song to a break up song, though noted they were not about the same person.
He taught the crowd a brief chorus to the next song, Crumb, while he sang the verses, and the crowd was game. If there’s a word for Roseboro and his music, it’s “charming”. We got a partial play of a “song I’m working on”, and it was fun to see him reacting to it in real time. How to Love You Right was another deceptively simple number and a new round of banter about how this is the only time he gets to play guitar (“you’re in the van, you’re setting up, but this is the fun”). 80 Summers may have been the longest song of the set. Guest appearing for the last pair of numbers was Semones, and the contrasting vocals were a delight. Roseboro had certainly made an impression and we’ll look forward to seeing him in the Twin Cities in the future.
Mei Semones, an Ann Arbor, Michigan native now based in Brooklyn, is headlining her first tour. Her debut album, Animaru, was released earlier this year and is a good representation of her many influences. The mix of jazz and indie pop music, while singing in both English and Japanese, gives Semones a rich and distinct sound. Appearing on stage as a quintet (violin, viola, guitar/vocals, bass, and drums), they started with Tegami, and it was a hit with the crowd. A very brief bit of banter had Semones thanking the crowd “for selling out our first headlining show in Minneapolis”.
The next number really showed off the power of those dual violins. I don’t tend to think of strings being able to drive rock music like that, but it absolutely did the job. Semones has constructed a very particular sound and has the right group of musicians to make it work. Inaka was simply incredible as the band drove the dynamic range from mezzo piano to mezzo forte extremely quickly and it was an effect they would return to throughout the evening. The bassist had left the stage and Semones and violinists would absolutely nail Kabutomushi. The bassist returned, along with more from the drummer, would go back to that indie rock sound, even as Semones sang a number mostly in Japanese.
This was a pretty amazing performance and quite intense. A small break to introduce the band gave us a brief respite, but after mentioning they had just released their first album, we were back into it. This was a ride and that mix of jazz and indie sensibilities played so well in Semones’ hands. The finger plucking on the strings created a different tone (think Andrew Bird), but all of these instruments were being used to their full effect. A bass solo reminded us that all of these musicians are quite talented and that it was truly a team effort making this fly so high. Some of those bossa nova style numbers came through in the middle section of the set and were fantastic. I can do what I want, which might be Semones’ best number, was played at a blistering pace and had the audience enraptured. Followed by the title track, Animaru, it featured those strings and Semones’ angry lyrics (“I am not a cardboard box to be lived in”). The band ran a few numbers together with no pause in between, surging forward even with different overall vibes in each of the songs.
Some very classical sounding intro from the strings quickly transitioned to the Japanese bossa nova sound, and yes, I recognize the dissonance of that sentence. But that was truly the key to Semones’ magic. There’s great change of pace within individual songs, but they have also sequenced the set list to maximum effect. As the viola player shook out his hand, I could only nod my head in empathy; this band was working hard. A solo start by Semones on the song Sasayaku Sakebu gradually had the band joining back in. This led to the band playing some newer, as yet unreleased, numbers. The first was Itsumo and was a rapid and jazzy number just as we rolled past the hour mark. More classical vibes from the strings allowed Semones to tune before getting going yet again. Some very complicated guitar work from Semones was particularly impressive. Returning to some older numbers (if 2022 counts as old), the band had more of those bossa nova grooves, including the quieter Hfoas. Ending the main set with Kodoku, Semones again thanked the audience and will certainly be back at a bigger venue next time. After a short break, the show ended the only way it could have, with John Roseboro back on stage for the song that Semones and he had co-written, Waters of March, ending an epic 90 minute set.
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