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Minneapolis: April 18 to April 21, 2017

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from April 18 to April 21, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More New Pornographers Supergroup The New Pornographers (featuring A.C. Newman, Blaine Thurier, Dan Bejar, John Collins, Kathryn Calder, Kurt Dahle, Neko Case and Todd Fancey) are on tour in support of Brill Bruisers, out now on Matador Records. .…

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
at First Avenue
Tuesday 04/18/17, 6:30pm ($33)
first-avenue.com

Fan-favorites supergroup The New Pornographers is back at First Avenue, touring in support of their new record Whiteout Conditions (Collected Works Records/Concord Records).

We caught the group in 2014 and wrote, ““This is really an amazing place to always come to… we know it’s always going to be awesome” Newman mentioned before ‘Testament to Youth in Verse’, gathering some local love, but also refused to mention another dubious city where things maybe weren’t so golden for the group.”

Duo Waxahatchee (Katie and Katherine Simonetti) to open. Their album Ivy Tripp is out now on Merge Records.

04/14 Bend, OR Midtown Ballroom*
04/15 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre*
04/16 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom*
04/18 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue*
04/19 Chicago, IL The Metro*
04/20 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater*
04/21 Chicago, IL The Metro*
04/22 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall*
04/25 Boston, MA House of Blues*
04/26 New York, NY Terminal 5*
04/27 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer*
04/28 Washington, DC 9:30 Club (sold out)*
04/29 Washington, DC 9:30 Club*
05/1 Raleigh, NC Ritz*
05/2 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse*
05/3 New Orleans, LA Tipitina’s*
05/4 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall*
05/5 Dallas, TX Granada Theater*
05/6 Austin, TX Stubb’s*
05/9 London, UK Electric Ballroom
05/10 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso Noord/Tolhuistuin
05/11 Berlin, DE Lido
05/13 Oslo, NO Vulkan Arena
05/14 Stockholm, SE Debaser Strand
05/16 Copenhagen, DK Loppen
05/18 Paris, FR Divan Du Monde
07/18 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amph.†
07/19 Charlottesville, VA Sprint Pavilion†
07/22 Portland, ME State Theatre†
07/23 Montreal, QC Metropolis†
07/26 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE†
08/11 Denver, CO Velorama Festival

Read More Mono Not to be confused with the defunct French band, this Mono is a Japanese instrumental shoegaze band. Their last album, called Hymn to the Immortal Wind, which was three years ago …

SLEEP
at First Avenue
Wednesday 04/19/17, 9pm ($25)
first-avenue.com

San Jose’s trio Sleep (Al Cisneros, Matt Pike, Jason Roeder) is headlining First Avenue’s mainroom next Wednesday.

Mono is listed as opener, but personally speaking, I think they should actually be the headliner. The Japanese group is doing a massive U.S. Tour in support of their Requiem for Hell (Temporary Residence Ltd.)

Mono on tour:

04.19.17 Minneapolis MN @ First Avenue
04.20.17 Madison WI @ Majestic Theatre
04.21.17 Madison WI @ University of Wisconsin *
04.22.17 Chicago IL @ Subterranean *
04.23.17 Detroit MI @ El Club *
04.25.17 Toronto ON @ Lee’s Place *
04.26.17 Montréal QC @ Phi Centre *
04.27.17 Providence RI @ Columbus Theatre *
04.28.17 Portsmouth NH @ 3S Artspace *
04.29.17 Hamden CT @ Ballroom *
05.01.17 Brooklyn NY @ Music Hall *
05.02.17 Philadelphia PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
05.03.17 Washington DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel *
05.04.17 Durham NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
05.05.17 Asheville NC @ Grey Eagle Tavern *
05.06.17 Nashville TN @ Exit In *
05.08.17 Atlanta GA @ The Earl *
05.09.17 Birmingham AL @ Saturn *
05.11.17 Baton Rouge LA @ Spanish Moon *
05.12.17 Houston TX @ Walter’s Downtown *
05.13.17 Dallas TX @ Club Dada *
05.14.17 Austin TX @ Barracuda *
05.16.17 Phoenix AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
05.18.17 Salt Lake City UT @ Urban Lounge *
05.19.17 Denver CO @ Marquis Theatre *
06.12.17 Los Angeles, CA @ Globe Theatre ^
06.13.17 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ^
06.15.17 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom ^
06.16.17 Seattle, WA @ The Neptune ^
06.17.17 Vancouver, BC @ Imperial ^

