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Communion Minnesota #5: February 2014
Concert Poster
Brave Baby Setlist
Johnnyswim Setlist
Actual Wolf Setlist
Communion Schedule
03/04 Rockwood Music Hall New York, NY
03/05 Gypsy Sally's Washington, DC 03/06 Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA 03/11 The Bluebird Bloomington, IN 03/12 Zanzabar Louisville, KY 03/13 Mercy Lounge Nashville, TN 03/18 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN 03/19 Frequency Madison, WI 03/20 Ribco Rock Island, IL Read More
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Call it a shot of “southern comfort”.
That’s one of the ways 89.3 The Current and evening host Jade, described the flavor of the music for the evening that was the February edition of the monthly Communion music series at the Varsity Theater.
The live music promotions team and tastemaker indie label continues as a new platform for developing, emerging and established bands to tour, as well as showcases noteworthy local artists.
Local artist Sombear (aka Brad Hale, drummer for Now, Now) got the evening started with selections from, and including the title track to his debut, Love You in the Dark (Trans- Records). Hale, whose alias is a play on the word “somber” is, like his band, signed to Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla’s label. The songs, including ‘Incredibly Still’ are highly personal, and echo a '90s pop influence.
After a pair of EPs, Actual Wolf (aka Eric Pollard) recently released his self-titled full-length (on Duluth MN's Chaperone Records). Touching on inspirations from Neil Young to Elton John and able to weave an engaging story, the Wolf got the crowd immediately on their side, with opener, ‘Minneapolis’ and continued with a concise set, mostly culled from fans’ Twitter requests.
Nashville (by-way-of-L.A.) folk/soul/blues/pop duo, who also happens to be married, Johnnyswim followed with the longest set of the evening. Clocking in at 45 min., they played selections from their EP, Heart Beats (Big Picnic Records) and previewed tracks from their upcoming full-length, Diamonds, due out April 29.
The couple, backed by three other musicians, has had massive buzz ahead of the album, especially on VH-1 where they were designated a ‘You Oughta Know’ artist and on Palladia, whose “Live from Daryl’s House” program, just featured the two.
Starting with the quiet, ‘Falling for Me’, the couple’s admiration for each other was obvious; often singing to each other as they looked in each other’s eyes. Singer-songwriters Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez met after a church service in Nashville and began making music together (in more ways than one).
The Tennessean described their sound as a Lauryn Hill-meets-John Mayer, and while there is a laid-back earthiness present, the songs are more traditional and folk/blues based, rather than rock or rap.
Sudano, whose mother was the disco singer Donna Summer, has a natural gorgeousness about her, and an ache of longing in her voice, as evidenced in ‘Diamonds’, the upcoming album’s title track, which is a bit of a revenge track for the band’s early non-believers.
Ramirez is the personable bandleader, driving each song with a strumming guitar passion. ‘Take the World’ was another sweet ballad sung to each other as much as the audience, so much so that it felt a little intrusive to their privacy as they emoted each verse.
The set took fire near the end, with their self-described “only country song”, ‘Home’, which morphed into an off-mic refrain from Johnny and June Cash’s ‘Jackson’. Current radio hit, ‘Heart Beats’ ended the set with a clap and sing-a-long, amidst booming percussion, both pleading in repetition, to “dance until the world ends”.
Expect the mounting buzz to continue for Johnnyswim and even more exposure as the album breaks in late April.
Keeping with the southern theme, Charleston, SC new indie-rock band Brave Baby closed out the evening with a 35min. performance in support of their debut, Forty Bells (Hearts & Plugs) with a sound that defies any linear definition.
The band, Keon Masters (guitar/vocals), Ryan [Wolfgang] Zimmerman (drums/vocals as well as producer), Jordan Hicks (bass), Christian Chidester (guitar), and Steven Walker (keys) aspire to an Arcade Fire grandness to their songs, and take some inspiration from that band, though their sound echoes more of a 70s FM radio feel, that reveals more complexities after each additional listen.
