W♥M

Flashback: Ice Palace at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (23 April 2009)

Ice Palace Setlist Outside the Gates Phonebook Pillow Pirates by Thirty Just Wait Lily Hubris Younger in a Year Nuance and Spark Coliseum Slow Motion Fall Devil's Tower Thoughts/Facts Dark Dark Dark Setlist Silver Spade Trouble No More All The Things The Hand Junk Bones Flood Bright Bright Bright Make Time Caroline Smith Setlist Grizzly Bear Tying My Shoes Five Month Too Long Shotgun Green To Grey Lack Of Height Birch Trees & Broken Barns Sally Clench My Teeth Gracie Closing the Doors Read More Ice Palace Ice Palace “ Wonder Subtly Crushing Us Wonder Subtly Crushing Us opens like pure indie rock beatitude; the knee-jerk impulse to look not happy and wearing tiny pants is overwhelming. Phonebook Pillow is probably …

This was a last-minute request to cover this Ice Palace show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, on April 23, 2009. Unfortunately, during the rush to the venue, I had forgotten to bring my camera.

>>>
Ice Palace just held their CD-release party (Wonder Subtly Crushing Us, released on Earthology Records) last night at the lovely Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. Helping them celebrate are three local bands: Dark Dark Dark, To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie, and Caroline Smith And The Good Night Sleeps.

Judging from last night's audiences, there was a huge influx of alt-country/americana folky crowd of young people. I am told that this kind of music is massive, especially in the mid-west. It's only too bad that, in my opinion, Ice Palace is more guitar indie rock, and To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie is far too experimental and tribal - which had their own sort of audiences. Still, it all balanced out, I suppose.

Caroline Smith And The Good Night Sleeps: The first time I heard of Caroline Smith was when Brody was raving about her. I think at the time, she didn't really a record or a full band (?), but from the looks of things last night - she seems to be doing quite well so far.

I think the highlight for me was the one acoustic-only song (her upright bassist and percussions took a break), I think on the setlist it's listed as "Gracie", the song after "Clench My Teeth".

To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie: I thought this was the most interesting of all the bands. I think if they had opened up for the Japanese noise band, The Boredoms, they would've fitted right in. Unfortunately, the midwestern folky audience didn't know what to do with Bourgeoisie.

The singer looks half-Asian or something, she's a small thing. I thought she was exclusively the singer, but she did play a little keyboard and also guitar at some point. The best songs on their setlist was when they had live drumming, but the highlight for me was when the violinist joined them on stage for the third song.

Dark Dark Dark: Their name is a bit of a misnomer, they don't seem very dark to me (in fact, Bourgeoisie is a darker band). If their name sounds familiar, that's because we've previously mentioned them a few times, check out Andrew's review.

I was actually kind of excited to see them, their set consists of mostly accordion songs (which sort of made many of their songs to sound Frenchy or even carnival-y). I asked singer Nona about their EP, Love You, Bye, because I wanted to pick it up (since I already had their LP), but she said it was out of print (edit: see tweet below.)

Ice Palace: Clearly, having been touring the country with Cloud Cult has been good to Ice Palace. They were very confident on stage, and everyone had an especially good time rocking out. I will tell you what though: for their first two songs ("Outside The Gates" and "Phonebook Pillow"), they had three guitars, one bass, and drums. Yes, lots of loud clashing layers of guitars, particularly on "Phonebook Pillow".

My favorite songs from the set was the trumpet songs ("Devils Tower", "Thoughts/Facts"). For their finale, they had, I think the drummer from The Good Night Sleeps' Arlen Peiffer joining them on stage to do tambourine.

Please note: This was really last minute, so I didn't have time to prep for a camera. Also, everyone had about a 30-minute set, with the exception of Ice Palace, for obvious reasons. Plus, all the bands had setlists, except for Bourgeoisie - who apparently are rebels... :)

Caroline Smith And The Good Night Sleeps Setlist

Dark Dark Dark Setlist

Ice Palace Setlist

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Minneapolis: May 2, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on May 2, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Wild Nothing "Only Heather" by Virginia's Wild Nothing, taken from their second album Nocturne (August 28, 2012) via Captured Tracks. Wild Nothing came highly recommended by ..…

WILD NOTHING
at Triple Rock Social Club
Monday, 05/02/16, 7:30pm ($15)
triplerocksocialclub.com

Wild Nothing (aka Jack Tatum) will be making a stop at the Triple Rock Social Club on Monday, May 2nd in support of his third album, Life of Pause. This album was recorded with Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver) and packs a punch.

Tatum previously played in Jack and the Whale and FACEPOINT but has found his success with Wild Nothing (est. 2009). It's easy to tell why Wild Nothing received "Best New Music" from Pitchfork back in 2012 and ended up on many year-end lists. Come see for yourself!