* w/ Holy Sons, Kikagaku Moyo & more.
^ w/ LOW

Read More The Districts Headliner is Philadelphia's The Districts, currently touring in support of their 2015 album A Flourish and a Spoil (Fat Possums Records). …

Other shows in the area:

04/19/17 The Districts will be headlining the Triple Rock Social Club this Wednesday. The band will release their debut album this Summer on Fat Possum... in the meantime, they released a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Lover Lover Lover’, the b-side on a special Record Store Day 7” with A-Side ‘Ordinary Day’. Abi Reimold to open. $15.

04/20/17 Dance Assault, Lady Lark, Human Heat, and Meinong's Jungle will be over at the Turf Club in St Paul on Thursday. $8

04/20/17 Louisiana bilingual pop project Sweet Crude will be at the 7th Street Entry in support of their new forthcoming album Créatures (Rhyme & Reason Records). Sweet Crude is a young 6-piece composed of New Orleans musicians creating a sound that sets English and Louisiana’s native French dialect to decidedly non-Cajun music. The band, boasting surnames like Marceaux and Chachere, seeks to reconnect with their lineage in the context of 5-part harmonies, tribal rhythms, and pop hooks. Motel Radio and The Counterfactuals to open. $10.

04/20/17 Yes, that’s right Thursday is playing this Thursday at The Cabooze with Touché Amoré , Cities Aviv and Basement . $29.50.

04/21/17 Eccentric Swedish DJ-duo Dada Life to headline the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis. $25.

04/21/17 Def Leppard is playing the Xcel Energy Center with your other hard rock favorites Poison and Tesla . $29.50.

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

Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (08 April 2017)

Joe Hertler Setlist Future Talk Crimson Line American Color Catalyst Show and Tell Hometown Captain America Find Me Haunted House Sleepyhead What It Feels Like To Drown No Money (Jetski) Ego Loss On Grand River Avenue Disconnected O Sheit Feel Old Love Lonely -- Encore -- You Get What You Give (New Radicals cover) Read More Joe Hertler Michigan-based psychedelic pop septet Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers will be headlining the Triple Rock Social Club this Saturday. The band recently released their record Pluto on BaebleMusic. … Dance Assault Next was Dance Assault, lead by singer/synths Carson in cool shades with the help of drummer Kenneth and guitarist Jay. The trio played about six songs, mostly taken from their .…

Michigan-based psychedelic pop septet Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers played the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis last night, April 8th.

Dance Assault

Opening up the show was local electropop dance trio Dance Assault (Carson on vocals/keys, Kenneth on drums, and Andrew on guitar). We previously caught the duo-turn-trio in 2015 with Freezepop and in 2016 with Verite.

For 2017, the band released New Vision in January, and they played some tracks from it, including the title track.

Songs on their setlist, in this order: ‘Keeping Me Up’, ‘New Vision’, ‘Keep Me Sane’, ‘Into the Light’, ‘Feel It’, ‘Social Me’ and ‘Set You Off’.

As you can see from the setlist, Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers played everything (and I mean everything) from their latest record Pluto (BaebleMusic).

The rather large band featured Joe Hertler on vocals, guitars and harmonica, Ryan Hoger on guitar, Jason Combs on bass, “Pinetop Deadfish” on drums, Mickey Soho on keys, Aaron Stinson on saxophone, and Kevin Pritchard on production.

