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Hiromi at Dakota Jazz Club (05/17/2023)

Tour Dates May 18 Minneapolis, MN, US Dakota May 19 Oakland, CA, US Yoshi's Oakland May 20 Oakland, CA, US Yoshi's Oakland May 21 Oakland, CA, US Yoshi's Oakland May 23 Oakland, CA, US Yoshi's Oakland May 24 Oakland, CA, US Yoshi's Oakland Jul 18 Nice, France NICE JAZZ FESTIVAL PASS Nov 13 London, UK Barbican Centre Read More Hiromi Japanese artist Hiromi is doing a two-night (four shows) residency at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis. The classical and classical composer (often fused with rock-inspired or pop music) is touring in support of Silver Lining Suite. …

After a nine year hiatus, Hiromi Uehara returned to Dakota Jazz Club to offer the audience an inside peak to her new band, Sonicwonder, with Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Hadrien Feraud on electric bass and Gene Coye on drums.

“It’s our world premiere,” said Hiromi to the crowd. 

It was indeed their first public appearance with sheet music at the ready and songs still to be fine tuned before going into the studio to record their first album. 

Lowell Pickett, the host for the evening, said Hiromi wanted a few intimate settings to work out the kinks, and she could do no better than the downtown Minneapolis venue. 

Born in Hamamatsu, Japan, Hiromi first started playing the piano at six.  At fourteen she played with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, at seventeen she played with Chick Corea.  At the Berklee College of Music she was mentored by the great Ahmad Jamal, who told Pickett that she was a generational talent, “Maybe the most talented jazz pianist in the past twenty years.”

Telarc Records must have thought so for they signed her to a recording contract before she even graduated, releasing her debut album Another Mind in 2003.

As the band started off the evening with a laid back vibe and a little funk, Hiromi quickly utilized the three keyboards surrounding her:  the grand piano in front, an electric keyboard to the side and a synthesizer resting above.  

For “Sunny Wonderland” Hiromi started with the synth creating a sound that hovered between a retro 80’s video game and a high-speed German Discotheque dance beat.  Throughout the song she played all three keyboards, at moments, two at a time, looking much like a scientist concocting, pushing, letting her other band mates explore with O’Farrill modulating his trumpet sound and Feraud giving a look to Coye at the end that said: “Whew!”

Exploration was definitely the theme of the evening with no two songs the same.  O’Farrill was given the opportunity to play a sweet ballad before the rest of the band joined to create a beautiful and grand ending.  Feraud started another song with a laidback solo before Hiromi and O’Farrill continued with a playful call and response.  Then Hiromi was back on her synth with a top forty pop sound that soon became untethered, moving into a free jazz jam session with Hiromi laughing at the end, saying the song was entitled “Trial and Error”.

Hiromi told Vie Magazine in 2016 that she felt she was a captain of a boat and wanted to take her audience on a journey.  Last night at the Dakota, the audience was given a rare treat from a captain still looking for new seas to explore. 

Hiromi at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (17 May 2023)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Curtis Stigers at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (21 May 2022)

Setlist (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Nick Lowe cover) You're All That Matters to Me Keep Me From the Cold Swingin' Down at 10th & Main Never Saw a Miracle Summertime John The Revelator This Life Centerpiece Don't Go Far Tonight Will Be Fine (Leonard Cohen cover) Lately I've Let Things Slide (Nick Lowe cover) Things Have Changed (Bob Dylan cover) -- Encore -- I Wonder Why Tour Dates May 24 Jazz Alley - Seattle, WA May 25 Jazz Alley - Seattle, WA Read More Curtis Stigers On Curtis Stigers's 2022 release, this multi platinum artist takes a look back with new versions of his international hits "I Wonder Why," "Never Saw A Miracle," and "You're All That Matters To Me," .…

On the second night at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on Saturday night, American Jazz singer and songwriter Curtis Stigers promised he will not be talking about his beloved four dogs. Instead, he’ll be more focused, and will talk about the songs he’s chosen to re-record for his new album This Life, which features new renditions and interpretations of all his hit songs. As he explained it on stage, some of these songs are over 30 years old, and in all that time, he’s grown as a musician. He now plays in a Jazz Quartet (Matthew on piano, Cliff on on the upright bass, Paul on the drums, and John on the trumpets), he wants the song to also grow with him. He’s right, of course, these songs, such as “This Life” (aka the Sons of Anarky theme song), have a different life, when you hear them in his new arrangement.

If you saw Curtis on Friday night, you were treated to “Who’s That Writing” and The Beatles’ song “I Feel Fine”. For Saturday night, those songs were replaced by “Centerpiece” and Nick Lowe’s “Lately I've Let Things Slide”.

The funny thing about Nick Lowe is that for years Stigers thought “(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” was an Elvis Costello song. When he found out it was actually written by Lowe, he became a massive fan. That song on The Bodyguard soundtrack went on to sell over 45 million copies … giving Lowe a lot of money from royalties. So, yeah, Lowe loves Stigers.

Here is the thing about a Curtis Stigers show, it is part comedy/storytelling, and part jazz/pop live music. Every song has a story, and Stigers is more than happy to tell you all about it, giving us insights on why and how these songs were important to him.

My favorite story of the night was how the song “Swingin’ Down at Tenth and Main” came about. It’s a beautiful story about how jazz pianist Gene Harris had retired and donated his grand piano to the Idanha Hotel, in Boise, Idaho. A young Stigers would hang out at the hotel lobby to watch Harris jam with local musicians. The underage Stigers would, if you’ll pardon the pun, drum up enough courage to bring his clarinet (and later his saxophone) and play in these jam sessions.