Newcomers Whitney (not to be confused with the late Whitney Houston) to open. Whitney is lead by drummer/vocalist Julien Ehrlich, previously from Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Tour Dates:

4/26 - Vancouver - Biltmore Cabaret $
4/27 - Portland - Doug Fir Lounge $
4/28 - Boise – Neurolux $#
4/29 - Denver – Bluebird $#
4/30 – Denver – Bluebird Theater
5/02 - Minneapolis - Triple Rock Social Club $#
5/03 - Chicago - Thalia Hall $#
5/04 - Ferndale - The Loving Touch $#
5/05 - Toronto - The Opera House#
5/07 - Philadelphia – 714
5/08 - New York - Webster Hall#
5/09 - Cambridge - The Sinclair#
5/11 - Washington, D.C. - Black Cat#
5/12 - Richmond - The Broadberry#
5/13 - Raleigh – Kings#
5/14 - Atlanta - Shaky Knees Festival, Atlantic Station
5/15 - New Orleans - Gasa Gasa#
5/16 - Austin - The Mohawk#
5/18 - Phoenix - Crescent Ballroom#
5/20 - Los Angeles - The Regent#
6/04 - Barcelona - Primavera Sound Barcelona
6/09 - Porto - Primavera Sound Porto
6/11 - London - Field Day Festival
6/13 - London – Oslo
6/14 - Leeds - Belgrave Music Hall
6/15 - Glasgow - CCA: Centre for Contemporary Arts
6/16 - Manchester - Band on the Wall
6/18 - Hilvarenbeek - Best Kept Secret Festival
6/20 - Paris - Le Point Ephemere
6/22 - Hamburg - Knust
6/23 - Berlin – Lido


$ - Whitney
# - Charlie Hilton

Read More Dark Dark Dark It wouldn't be a 'dark' article unless we include Minneapolis' Dark Dark Dark. Longtime readers should note that we've been covering the band ..…

RONIIA / CROSS RECORDS
at 7th Street Entry
Monday, 05/02/16, 7:30pm ($8/$10)
first-avenue.com

Cross Record is not a record label, but the stagename for Emily Cross. She has just released her sophomore album Wabi-Sabi (Ba Da Bing Records) and currently touring with her husband and bandmate, Dan Duszynski, in support of the record. Although I believe this is her show, she’s actually not listed as the headliner.

Closing out the event will be local Roniia (stylized as RONiiA). This is the group lead by Nona Marie Invie, who you may know was from the popular Dark Dark Dark group.

Guest Maggie Morrison will open the show.

Cross Record Tour Dates

April 26 - Lawrence, KS @ Love Garden Records
April 27 - St. Louis, MO @ Heavy Anchor
April 30 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas
May 2 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
May 3 - Iowa City, IA @ Trumpet Blossom
May 5 - Omaha, NE @ O'Leavers
May 7 - Fort Collins, CO @ Wolverine Farms
May 10 - Portland, OR @ Analog Café
May 11 - Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
May 13 - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
May 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg
May 18 - Albuquerque, NM @ Ocotillo Room
May 20 - 3TEN ACL Live

Read More Crosby, Stills & Nash The music they used in the background was mostly Crosby, Stills & Nash ("Wooden Ships", "Long Time Gone") - who would later appear to end the first part of the documentary. ..…

THE RIDES
at Ames Center
Monday, 05/02/16, 7:30pm ($39.50-$79.50)
ames-center.com

Supergroup The Rides is the project of two time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stephen Stills (you know, the “Stills” in Crosby, Stills, & Nash - and sometimes “and Young”), five time Grammy nominated guitar great Kenny Wayne Shepherd and celebrated Chicago rock/blues keyboardist Barry Goldberg. The band will be releasing their sophomore album Pierced Arrow this May 6th via 429 Records.

The upcoming 16-date U.S. tour will kick off May 2 in Burnsville (near Minneapolis) at the Ames Center.

“Pierced Arrow” Tour

May 2 Burnsville, MN Ames Center
May 3 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
May 5 Springfield, IL Sangamon Auditorium
May 6 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater
May 8 Merrillville, IN Star Plaza Theater
May 9 Munhall, PA Carnegie of Homestead
May 11 Englewood, NJ Bergen Perf Arts Ctr
May 12 New York, NY Town Hall
May 13 Kingston, NY UPAC
May 15 Bethlehem, PA Sands Bethlehem
May 17 Boston, MA Wilbur Theater
May 18 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak
June 1 San Diego, CA Balboa Theater
June 2 Berkeley, CA UC Theater
June 4 Scottsdale, AZ Talking Stick
June 5 Riverside, CA Fox Performing Arts Center

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Minneapolis: July 7 - July 9, 2015

Read More Anonymous Choir The "band" was the Anonymous Choir, a large cast of women backup singer lead by Nona Marie (Dark Dark Dark). The music portion was provided by the Ventures Cover Band, plus two additional horn players …

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from July 7 to July 9, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

STAX COVER BAND
at the Turf Club
Tuesday, 07/07/15, 8pm ($6)
Details: turfclub.net

The Stax Cover Band is the new project by Nona Marie (from Dark Dark Dark and Anonymous Choir) with music by The Ventures Cover Band.

If there is one thing I know about Anonymous Choir, it is that they love covering other people's music... and I guess naturally Marie is in love with old 60's Stax soul sound.