Based on the colorful costumes and their ability to jam, you can tell the group was having a great time travelling to various cities. New bassist Jason Combs even confessed that this was his first time in Minneapolis and he loves it. He described it as “It’s kind of like Detroit, only with more Muslims!”

Midway in their set, due to the audience’s request, the band played ‘Captain America’, which was originally not listed on their setlist.

If you like the Village People’s costumes and psychedelic, funk music, you definitely need to check out Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers.

Remaining tour dates:

04/12 Riot Room, Kansas City MO
04/13 Vanguard, Tulsa, OK
04/19 Rebel Lounge, Phonix AZ
04/20 Mint, Los Angeles, CA
04/22 Brick & Mortar, SF CA
04/30 White Eagle, Portland OR
05/06 Bluebird Theater, Denver CO
05/09 Blue Moose Tap, Iowa City, IA
05/11 Duck Room, St Louis MO
05/12 Mousetrap, Indianpolis, IN
05/14 Eddie's Attic, Atlanta GA
05/18 Original Cafe Eleven, St Augustine FL
05/31 Club Cafe, Pittsburgh PA
06/02 Knitting Factory, Brooklyn NY
06/09 Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI
06/25 Electric Forest, Rothbury MI
06/30 Electric Forest, Rothbury MI

Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (08 April 2017)

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

Vérité at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (25 May 2016)

Verite Setlist Echo Constant Crush Sentiment Colors Underdressed Rest Gesture Wasteland Sober (Childish Gambino cover) Strange Enough Living Weekend Read More Verite Vérité (the stage name for Kelsey Byrne) will be in Minneapolis next Wednesday, May 25th, in support of her new 2016 EP Living. Vérité talked about the EP, “Living was written …

Vérité (aka Kelsey Byrne) just played her first headlined gig in Minneapolis last Wednesday, May 25th, at the 7th Street Entry, in support of her new EP Living.

Dance Assault

Opening up the show was local Dance Assault, a duo led by singer/synths Carson and drummer Kenneth (the last time we saw them, they also had an additional guitarist). Their brief 30-min set was similar to their show in 2015, which included ‘Feel It’ and ‘The Power.’

Lost Boy Crow

Next up was Los Angeles’ Lost Boy Crow (stylized as LostBoyCrow), who played a selection of his EP Sigh For Me, including ‘Love Won’t Sleep’.... plus, he threw in his brand new single ‘Thursday’.

The singer/songwriter’s sound can be described as a dark R&B.

Vérité

When Vérité came on stage, playing ‘Echo’, she immediately felt love from her dancing section (aka her biggest fans) in the front. The fans previously saw her with Ms Mr last October 2015, and raved about her modern love songs.

Vérité always made sure she appreciated people for showing up to her show, “I’m so happy to see you all here.”

Setlist

With help from Andrew on drums and Mike on guitars/keys, Vérité basically played almost everything that she’s ever written... and even throwing in a Childish Gambino cover song ‘Sober’ to reach her headlining 45+ min set. However, based on her fans and Vérité’s drive to write heartfelt electropop songs... she’ll be back again soon and will likely play even longer. Of course, with a smaller catalog of songs, she understandably did not come back on stage after her set closer ‘Weekend’.

Vérité’s Living is out now... her remaining tour dates below:

5/29 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
5/31 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
6/2 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo

Vérité at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (25 May 2016)

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

Minneapolis: May 1, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on May 1, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Big Black Delta Another side project was next- Big Black Delta, comprised of Mellowdrone bassist and vocalist, Jonathan Bates, who was joined by manic drummer, Chris Hornbrook ..… Dance Assault Next was Dance Assault, lead by singer/synths Carson in cool shades with the help of drummer Kenneth and guitarist Jay. The trio played about six songs, mostly taken from their debut album Into the Light .…

BIG BLACK DELTA
at Fine Line Music Cafe
Sunday, 05/01/16, 7pm ($12/$16)
finelinemusic.com

Mellowdrone frontman Jonathan Bates is back headlining as Big Black Delta. He is touring in support of his sophomore album Trágame Tierra (out now). The tour kicks off May 1st at the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis.