Doing his best Harris impression, Stigers yelled out, “Yeah, Baby! You sounded great! You keep practicing!!!”

A few years after Harris passed away, Stigers, flying on a local airline, was reminded of this amazing time, when he saw an article about the jazz festival that Harris created. He had the song in his head, and he wrote “Swingin’ Down at Tenth and Main” on the plane.

“I miss you, old friend,” Stigers concluded, “Thirty years later, I wanted Gene to be part of my new album.”

Like I said, all these songs appearing This Life, available on Pandemic Poodle Records, has deep meaning to Curtis.

Curtis Stigers at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (21 May 2022)

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

Vieux Farka Touré at the Dakota (5/18/2022)

Setlist Touré De Niafunké Filipha Diaraby Magni Ni Negaba Fafa Ali Yer Gando Samba Si Kairi Walaïdu All the Same Ba Kaitere -- Encore -- Nha Maïmouna Poussaniamba Tour Dates May 19—SPACE—Evanston, IL May 20—Le Poisson Rouge—New York, NY May 21—World Café Live—Philadelphia, PA May 22—Race Street Live—Holyoke, MA June 8—Crystal Ballroom—Somerville, MA June 10—Infinity Hall—Norfolk, CT June 11—StageOne—Fairfield, CT June 12—Afrika Nyaga Fest—Providence, RI August 4—Celebrate Brooklyn—Brooklyn, NY Read More Vieux Farka Touré Acclaimed Malian artist Vieux Farka Touré will be playing the Dakota Jazz Club, in Minneapolis, on May 18, in support of his forthcoming album Les Racines (World Circuit Records). .…

“You finally made it,” shouted a gentleman from the crowd after the second song. 

In fact he did, Vieux Farka Touré making good on a postponed show from September of last year. 

The introduction from the emcee stated it was their biggest crowd since the Dakota re-opened after the pandemic and the crowd and Touré seemed primed for a festive night. 

The first few songs had everyone seated, though, with Touré playing an acoustic guitar, Marshall Henry on bass and Adama Kone on the percussive instrument, the calabash.  They played like they were sitting around a campfire, slowly passing the time with an open, soulful sound trying to fill the infinite space of a desert night.

Touré played with a warm and playful spirit. He enjoyed interacting with his band mates with a back and forth between him and Henry as if they were still fine-tuning a song. 

Touré highlighted songs from six of his previous albums, which was ironic considering he has a new album being released this week - Les Racines.  Maybe he’s contractually obligated to wait for the release date of 5/20/2022.  After all, this concert is almost a year behind schedule.  Hopefully, a returning tour to the Dakota will be in the works. 

After setting the mood, Touré stood up, strapped on the electric guitar and played “Fafa”, which sounded quite a bit like “Azawade”, a song from The Tel Aviv Session, a collaboration he did with Israeli piano player, Idan Raichel.  We Heart Music covered their concert at the Dakota ten years before. Touré remained seated that night for the music did not call for him to go electric. 

Touré has earned a moniker of being the Jimi Hendrix of West Africa.  I like the Malian Desert Blue Prince.  He definitely has a distinct, singular sound forged by Malian musical traditions and the Blues found in Chicago, the Delta or anywhere else where the Blues can be. 

Touré is the son of legendary guitarist Ali Farka Touré.  The father did not want his son to become a musician for he thought being a professional soldier would provide a more stable life.  But talent would not be denied and the son secretly took guitar lessons behind his father’s back and eventually won his approval.

Touré has the technical skill as well as the soul of a virtuoso.  And when he launched into “Samba Si Kairi” he filled the intimate venue with an epic guitar solo like he was playing a football stadium.  And as quickly as he brought the crowd to a standing ovation, he channeled B.B. King by wailing on his guitar in “Walaïdu”.

To draw the evening to a close, Touré encouraged the crowd to stand up and dance with the final two songs, songs rooted in the west coast African tradition, the type of music that made it very easy to stand up and sway, which everyone in the audience did.

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Alan Doyle at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Apr 2022)

Alan Doyle Setlist Dream of Home We're Gonna Love Tonight Captain Kidd (Traditional) Come Out With Me When I'm Up ≋ Where the Nightingales Sing Sea of No Cares ≋ We Don't Wanna Go Home Lukey ≋ Anywhere You Wanna Go A Day Without You with Chris Trapper The Old Black Rum ≋ Bully Boys Consequence Free ≋ It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (R.E.M. cover) The Night Pat Murphy Died ≋ 1, 2, 3, 4 -- Encore -- Ordinary Day ≋ Don't Like to Dance ≋ = Great Big Sea song Chris Trapper Setlist The Accident This Time Minnesota F**k It Skin Keg on My Coffin (The Push Stars song) Read More Alan Doyle Newfoundland singer-songwriter Alan Doyle (lead singer of iconic Canadian band Great Big Sea) has sold out his upcoming appearance at the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant. … Chris Trapper The evening was opened by Hay’s friend and Boston singer-songwriter Chris Trapper, best known as the lead singer of ‘90s group, The Push Stars, who entertained, amused, and enthralled the crowd with his own half-hour set. …

Canadian musician Alan Doyle is so grateful to finally return to the Dakota Jazz Club on Saturday night. He has a residency and will be returning today (Sunday, May 1st) at the Dakota, to finally end his U.S. tour. Why is Doyle so happy? It’s because the show was two or three years in the making. The original show, booked in 2019, was delayed, and rescheduled, and reshuffled, etc. Every time he had to move the date, he thought people were going to want their money back - but they never did! So, it was just a long time coming.