While most casual music fans may know Motown, few may know about Stax - which is the combination of the two siblings who founded the record company: Stewart and Axton, forming "St-Ax".

The label's biggest star at the time was Otis Redding, and for a time was rivalling Motown. By the mid-70s, the label was went out of business.

Opening up at this 21+ show will be Magnetic Ghost, also known as Andy Larson of Whitesand/Badlands.

Read More Toad the Wet Sprocket Monty Python are due to reunite shortly for a series of shows in London, and California four-piece Toad the Wet Sprocket (who are named after a band in a Python skit) are back on the road, in support of their …

TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
at Mill City Nights
Wednesday, 07/08/15, 7:30pm ($32)
Details: millcitynights.com

Currently on tour with Smash Mouth, the 90's alternative/college music band Toad the Wet Sprocket will be doing a number of side shows... including Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on July 8th.

The band also has a new EP Architect of the Ruin, which came out last week, June 16th via Abe's Records.... but, of course, they'll be playing all their hit singles, including "All I Want" and "Walk on the Ocean".

Tour dates:

06/27/15 Las Vegas, NV Fremont Street Experience
06/28/15 San Diego, CA Humphrey's Concerts
06/30/15 Park City, UT Deer Valley Resort Snow
07/01/15 Pueblo, CO Memorial Hall
07/02/15 Arvada, CO Arvada Center
07/04/15 Heritage & Freedom Festival
07/05/15 Summerfest
07/06/15 National Cherry Festival
07/08/15 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
07/09/15 Oshkosh, WI Leach Amphitheater
07/10/15 Aurora, IL RiverEdge Park
07/14/15 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
07/17/15 Orkney Springs, VA Orkney Springs Hotel
07/18/15 Atlantic City, NJ Golden Nugget
07/23/15 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Botanical Garden
07/25/15 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
07/29/15 New York, NY Irving Plaza
07/31/15 Plymouth, NH Flying Monkey House

Read More Lenka Have also been discovering some Aussie acts lately, namely Lenka and Kate Miller-Heidke. …

LENKA
at Cedar Cultural Center
Thursday, 07/09/15, 7pm ($13)
Details: thecedar.org

Australian Lenka will be stopping by Minneapolis' Cedar Cultural Center on Thursday, July 9th, in support of her fourth album The Bright Side (which came out June 16th via Skipalong Records/Hickory Records/RED Distribution).

Recently, the singer said that due to a family-related emergency, that she will be forced to cut her US tour short, so the following shows are cancelled: Wilmington, Vienna, Chapel Hill and Atlanta. Fortunately, Minneapolis is still on her radar.

British singer/songwriter Nick Howard will be opening the show.

Tour dates:

06/28/15 Dallas, TX House of Blues
06/29/15 Austin, TX Stubbs Jr.
06/30/15 Houston, TX House of Blues
07/08/15 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen
07/09/15 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
07/10/15 Madison, WI The Frequency
07/11/15 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
07/13/15 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
07/15/15 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
07/16/15 Boston, MA The Sinclair

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

Claes Oldenburg: The Sixties Afterparty at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (09/21/13)

Claes Oldenburg in his studio in New York, 2011 Photo: Jürgen Frank © mumok/Jürgen Frank Read More Walker Art Center If you live in Minneapolis, or just a tourist passing through, you'll undoubtedly recognize Claes Oldenburg's Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture at the Walker Art Center. .…

The grand opening of Claes Oldenburg: The Sixties exhibit at the Walker Art Center is today (September 22nd), but we got to experience the collection late last night before it was open to the public via an after party event.

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Nearly 300 pieces from is on display at the Walker Art Center's Collection, focusing on Oldenburg's earliest work, in particular the 60s. Oldenburg is known for his large-scale of ordinary objects, like the spoon or the shuttlecock or the clothespin, so this early collection gives you a behind-the-scene look at his inspirations. I was focused on the cherry and spoon area because of obvious reason, and the curator showcase those pieces in one area. We got to see sketches and written ideas and a small scale sculpture version.

The other interesting setup is the Mouse Museum and Ray Gun Wing, which are actually walk-in structures. There were a maximum capacity of occupancy, so I only went in the Ray Gun room (there was a massive line for the Mouse Museum). The guns were cool, many of these things are out of print and the artist clearly was obsessed with ray gun at some point in his life.

Claes Oldenburg: The Sixties exhibit at the Walker Art Center will be on display from Sunday, September 22 through January 12, 2014.

As for the music portion, this was presented in the McGuire Theater. The "band" was the Anonymous Choir, a large cast of women backup singer lead by Nona Marie (Dark Dark Dark). The music portion was provided by the Ventures Cover Band, plus two additional horn players who came on later in their set.

All the songs were covers of old soul songs, everything from sad tones of Wendy René's "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" to fun songs like The Fascinations' "Girls Are Out To Get You". I preferred the upbeat songs, with my favorite of the night being a great rendition of Ruby Johnson's "Weak Spot".