We previously caught Big Black Delta in March 2014 and wrote, “Tracks played during their 40 min. set were all from the debut, coursing with dark energy on the hitting ‘Put the Gun on the Floor’, with Bates jerking about while cuing up loops and beats, pacing the stage as Hornbrook drummed without abandon. ‘Side of the Road’ pulsed with laptop beats, while closer ‘IF**KINGLOVE YOU’ started somewhat gospel-centrically, before it unwound into an electronic melee of sounds and beats, to close their impressive set.”

Apollo Cobra and Dance Assault to open.

Tour Dates:

May 1 - Minneapolis - Fine Line Music Cafe
May 3 - Dubuque, IA - The Venue
May 4 - Kansas City - Middle Of The Map
May 5 - Chicago - Empty Bottle
May 6 - Detroit - UFO Factory
May 8 - Toronto - Adelaide Hall
May 9 - Montreal - Bar Le Ritz
May 10 - Burlington VT - ArtsRiot
May 11 - Baby’s All Right - Brooklyn
May 13 - Boston - Cafe 939
May 14 - Albany - The Hollow
May 15 - Philadelphia - Milkboy
May 16 - DC - Black Cat
May 17 - Baltimore - Metro Gallery
May 19 - Vancouver - Biltmore Cabaret
May 20 - Seattle - Crocodile
May 22 - Portland - Doug Fir Lounge
May 26 - San Francisco - Great American
May 27 - OC - Constellatino Room
May 28 - LA - The Regent
May 29 - San Diego - Casbah

Read More White Denim In contrast to the lyrics-thing, White Denim are more like crazy pyschedelic, garagey, experimental rock 'n roll - with minimal lyrics. Whatever singer James Petralli .…

WHITE DENIM
at Turf Club
Sunday, 05/01/16, 7:30pm ($15/$17)
turfclub.net

White Denim, having recently released Stiff, is currently on tour.

We wrote about White Denim before they released their debut album in 2008: “White Denim is comprised of three men from Austin, Texas. They have a quite distinct rock sound, which immediately reminded me of The Hives and The Ramones. Their somewhat hard-rock/edgy tone produces some very catchy drum patterns.”

Eventually they came to town, and we were more than happy to check them out in November 2009 and noted, “crazy pyschedelic, garagey, experimental rock 'n roll - with minimal lyrics. Whatever singer James Petralli spouted out, it didn't matter because you were so in awe of his amazing guitar-playing ability.”

Opening the show will be multi-instrumentalist Sam Cohen. Cohen is formerly of Apollo Sunshine and leader of Yellowbirds. Cohen recently released Cool It, which Pitchfork said was “an American Lennon with some Dylan affectations”.

Tour Dates:

04/26/16 New York, NY The Bowery Ballroom
04/28/16 Columbus, OH Skully's Music Diner
04/29/16 Indianapolis, IN The Hi Fi
04/30/16 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
05/01/16 Saint Paul, MN Turf Club
05/03/16 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway
05/04/16 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
06/04/16 Free Press Summer Fest
07/17/16 Forecastle Festival
07/18/16 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
10/05/16 Glasgow ABC1
10/06/16 Leeds Stylus
10/08/16 Bristol O2 Academy Bristol
10/10/16 Nottingham Rock City
10/11/16 London Roundhouse

Read More Into It. Over It. Indie rock Into It. Over It. (the stagename for Chicago musician Evan Thomas Weiss) is on tour around the area... biding his time so he can head out on tour .... The Sidekicks The Sidekicks and Yowler to open the show. Saintseneca Tour Dates 10/16: Blind Pig, Ann Arbor 10/17: Empty Bottle, Chicago ....

