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Photos: Go Fest '15 at Target Field, Minneapolis (7 Aug 2015)

Read More Go 96.3 We were really impressed with Go 96.3 FM's first Go Show #1 (featuring New Politics and Banks at Aria on Mar 2015). We were wondering how they can top that debut show …

While we work out the setlists and review, here are some photos from Go Fest '15. For the entry price of $9.63 (for 96.3 FM), this served as a nice promotion for the new radio station Go 96.3.

We've previously seen MS MR, Cold War Kids and Matt and Kim as headliners for their own shows, and seeing them all together in one bill is simply unbelievable.

Lineup and Set Times

4 p.m. - Gates Open
4:05 p.m. - Enemy Planes
4:30 p.m. - Allan Kingdom
5 p.m. - Meg Myers
5:50 p.m. - Big Data
6:40 p.m. - MS MR
7:30 p.m. - Yelawolf
9 p.m. - Cold War Kids
10:30 p.m. - Matt and Kim
11:30 p.m. - End of Show

I don't honestly know how Go Radio will top themselves for their next Go Show.

Meg Myers	Meg Myers	Big Data	Big Data	MS MR	MS MR
Yelawolf	Yelawolf	Cold War Kids	Cold War Kids	Matt & Kim	Matt & Kim

Matt & Kim at Go Fest '15, Target Field (7 Aug 2015)

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Minneapolis: August 7, 2015

Read More Go 96.3 I attended the Go 96.3's first concert (dubbed Go Show #1) at the Aria in Minneapolis on Friday the 13th. For the young radio station's very first show . … Cold War Kids It's the big 10 year anniversary of local radio station The Current, and they've been selling out all their shows. I believe most, if not all, of their shows will be broadcasting live .... MS MR NYC duo MS MR came to Minneapolis “for the first time as a band and as people” ...and ‘rocked it like a ‘Hurricane’. ‘Hurricane’, of course, refers to their infectious single of the same name… Matt & Kim This is one of the best band to see live is Matt and Kim. The duo is returning to Minneapolis at the Mill City Nights next, next Friday …

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on Friday, August 7, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

GO FEST '15
at Target Field
Friday, 08/07/2015, 4:30pm ($9.63)
go963mn.com

We were really impressed with Go 96.3 FM's first Go Show #1 (featuring New Politics and Banks at Aria on Mar 2015). We were wondering how they can top that debut show... and they've completely done it by booking Target Field with this incredible band lineup.

We've previously seen covered most of these bands, but to see them all on one bill is simply unbelievable. The kicker? Nosebleed tickets are under $10 each, so you can bring all your friends (well, restricted to a 20-ticket maximum) and hang out in the green.

Lineup:

Cold War Kids

MS MR

Meg Myers

Matt and Kim

Big Data

Yelawolf

Allan Kingdom (from thestand4rd)

Plus: DJ Sets by RAC

Read More Irish Fair First of all, I think we're definitely going to be doing the Irish Fair this year. I know St Patrick's Day was in March, but who cares when it's free in August! The two main attraction seems to be California's Young Dubliners .…

IRISH FAIR
at Harriet Island (St Paul)
08/07/2015-08/08/2015, 7pm (FREE)
irishfair.com

The free annual Irish Fair will start next Friday, August 7th and ending on Sunday, August 9th, at Harriet Island. Headliner for the first two nights will be Los Angeles' Young Dubliners.... currently touring in support of their latest album Nine. We previously caught Young Dubliners when they headlined the Irish Fair in 2010, so I'll be good to have them back in the Twin Cities.

NOTE: The Irish Fair fans should know that there is a $20 Kickoff Party event on Thursday, August 6th, featuring local Irish band Wild Colonial Bhoys.

Young Dubliner's tour dates:

08/07/15 Irish Fair Minnesota
08/08/15 Irish Fair Minnesota
08/09/15 Crestone Music Festival
08/14/15 Santa Rosa, CA Annie O's Music Hall
08/15/15 Paso Robles, CA Private Function
08/16/15 Los Osos, CA Sea Pines Golf Resort
08/21/15 Hopefest
08/22/15 Lodi, CA Private Function
08/27/15 Colorado Springs, CO Thirsty Parrot
08/28/15 Denver, CO The Oriental Theater
09/11/15 Sisters Folk Festival
09/12/15 Sisters Folk Festival
09/13/15 Sisters Folk Festival
09/16/15 Somerville, MA Johnny D's
09/17/15 Newton, NJ The Newton Theatre
09/18/15 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
09/19/15 Irish 2000 Festival
09/20/15 Get Shamrocked Festival
09/26/15 Treasure Valley Celtic
10/02/15 Chicago, IL Beverly Arts Center
10/03/15 Huntsville, UT Snowbasin
10/04/15 Blues, Brews & BBQ
10/08/15 Wilmington, DE World Cafe Live
10/09/15 Leesburg, VA Smokehouse Live
10/10/15 Alexandria, VA John Strongbow's Tavern
10/11/15 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
10/14/15 Jim Thorpe, PA Mauch Chunk Opera House
10/15/15 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
10/16/15 Macungie, PA Private Function
10/17/15 Chesapeake Roots Festival
10/18/15 Harrisburg, PA The Abbey Bar
11/05/15 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
11/06/15 Tucson Celtic Festival
11/07/15 Tucson Celtic Festival
11/13/15 Grants Pass, OR Rogue Theatre
11/14/15 Portland, OR Melody Ballroom
11/19/15 Sturtevant, WI Route 20 Outhouse
11/20/15 South Bend, IN Club Fever
11/21/15 Joliet, IL The Tree

Read More Social Distortion Do you know what's funny? Social D was one of the first bands I saw when I was living in Fresno, California. They were huge back then just coming off their big hit single "Bad Luck"..…

SOCIAL DISTORTION
at First Avenue
Friday, 08/07/2015, 7pm ($35/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Our new writer Langen will be seeing Social Distortion at First Avenue. Not to brag, but I saw Social D in 1992(?) in Fresno, California. They played a tiny club and changed the line in "Ball & Chain" from "county jail" to "Fresno County Jail" and got a huge roar from the audience.

Mike Ness and company are on tour at the moment because their debut self-titled album turned 25 in 2015 (originally released in 1990). Expect the punk band to play the entire album, plus throwing in some old favorites from Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell, etc.

Drag the River and Nikki Lane to open the show.

Tour dates:

07/31/15 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Live
08/01/15 Houston, TX House Of Blues
08/02/15 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
08/05/15 Sturgis Rally
08/07/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
08/08/15 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
08/09/15 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
08/11/15 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
08/14/15 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room
08/15/15 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
08/16/15 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
08/18/15 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
08/19/15 Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier
08/21/15 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
08/22/15 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony Summerstage
08/23/15 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston
08/25/15 Silver Spring, MD Fillmore Silver Spring
08/27/15 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
08/28/15 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte
08/29/15 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
09/02/15 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
09/03/15 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
09/05/15 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
09/06/15 Bumbershoot Festival
09/07/15 Bend, OR The Century Center
09/09/15 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
09/11/15 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
09/12/15 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
09/13/15 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Minneapolis: January 23 - January 25, 2015

Here are some shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul from January 23 to January 25, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Cold War Kids California indie rock band Cold War Kids are currently on tour in support of their 2012 album Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, making a stop at Minneapolis' First Avenue again. .... The Current Radio DJ Mary Lucia at the Turf Club on January 19th, as part of the radio station The Current's 10th Anniversary celebration. Accompanying Idol will be his guitarist Steve Stevens, who co-wrote some of Idol's greatest hits . ....

COLD WAR KIDS
at First Avenue
Friday 01/23/15, 7pm ($20/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

It's the big 10 year anniversary of local radio station The Current, and they've been selling out all their shows. I believe most, if not all, of their shows will be broadcasting live on air, so if you can't get into a sold out show, you can still have the show experience.

We caught Cold War Kids last year, when they toured in support of Dear Miss Lonelyhearts (appearing in Minneapolis on April, May, and September!). This time around, the band is promoting their fifth studio album Hold My Home, which came out late last year via Downtown Records.

Tour dates:

01/16/15 San Francisco, CA Mezzanine
01/21/15 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
01/22/15 Omaha, NE Slowdown
01/23/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
01/27/15 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
01/28/15 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
01/29/15 St. Louis, MO Ready Room
01/30/15 Columbus, OH The LC Pavilion
01/31/15 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
02/01/15 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
02/03/15 Louisville, KY Mercury Ballroom
02/04/15 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
02/05/15 Saxapahaw, NC Haw River Ballroom
02/06/15 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
02/07/15 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre
02/19/15 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal
02/20/15 Seattle, WA The Showbox
02/21/15 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
02/25/15 San Diego, CA The North Park Theatre
02/26/15 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
02/27/15 Flagstaff, AZ The Orpheum Theater
02/28/15 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues
03/03/15 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom
03/05/15 Houston, TX House Of Blues
03/06/15 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
03/07/15 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q
03/17/15 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
03/18/15 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
03/19/15 Rochester, NY Water Street Music Hall
03/20/15 New York, NY Terminal 5
03/21/15 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston
03/27/15 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen

Read More Sam Smith Sam Smith has sold out Madison Square Garden in NYC and The Forum in Los Angeles in minutes, with a second show in Los Angeles being added on January 29, 2015. The month-long run is additionally sold out in Atlanta, Nashville .... George Ezra Wanted on Voyage, the anticipated debut album from breakout UK singer/songwriter and guitarist George Ezra, will officially be released in the U.S. on January 27th, 2015 via Columbia Records. The album will be available both digitally and physically ....

SAM SMITH w/ George Ezra
at Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Saturday 01/24/15, 7pm ($49.50+)
theroy.org

Sam Smith was undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories of 2014.

Coming almost out of nowhere to sing on Disclosure’s ‘Latch’, the 22 year-old London native has since has released his own best-selling debut, In the Lonely Hour (Capitol Records), has won MOBO, American Music, and Q Awards, and is nominated for six Grammys.

He brings his almost completely sold-out live shows to major markets, including Madison Square Garden in NYC and The Forum in Los Angeles, with a local stop at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, that should bring some warmth to an already too-cold winter.

Opening act George Ezra is quickly positioning himself as one of the success stories of 2015.

The Hertford, England 21-year old is making waves with single, ‘Budapest’, with the U.S. debut of his first album, Wanted on Voyage (Columbia/Sony), which has already hit #1 in the UK, due out here on January 27^th.

Ezra has been working in covers from Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper in his longer sets, so you’ll have to wait and see if his opening slot allows enough time for such.

If not, he returns soon, with a club headlining tour of his own, including a Minneapolis date on March 31^st, at the Varsity Theater.

Tour dates:

01/12 Fairfax, VA Patriot Center
01/13 Philadelphia, PA The Liacouras Center
01/15 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
01/17 Boston, MA Agganis Arena
01/19 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
01/20 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
01/22 Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre
01/23 Chicago, IL UIC Pavilion
01/24 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
01/26 Broomfield, CO 1st Bank Center
01/29 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
01/30 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
01/31 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
02/02 Seattle, WA Key Arena
02/04 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena

Read More Radiohead OK Computer and The Bends were the albums that I loved in this time period. During The Bends period, I got to interview Phil Selway live on air on KFSR 90.7. Wow, still can't believe it. …

A NIGHT OF RADIOHEAD
at Cedar Cultural Center
Sunday 01/25/15, 7pm ($12)
thecedar.org

You know I love Radiohead, and if you love them too, you should look at this cover lover show - "A Night of Radiohead" at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on Sunday, January 25th.

Kid Villain will play Amnesiac, Teddy Holidays will do OK Computer (my personal favorite Radiohead album), and Gucci Little Pig (Al Church, Danny O'Brien, DJ House, George Hadfield, Jeremy Hanson) will play In Rainbows.

Additional details:

A NIGHT OF RADIOHEAD
OK COMPUTER, AMNESIAC
and IN/RAINBOWS

Featuring

Kid Villain
(performing Amnesiac in its entirety)

Gucci Little Piggy
(performing OK Computer in its entirety)

and

The Teddy Holidays
(performing In Rainbows in its entirety)

January 25, 2015
7:30pm / All Ages / The Cedar / 416 Cedar Ave

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

Cold War Kids and PAPA at First Avenue, Minneapolis (09/26/13)

Tour Dates 09/27 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall* 09/28 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall* 09/29 Indianapolis, IN - Vogue* 10/01 Chicago, IL - Schubas 10/05 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge 10/18 Boston, MA - House of Blues * 10/19 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer* 10/21 Providence, RI - Lupo’s* 10/22 New York, NY - Terminal 5* 10/24 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club* 10/26 Richmond, VA - National* * with Cold War Kids Read More Cold War Kids The show was very upbeat, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun playing. They seemed to have a good dynamic with each other and seemed to play off each other's energy and such.… PAPA The two, described by BBC1 as "Stooges and Interpol and all the purposeful rock bands past and present all rolled into one" is currently on a national tour with Cold War Kids .…

California indie rock band Cold War Kids are currently on tour in support of their 2012 album Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, making a stop at Minneapolis' First Avenue again.

PAPA

Opening up was PAPA, from Los Angeles. The first thing you should know about PAPA is that their singer Darren Weiss is also the drummer. The second thing you should know is that Weiss has a deadpan sense of humor. For instance, during their song "Collector", Weiss asked the audience, "I just want to know one thing… (pauses) Are you with us, Minneapolis?" As soon as he heard "YES!!" shouted back, Weiss responded, "St. Paul we're with you too!"

I can only speculate that the band was previously on tour through the twin cities. Most of their 40-minute set was taken from their forthcoming debut album Tender Madness, such as "Cotton Candy", "Get Me Through The Night", "Young Rut" and "Put Me To Work". However, some songs such as "Collector" and "A Good Woman is Hard to Find", were added in for good measure.

PAPA was extremely gracious to be on tour and playing to a large audience, and at the end of their set, Weiss jumped into the photo pit and high-five everyone in front of the stage.

As for Cold War Kids, the band is working overtime in Minneapolis, having previously appeared in April and May this year in support of Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. I can tell that the extra Minneapolis shows help made songs from their new album modern classics as the fans all sing along to "Loner Phase", "Tuxedos", and "Jailbirds".

Of course, CWK had a lot of hit songs to work with from their discography, so songs like "Louder Than Ever", "Mexican Dogs", "Relief", "We Used To Vacation", etc., were all well received by the audience. Of course, their biggest hits, "Rubidoux" and "Hang Me Up to Dry", had the biggest reaction.

Cold War Kids are currently on tour for Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, show up early to check out PAPA.

Cold War Kids at First Avenue, Minneapolis (09/26/13)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ coldwarkids.com ♥ papatheband.com

The Lumineers at Target Center, Minneapolis (05/31/13)

poster courtesy of ericawilliamsillustration Tour Dates 06/01/13 96.5 KRBZ Buzz Under the Stars 06/04/13 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center 06/06/13 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre 06/07/13 Canandaigua, NY Constellation Brands 06/08/13 Mountain Jam Festival 06/09/13 Governors Ball Music Festival 06/12/13 Portsmouth, VA Ntelos Wireless 06/13/13 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amph 06/14/13 Charleston, SC Family Circle 06/15/13 Bonnaroo Music 06/28/13 Glastonbury Festival 06/30/13 Open Air St. Gallen 07/05/13 Rock Werchter Festival 07/06/13 Festival Beauregard 07/08/13 Montreux Jazz Festival 07/13/13 T In The Park 07/25/13 Floydfest 07/26/13 Columbia, MD Merriweather 07/27/13 XPoNential Music Festival 07/28/13 Newport Folk Festival 07/31/13 Edgefest 08/03/13 Lollapalooza 08/04/13 Osheaga Festival 08/23/13 Leeds Festival 08/25/13 Reading Festival Podcast Hear Jamie and Vu on the Lumineers below: Read More The Lumineers The Lumineers only have one record, a self titled LP, released back on April 3rd 2012, so they basically played almost the entire album. The band threw in a Bob Dylan cover, a Taking Heads cover .…

Within a span of a year, The Lumineers went from playing the tiny 250-capacity 7th Street Entry to the nearly 20k-capacity at the Target Center, in Minneapolis. To best sum it up, singer Wesley Schultz said that they played the 7th Street Entry and dreaming of the day that they can play the main First Avenue room… but only to go beyond that to the basketball stadium that the Target Center is known for, "When I was young, I wanted to be a basketball player. Never would imagine I'd step on the courts like this."

Opening up the show were two of the Lumineers' favorite bands: J Roddy Walston and The Business and Cold War Kids. Apologies to both bands, photography access was limited to just the Lumineers, per the venue's request.

J. Roddy Walston played piano for his entire set, his band The Business did a great job in playing and singing backup. They sang rock and roll music like "Full Growing Man", "Don't Break The Needle", and "Sweatshop". The latter required a singalong/audience participation.

We've covered Cold War Kids a few times, the latest was just last month. I didn't attend that last show, but I am assuming setlist was similar, but probably truncated due to opening slot time limit. They seem pleased to be playing new songs like "Miracle Mile", "Loner Phase", and "Jailbirds", from Dear Miss Lonelyhearts (Downtown Records) . I think where the band did the best are with the older/popular songs, including "Hang Me Up To Dry", "Something Is Not Right With Me", "Hospital Beds", and their set closer, "Saint John".

As for the Lumineers, no surprises here: they basically played their entire debut album. Setlist was similar to their 2012 set, but obviously tracks were switch around and they added a new song called "Duet" (obviously a duet with Lumineers' cellist Neyla Pekarek).

Every song played ("Submarines", "I Ain't Nobody's Problem", "Flowers in Your Hair", "Ho Hey", "Classy Girls", "Charlie Boy", set closer "Morning Song", etc.) were all sung along by the audience, who clearly know and love the debut album.

The best song, personally for me, was the Bob Dylan cover, "Subterranean Homesick Blues". Other highlight was when the band entered in the sea of people to play a few songs. Singer Wesley Schultz was clearly upset about all the cellphones that immediately went up to record the band as soon as they entered the crowd. Shultz reminded people "no audio or video recordings are allowed" to deaf ears. In the end, Shultz just said, "fine", and started "Elouise" and "Gun Song".

Encores were: "Flapper Girl", Talking Heads' "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)", and closing out the encore was "Big Parade".

So, it's official. The Lumineers are massive. This is pretty amazing for a band that started playing to a handful of people just last year. I'm looking forward to see how the band will grow over the next few years.

The Lumineers at Target Center, Minneapolis (05/31/13)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ thelumineers.com

Cold War Kids at First Avenue, Minneapolis (04/05/13)

Cold War Kids at First Ave, Minneapolis (04/05/13) photograph by jonathan The show was very upbeat, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun playing. They seemed to have a good dynamic with each other and seemed to play off each other's energy and such. There was a lot of impressive guitar playing, and the fans had the best reaction to "Hang Me Up To Dry" off the Cops & Robbers album and it seemed the majority of the audience was singing along. They also played their new single "Miracle Mile" along with some songs off their newly released album Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. I recall they played "Louder Than Ever" off the Mine is Yours album as well. Cold War Kids continues their tour: 04/06/13 Chicago, IL Metro 04/09/13 Columbus, OH Newport Music 04/10/13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock 04/11/13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 04/12/13 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer 04/13/13 New York, NY Webster Hall 04/15/13 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle 04/16/13 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom 04/17/13 Atlanta, GA Heaven at Masq 04/24/13 Paris, France Le Bataclan 04/27/13 Zurich, Switzerland Plaza 04/29/13 Vienna, Austria FLEX 04/30/13 Berlin, Ger Columbiaclub 05/01/13 Amsterdam Paradiso 05/02/13 Cologne, Ger Gebaude 9 05/04/13 Brussels Various Venues 05/06/13 Copenhagen, Den Pumpehuset 05/07/13 Hamburg, Germany Gruenspan 05/09/13 London, UK Forum 05/10/13 Manchester, UK The Ritz 05/16/13 Seattle, WA The Neptune 05/17/13 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre 05/18/13 Portland, OR McMenamins 05/19/13 Eugene, OR WOW Hall 05/22/13 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst 05/23/13 San Francisco, CA Regency 05/24/13 Los Angeles, CA Fonda 05/25/13 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up 05/26/13 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up 05/27/13 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up 05/30/13 Lincoln, NE Pinewood Bowl 05/31/13 Minneapolis, MN Target Center 06/01/13 Bonner Springs, KS Cricket Wireless 06/06/13 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy 06/07/13 Canandaigua, NY Constellation 06/08/13 New York, NY Randall's Island 06/12/13 Portsmouth, VA Ntelos Wireless 06/13/13 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amph 06/14/13 Charleston, SC Family Circle jonathan ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ coldwarkids.com

Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids, Ra Ra Riot at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St Paul (4/15/09)

Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart Death Cab For Cutie Tour Dates 04/17/09 Aragon Ballroom (SOLD OUT) Chicago, Illinois 04/18/09 Breslin Events Center East Lansing, Michigan 04/19/09 Van Male Fieldhouse (SOLD OUT) Waukesha, Wisconsin 04/22/09 Mount Baker Theatre (SOLD OUT) Bellingham, Washington 04/24/09 McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, Washington 04/25/09 The Morrison Center (SOLD OUT) Boise, Idaho 04/27/09 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, California 04/29/09 RIMAC Arena (SOLD OUT) La Jolla, California 05/01/09 Austin Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Ausitn, Texas 05/02/09 Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, Louisiana 05/03/09 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee 05/04/09 Ryman Auditorium (SOLD OUT) Nashville, Tennessee 05/05/09 BJCC Concert Hall Birmingham, Alabama 05/06/09 Fox Theatre (SOLD OUT) Atlanta, Georgia 05/07/09 Hard Rock Live (SOLD OUT) Orlando, Florida 07/05/09 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, California 07/11/09 Greek Theatre Berkeley Berkeley, California 07/13/09 Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre Salt Lake City, Utah 07/14/09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, Colorado 07/16/09 Pacific Coliseum Vancouver, British Columbia 07/17/09 Edgefield Amphitheatre Troutdale 07/18/09 Marymoor Park (SOLD OUT) Redmond, Washington 07/19/09 Marymoor Park Redmond, Washington Read More Death Cab for Cutie http://weheartmus... Death Cab for Cutie I know, I know, Death Cab is a serious, important band. Forgive me. By the...

Blame rush hour traffic, but the drive to St Paul took me nearly an hour to get to the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. I got there a little late, but was very impressed at the sheer size of the venue. My floor ticket was just great, I never understood those people that pay for the balcony seated tickets, but there were plenty of people up there.

Ra Ra Riot started the show exactly at seven and went off the stage by 7:20pm. What a brief set list.

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry

Cold War Kids came on around 8 and did about forty-five minutes of music. They did their big hit songs ("Hang Me Up To Dry", "Hospital Beds") early in their set, but failed to get the audience to move along. I suspect this has more to do with the youth crowd to be mad Death Cab fans, because when Cold War are in their elements (headlining with their fan base), they perform exceptionally well.

I am speaking from experience because I recently saw them headline and the audience loved and the energy they gave off, fed into Cold War Kids and they sweated and teared through their setlist. Watch the video! Unfortunately, not tonight. Tonight mostly saw the band singing songs and heading right into the next without so much as pauses for applauses.

The last three songs, singer Nathan Willett snuck behind his piano and did three piano-type songs and basically away from center stage view.

Also, whoever was working the lights, they must've really had it in for Cold War Kids.  The lights was either white, yellow-ish, or none at all.  This is in huge contrast to Death Cab, who enjoyed a variety of reds, blues, and smoke machine...  The lighting really made a huge difference, if you ask me.

Anyroad, before we get to Death Cab for Cutie, I have to explain that I've seen the band before in 2001 at the 7th Street Entry for $5. People who live in Minnesota know that the 7th Street is a tiny venue. We reckon it can only hold about 200 people without choking itself. So that was then, a very nice and smokey and not to mention intimate setting to see Death Cab.

How far they've come! They are now doing 5,000 capacity sized venue. And although it didn't sell out, I would hazard at least 60% of tickets was sold, based on my asian math perception skills (that didn't even make sense, it's 1:30am as I'm writing this). Anyway, floor tickets are the cheapest - at a whopping $49-ish a ticket. The guy next to me said with all the fees involved (this is why I hate ticketmaster), he paid $98 for two tickets online!

For the fans, it was worth every penny... they sang (yes, they all sang along) to every song. HUGE reception to "I Will Possess Your Heart" with its 300-minute epic music intro. This is followed by everyone's favorite acoustic-only song, "I Will Follow You into the Dark", followed by "Cath...", followed by the ba-ba song of "The Sound of Settling". Ben Gibbard had the audience eating out of his hands.

For the encore, they did three songs, I'm sure one of them was brand new from their new EP and the other was "Transatlanticism".

It looks like they're continuing on their very successful, mostly sold-out tour. So even if you wanted to see them, you're probably already out of luck - but of course, if you're a huge fan, you probably have your tickets in advance.

Cold War Kids' latest album is called Loyalty to Loyalty from Downtown Music (get a copy at amazon) and the very popular Death Cab's latest is called Narrow Stairs from Atlantic Records. Not sure what their current relationship is with Barsuk, but Ra Ra Riot is on it and it's still one of my favorite record label :)

PS, no photos for this show, because of the strict anti-camera from the security people.

 04/16/2009 01:40:42 ♥ vu () ♥ deathcabforcutie.com/myspace.com ♥ coldwarkids.com/myspace.com 

Cold War Kids and AA Bondy at the Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis 10/10/08

Cold War Kids Set List ♥ Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (10/10/08)

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry Cold War Kids 11 Oct 2008 Vic Theatre (SOLD OUT) Chicago 12 Oct 2008 Newport Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Columbus, Ohio 14 Oct 2008 Paradise Rock Club (SOLD OUT) Boston, Massachusetts 15 Oct 2008 Webster Hall (SOLD OUT) New York, New York 16 Oct 2008 Williamsburg Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Brooklyn, New York 17 Oct 2008 Theatre of the Living Arts (SOLD OUT) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 18 Oct 2008 Nightclub 9:30 (SOLD OUT) Washington DC, Washington DC 20 Oct 2008 Cat’s Cradle Carrabo, North Carolina 21 Oct 2008 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee 23 Oct 2008 Lola’s Ft. Worth, Texas 24 Oct 2008 Emo’s Alt Lounge (SOLD OUT) Austin, Texas 25 Oct 2008 Warehouse Live Houston, Texas 26 Oct 2008 Voodoo Music Experience New Orleans, Louisiana 03 Nov 2008 Irish Centre Burmingham 04 Nov 2008 ABC Glassgow 05 Nov 2008 Academy Dublin 06 Nov 2008 Ritz Manchester 07 Nov 2008 Astoria London 09 Nov 2008 AB Brussels 10 Nov 2008 Paradiso Amsterdam 11 Nov 2008 Mousonturm Frankfurt 12 Nov 2008 Knust Hamburg 13 Nov 2008 Vega Copenhagen 15 Nov 2008 Lido Berlin 16 Nov 2008 Lucerna Music Bar Prague 17 Nov 2008 Vienna Arena Vienna 18 Nov 2008 Atomic Cafe Munich 19 Nov 2008 Abart Zurich 21 Nov 2008 Circolo degli Artisti Rome 22 Nov 2008 Spazio 211 Turin 23 Nov 2008 Rockstore Montpellier 24 Nov 2008 Razzmatazz 2 Barcelona 25 Nov 2008 Moby Dick Madrid 27 Nov 2008 Le Vigean Bordeaux 28 Nov 2008 Le Phare Toulouse 29 Nov 2008 Bataclan Paris

I think Lara and Kate have the right idea when they expressed their hate for the Fine Line Cafe. The way it's set up, it's in a long rectangle with terrible viewing - that is unless you're near the front. There's also overhead giant pipes that makes it hard to see if you're rich enough to afford a table upstairs (I was told it was a minimum of $25 per person per seat if you choose to get a table).

So, this Cold War Kids' show on October 10^th, was sold out. Lots of younger-looking, er, youths, but there is the odd retired guys (!) and the rude professional photographer. Oh, let me also mention that despite having a photo pass, it was ultimately useless as the Fine Line does not offer any sort of safe haven for photographers.

AA Bondy Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (10/10/08) ♥ photo by vu

A.A. Bondy - American Hearts

I was kind of surprise to see that AA Bondy was the opening act. Clearly his Americana/folksy/rootsy music sounds nothing like CWK's sound of energetic youth indie rock! Still, playing in front of several sold-out shows, might help spread words around - even though the audience wasn't there for him.

It was a bonus for me, as I did review American Hearts last year and seeing the songs played live. Some highlights was when he said he was going to do a whole Christian song right before "Vice Rag" (the opening line was "sweet, sweet cocaine"). The set was pretty low-key until Dylan, I mean Bondy went electric with the last two songs, "Killed Myself When I Was Young" and "American Hearts".

Cold War Kids storm the stage with two piano-driven songs ("Every Valley is Not a Lake" and "We Used to Vacation"), before singer Nathan Willett took center stage. What's kind of interesting to note is that most of their set, they were backlit, which makes for impossible photography without the aid of the flash.

Speaking of flash, during "Robbers", the lights was almost turned off and the smoke machine worked overtime to show off the flashlights they had brought on tour. I'm sure this sounds stupid, but it was pretty cool to witness.

The audience loved all their hits, especially this one, "Hang Me Up to Dry":

Cold War Kids - Hang me Up to Dry

Links: coldwarkids.com myspace.com/coldwarkids myspace.com/aabondy 

 10/11/2008 02:58:30  ♥ written by vu ()