Opening the show was Chris Trapper, who previously co-wrote some of Doyle’s songs. Trapper had a lot of stories to tell. For example, “Minnesota” was inspired about the time he fell in love with a girl from Minnesota… and they broke up the next day… or how “Skin” was his most requested wedding song. It’s a song about “staying in love”, not just about falling in love.

He ended his set with The Push Stars’ song, “Keg on My Coffin”, which he described as a Irish death drinking song. If you haven’t figured it out, Trapper is in the band The Push Stars.

Alan Doyle started his set with a solo, a cappella version of “Dream of Home”, before his band, The Beautiful Band, joined Doyle on stage. The Beautiful Band featured Cory Tetford (former member of Crush) on guitars, Kendel Carson (from The Paperboys) on fiddle, Kris MacFarlane (from Great Big Sea) on drums, Shehab Illyas (from Mir) on bass, and Todd Lumley (from Waltons) on piano / accordion. As you can see, each band members are accomplished musicians, but combined together, they are just amazing.

Songs on Doyle’s were about half Great Big Sea, which is fair enough, as Doyle is their lead singer and songwriter.

In the middle of the set, Doyle asked Chris Trapper to come back on stage for them to play one of Trapper’s song. According to the banter on stage, Trapper never know which song Doyle wants to play. For this night, it was “A Day Without You”.

Once Doyle took out the Irish Bouzouki, it was just, what seemed like a long medley of Great Big Sea songs, but with R.E.M.’s cover of “It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” thrown in for good measures.

If you like Great Big Sea (one of the longest touring band in the world), if you like Irish pub songs, if you like traditional folk songs… you’ll love a typical Alan Doyle show.

Alan Doyle will play the Dakota Jazz Club again on May 1st.

Remaining tour dates:

May 1 2022 Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota
Jun 14 2022 Charlottetown, PE @ Confederation Centre
Oct 24 2022 Basel to Amsterdam @ Alan Doyle Trio
Nov 2 2022 Düsseldorf, DE @ Savoy Theater
Nov 3 2022 Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik
Nov 4 2022 Rotterdam, NL @ LantarenVenster
Nov 6 2022 Eindhoven, NL @ Muziekgebouw
Nov 8 2022 Munich, DE @ Technikum
Nov 9 2022 Aschaffenburg, DE @ Colos Saal
Nov 10 2022 Berlin, DE @ Heimathafen Neuköelln
Nov 11 2022 Worpswede, DE @ Musichall
Nov 12 2022 Duffel, BE @ Cinema Plaza
Nov 14 2022 Darmstadt, DE @ Central Station
Nov 15 2022 Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
Feb 15 2023 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Feb 16 2023 Clayton, NY @ Clayton Opera House
Feb 17 2023 Barre, VT @ Barre Opera House
Feb 18 2023 Boston, MA @ City Winery Boston
Feb 19 2023 Boston, MA @ City Winery Boston
Feb 21 2023 Portland, ME @ Aura
Feb 22 2023 Holyoke, MA @ Race Street Live
Feb 23 2023 Concord, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire
Feb 24 2023 New York, NY @ Sony Hall
Feb 25 2023 Port Washington, NY @ Landmark on Main
Feb 26 2023 Philadelphia, PA @ City Winery
Feb 28 2023 Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head on Stage
Mar 1 2023 Washington, DC @ City Winery C
Mar 2 2023 Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Mar 3 2023 Richmond, VA @ Tin Pan
Mar 4 2023 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
Mar 5 2023 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
Mar 7 2023 Ponte Vedra, FL @ Ponte Vedra Music Hall
Mar 8 2023 Ocala, FL @ Reilly Arts Center
Mar 9 2023 Clearwater, FL @ Bilheimer Capitol Theatre a
Mar 10 2023 Boca Raton, FL @ The Funky Biscuit
Mar 11 2023 Bonita Springs, FL @ Centers for Arts Bonita Springs

Chris Trapper

Setlist

Chris and Alan

Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Band

Alan Doyle at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Apr 2022)

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

The Bacon Brothers at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (21 Aug 2019)

Bacon Brothers Setlist Play! Driver Don't Lose Me Boy Tom Petty T-Shirt Interlude/493 Miles (medley) Strung Out Bigger Than a Song A Road We Know The Way We Love 36 Cents I Feel You Beneath Perfection She's Easy on My Eyes Perfect Pitch with lyrics from “Ukulele Lady” (Vaughn De Leath cover) Picker Two Rivers Don't Do Me Like That (Tom Petty cover) -- Encore -- Only a Good Woman Peace Dance/Footloose (Kenny Loggins cover) Read More The Bacon Brothers The Bacon Brothers will be playing the Dakota Jazz Club next week (July 13th), in support of their new self-titled album (released June 1st on Forosoco Music). …

The Bacon Brothers (Kevin Bacon and Michael Bacon) returned to the Dakota Jazz Club last Wednesday, August 21st.

Unlike their last appearance, this show was strictly all-Bacon Brothers, meaning a slightly longer set and no opening band.

Again, the live band features bassist Paul Guzzone, keyboardist Joe Mennonna, guitarist Tim Quick, and drummer Frank Vilardi. Everyone in the band seems to be multi-instrumentalists, occasionally switching to the mandolin (for “Don't Lose Me Boy”), ukulele (for “Perfect Pitch”) or cajón (for “She's Easy on My Eyes”).