INTO IT. OVER IT.
at Triple Rock Social Club
Sunday, 05/01/16, 6pm ($15)
triplerocksocialclub.com

Into It. Over It. (aka Evan Weiss) is currently on tour with The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die (aka TWIABP).

Into It. Over It. recently released Standards on Triple Crown Records, so it’s fitting that he’ll be playing the Triple Rock Social Club this May 1st.

Emo band TWIABP’s latest Long Live Happy Birthday is out now on Topshelf.

Also on this all-ages bill will be The Sidekicks and Pinegrove.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

4/27 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
4/28 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Cafe
4/29 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
4/30 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
5/01 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
5/03 - Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
5/04 - Ehrenfeld, Germany @ Underground
5/05 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Winston
5/06 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Kavka
5/07 - Southampton, UK - Joiners
5/08 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
5/09 - London, UK - Scala
5/10 - Manchester, UK - Soundcontrol
5/11 - Glasgo ,UK - Restless Natives Fest
5/12 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
5/13 - Nottingham, UK - Bodega

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

Christmas 2015: A Very Murray Christmas

Read More Miley Cyrus Miley Cyrus' oversexualized Bangerz shows have been getting a lot of attention, criticized in TMZ where they comment how her parents were in the audience at one of her recent show. …

Like previous years, I will be compiling some 2015 Christmas songs and Xmas-related news for you to enjoy!

Read more Christmas.

A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS
netflix.com

Do you have Netflix? Their two original Marvel television shows (Daredevil and Jessica Jones) are amazing. While Daredevil started off strong, it petered out because they switched showrunner. Jessica Jones is brilliant throughout, although it could have been tighter as maybe a 10 episode series.

Anyway, Netflix's original film A Very Murray Christmas, starring Bill Murray, came out on Friday (December 4th). The comedy/musical is directed by Coppola, who previously directed Murray in Lost in Translation.

Featuring guests:

George Clooney
Paul Shaffer
Amy Poehler
Julie White
Dimitri Dimitrov
Michael Cera
Chris Rock
David Johansen
Maya Rudolph
Jason Schwartzman
Jenny Lewis
Rashida Jones
Miley Cyrus

Read More Dance Assault Next was Dance Assault, lead by singer/synths Carson in cool shades with the help of drummer Kenneth and guitarist Jay. The trio played about six songs, mostly taken from their debut album Into the Light .…

A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS
first-avenue.com

Celebrating all-things Bill Murray is local Camaraderie Records' "A Very Murray Christmas", featuring Dance Assault, Clementine, Ego Death, Monica LaPlante, Star Magnet (who we just mentioned will be opening for Jack Ladder), and "get thee to" The Nunnery.

Show starts at 7pm at the Turf Club in St Paul on December 16th.

Details below:

Murray Christmas is upon us!

Please join Camaraderie as we celebrate all things Murray. Costume contests, sighting stories, and a whole lot of holiday cheer. Performances by all our favorites:

The Nunnery

Star Magnet

Monica LaPlante

Ego Death

Clementine

Dance Assault

$6 | 21+ | Starts at 7 PM and ends when...Bill shows up.

Read More Sinéad O'Connor As you know, I'm a huge Sinéad O'Connor fan, having steadily followed her career since the late 80s (you can read more about my journey of discovery here). We recently covered her "American Kindness …

A MURRAY CHRISTMAS
rte.ie/radio

Before DJ John Murray retired from Irish radio earlier this Summer 2015, RTÉ Radio put together this special Christmas/Holiday compilation called A Murray Christmas (in 2012) and A Murray Christmas 2: Songs and Inspirational Readings from RTE Radio 1's John Murray Show (in 2014) with many local (Irish) bands, including famed singer Sinead O'Connor.