It's clear to me that Anonymous Choir are fans of that music genre as some of the covers aren't the typical popular soul songs. Their next show will be with Dosh at the Cedar Cultural Center on December 20th. I believe they will be playing Neil Young songs, based on their new record Neil Young's After the Gold Rush.

Anonymous Choir at McGuire Theater, Minneapolis (09/21/13)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ walkerart.org

Dark Dark Dark Dark

THE DARKNESS
theactualdarkness.com

The Darkness first came on the scene with their debut 2003 album, Permission to Land, and quickly gained this reputation for putting on some amazing elaborate live stage shows. There was also a lot of backlashes for the makeup and ridiculousness of it all, but I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Although the band was generally loved, they broke up in 2006 due to lead singer Justin Hawkins' "alcohol and cocaine problems" (according to the tabloid newspaper The Sun). After a five year break, The Darkness came back with Hawkins, once again as frontsman.

Anyway, they've proven they can still play with the best of them, having just opened up for Lady Gaga on her 2012 tour. The British glam rock band is looking forward to doing their headlining tour with the "Let Them Eat Cakes" 2013 World Tour. The name is obviously taken from their latest album, Hot Cakes (released in August 2012 via Wind-Up Records.)

01/10/13 Ft. Lauderdale, Fl - Revolution 01/11/13 Orlando, Fl - Hard Rock Live 01/12/13 Atlanta, Ga - Masquerade 01/14/13 Pittsburgh, Pa - Stage Ae 01/15/13 Baltimore, Md - Ram’s Head 01/18/13 Atlantic City, Nj - House Of Blues 01/19/13 Boston, Ma - Paradise Rock Club 01/21/13 Toronto, On - Phoenix 01/23/13 Columus, Oh - Newport Music Hall 01/25/13 Detroit, Mi - The Majestic Theatre 01/26/13 Milwaukee, Wi - The Rave 01/27/13 Chicago, Il - The Riviera Theatre 01/29/13 Minneapolis, Mn - First Avenue 01/30/13 Kansas City, Mo - Beaumont Club 02/01/13 Denver, Co - The Summit Music Hall 02/02/13 Aspen, Co - Belly Up 02/16/13 Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager 02/17/13 Stockholm, Sweden - Tyroz 02/19/13 Tampere, Finland - Pokkahive 02/20/13 Helsinki, Finland - Circus 02/22/13 Gothenburg, Sweden - Tradgarn 02/23/13 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller 02/24/13 Kristensand, Norway - Kick Scene

02/26/13 Hamburg, Germany - Grunenspan 02/27/13 Amsterdam, Holland - Paradiso 03/01/13 Sheffield, Uk - City Hall 03/02/13 Manchester, Uk - Apollo 03/03/13 Glasgow, Uk - Barrowlands 03/05/13 Newcastle, Uk - City Hall 03/06/13 Wolverhampton, Uk - Civic 03/07/13 London, Uk - Hammersmith Apollo 03/09/13 Paris, France - Bataclan 03/10/13 Zurich, Switzerland - Volkshaus 03/11/13 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz 03/13/13 Munich, Germany - Backstage Werk 03/14/13 Vienna, Austria - Arena 03/16/13 Warsaw, Poland - Stodola 03/18/13 Berlin, Germany - Cc Live 03/19/13 Cologne, Germany - Kanting 03/20/13 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg - Den Atilier 03/21/13 Antwerp, Belgium Trix 04/02/13 Adelaide, Sa - Aec 04/03/13 Brisbane, Qld - Riverstage 04/05/13 Sydney, Nsw - Hordem 04/06/13 Melbourne, Vic - To Be Confirmed 04/08/13 Auckland, Nz - To Be Confirmed

TAILOR
thisistailor.com

"The Dark Horse" is the debut solo album from Tailor (aka Melanie Le Roux).

Tailor explained the title, "I felt like a dark horse that day. I felt as vulnerable as I did as a child. The songs aren't about any particular childhood event, more that moment of clarity when you realize not everything your parents told you is true; when you discover your values are different and what you’ve grown up believing is not what you believe in at all."

Listen to "Wolf" on Soundcloud:



Tailor is playing at 2pm at "Park Acoustics" music festival in South Africa in late November. Click on the link below for details about the event.

11/25/12 Park Acoustics, South Africa - Voortrekker Monument
12/01/12 Elgin Country Club - Elgin, IL
02/23/13 Paul Cluver Theatre in Grabouw, IL (with Yoav)

BRIEFLY:

DARK DARK DARK brightbrightbright.com It wouldn't be a 'dark' article unless we include Minneapolis' Dark Dark Dark. Longtime readers should note that we've been covering the band since their debut record. Dark Dark Dark's latest video is "Tell Me", which you can see on YouTube. They just wrapped up their U.S. tour for support of Who Needs Who album, but they invading Australia and Europe very soon. See the latest tour details on their website.