The brothers were in very fine form, and they were quite humble to the sold-out audience. Kevin adding, “Thank you for being here, we all know there are some places you could spend your heard-earned entertainment dollars.”

The cello was brought out for Michael Bacon to take lead on his “Interlude” song, which sets up nicely the medley to “493 Miles”.

The best story had to be for their song “Beneath Perfection”, which Kevin Bacon described as a title of a film he was working on. He thought if he wrote a song with that title, that they could use it for the movie. With his wife being pregnant, he wrote about how he felt about this and how imperfect he was “beneath perfection”, etc. Of course, at the punchline was that the filmmaker changed the title to “Tremors” (a cult-classic film that spawned four sequels and a television show).

New song “Picker” was described as a song written by Kevin Bacon about Michael Bacon, and required plenty of guitar picking.

Set closer was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover of “Don't Do Me Like That”, a song that was on the encore on their last tour. And speaking of encore, it didn’t take very long before the band came back on stage to play “Only a Good Woman”. This is followed by a medley of “Peace Dance” and Kenny Loggins cover of “Footloose”.

If you didn’t know, the latter encore song was the theme song to the box office hit movie of the same name. The movie starred Kevin Bacon as a teenager who moved to a small town that banned dancing.

Remaining tour dates:

08/25/2019 Jergel's Rhythm Grille, Warrendale, PA, US
09/13/2019 – 09/15/2019 KAABOO Del Mar 2019
09/19/2019 Sony Hall, New York, NY, US
09/20/2019 Sony Hall, New York, NY, US
09/21/2019 Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
10/03/2019 Franklin Theatre, Franklin, TN, US
10/04/2019 Franklin Theatre, Franklin, TN, US
10/05/2019 Grand Theatre, Frankfort, KY, US
10/10/2019 Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, TX, US
10/10/2019 – 10/13/2019 Gruene Music and Wine Fest 2019
10/11/2019 Billy Bob's Texas, Fort Worth, TX, US
10/12/2019 Cactus Theater, Lubbock, TX

The Bacon Brothers at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (21 August 2019)

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

Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (06 Sept 2018)

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s Dakota signage Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore Setlist Downey to Lubbock Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown (Jimmie Dale Gilmore song) Johnny Ace Is Dead (Dave Alvin song) Silverlake (Steve Young cover) Stealin' Stealin' (1920’s traditional jug band song) Fourth of July (Dave Alvin song) Billy the Kid and Geronimo Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Lloyd Price cover) Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) (Woody Guthrie cover) Dry River (Dave Alvin song) Get Together (The Youngbloods cover) Dallas (The Flatlanders cover) -- Encore -- Bring It On Home to Me (Sam Cooke cover) My Mind's Got A Mind Of Its Own (Butch Hancock cover) Marie, Marie (Blasters song) / Downey to Lubbock (Reprise) / Down By the Riverside (Study War No More) Jon Langford Setlist Natchez Trace Walking on Hell’s Roof (Waco Brothers song) Drone Operator Over the Cliff 1234 Ever Halfway Home Snake Behind Glass Hey! Rockstar Millionaire (The Mekons song) Nashville Radio Pill Sailor X-Ray Style (Joe Strummer cover) Tour Dates 09/11/2018 Southgate House Revival Newport, KY 09/12/2018 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI 09/14/2018 Black Box Theatre Toronto, ON 09/15/2018 CityFolk Music Festival 09/16/2018 JCC Hart Theatre Rochester, NY 09/25/2018 State Room Salt Lake City, UT 09/27/2018 Aladdin Theater Portland, OR 09/28/2018 Tractor Tavern Seattle, WA 09/29/2018 The Triple Door Seattle, WA 09/30/2018 Imperial Vancouver, BC 11/04/2018 Sellersville Theater 1894 Sellersville, PA 11/13/2018 City Winery Atlanta, GA 11/14/2018 3rd & Lindsley Nashville, TN 11/16/2018 Manship Theatre Baton Rouge, LA Read More Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore From different worlds, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, have teamed up to record an album. Alvin is the singer/songwriter from the Blasters and Gilmore is from Texas hippie-country band Flatlanders. …

A musical journey from California to Texas, with even a brief stop in South Wales,

Musical kindship was in fine display on a Friday night in downtown Minneapolis as Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore joined forces at the Dakota Jazz Club, in support of their coming together on Downey to Lubbock (Yep Roc Records), an album that not only went to #2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers, but also even topped the blues charts.

Opening the evening was a Chicago transplant originally from Newport, Wales- singer-songwriter Jon Langford, best known for his work with The Mekons and The Waco Brothers. Joined on stage by guitarist Jon Szymanski, Langford provided a welcome opening fifty-minute opening set that drew on his prolific, post-punk/alt-country background, in support of last year’s Four Lost Souls (Bloodshot Records).

Starting with a new song, working in a Waco Brothers number, and the first song he wrote for Bloodshot (‘Over the Cliff’), the strumming was mostly happy but the lyrics were usually biting, some with political commentary (‘Drone Operator’, ‘Snake Behind Glass’), an homage to lost friends (‘Hey! Rockstar’), a Mekons favorite (‘Millionaire’, which riled up the longtime fans), and ending with a Joe Strummer cover, first telling the story that Strummer lived in his native Newport, working as a gravedigger, before moving to London and helping form The Clash.

Though friends for over thirty years but not collaborating until a 2017 acoustic tour, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore may not seem like a musical match on paper, but from the very first notes of their hundred-five minute headlining set, it seemed like they’d been playing together for decades.

