W♥M

Brigitte Calls Me Baby at Surly Brewing, Minneapolis (13 July 2023)

Read More The Current Celebrating local radio station The Current’s 18th Anniversary, they’ve double booked Semisonic and Chastity Brown at First Avenue on January 27 and 28. . ....

Brody checked out Chicago’s Brigitte Calls Me Baby at Surly Brewing Co. in Minneapolis, as part of the special Summer of Sound set for The Current: Happy Hour. The free event was hosted by Jill Riley, who provided the soundtrack, and Brigitte Calls Me Baby provided the live set.

The Current described Brigitte Calls Me Baby as a unique grade of pop, while Brody compared them to The Smiths (Morrissey).

Brigitte Calls Me Baby are Wes Leavins (Songwriter/Vocalist), Jeremy Benshish (Drums), Trevor Lynch (Guitar), Jack Fluegel (Guitar), Zach Lentino (Bass) and Devin Wessels (Keyboard).

Tour Dates

07/17/23 Sleeping Village, Chicago, IL

08/04/23 Musikfest 2023, Bethlehem, PA

08/25/23 All Points East 2023, London

Brigitte Calls Me Baby at Surly Brewing, Minneapolis (13 July 2023)

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Thee Sinseers and The Altons at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (07 Jun 2023)

Read More Rudy De Anda Rudy De Anda to open. Rudy De Anda’s latest single, “Cascading” (available on Karma Chief Records), is a modern take on mid-1970s Brazilian soul. …

Brody was at the “Spark of Soul” tour, featuring Thee Sinseers and The Altons, at the Cedar Cultural Center, in Minneapolis, last night.

Thee Sinseers is a large nine-piece soul band, while the The Altons are a five-piece soul rock group, but with a Latin-inspired rhythm.

Opening the show was Rudy de Anda, previously was in town with Ghost Funk Orchestra in April 2023.

The Altons Setlist

Intro I Try Going Nowhere Cry For Me Soon Enough Darling Girl In the Meantime Thankful Cancion Tangled Over and Over Float Gotcha When You Go Shiny

Remaining tour dates:

Jun 08 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
Jun 09 HI-FI Indianapolis, IN
Jun 10 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL
Jun 14 Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA
Jun 15 Brooklyn Made Brooklyn, NY
Jun 17 9:30 CLUB Washington, DC
Jun 18 The Ardmore Music Hall Ardmore, PA
Jul 02 Festival International de Jazz Montreal, QC
Aug 03 Pendarvis Farm Happy Valley, OR
Aug 05 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
Aug 08 The Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA
Aug 11 Vina Robles Amphitheatre Paso Robles, CA
Aug 13 Greek Theatre Los Angeles (LA), CA
Sep 03 Lemonade Park Kansas City, MO

Thee Sinseers and The Altons at the Cedar Cultural Center, in Minneapolis (07 Jun 2023)

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SXSW 2023

Read More SXSW SXSW 2015 is taking place March 17–22, 2015. We love this time of the year, as many bands heading down to Austin will likely stop in Minneapolis before or after the event. ....

What a year, once again! This was my 12th SXSW in the last 16 years, and I'll be honest I thought it was going to be a down year post-Covid…. But far from a dull year, Austin was alive and well with loads of great new artists from all over the world in very tiny intimate settings.

To future SXSW attendees it’s still always good to have a nice daily list of shows you want to see and the locations to map out a schedule. All the venues are centrally located near downtown and the transportation options with walking, scooters, bikes, and Lyfts make life easy getting around the music festival.

Anyone that is buying a $1,000 music badge is out of their mind (that isn’t getting it free through label/company etc.). The collection of free day parties all over the city is endless, all you had to do was RSVP to a few, but most of them were free without it. And as far as the nightly showcases paying for $10-20 covers is the way to go.

The first night I saw 15 bands at three venues and paid $30 in covers. The second stage locations were extremely convenient when making decisions on who to catch.

Now for the music enrichment of new music with the top 10 lists.