REUBEN AND THE DARK reubenandthedark.com Not a lot of information on the band, the only thing I know is that it's headed by Reuben Bullock. They have a song "Shoulderblade" which you can download for free. The track will be featured on a yet-to-be-titled EP, coming out in 2013. Reuben and the Dark is playing a few New York shows: 11/16 | Glasslands w/ Liam Finn | 9pm 11/17 | Rockwood Music Hall | 9pm

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Dark Dark Dark at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (10/05/12)

Tour Dates 10/06 Chicago, IL @ Schubas 10/08 Hudson, NY @ Helsinki Hudson* 10/09 Allston, MA @ Great Scott* 10/10 Pawtucket, RI @ The Met* 10/11 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse* 10/12 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory* 10/13 New York, NY @ Le Poisson* 10/14 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery* 10/15 Washington, DC @ DC9* 10/16 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook* 10/17 Atlanta, GA @ 529* 10/18 New Orleans, LA @ Cafe Istanbul* 10/19 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's* 10/20 Austin, TX @ Holy Mountain* 10/21 Denton, TX @ Dan's Silverleaf* 10/24 Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Sol 10/26 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive* 10/27 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court* 10/28 Garden City, ID @ Visual Arts* 10/29 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile* 10/30 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom* 10/31 Nevada City, CA @ Haven Underg* 11/01 Santa Rosa, CA @ Arlene Francis* 11/02 Oakland, CA @ TNew Parish* 11/03 SF, CA @ Bottom of the Hill* 11/05 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex* 11/06 San Diego, CA @ Luce Loft* * w/ Emily Wells Read More Dark Dark Dark Just in time for Halloween comes Dark Dark Dark, the band so gloomy they named it thrice. Largely accordion and banjo driven - with cello, standup...

Dark Dark Dark just released their third album Who Needs Who this week, October 2nd. In celebration, they had two CD release shows: October 3rd and last night, October 5th. Having seen all three bands at three different occasions, I already knew I was in for a treat.

EMILY WELLS

As I previously written, Emily Wells is a one-woman band who uses live recording loops in her songs.

Songs on her set was mostly from her album Mama, including "Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well & The Requiem Mix", "Fire Song", and "Passenger". The odd song, not on her album was called "Don't Use Me Up," and her closer, a cover of Little Willie John's "Fever."

Highlight of her show was when she unveiled her brand new black-keys melodica before "Passenger" was played. She met someone on the Wednesday show who worked at a company that made melodica and gave her a new one. So she gave her old melodica to someone in the audience.

MOUNTAIN MAN

Mountain Man mostly did harmonizing a cappella-style songs on their set. It sounded much better indoors vs their patio show last year (mostly because the audio sounded one thousand times cleaner.)

They mostly stuck to traditional folk songs or cover songs, including "Blues Stay Away From Me", "How Am I Doin Hey Hey", "Whiskey River", "Babylon", and "Dog Song."

Mountain Man will be appearing on "A Prairie Home Companion" today, October 6th.

Since it was the CD release for Who Needs Who, most of the songs played live were taken from the album, including "Last Time I Saw Joe", "Meet In The Dark", and "How It Went Down."

There was a couple of non-Who Needs Who, including "Daydreaming" from their previous album Wild Go.

Encore was supposed to have three tracks, but they skipped the first one and ended with the title track, "Who Needs Who" and "Trouble No More."

Dark Dark Dark's Who Needs Who just came out October 2nd, you can pick up a copy at amazon.com. They will be heading out on tour in October and November with Emily Wells.

Dark Dark Dark at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (10/05/12)

vu () ♥ brightbrightbright.com ♥ facebook.com/mountainmansquint ♥ emilywellsmusic.com

Ice Palace at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (4/23/09)

Ice Palace - Thoughts/Facts Ice Palace Tour Dates 05/04/09 Rapid City, SD -  Dahl Arts Center 05/05/09 Bozeman, MT - Filling Station 05/06/09 Missoula, MT - Other Side 05/08/09 Seattle, WA - Neumos # 05/09/09 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Ballrm # 05/10/09 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballrm # 05/12/09 SF, CA -  Independent # 05/16/09 Tucson, AZ - Plush # 05/17/09 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room # 05/19/09 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre # 05/20/09 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room # w/ Cloud Cult, Say Hi Read More Caroline Smith http://weheartmus... Brody and Dolly talks about the music that they are loving lately. This includes Caroline Smith a... Cloud Cult http://weheartmus... Minneapolis experimental rockers Cloud Cult are primarily the creation of singer/songwriter ... Dark Dark Dark http://weheartmus... Just in time for Halloween comes Dark Dark Dark, the band so gloomy they named it thrice. Largely...

Ice Palace just held their CD-release party (Wonder Subtly Crushing Us, released on Earthology Records) last night at the lovely Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. Helping them celebrate are three local bands: Dark Dark Dark, To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie, and Caroline Smith And The Good Night Sleeps.

Judging from last night's audiences, there was a huge influx of alt-country/americana folky crowd of young people. I am told that this kind of music is massive, especially in the mid-west. It's only too bad that, in my opinion, Ice Palace is more guitar indie rock, and To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie is far too experimental and tribal - which had their own sort of audiences. Still, it all balanced out, I suppose.