The Americana roots legends- Alvin, of the sometimes brash rocking and rhythm sound of California’s The Blasters ,and Gilmore, the elder Texas twangy, Flatlanders hippie country singer-songwriter came together along their musical commonalities, celebrating that union with a diverse and hopping mix of Delta blues, early rock, and Western swing classics alongside their own originals.

The set began with the new album’s stomping title track, an homage to their respective hometowns and the 1100 miles between them, with Alvin’s face mostly hidden under the brim of his cowboy hat guitar-slinging from stage right, and Gilmore and backing band The Guilty Ones, front and center showcasing their formidable playing skills. “Every night is a treat, and a joy, and a pleasure… and a surprise”, Alvin would comment.

The pair told the story of ‘Silverlake’ and who writer Steve Young really meant the song for, displayed their blues chops on ‘Stealin’ Stealin’, and shone playing the musical personas on the mellow ‘Billy the Kid and Geronimo’. Gilmore growled with glee on 1952’s rocking ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ the theme of Woody Guthrie’s ‘Deportee’ was (unfortunately) still very appropriate today, and their cover of The Youngbloods’ ‘Get Together’ had people leaving their proper dinner tables and dancing in the aisles.

Band The Guilty Ones were solid all evening, particularly pigtailed guitarist Chris Miller and drummer Lisa Pankratz who impressed with an extended solo on Alvin’s ‘Dry River’ and even is featured in this month issue of Modern Drummer.

For the encore, the duo again played on each other’s musical strengths to take a foray into classic soul, covering Sam Cooke, then following that with a trippy ‘My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own’, a song from fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock that bands like Phish have even covered- “one of my theme songs” Gilmore, noted.

Styles shifted again as things turned towards New Orleans on ‘Marie, Marie’, an Alvin-penned song that became more famous covered later by Buckwheat Zydeco and the evening ended full circle with a reprise of ‘Downey to Lubbock’ followed close behind by the traditional ‘Down by the Riverside’, which was also the intro music they walked out to, and whose pacifistic lyrics beseeches us all to “not study war no more”.

The Golden State met the Lone Star State as Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore came together in musical tandem to celebrate their history, influences, and the roads between their destinations; and for a brief evening, those in attendance were ecstatic to be invited along for the ride.

(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore Setlist

Jon Langford Setlist

Jon Langford

Jon Langford

Jon Langford

Jon Langford

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (06 Sept 2018)

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

Victor Wooten Trio at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (09 Aug 2018 late show)

Victor Wooten Trio at Dakota Victor Wooten Trio Setlist Dc10 Liz & Opie My Life A Little Rice and Beans Cruising Altitude Quimbara Bob Franceschini solo > Zenergy Victor Wooten Solo (untitled) Funky D -- Encore -- The Lesson Tour Dates 08/18/2018 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR 08/22/2018 Yoshi's Oakland Oakland, CA 08/23/2018 Yoshi's Oakland Oakland, CA 10/29/2018 Ronnie Scott's London 10/30/2018 Ronnie Scott's London 10/31/2018 Ronnie Scott's London Read More Victor Wooten The dynamic bass virtuoso Victor Wooten Trio, featuring five-time Grammy award winner Victor Wooten with Dennis Chambers and Bob Franceschini, will be playing four shows at the Dakota Jazz Club …

A tripnotic master class of the bottom end--

Genre-bending musical experts The Victor Wooten Trio filled the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis for a triumphant four shows over two nights, and we were fortunate enough to catch the final performance of their local run. The group (bassist Victor Wooten, Sax/flutist Bob Franceschini and drummer Dennis Chambers) is in support of Wooten’s first album in five years, (which he also produced) Trypnotyx (Vix Records).

Best known as the bassist for Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, Wooten has done other considerable solo and collaborative work, Franceschini has worked with the likes of Paul Simon and Mike Stern, and drummer Chambers played extensively with Carlos Santana and Bootsy Collins.

Their late evening ninety-minute set began with a cacophony of soundbites against a Fripp-esque guitar loop and some James Brown-interjected taped grunts and howls before almost literally taking off with the new ‘Dc10’.

Wooten’s bass dexerity skills were immediately on display as the trio moved into a meld of jazz, funk, soul, and experimental movements. “We’ve been here when it’s cold, the coldest I’ve ever been”, Wooten said in-between, but praised the warm hearts of the locals as always welcoming him with appreciation and kindness.

Both sidemen were rock solid in laying and maintaining a foundation, that allowed Wooten to experiment and relish in, and Wooten switched briefly to a stand-up bass early on, to show his additional abilities in playing that more traditional type of bass. 

Most of the first part of the set leaned more classic jazz, with ‘Liz & Opie’ sounding gypsy-like, while the funny and revealing ‘My Life’ started with the lyrics, “Gonna buy me a pickle and eat it all by myself” followed soon behind by “Gonna make me a record and fill it all up with bass, I can add a little keyboard if I want to ...but I don't!”, which drew a big collective laugh from the crowd.

Before the new ‘Cruising Altitude’, Wooten explained that when he meets a fellow musician, he likes to hand them his bass (no matter what instrument(s) they may play) and ask them to play it, as if it were their own. The new song was a result of Wooten imagining how it would sound if he gave his bass to Dave Matthews to play (who he knows, but hasn’t had the chance to do… and “I don’t have to pay him”, Wooten joked) and the song indeed does have those DMB sound earmarks.

Wooten even took bowstring in hand, to play his bass in that method, which further dazzled the already attentive audience, and with a cry of “Ha, get funky!”, the trio turned it up on ‘Funky D’ to close the main set with a bang.