Top 10 performances at SXSW

1. Orions Belte @ International day stage (Khruangbin/Delicate Steve fans)
2. The Garrys @ Swan Dive and Lazarus Brewery (caught them twice) (Unreal surf rock)
3. Lemonade Shoelace @ Cedar Street Courtyard and Laz (killer psychedelic band from Belfast / Tame Impala-esque)
4. Heavy Heavy @ Parish (killer Ed Sharpe/Nathaniel Rateliff sound) (every song gets better love the male/female vocals)
5. Red Rum Club at Lazarus Brewery
6. Been Stellar @ Swan Dive (Creek and the Cave)… Ben Stellar showed up at this party (Tokyo Police Club sound)
7. The Goa Express @ Swan Dive (killer Britrock)
8. Silverbacks @ Lazarus Brewery (great Irish band reminds me of The Rakes/Art Brut)
9. Kiwi Jr. @ Lazarus Brewery (Strokes vibes)
10. Lounge Society @ Chess Club
    
    --
    Honorable Mention: Sports Team @ Mohawk

Top 10 Artists missed @ SXSW Thee Sacred Souls Fennac (killer DJ) Vanille Balthvs Fonteyn Iguana Death Cult

Good Looks Wild Child Jockstrap Girl Scout -- Honorable mention: Circa Waves, Philline Sonny, Zella Day, Julianna Rolino, Salarymen, Vox Rea

Best Venues at SXSW Lazarus Brewery Mohwak Swan Dive

Can't wait for next year!!!! Rock On!

P.S. Favorite moment at SXSW was hanging out with Ben Romans Hopcraft (former lead singer of Childhood), who I interviewed for W♥M eight years ago at Great Escape Festival in Brighton, England. Crazy small world, we ran into each other at the Lounge Society show at Chess Club. Some of the members of The Nude Party were there as well, who have a sold out show at Turf Club coming up.

Ben has a new band he plays drums and sings for called Miss Tiny. Check them out on Spotify.

Silverbacks at Lazarus Brewery

Lemonade Shoelace Thao at High Noon (15 Mar 2023) Heavy Heavy at the Parish (16 Mar 2023) Red Rum Club Lounge Society at Chess Club (16 Mar 2023)

Lemonade Shoelace at Cedar Street Courtyard, Austin (16 Mar 2023)

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SXSW 2023: Thao at High Noon, Austin (15 Mar 2023)

Read More SXSW SXSW 2015 is taking place March 17‚Äì22, 2015. We love this time of the year, as many bands heading down to Austin will likely stop in Minneapolis before or after the event. .... Thao We kind of lost track of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down since the pandemic happened… but you know we’ve always been supportive of Thao Nguyen ever since we heard about her in January 2008 …

It’s that time of the year again: SXSW in Austin, Texas. This time of the year, we all benefit from all the bands in Austin, because many of them will be heading to our local venues after SXSW. It looks like things are back to normal, coming off of a terrible two-year pandemic.

Brody is currently at the Paste Magazine / Ilegal Mezcal showcase at High Noon, just east of downtown Austin. Bands are playing 30-min sets, both indoor and outdoor stages.

Currently Thao is setting up her set.

Thao (27 Oct 2013)

We last saw Thao & the Get Down Stay Down in Oct 2013 and said, “This truncated set featured a lot of new songs, taken from her latest release We the Common, including "Holy Roller" and "Every Body". The new material, as I discovered it hearing it live, is more aggressive than her folk songs from her previous two albums. Although the set was shorter, Thao display her talent for all things strings: jumping from guitar to acoustic to banjo to steel guitar. It was fun to watch the transitions.”

Here is the Paste / Ilegal Showcase schedule:

March 15 12:00pm – Devon Gilfillian 12:40pm – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness 1:20pm – Barrie 2:00pm – Kate Davis 2:40pm – Michigander 3:20pm – Trials of Cato 4:00pm – Thao 4:40pm – Miss Grit 5:20pm – SUSU 6:00pm – Alaska Reid 6:30pm – Brian Sella (of The Front Bottoms)

March 16 12:00pm – Medium Build 12:40pm – Annie Blackman 1:20pm – John Roseboro 2:00pm – William Prince 2:40pm – Dream Wife 3:20pm – Overcoats 4:00pm – Bonny Doon 4:40pm – Sunny War 5:20pm – The Bad Ends 6:00pm – Esther Rose 6:30pm – Sarah Shook & the Disarmers

March 17 12:00pm – CM Talkington with Renee Zellweger 12:40pm – Sadurn 1:20pm – Far Caspian 2:00pm – Fruit Bats 2:40pm – Why Bonnie 3:20pm – Darling West 4:00pm – Cheekface 4:40pm – Eshu Tune (Hannibal Buress) 5:20pm – Death Valley Girls 5:55pm – McKinley Dixon 6:30pm – Ron Gallo

Thao at SXSW, Austin (15 Mar 2023)

brody x vuwest ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Heart to Gold at 7th St Entry, Minneapolis (06 Dec 2022)

Read More Heart To Gold If there is a place to be, it’s at Heart to Gold’s very first headlining show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on December 6th. This is right before the band heads out on a national tour with Born Without Bones (which starts 12/08 in New Jersey). …

Heart to Gold headlined the 7th St Entry, in Minneapolis, last night, December 6th. The local band previously opened for Hunny, Remo Drive, Hockey Dad, Dingus, and Jeff Rosenstock, etc., but this show was special because it was their first headlining show. And it was sold-out.