There’s a sense of foreboding in the title track with its chorus, "Forty bells, Forty bells, I hear them coming" and drummer Zimmerman took over lead vocals for a couple songs, which gave the music a slightly different relaxed vibe.
“I’m sorry if you were expecting Southern rock”, Masters mentioned, and the riff of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ cheekily started as he went on to say they’ve been here once before and had time to see the Mall of America on this visit.
‘Nothing in Return’ (purposely mis-named on the setlist) cuts deep with its melancholy “I guess I’m never gonna love if I’m never gonna hurt” and the band’s best track, single ‘Magic and Fire’ with anthemic lyrics, “take me home, it’s where my heart is/ don’t let me go, we’ve gone too far/ tie down the load, it’s all we’ve got” ended the night rightly.
Brave Baby is a band still charting its direction and exploring its possibilities and potential, and it will be interesting to see how they move forward.
Communion again succeeded in its mission: bringing up-and-coming national acts to town worthy of your attention, alongside established local artists, for a varied and diverse full night of music.
The good news is starting with the March edition (at least in Minneapolis), tickets have gotten even cheaper for students and public radio members… so now you have no excuse to not attend.
That’s one of the ways 89.3 The Current and evening host Jade, described the flavor of the music for the evening that was the February edition of the monthly Communion music series at the Varsity Theater.
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Communion Varsity Theater Marquee
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Local artist Sombear (aka Brad Hale, drummer for Now, Now) got the evening started with selections from, and including the title track to his debut, Love You in the Dark (Trans- Records). Hale, whose alias is a play on the word “somber” is, like his band, signed to Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla’s label. The songs, including ‘Incredibly Still’ are highly personal, and echo a '90s pop influence.
After a pair of EPs, Actual Wolf (aka Eric Pollard) recently released his self-titled full-length (on Duluth MN's Chaperone Records). Touching on inspirations from Neil Young to Elton John and able to weave an engaging story, the Wolf got the crowd immediately on their side, with opener, ‘Minneapolis’ and continued with a concise set, mostly culled from fans’ Twitter requests.
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Johnnyswim: Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez
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The couple, backed by three other musicians, has had massive buzz ahead of the album, especially on VH-1 where they were designated a ‘You Oughta Know’ artist and on Palladia, whose “Live from Daryl’s House” program, just featured the two.
|
Johnnyswim Setlist Photo
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The Tennessean described their sound as a Lauryn Hill-meets-John Mayer, and while there is a laid-back earthiness present, the songs are more traditional and folk/blues based, rather than rock or rap.
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Amanda Sudano
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Ramirez is the personable bandleader, driving each song with a strumming guitar passion. ‘Take the World’ was another sweet ballad sung to each other as much as the audience, so much so that it felt a little intrusive to their privacy as they emoted each verse.
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Johnnyswim
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Expect the mounting buzz to continue for Johnnyswim and even more exposure as the album breaks in late April.
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Brave Baby
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Wolfgang Zimmerman
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There’s a sense of foreboding in the title track with its chorus, "Forty bells, Forty bells, I hear them coming" and drummer Zimmerman took over lead vocals for a couple songs, which gave the music a slightly different relaxed vibe.
“I’m sorry if you were expecting Southern rock”, Masters mentioned, and the riff of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ cheekily started as he went on to say they’ve been here once before and had time to see the Mall of America on this visit.
|
Brave Baby Setlist Photo
|
Brave Baby is a band still charting its direction and exploring its possibilities and potential, and it will be interesting to see how they move forward.
Communion again succeeded in its mission: bringing up-and-coming national acts to town worthy of your attention, alongside established local artists, for a varied and diverse full night of music.
The good news is starting with the March edition (at least in Minneapolis), tickets have gotten even cheaper for students and public radio members… so now you have no excuse to not attend.
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Brave Baby at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (18 Feb 2014) |
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