For the encore, Wooten prefaced the last song with a story about his book, called The Music Lesson, written about ten years ago. Instead of traditional chapters, his installments were called measures, with a handwritten few parts of music at the beginning of each measure, and when reading the book and putting all the measures together, it becomes a complete song, called ‘The Lesson’.

“If you read that book, and put all the measures together, you’ll be able to play that song, just like us… or your money back” Wooten laughingly said, “...but we’ll be long gone”, as the crowd laughed along.

The resulting song was a lower tempo, but no less exploratory instrumental that encouraged reflection, curiosity, and wonder- “or your money back” Wooten repeated to standing applause.

To bass and jazz lovers, The Victor Wooten Trio is must-see show, but to the sound curious and music lovers eager for some adventurous explorations that move across genres, this is a can’t-miss as well. This chance to watch a seasonal threesome as masters of their craft, is an experience best described as tripnotic.

(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)

Victor Wooten Trio at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (09 Aug 2018 late show)

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

The Bacon Brothers at Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Minneapolis (13 July 2018)

Bacon Brothers at Dakota Jazz Club Flyer Bacon Brothers Setlist People Got to Be Free (The Rascals cover) Driver Don't Lose Me Boy Shakin' Tom Petty T-Shirt Broken Glass Interlude cello solo 493 Miles A Road We Know unplugged Bus Whole Lotta Shade 36 Cents I Feel You Perfect Pitch features 4 ukeleles Beneath Perfection Two Rivers Old Guitars -- Encore -- Don't Do Me Like That (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover) Live With the Lie Cindy Alexander Setlist I See Stars Deep Waters Fireball Passenger Soul Quake My Favorite Artist American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover) Read More The Bacon Brothers The Bacon Brothers will be playing the Dakota Jazz Club next week (July 13th), in support of their new self-titled album (released June 1st on Forosoco Music). … Cindy Alexander Of course, due to the popularity of the group and the intimate small seating of the Dakota Jazz Club, the show has sold out. Special guest Cindy Alexander to open. …

The Bacon Brothers is currently on tour for their self-titled album, stopping by the sold-out Dakota Jazz Club show in Minneapolis on Friday night.

Typically, these Dakota Jazz Club shows always begins with a warm and personal introduction from the restaurant owner Lowell Pickett … but for some reason, he was absent that Friday night. We hope it’s because he’s on a vacation and not because of ill health.

Special guest, California’s Cindy Alexander and her friend and guitarist Ali Handal came on stage addressing the bad luck associated with Friday the 13th by announcing, “What could possibly go wrong?”

As she tuned her guitar, Alexander mentioned how she ran into a small child called Oliver in the bathroom and decided to dedicate the opening track, “I See Stars” to the birthday kid.

Like most singer/songwriter, Alexander had a story for every song. For “Passenger”, she told us the story that she almost died driving on “the hurricane express”, or that “Soul Quake” actually was written as a duet with Janiva Magness, or how quickly her latest single “My Favorite Artist” came together.

With just a 30-min set Cindy Alexander decided to end on a high (or rather unplugged acoustic) note by covering Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ song “American Girl”. Since she’s not attached to any wires, she walked around the restaurant with Handal.

The Tom Petty love would continue with The Bacon Brothers, as one of their lead single “Tom Petty T-Shirt” and the beginning of their encore is a true cover of Petty’s “Don’t Do Me Like That”.

Just watching the two brothers, Michael Bacon and Kevin Bacon, play and sing songs, this was clearly their main focus and passion for the past twenty plus years. Joining the band on stage was Paul Guzzone on bass, Joe “The Destroyer” Mennonna on keyboards, Tim Quick on guitars, and Frank Vilardi on drums. A little inside baseball, but Quick asked to come on tour to replace their original lead guitarist Ira Siegel. Quick, a seasoned Broadway musician, had to learn the Bacon Brothers’ set in about two weeks.

As the group play their ever-changing setlist, they kept adding various instruments in their shows. But it’s for the love of their songs, that the band brought on a cello to play an untitled interlude song, or mandolin for “Driver”, or bongos for “Don’t Lose Me Boy”, or four ukuleles for “Perfect Pitch”, or banging on the Peruvian cajón for a love song devoted to their “Bus”. Speaking from someone who attends a lot of shows, most bands make up the setlist based on what instruments they have with them. Meaning, if a song requires a strange instrument, it might be dropped from their set because they don’t want to bring it on tour. It’s a practical logic, but apparently not for the Bacon Brothers! You have to love them for that.

The brothers were pretty fun and relaxed, and, best of all, were really chatting up the crowd between songs. Some of the banter includes Kevin hearing “Minnesota Nice” for the first time. “Is that really what they say?” he wonders. Then quickly adds, “but as soon as this show falls apart, it’s Minnesota Leaves!”

For “Whole Lotta Shade”, a music video (to sync with the song) was played on the television sets on the walls of the Dakota Jazz Club. Unfortunately, the small-ish sets was hard to see, depending on where you were sitting. It wasn’t a great experience, I wish it was better executed, but given what they had to work with, you can’t blame the band for trying this out.

The Bacon Brothers’ new album is simply called “The Bacon Brothers”. A self-titled album that Kevin admits, “it only took us seven tries to get the title right.”

Remaining tour dates:

July 16 & 18 Franklin Theatre Franklin, TN
July 20-22 The Birchmere Alexandria, VA
July 24 Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield CT
July 26 Center for the Arts Homer, NY
July 27 Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Niagara Falls, NY
July 28 Union Center for Performing Arts Rahway, NJ
July 29 The Egg Albany, NY
Aug 2 The Sherman Theatre Stroudsburg, PA
Aug 3-4 Ramshead On Stage Annapolis, MD
Aug 6 Ocean City Music Pier Ocean City NJ
Aug 7 Bottle & Cork Dewey Beach, DE
Aug 9 Tupelo Music Hall Derry, NH
Aug 10 The Greenwich Odeum East Greenwich, RI
Aug 11 Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA

Bacon Brothers

Cindy Alexander

Cindy Alexander

Bacon Brothers Setlist

Bacon Brothers

Bacon Brothers

The Bacon Brothers at Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Minneapolis (13 July 2018)

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

Kaki King at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (05 Sept 2017)

U2 Tour Dates 09/15/2017 San Antonio, TX Studio Theater at The Tobin Center Read More Kaki King It's been a long time since we talked about Kaki King. She recently had a successful Kickstarter project funded to bring her "The Neck Is A Bridge To The Body" project. The show is part light show, part projections (created by Glowing …

“I haven’t played a solo show in a long time… I guess muscle memory is a real thing”-

Finger-styling guitar wizard Kaki King recently stopped by the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis for an increasingly rare solo acoustic performance, in support of her upcoming live album, Live at Berklee with the Porta Girevole Chamber Orchestra (BIRN Collective Recordings) due out Sept. 22.

That album’s re-workings with a 12-person ensemble contrasted completely opposite to this night’s performance of just King, a few different guitars and a couple of guests, playing songs in the most elemental way, and in the manner she first gained widespread attention and acclaim.

The evening began with another enthralling instrumental performance from South African guitarist Derek Gripper, in support of last summer’s Libraries on Fire (New Cape Records).  Gripper has a unique sound that blends traditional African, jazz, and folk elements, with more of a contemporary approach, including taking the complex rhythms of the traditional kora (a 21-string harp) and interpreting that on a six-string guitar, without omitting any notes. 

Playing just short of an hour (he wished he wore a watch to keep better track of time-  not that anyone minded)  Gripper mentioned meeting King at several guitar festivals beginning in Chicago, developing a friendship and discussing their main influences, which he demonstrated by covering Brazil’s Egberto Gismonti  on ‘Selva Amazonia’.

After a short break, Kaki King emerged to tune up and begin her eighty-minute headlining set.  In addition to her sound evolving over the years, she got married five years ago and now has two young kids to consider as well. 

Her principal live presentation in the last few years has been an immersive multimedia projection mapping show in which her very guitar is used as a screen to help tell a story.  King brought along and played much on the large white custom Ovation Adamas guitar used for the other show, although admitted it wasn’t ideal for this kind of stripped down performance, though she completely made it work. 

Early on, she called out any guitar police- “dudes who sit in front with arms folded, in judgment” though the crowd was filled with mostly older people and those adoring of her playing style, with one couple driving some 600 miles that day to see her (“Well, I flew… like 1000 miles to be here, so I win!” she joked). 

After a dreamy ‘Cargo Cult’, King spoke at length about her kids with humorous affection (“two children is like having a pack of wild dogs”), mentioning that two-month old son Bowen, was named after a suggestion from a writer friend, and coincidentally, King had an older song about Canada’s Bowen Island as well. 

A third in, King switched briefly to a Koto guitar: a Bedell parlor guitar played lap-style, with a second bridge added which lift the strings about ¾” off the fingerboard, for a sound that recalled traditional Asian works, lamenting being away from her family, but happy to have the time quietly to catch up on the last few Twin Peaks episodes aired. 

Violinist Kip Jones was somewhat of a surprise guest, he of NYC string quartet ETHEL (though he lives locally and King has toured with and collaborated with the group previous), for ‘Trying to Speak’ and 2012’s ‘Great Round Burn’ with Jones adding lush musical body to both.   

King prefaced 2015’s ‘Anthropomorph’ by saying it was in 7/8 (in case any guitar police were curious), told the story of their anonymous donor at the sperm bank, and finished her main set by playing ‘King Pizel’, a song that ideally shows off both her own finger dexterity and the capabilities of the Veillette Gryphon, a mini 12-string that makes everything sound more madrigal.

For the single-song encore, King brought back opener Gripper for a delicate instrumental duet that brought both worlds together, with the audience witnessing two masters at their craft. 

Kaki King has said that “the guitar really does the speaking, and I'm just the interpreter" but as shown on this night, this interpreter speaks a language that everyone in the room, was more than excited to hear.

Derek Gripper

Kaki King

Kaki King

Kaki King

Kaki King

Kaki King (with Derek Gripper) at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (05 Sept 2017)

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Lloyd Cole at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (18 Nov 2016)

Setlist   Set 1 (solo) Patience* Perfect Blue* Rattlesnakes* Loveless > Sometimes it Snows in April (Prince cover) I Didn't Know That You Cared Love Ruins Everything Lonely Mile* Pretty Gone* My Bag* Downtown Butterfly Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen cover) So You'd Like to Save the World Jennifer She Said* Set 2 (w/son William Cole on guitar) Don't Look Back Mr. Malcontent* Like Lovers Do w/snippet of Prince's 'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man' Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?* Cut Me Down* Charlotte Street* Perfect Skin* 2cv* Undressed No Blue Skies No More Love Songs Hey Rusty* Brand New Friend* w/snippet of David Bowie's 'Sorrow' -- Encore -- Lost Weekend* Forest Fire* * = Lloyd Cole and the Commotions song Read More Lloyd Cole English singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole is back in town. He will be headlining the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant in Minneapolis this Friday. He will be playing a The Retrospective show …

Legendary English singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole made a rare Minneapolis appearance at the Dakota Jazz Club on Friday, November 18th. According to the internet, the last time Cole was in town, it was over a decade ago at the Fine Line Music Café on 16 July 2004.