On a brisk winter evening in Minnesnowta, I made a rookie mistake and didn’t check in the social media platforms to get set times for a solid lineup of local acts. I missed the entire sets of Lapdogs and Killusonline.

Lapdogs has been on my radar ever since their 2020 release “Teeth”. “Hold yer Horses” is one of the better local tracks I’ve heard the last five years. If they make more tracks like “Skeletons” (newest single), “40 hrs”, and “Chasing my Tail”, they will be on the right trail.

Killusonline was the electronic blend of the rock group. “Inside Out” and “Ura Gona” are two of the latest singles.

Gramma

Gramma was third on the bill and was able to catch a couple tracks. Love the instrumentals but the vocals were a little heavy for me.

Now, on to the stars of the show, Heart to Gold. I’ve been wanting to see a local band pull off a mosh pit with ease. A sold-out show at the 7th Street Entry with rabid/die-hard fans causing quite the scene and crowd participation. They even had a ring leader of the mosh that would climb on the pipes on the ceiling and surf back into the crowd. Fans would climb on stage and jump right in for crowd surfing, including the bandmates from Gramma on the encore.

“Respect”, “Tigers Jaw” and “Tokyo” the first track off their 2018 release got the crowd in a frenzy. They skipped out on my favorite track “Wave” off the new record but played most of the others off the 2022 release “Tom”.

For fans of The Orwells, Blink 182, and Rise Against, this is the band for you.

Heart of Gold is heading to the east coast and Chicago for a small tour with Born without Bones and Housewife all starting this weekend through December 18th.

Tour dates:

Dec 8 Asbury Park, NJ, US The Saint
Dec 9 Brooklyn, NY, US The Broadway
Dec 10 Hartford, CT, US Webster Underground
Dec 11 Somerville, MA, US Crystal Ballroom
Dec 12 Philadelphia, PA, US Kung Fu Necktie
Dec 14 Lakewood, OH, US Mahall's 20 Lanes
Dec 15 Chicago, IL, US Beat Kitchen
Dec 16 Chicago, IL, US Beat Kitchen
Dec 17 Pittsburgh, PA, US The Mr. Roboto Project
Dec 18 Buffalo, NY, US Mohawk Place

Heart to Gold at 7th St Entry, Minneapolis (06 Dec 2022)

brody ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Flashback: Leerone at Acadia Cafe, Minneapolis (04 Sep 2008)

Setlist To Fill the Void Shoes Care For Some Whiskey 1492 Listen to Here On Earth / The Opening Untitled (Acapella) Tour Dates 09/10/08 Boston Music Festival Boston, MA 09/20/08 Atlantis Music Festival Atlanta, Georgia 10/02/08 Spike Hill Brooklyn, New York 10/05/08 Rockwood Music Hall NYC Read More Leerone Leerone's latest album is called Heart Shaped Bullets and is said to showcase her brand of soul revivalism. If you don't believe it, check out her Soundcloud, where you can stream the entire album for free. Here's "Use My Lips" …

Leerone at Station 4 photo by Brody

As a special bonus, after playing a free show at Station 4 in St Paul, Leerone stopped by the Acadia Café in Minneapolis to close out her day in the Twin Cities on September 4, 2008. The show was sponsored by Diverse Emerging Music Organization, aka D.E.M.O.

>>>
The Acadia sits across the 400 Bar, but you wouldn't know it was called the Acadia as the signage reads "RIVERSIDE". I've seen this place from the outside through its numerous large windows and looking in at the band on stage.

I don't know how often these "Diverse Emerging Music Organization" (DEMO) shows goes on, but they seem to operate on donations and benefits local artists. I caught the last few songs of Backstories, a full band and all nicely dressed. I don't really know the band's back stories (haha), I'll bet they get that a lot. They have some songs available for download on their myspace.

Eli Ratner photo by Brody

Eli Ratner said it was his first time playing (I thought he meant his first gig ever), but I guess he meant at the Acadia. He seems really comfortable on stage with his acoustic guitar. It would seem, according to his myspace, that he's normally a duo with Peter VonDeLinde.

It's clear that the real star is Leerone, who earlier in the day appeared in St Paul's Station 4. The report I got was that her keyboard "got messed up" and she ended up renting a full Yamaha keyboard.

Setlist

Her set was understandably short, lasting no more than 45 minutes, and included a "made up" a cappella song that's not written on the set list.