A Murray Christmas track listing:

1 White Christmas by Declan O'Rourke
2 A Christmas Song by Wallis Bird
3 When a Child Is Born by Danny O'Reilly, Sinéad O'Connor
4 Mr Snowman by The Henry Girls
5 The Invitation by Eoin Dillon, Sharon Commins
6 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by The Coronas
7 A Wexford Carol by Crux Vocal Ensemble
8 A Christmas Childhood by John Spillane
9 Away in a Manger by Miss Paula Flynn
10 Oiche Nollaig by Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Sharon Shannon
11 The Little Match Girl by Luan Parle
12 Don Oíche Úd Í Mbeithil by Lumiere
13 Christmas Day by John Spillane, Pauline Scanlon
14 Be Thankful by David Brophy, Maeve McGivern
15 Let It Snow by Jack L, Wallis Bird
16 Once in Royal David's City by Sinead O'Connor

A MURRAY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
mistershowbiz.com

Comedian and nice guy Murray Hill, “the hardest working middle-aged man in show business”, has his Yuletide tradition show: "A Murray Little Christmas" at Le Poison Rouge on Saturday, December 19th.

Description:

Expect an evening of hilarious and wacky skits with the cast, Hot Toddy burlesque, a sleigh full of cheesy holiday songs, plenty of nuts, fruits and tree trimming. Murray also promises a few tender moments when he sings his signature “Have Yourself a Murray Little Christmas.” Murray just returned from touring the country with Dita Von Teese and landed his sleigh just in time for his holiday extravaganza!

This non-returnable gift of holiday entertainment captures the joy and jubilation, the Murray-ment and magnificence of the holiday season (all denominations, orientations and sexual proclivities will be celebrated). Have Yourself a Murray Little Christmas now, you’ll be glad you did.

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

Freezepop at the Nether Bar, Minneapolis (18 July 2015)

Freezepop Setlist Bike Thief Magnetic Natural Causes (request) Phantoms (new song) Manipulate Freezepop Forever Tender Lies テニスのボーイフレンド (Tennis Boyfriend) Science Genius Girl Plastic Stars Harebrained Scheme Get Ready 2 Rokk Stakeout -- Encore -- Doppelganger Special Effects Less Talk More Rokk Super Sprode (request) Jem Theme (Jem and the Holograms cover) Read More Freezepop I'm pretty excited to let you know that Boston's Freezepop will be doing a very small three-show Midwest tour this week - starting on Thursday .…

"Get ready 2 rokk..."

Synthpop Freezepop just ended their mini-Midwest tour at the Nether Bar (at Mill City Nights) in Minneapolis last night, July 18th.

The Electric Witch

DJ SLT kept music in the synthpop genre going after doors opened and between band sets, starting with duo Duck Duck Punch (Bryan & Trent) and followed by The Electric Witch (featuring singer Mary Bue in a mask). I had a hard time working out the songs for TEW, but I suspect many of those songs were taken from their latest We See the Shapes (Xero Music).

Dance Assault

Next was Dance Assault, lead by singer/synths Carson in cool shades with the help of drummer Kenneth and guitarist Jay. The trio played about six songs, mostly taken from their debut album Into the Light, including "Feel It", "Keep Me Sane", and "The Power".

Boston's Freezepop (Liz, Sean, Robert, and Marie) was a lot of fun. You can just tell right away when they were doing their soundchecks, playfully keying in the first few notes of Prince's "1999" (as you do when you are in his hometown), Van Halen's "Jump" and The Smurfs Theme Song.

Also, if there was one thing you can take away from their show last night, it was that they never forgot to thank their fans. Can you believe it's been fifteen years since their debut album Freezepop Forever originally came out?

I suspect when they were putting together their setlist, that they had so many requests for songs from their debut album, that they decided to put them all together in a block. It became a running joke, with Sean Drinkwater kept introducing those songs as "Let's go back in time from our first album Freezepop Forever..." or "This is all the way back from our first album Freezepop Forever..." or "We're going to do something from our first album..." This is good to hear, as some bands are sometime embarrassed and tend to not play any old songs (Metric, Camera Obscura to name a few bands that came to mind).

There was one early request from a Brian who asked them to play "Natural Causes", followed by a new song called "Phantoms", which required audience participation of singing back the word "phantoms".

Freezepop

Singer Liz messed up on "テニスのボーイフレンド (Tennis Boyfriend)" and requested a 'do over'. According to their banter, they also messed up (on a different song) in Chicago.

The rest of the show went on without any problems, even though their set changed from night to night and sometime had to play songs they haven't rehearsed in a while.

Setlist

After the fake 'going back stage' (they were still on stage) and hearing the "Encore" chants, they came back to play a few more tracks. Based on all the singing, the biggest hit of the night was clearly "Less Talk More Rokk"... with its lyrics, "the music is loud/the kids are so young/all over the world/they wanna have fun... just give us more rokk", serving as their anthem.

I thought that was the end of the show, especially when Robert "Bananas" started taking a photo of the audience, fans were shouting requests like "Super Sprode" .... which lead them to do an impromptu version of the song (well.... only after Brian found the correct beats/backing tracks on his laptop of course). During the chorus, fans threw on underwear on stage!

That wasn't the end of it, they ended their entire show with the "Jem Theme" song, encouraging fans to sing along.

I got the feeling that the band have a close relationship to their fans, knowing their names and more than happy to play requests... and it's that kind of personal interaction that creates a strong and loyal fanbase.

Freezepop at the Nether Bar, Minneapolis (18 July 2015)

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

Minneapolis: April 16 - April 18, 2015

Here are some shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul from April 16 to April 18, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Mastodon Heavy metal band Mastodon will be playing an all-ages show at First Avenue on Wednesday. The Atlanta-based band are currently on tour in support of their latest album Once More Round the Sun which … Clutch Maybe it's less than momentous to debut as a guest blogger with a group as well known as Clutch, but having been a longtime reader, it seemed to me that we were lacking in the angry metal department. … Big Business Seattle’s Big Business, formed in 2004 by Karp bassist Jared Warren and Murder City Devils drummer Coady Willis followed with a down-to-business 35 min. set with a deep bottom end. In support of their latest, 2013’s …

MISSING LINK TOUR
at Myth
Thursday 04/16/15, 6pm ($29.50)
mythlive.com

Mastodon and Clutch are co-headlining The Missing Link Tour, with the bands swapping out closing the evening depending on dates and locations.

Neil Fallon (singer of Clutch) responded: "When we first announced the Missing Link itinerary it was received with a lot of excitement. It also received a good deal of consternation regarding the lack of a Detroit date. Myself included. So, we're happy to announce that there is now a Detroit gig on May, 23rd at the Freedom Hill Amphitheater. See ya there."

Supporting bands Big Business, who recently supported Mastodon throughout a sold-out European tour, is listed to open the show in Minnesota. We previously saw Big Business with the Sword in March 2014, which we described as, "Having previously opened for Tool and as the rhythm section of The Melvins Big Band, the trust was earned, and they did not disappoint."

Tour dates:

04/16 *St. Paul, MN Myth
04/17 * Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre
04/18 *Saskatoon, SK O'Brian's Events Center
04/19 * Edmonton, AB Expo Centre
04/21 * Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall
04/23 * Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
04/24 **Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
04/25 *Portland, OR Roseland
04/26 *Seattle, WA Showbox SODO
04/28 *Oakland, CA Fox Theater
04/29 *Los Angeles, CA Palladium
04/30 *Tempe, AZ Marquee Theater
05/01 *Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
05/02 *Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
05/03 *Denver, CO Red Rock's
05/05 *San Antonio, TX Kapone's Ballroom
05/06 *Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
05/08 Atlanta, GA Shaky Knees Festival
05/09 *Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
05/10 **Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
05/12 *Clive, IA (Des Moines) 7 Flags
05/13 *Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom Club Stage
05/15 **Bethlehem, PA Sands Event Center
05/16 **Baltimore, MD Pier Six Pavilion
05/17 *Boston, MA House of Blues
05/19 *New York, NY Central Park Summerstage
05/20 *Niagara Falls, NY Rapids Theatre
05/21 *London, ON London Music Hall
05/23 **Sterling Heights, MI Freedom Hall
05/24 **Columbus, OH LC Pavilion

*Mastodon Closes The Evening. **Clutch Closes The Evening

Read More Junip Thanks to the Current radio station, last night's Junip show at the Cedar Cultural Center, in Minneapolis, was sold out. This is both good and bad: good because it's great exposure for the band … Ólöf Arnalds Sondre Lerche on "Blossom", Channy Leaneagh on "Counting", and Ólöf Arnalds on "The Nest". As pointed out by Arnalds, drummer Greg Saunier, from Deerhoof, was the odd-man out …

JOSE GONZALES
at Cedar Cultural Center
Friday 04/17/15, 7pm ($20/Sold Out)
thecedar.org

It's official, José González entire North American tour is sold out*. This is Gonzales' first solo tour dates since 2008 (we previously saw him with Junip in 2011 and 2013), so fans are very eager to see him live again with a full band.

González will be playing tracks from his latest album Vestiges & Claws, his first album in seven years, which Under The Radar called it "a succinct evolution."

We're also excited to see that Olöf Arnalds was tapped as opener. She is the cousin to Ólafur Arnalds and múm singer.

José González 2015 Tour:

04/10 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
04/11 – Boston, MA - Paradise
04/12 – Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
04/13 – Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
04/14 – Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
04/15 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
04/16 – Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
04/17 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
04/18 - Madison - Majestic Theatre
04/20 - Englewood - Gothic Theatre
04/21 – Boulder, CO – E Town
04/22 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
04/24 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
04/25 – Vancouver, BC – Imperial
04/27 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
04/28 - San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365 Club
04/29 - Los Angeles - The Regent
04/30 - Los Angeles – The Regent

* Well one lone date (Salt Lake City) needs to get on the sold out party train....

Read More They Might be Giants Memo to myself, do the dumb things I gotta do... John and John are at it again! They Might be Giants will also be touring in 2015 .… Information Society Our special guest on W♥M Radio is Paul Robb from Information Society! Information Society is back with the original lineup of Paul Robb (synths), Kurt Larson (vocals) and James Cassidy (bass, keyboards). .…

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
at First Avenue
Saturday 04/18/15, 8pm ($25)
first-avenue.com

Who would have thought that two of my favorite bands are playing the same night (Saturday 04/18) in Minneapolis? Information Society will be at the Fine Line Music Café in support of their latest album _Hello World, with openers Thought Thieves, Dance Assault and DJ Jake Rudh of Transmission ...

Since I'm not a fan of the Fine Line (for its aggressive no-camera policies and bad sightlines), I'm probably going to choose old favorites They Might Be Giants at First Avenue. TMBG's 2015 national tour kicks off next week, April 16th, in celebration of their Dial-A-Song service/collection. Admittedly, when I was in their fanclub, back in the days when long distances charges was a common telephone tactic to charge you more for their services... I did pay to call to their answering machine. Those were the days....

Anyway, the last time the duo (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) was in town (in 2013) it was sold out, so expect a strong fan support at this show.

Spring 2015 National Tour Dates:

04/16 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small's Theatre
04/17 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
04/18 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
04/19 Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theatre
04/21 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
04/22 Albany, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
04/23 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
04/24 Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
04/25 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
04/26 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
05/01 Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
05/02 Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
05/03 San Diego, CA @ Belly Up
05/05 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
05/06 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
05/07 Seattle, WA @ Neptune
05/08 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
05/09 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
05/10 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
05/13 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
05/14 Austin, TX @ Stubb's
05/15 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
05/16 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
05/17 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
05/31 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

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