Caroline Smith And The Good Night Sleeps Setlist ♥ Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (04/2/09)

Caroline Smith And The Good Night Sleeps (official/myspace): The first time I heard of Caroline Smith was when Brody was raving about her. I think at the time, she didn't really a record or a full band (?), but from the looks of things last night - she seems to be doing quite well so far.

I think the highlight for me was the one acoustic-only song (her upright bassist and percussions took a break), I think on the setlist it's listed as "Gracie", the song after "Clench My Teeth".

To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie (official/myspace): I thought this was the most interesting of all the bands. I think if they had opened up for the Japanese noise band, The Boredoms, they would've fitted right in. Unfortunately the midwestern folky audience didn't know what to do with Bourgeoisie.

The singer looks half-asian or something, she's a small thing. I thought she was exclusively the singer, but she did play a little keyboard and also guitar at some point. The best songs on their setlist was when they had live drumming, but the highlight for me was when the violinist joined them on stage for the third song.

Dark Dark Dark Setlist ♥ Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (04/2/09) Ice Palace Setlist ♥ Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (04/2/09)

Dark Dark Dark (official/myspace): Their name is a bit of a misnomer, they don't seem very dark to me (in fact, Bourgeoisie is a darker band). If their name sounds familiar, that's because we've previously mentioned them a few times, check out Andrew's review.

I was actually kind of excited to see them, their set consists of mostly accordion songs (which sort of made many of their songs to sound Frenchy or even carnival-y). I asked singer Nona about their EP, Love You, Bye, because I wanted to pick it up (since I already had their LP), but she said it was out of print (edit: see tweet below.)

Ice Palace (official/myspace): Clearly, having been touring the country with Cloud Cult have been good to Ice Palace. They were very confident on stage, and everyone had an especially good time rocking out. I will tell you what though: for their first two songs ("Outside The Gates" and "Phonebook Pillow"), they had three guitars, one bass, and drums. Yes, lots of loud clashing layers of guitars, particularly on "Phonebook Pillow".

My favorite songs from the set was the trumpet songs ("Devils Tower", "Thoughts/Facts"). For their finale, they had, I think the drummer from The Good Night Sleeps' Arlen Peiffer joining them on stage to do tambourine.

Please note: This was really last minute, so I didn't have time to prep for a camera. Also, everyone had about a 30-minute set, with the exception of Ice Palace, for obvious reasons. Plus, all the bands had setlists, except for Bourgeoisie - who apparently are rebels... :)

 04/24/2009 11:27:06 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com

tominhaler @weheartmusic thanks for reviewing the DDD show! we have a few copies of "Love You, Bye" on vinyl at http://www.sad-music.net!
Friday, April 24, 2009 6:24:57 PM from TwitterFox

Indie Indie, Yeah Yeah

My theory about band names with repeating words is that they're easy to remember and easier to say. So below are some bands with repeating words.