Anyway, despite the first snowstorm of the year, people came out, and showed up early, thanks to Cole’s warning earlier that week: “Showtimes this weekend are early. Minneapolis is 7.35 (yes, that means me), and Chicago is 7.00. Be there on time or miss Rattlesnakes.”

Since there were no opening acts listed, Cole would play a double set on this Retrospective show. And as promised, Cole started a little after 7:30pm with two songs from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions’ album Rattlesnakes, including starting song ‘Patience’, a fitting song for those who sat waiting patiently at their table.

Although there were only three ‘Commotions albums (Rattlesnakes, 1984; Easy Pieces, 1985; Mainstream, 1987), Cole made sure those songs were fairly well represented on this tour. Some of these songs were rarely heard live, so it was a real treat for older fans to hear ‘Lonely Mile’, ‘My Bag’, or the first set closer ‘Jennifer She Said’.

Setlist

Two tributes were made on this special show, Cole threw in a Prince cover ‘Sometimes it Snows in April’ (medley with ‘Loveless’), a rarely covered song (from Prince’s lesser-known film Under the Cherry Moon). When Prince passed away, we heard countless ‘Purple Rain’ cover songs... although the song is fine, true Prince fans would note that it is not his best song. The cover choice proved that Cole made the effort to learn the lyrics and chords and he gave a lot of thought in this cover song.

The other tribute was done in honor of the great, late Leonard Cohen. Choosing to avoid ‘Hallelujah’ (‘everybody knows’ that is his weakest song), Cole instead decided to cover ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ (which, incidentally, was not written on his setlist - see photo). The Cohen song was sung in a way that it was written in a form of a letter and told the story of a love triangle.

Lloyd and William

After an intermission soundtracked by nothing but Prince songs on the house system, Cole emerged for his second hour-long set with his “special guest”, his son William, who he would later describe as “a young man that looks like me… if I’d been in Echo and the Bunnymen…!”.

Opening the second hour with ‘Don’t Look Back’ was slightly ironic, as this whole Classic Songbook Tour was nothing else than a look back, but the song, stripped to its essence, still resonates with storytelling grace twenty-five years later.

The younger Cole did a fine job embellishing on guitar though would once or twice play a note late, with his wincing face of realization plain that he knew, but his father never acknowledged it, saying “we’re pretty slick” before both strummed the opening of ‘Perfect Skin’.

Before ‘2cv’, the elder Cole explained his “double denim” choice of outfit, as being influenced by a recent trip to Austin, and Cole brought up the fact that many couples in his audiences are unbalanced as to their love for his music (one person in the relationship being much more of a fan) ...which he was all right with, before going into the appropriate ‘Brand New Friend’, melding the song into a verse of David Bowie’s ‘Sorrow’ at the end.

The two-song encore consisted of the bouncy ‘Lost Weekend’ from 1985’s Easy Pieces, and ‘Forest Fire’, a song as its lyrics go, is “a simple metaphor” for “a burning love” and “don’t it make you smile, like a forest fire”, which the two-hour show did, for these die-hard fans.

After his Chicago, the next night, Cole admitted that “Fabulous crowds most everywhere. Thanks to all who came along and made this my most successful acoustic tour to date. We start again on Jan 10th in Brisbane.”

Lloyd Cole continues his retrospective shows:

01/10 QPAC, Brisbane, Australia 01/11 City Hall, Lismore, NSW, Australia 01/13 Trinity Sessions, Adelaide, Australia 01/14 Hammer Hall, Melbourne, Australia 01/15 City Recital Hall, Sydney 01/19 Clarendon Guesthouse, Katoomba Australia 01/20 Arts Centre, Sutherland, NSW, Australia 01/21 Fly Bt Night, Fremantle, WA, Australia 01/28 Theatre Royal, Nelson, New Zealand 01/29 Paramount, Wellington, New Zealand 01/31 Sherwood, Queenstown, New Zealand 02/02 Coronation Hall, Dunedin, New Zealand 02/03 Piano, Christchurch 02/04 ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland 02/05 Vic, Auckland New Zealand 03/02 Stenhammarsalen, Gothenburg, Sweden 03/03 Konserthus, Small Hall, Oslo Norway

03/04 Kulturhus, Notteroy, Norway 03/06 Sodra Teatrern, Stockholm, Sweden 03/07 Palladium, Malmo, Sweden 03/08 Bremen, Copenhagen, Denmark 03/09 Atlas, Aarhus, Denmark 03/11 Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany 03/12 Electronic concert Bunker Feldstraße Germany 03/15 La Maroquinerie, Paris, France 03/17 Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands 03/18 Zonnehuis, Amsterdam, Netherlands 03/20 St Paul's, Worthing, UK 03/21 Phoenix, Exeter, UK 03/23 Assembly, Leamington Spa, UK 03/26 Aquarium, Lowestoft, UK 03/27 City Hall Ballroom, Sheffield, UK 03/29 Unity Works, Wakefield, UK 03/30 Atkinson, Southport, UK 03/31 Waterside, Sale, UK

Lloyd Cole at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (18 Nov 2016)

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