Highlight of the show seems to be the announcer calling her "Leeroni" and "Leerona".

Leerone at Acadia Cafe, Minneapolis (04 Sep 2008) Photo by Brody

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Salt & Pepper

Read More Summer Salt Summer Salt is headlining the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on August 1st. Show up early to check out Dante Elephante and New Orlean’s Motel Radio (touring in support …

SUMMER SALT
summersalt.band

Austin’s Summer Salt is currently touring across two countries. Their next tour date is at Paper Tiger in San Antonio, after that they'll be at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans. Looking forward to their New Orleans show this Saturday. I’ve been listening to these guys for the past couple years now and love the beachy sound.

The debut EP back in 2014 Driving to Hawaii was my go-to for a while. The latest EP Honeyweed, from last year, is also phenomenal.

Summer Salt’s was Favorite Holiday Vol. 1, released on Christmas eve.

Tour dates:

02/15/2020 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, LA
02/16/2020 Saturn Birmingham, AL
02/18/2020 Exit / In Nashville, TN
02/20/2020 Elevation 27 Virginia Beach, VA
02/23/2020 Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
02/25/2020 House Of Independents Asbury Park, NJ
02/26/2020 Space Ballroom Hamden, CT
03/01/2020 L'Astral Montreal, QC
03/08/2020 High Noon Saloon Madison, WI
03/09/2020 Gabe's Iowa City, IA
03/12/2020 Fox Theatre Boulder, CO
03/13/2020 Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO
03/17/2020 Harlow's Nightclub Sacramento, CA
03/19/2020 The New Parish Oakland, CA
03/20/2020 Strummer's Fresno, CA

GREGORY PEPPER
camppepper.com

Similar to Jonathan Coulton, Ontario’s Gregory Pepper (aka Gregory Pepper & His Problems) wrote a song every week for a full year in 2017…. This might explain that Pepper is already on his sixth studio album, I Know Now Why You Cry, set for release this V-Day (2/14/20) on Fake Four Inc.

Gregory Pepper Tour Dates

2.15 Richmond, VA Wonderland
2.16 Greenville, NC Hot Change
2.17 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
2.18 Charlotte, NC Milestone
2.19 Atlanta, GA 529
2.20 Orlando, FL Wills Pub
2.21 Gainsville, FL The Atlantic
2.23 Houston, TX Notsuoh
2.25 Denton, TX JJ's Basement
2.26 Austin, TX Mohawk
2.27 San Antonio, TX Limelight
2.28 Las Cruces, NM Main St. Vintage Mercado
2.29 Mesa, AZ The Grid
3.2 Co Springs, CO The Six Two
3.3 Denver, CO 7th Circle Music Collective

w/ Ceschi & David Ramos

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Your Smith at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (21 Jan 2020)

Your Smith at Fine LIne Read More Your Smith Caroline Smith has decided to be now billed as Your Smith. I personally like the name change, because I have said this before, I think the name Caroline Smith is just too common and doesn't jump out at you. ...

Caroline Smith, billed as Your Smith, returned to the Fine Line Music Café on Tuesday, January 21st, as part of her “In Between Plans” tour.

Chelsea Jade opened the show. She was recently in the news for collaborating with Luna Shadows for her single, “Millennia”.

As you can see from the photo below, the Your Smith show was sold out, so fans were packed full of fans on the dance floor. It’s not hard to believe, as she started her career in Minneapolis as Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps, before going solo in 2013, and eventually using her new stage name Your Smith in 2016. Her philosophy on the change, “If something isn’t working for you just burn it down. Do you and change people around you.”

Smith thanked all the Minnesota fans for coming out, and praised Minneapolis music community.

The second to the last song on her set was a cover of Martha Wainwright’s “Bloody Mother F***ing A**hole.” The song is special to Smith, as she previously mentioned in 2019, “I have been covering it in my set and night after night I watch how powerful this song is; How deeply people need it and relate to it. It has been an absolute privilege. Thank you, Martha, for giving me my anthem for when I’m feeling powerless and lending your words when I am lost for my own. A truly magical song makes you feel like it was written just for you. I am a survivor of sexual abuse and reclaiming my power is something I actively fight to do every morning I wake up. I will always fight self-doubt and feeling present in my own body. This song makes that fight a little easier for me. If you’re in need of a song that makes you grit your teeth and clench your fists, I hope this song reaches you like it did me.”

Your Smith’s sophomore EP Wild Wild Woman is available now on Neon Gold Records. Her new song, “In Between Plans” is available to stream and buy on all digital platform. The song was inspired by an acid trip on a catamaran in Nicaragua.