Gang Gang Dance - House Jam Gang Gang Dance GANG GANG DANCE ganggangdance.com ♥ myspace.com Gang Gang Dance caused quite a stir on last year's CMJ. I know for a fact that they left a great impression on all the people that went to see them. Their music is best described as "experimental", if not world primitive or tribal rhythm (see Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Apache Beat). Saint Dymphna is their fourth album, having already established themselves in the New York scene. If you listen carefully to the album, each song flows into the next with background noises and such. Among the songs that stood out, I did enjoyed the rap-ish song "Princes", which is sung by Tinchy Stryder. He's from London, so you can hear the distinctive accent in his lyrics. Although this could easily be their stand-out-track, I felt it wouldn't represent the band's sound as it sounds pretty different from the rest of the album. While as much as I enjoy the occasional, as Lara puts it, "Weird Crazy Things That Sound Like Woodlawn Creatures and Kitchen Utensils", Saint Dymphna does an OK job on balancing this sound with more pop-friendly tunes like "House Jam". "House Jam", along with "First Communion" and "Princes", really made the album worth checking out, even if you don't like that sort of thing. So find out why Fact Magazine thinks "one of the best albums we've heard all year." You can pick up anywhere, including amazon and itunes. They will be heading out to do a massive world tour: 02/13/09 Paradiso Amsterdam 02/14/09 AB Club Brussels 02/15/09 Uebel + Gefahrlich Hamburg 02/16/09 Schauspielhaus Leipzig 02/17/09 Volksbuhne Berlin 02/18/09 Karlstorbahnof Heidelberg 02/19/09 Generiq Festival Dijon 02/20/09 Point Ephemere Paris 02/21/09 Route du Rock Festival St. Malo 02/22/09 Grand Mix Tourcoing 02/25/09 Roadhouse Manchester 02/26/09 Dingwalls London 02/27/09 Fleece Bristol 02/28/09 Audio Brighton 05/30/09 Primavera Sound Festival Barcelona		Tapes N Tapes-Le Ruse Tapes N Tapes TAPES 'N TAPES tapesntapes.com ♥ myspace.com I'm not qualify to write this review, but since I couldn't actually convince my local writers here to do an article on their second album, Walk It Off, because they actually paid real-life money for it... I don't know what all the fuss is about this band. I think sometime in 2007, I started hearing this band a lot from friends and not-so-friends. So definitely, there's some huge buzz and they're known in other parts of the world - not just in Minneapolis. Andrew reckons that the band got so massive that they basically left Darren (from Kid Dakota) on his own for his just-released The Hopefuls' album (someone, not me, is supposed to review this one). Anyway, my expectation for Tapes 'N Tapes' Walk it Off is that it's supposed to be fun and bouncy and dancey. It's not. The album failed on all three accounts. Maybe I'm just not listening to it right? The most exciting song on the album is possibly "Le Ruse", all the other songs, including their single, "Hang Them All", did not did not impress me. Hey, but if you're looking for a cool indie band, you should check out Tapes 'N Tapes, everyone else seems to love them. Hopefully Lara & Kate will have some favorable things to say about them on February 6th, when they are stopping back home with what the LA Times are calling "2009 Artist to Watch", Wild Light. The tour dates: 01/15/09 The Waiting Room Omaha, Nebraska 01/17/09 Fox Theater Boulder, Colorado 01/19/09 Neurolux Boise, Idaho 01/20/09 Neumo’s Seattle, Washington 01/21/09 Doug Fir Portland, Oregon 01/23/09 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California 01/24/09 El Rey Theater Los Angeles, California 01/25/09 The Casbah San Diego, California 01/27/09 Sante Fe Brewing Company Sante Fe, New Mexico 01/29/09 Parish Austin, Texas 01/30/09 Club Dada Dallas, Texas 01/31/09 Opolis Norman, Oklahoma 02/02/09 Jackpot Music Hall Lawrence, Kansas 02/03/09 Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri 02/04/09 Maintenance Shop @ Iowa State Ames, Iowa 02/05/09 Nutty’s Sioux Falls, South Dakota 02/06/09 First Ave Minneapolis, Minnesota 02/20/09 Legends @ Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana 02/21/09 The Basement Columbus, Ohio 02/22/09 Brillobox Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 02/24/09 Paradise Boston, Massachusetts 02/25/09 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York 02/26/09 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York 02/27/09 Rock & Roll Hotel Washington DC, Washington DC 02/28/09 Johnny Brendas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 03/02/09 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina 03/03/09 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia 03/04/09 Bottletree Birmingham, Alabama 03/05/09 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee 03/06/09 Phoenix Hill Tavern Louisville, Kentucky 03/07/09 Metro Chicago, Illinois
Pas Chic Chic!-En Chaine et en Vogue Pas Chic Chic! PAS CHIC CHIC! paschicchic.com ♥ myspace.com Pas Chic Chic! (which means "not smart"?) are a band based out of Montreal, Canada. Their debut album, Au Contraire was released last year on Semprini Records... and it's entirely in French. The songs are mostly sung by Eric (?), with the exception of a few songs by Marie-Douce ("Se Mirer Mare", "Mlle Mille" and "Brise Méprise") which comes off as very 60s girl pop. Eric's songs sounds like it's trying to be sexy, and maybe it is to girls swooning over his sex Canadian French accents. There's a few brilliant pop songs on the album that I really enjoy, including "Mlle Mille" and "Tesclichés Déclenchés". My favorite is "En Chaine et en Vogue", which is a good example of their sound because the boy-girl vocals works very well here. Apparently the band caught the attention of Julian Cope (who apparently when not being a musician is also a music critic): I've also been hugely impressed by AU CONTRAIRE, the debut album by Montreal's Pas Chic Chic, whose urgent, disorientating and eloquent experimental psychedelic pop inhabits a bizarre hinterland somewhere between Alan Gill's beautiful early Dalek I Love You COMPASS KUMPAS sound, The Teardrop Explodes circa ‘When I Dream’ and ‘Thief of Baghdad’, and Dave Balfe and Bill Drummond’s Lori & the Chameleons project as played by Stereolab. Whirling ice-rink string synths, uppity toy soldier snare drummers and clamorous tragic male’n’female French language vocals conspire to create a sound of huge tragedy and loss... Look for the band coming up on "Canadian Music Week" on March 12th in Toronto. You can find Au Contraire digitally (itunes or emusic) or CD via amazon.		I Hope My New House Feels Welcoming For You Pee-Pee PEE-PEE myspace.com Possibly one of the worst name for a band, and equally "catchy" album name, is Pee-Pee's Castile Jackine is Vooded at Broonus Mousin: Volume 1. If you can get past the name(s), this is a pretty interesting and developed band, from the strange non-sense improv of "Freakout Jam" to rock funk of "I Love U 2 Much" to the melodic folk "I Hope My New House Feels Welcoming For You". There's a lot of layers in their music, with a lot of instruments that you would find in bluegrass or Americana band: a saw here, an accordion there. I'm not sure if I hear the banjo, but I wouldn't be surprise if they incorporate that in their music. What sets them apart from traditional Americana bands is that they seem to really enjoy using technology to make them sound warp. For example, check out the sound from the acoustic guitar on "Love needs a Quivering, Restless, Aching, Fire to Lay its Head On" and vocals on "Madness Song (remix)". The different shifts in style and tone of their songs makes the album all over the map. I'll only recommend the album if you enjoy different genre of music, but fans of Animal Collective and Of Montreal to 60s psychedelic rock should like this band. Be on the look out for Volume Two of Castile Jackine..., as the album is actually already "in the can" as they say. Apparently in recording of their album, they had enough material to be split on two albums. You can get Castile Jackine..., released last November on the Helmet Room Label, at most online stores (emusic), physical CDs can be found on cdbaby. PS, bonus points for utilizing "Hey Jude" on "O, Little Boy".

Did you all like that? Check out some other bands that we've previously covered:

Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! - Crime Wave	Tiger! Tiger! - Black Daggers	Tiger, Tiger - I Suppose	Dark Dark Dark - Ashes	Duran Duran - The Reflex
Yo-Yo Mundi -There is a Light that Never Goes Out	Patron & Patron - Either Or	Xiu Xiu - Fast Car	Die! Die! Die! - Sideways, Here We Come	The Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy
Caw! Caw!-Organisms	Ra Ra Riot - Dying Is Fine	Me Me Me - Hanging Around	Sing-Sing - Feels Like Summer	Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

Dark Dark Dark

Dark Dark Dark - Ashes Dark Dark Dark Tour Dates 11/07/08 TBA, Eindhoven eindhoven 11/08/08 TBA, Eindhoven eindhoven 11/09/08 TBA, Eindhoven eindhoven 11/10/08 Floere Foefke Gent 11/11/08 Radio Primitive Reims 11/12/08 Le Ludoval Reims 11/13/08 La Miroiterie Paris 11/14/08 Le Sonic Lyon 11/15/08 TBA, St. Etienne St Etienne 11/16/08 Ker Boui Boui MORDELLES 11/17/08 Jet FM (91.2FM or streaming) Radio nantes 11/17/08 Le Violon Dingue Nantes 11/18/08 El Inca Bordeaux 11/19/08 Loubieres house show in the countryside, Foix 11/21/08 La Médiathèque Associative Toulouse 12/10/08 Frequency Madison, WI 12/11/08 Heaven Gallery Chicago, IL 12/12/08 Elbow Room Ypsilanti, MI 12/13/08 Monster House Columbus, OH 12/14/08 Morning Glory Coffeehouse Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 12/15/08 TBA Philadelphia, PA 12/16/08  Cake Shop Manhattan, NY 12/17/08 Whitehaus Boston, MA 12/18/08 AS220 Providence, RI 12/19/08 Union Pool Brooklyn, NY 12/21/08 Skull Alley Louisville, KY 12/22/08 Cinemat Bloomington, IN 12/27/08 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN

Just in time for Halloween comes Dark Dark Dark, the band so gloomy they named it thrice. Largely accordion and banjo driven - with cello, standup bass and sporadic percussion and piano, the effect is an anachronistic glimpse at a troupe of gypsy minstrels, perhaps seeking a riverside campfire and a chance to play for their dinner. Oh, and there are ghosts there. Lots of 'em.

Ghosts, graveyards, bones, dreams, winter, drowning: this is the vocabulary of Dark Dark Dark. Water imagery abounds throughout. And why not? There has always been something rustically aquatic and 19^th century about a slow accordion song. Add a gently plucked banjo and a haunting vocal and it's impossible not to imagine a foggy, moon-lit Mississippi riverboat bedecked with ethereal waltzing couples festooned in patchwork finery under flickering oil-lamps in what amounts to a macabre Mark Twain fever-dream.

Come on, it can't be just me.

Yesterday saw the release of Dark Dark Dark's first full-length "The Snow Magic," which I think starts out with promise but in the end falls just short of delivering that promise. Opener "Ashes" is a beautifully morbid ditty which actually may qualify as an "anthem" but the passion fades a bit late into the album. That having been said; the damn thing is seriously growing on me. Their raw, slightly-under-rehearsed sound can be a bit off-putting initially. So why can't I stop listening? I love the tone of the thing. It's lyrically bleak, ominous; never in-your face. It's more Mary Shelley than Steven King, more Tim Burton than M. Night Shyamalan. There's no gruesome blood-bath here, more an overcast sense of foreboding. A requiem, not a murder. And considering the bleak nature of the lyrics, it's actually a fun album. There's some love imagery there. There's a nice interplay of male and female vocals that's rather endearing. Endearing...and sinister. I mean, obviously.

Having roots in Minneapolis, New York and I can only assume half the river-port towns in between, band members Nona Marie Invie, Marshall Lacount, Jonathan Kaiser and Todd Chandler seem to divide their affections equally to both aforementioned cities (In "Colors" they address the issue; "Which town do you like the best / it's too bad there's no ocean in Minneapolis"). Though the album's liner notes read like a who's-who in Minneapolis rock, having been produced by Rob Skoro, mastered by Dave Gardner and featuring guest-drummer Martin Dosh. If you don't recognize those names then don't worry about it. I guess I wasn't talking to you.

Links: myspace.com/darkdarkdarkband sad-music.net bloodonion.com

 10/29/2008 09:40:50  ♥ written by andrew ()