Remaining tour dates:

1.22 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
1.24 - Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx
1.25 - Toronto, ON @ Drake Underground
1.28 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott
1.29 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
1.30 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
1.31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s

Your Smith at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (21 Jan 2020)

brody ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Night Moves at Turf Club, St Paul (28 Dec 2019)

Night Moves at Turf Club Night Moves Setlist Can You Really Find Me Headlights Mexico Colored Emotions Recollections Horses Border on Border Waiting for the Symphony Strands Align Leave Your Light On Carl Sagan Classical Hearts -- Encore -- Denise, Dont Wanna See You Cry Ribboned Skies Read More Night Moves The locally based band, promoting their debut, Colored Emotions (Domino) impressed us enough opening for Poliça (in Minneapolis and Colorado) and Django Django last year…

A day of hazy rain, black ice and sleet, nothing was getting in the way of sold out Night Moves show at Turf Club in St. Paul. It’s the final show of 2019 for these Minnesota legends and they did not disappoint. Starting off a brilliant 14 song set with “Can You Really Find Me”, the title track of their release from June 28th on Domino Records. Sota's finest blends an easy listening 70/80s style of Little River Band and Christopher Cross.

Night Moves performed a well-balanced set after their 3rd release (Can You Really Find Me) playing around five tracks from every album. The crowd was involved the whole night raising their glasses, singing along, and dancing the night away. Lead singer John Pelant voice has transformed remarkably over the years. With a shoegazy UK influence, the vocals blew me away on “Waiting for the Symphony” and “Border on Border”. John's got the classic lead vocalist look with crazy range. He'll go from high pitch harmonies to belting out lengthy Verve/Oasis-esque choruses. Switching off from guitar and keys he impressed the crowd every minute with fellow high school friend/bassist Micky Alfano. The crowded roared near the end of the set screaming, “one more song” and were rewarded with two.

Full Track List from the set Can You Really Find Me”, “Headlights”, “Mexico”, “Colored Emotions”, “Recollections”, “Horses”, “Border on Border”, “Waiting for the Symphony”, “Strands Align”, “Leave Your Light On”, “Carl Sagan”, “Denise, Dont Wanna See You Cry”, and “Ribboned Skies” (Photo Below).

Was blessed to see these guys back in 2012, a few times at SXSW over the years, and they get better every time!!! This is easily a top 5 Minnesota band at the moment. For fans of Portugal the Man, The Music, any bad-ass Rock N Roll band!

Night Moves at Turf Club, St. Paul (28 Dec 2019)

brody ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M272: SXSW 2018

W♥M272: SXSW 2018 (42 mins) Read More SXSW SXSW 2015 is taking place March 17–22, 2015. We love this time of the year, as many bands heading down to Austin will likely stop in Minneapolis before or after the event. Keep up with more SXSW coverage at sxsw.weheartmusic.com. ....

Lio from Kanine Records, Michael & Orly from Music for Listeners, and Vu & Brody from W♥M discuss SXSW 2018.

Topics:

Not many “big acts” at SXSW 2018

More focused on smaller local and international bands

Mumford & Sons booked at the very first Music for Listeners show

Downtown Sixth Street has moved to East Sixth Street

Lyft & Uber were kicked out of Austin in 2016, but they are now back

Music for Listeners’ SXSW shows moved to Lazarus Brewing

Brody’s top five: Durand Jones & The Indications, Girl Ray, Shopping, Lucy Dacus, and Kraus

Lio: Pearl Charles, Hatchie, Girl Ray, Our Girl, and Starcrawler

Orly: The Melenas, Girl Ray, Pearl Charles

Colossus, a Pre-SXSW Showcase at Pianos in New York

Differences between SXSW and CMJ (College Music Journal)

Bands who moved on from Kanine Records to bigger labels

Band on everyone’s list: Girl Ray

Song of the show: Pearl Charles’ “Night Tides”. The song is taken from her debut Sleepless Dreamer (Kanine Records). Her songs are often compared to Lana Del Rey.

Bonus:

How Hockey Dad was discovered in Australia

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____
Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype, MP3 Skype Recorder, and Audacity.

W♥M271: Super Bowl (22 February 2018) Vu, John W♥M270: MN Fan Fest 2017 (28 August 2017) Vu, John W♥M269: Minnesota Fan Fest (19-20 Aug 2017) (13 August 2017) Vu, John W♥M268: Wonder Woman/George Perez (bonus audio) (13 August 2017) Vu, John W♥M267: Sleeper (30 July 2017) Vu, Jon Stewart W♥M266: Wizard World Minneapolis 2017 (14 May 2017) Vu, John

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic