W♥M

Mdou Moctar at First Ave (10-14-2024)

14 Oct 2024 Mdou Moctar with FACS at First Avenue Tour Dates Oct 16 Omaha, NE, US The Waiting Room Oct 17 Englewood, CO, US Gothic Theatre Oct 19 Boise, ID, US Treefort Music Hall Oct 22 Seattle, WA, US The Crocodile Oct 23 Portland, OR, US Revolution Hall Oct 25 San Francisco, CA, US The Regency Ballroom Oct 26 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US Teragram Ballroom Oct 28 Phoenix, AZ, US Crescent Ballroom Oct 29 Albuquerque, NM, US El Rey Theater Oct 31 Austin, TX, US The Black Angels Nov 2 Mexico City, Mexico Hipnosis Festival Read More Mdou Moctar Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar (currently based in based in Agadez) is coming back to Minneapolis, at the Cedar Cultural Center on September 18, 2021, to support Afrique Victime (Matador Records). … FACS Chicago art-rock band FACS will be headlining the Turf Club in St Paul on June 12th. The band’s latest Still Life In Decay is available on Trouble In Mind Records. Opening will be Derecho, a band featuring Alan Sparhawk of Low. …

Downtown Minneapolis was filled with groups of young girls dressed in pastel colors, platform boots, baby doll dresses and short skirts as they made their way to the Target Center to see their idol, Sabrina Carpenter, who I’ve been told had the song of summer “Espresso”.

Such was not the case for those seeing Mdou Moctar at First Ave, because flowing cotton robes, turbans and sandals are not the best attire for a 30-degree evening. Then again neither are baby doll dresses, but weather will not stop most teenage girls when it comes to fashion.

FACS opened the evening with an other-worldly sound of modern art rock layered with post-punk vibes of repeated lyrics sung over a droning, dubbed guitar. They are from Chicago, IL with Brian Case on guitar and vocals, Noah Leger on drums and Jonathan Van Herik on bass. They have a new album out Still Life in Decay but drew from prior albums as well with an Eurythmics cover “Take Me to Your Heart” thrown in.

Mdou Moctar next took the stage with fellow band members of Ahmoudou Madassane on rhythm guitar, Michael Coltun on bass and Souleymane Ibrahim on drums.

Mdou Moctar at First Avenue (10 Mar 2022)

Moctar is from Niger and his brand of music is Tuareg Rock aka Desert Blues, a sound that we have seen before in musicians like Bombino, the great Vieux Farka Touré and even Moctar at First Ave in Mar 2022.

There is not much similarity with the blues coming out of the Mississippi Delta and the Saharan Desert. Moctar has been compared to Jimi Hendrix, but his guitar sounds more feral. There is a beat that runs through his songs, like the train rhythm created by Johnny Cash. But instead of a lonely engine plugging along in the middle of the night, Moctar’s is a runaway train going at full speed across an endless desert with no horizon in sight.

If you have never heard the Desert Blues, Moctar’s guitar is a great introduction. He plays loud, fast with little structure and sends a direct charge into the crowd. By the second song one guy kept hollering as if in a state of ecstasy. Another kept shouting “LEGEND”.

Moctar has a new album, Funeral for Justice, which is a plea for the world to pay attention to what is happening in his home country, especially to the Tuareg people with terrorist violence, persistent slavery and government coups forming a modernized version of colonialism. As he told the New York Times:

“I’m coming from very far in a country in which people today are being killed every day with all this suffering, and I come to the U.S. to make people smile and dance. And it is a big effort. So what I would like is for people to then also want to help improve the lives of where I come from.”

1 / 8

2 / 8

3 / 8

4 / 8

5 / 8

6 / 8

7 / 8

8 / 8

Mdou Moctar at First Avenue (14 Oct 2024)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Rocktober: October 14, 2024

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

14 Oct 2024 julie with They Are Gutting A Body of Water and Her New Knife at Fine Line Read More julie Los Angeles band and art collective julie announces their highly-awaited debut album my anti-aircraft friend. julie exploded onto the map in 2020 with their single “flutter,” which has racked up millions of streams …

14 Oct 2024 Monday

julie
with They Are Gutting A Body of Water and Her New Knife
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Los Angeles band and art collective Julie (stylized as julie) is touring in support of their debut album my anti-aircraft friend (Atlantic Records). The tour will stop by the Fine Line, in Minneapolis, on October 14, 2024.

They Are Gutting A Body of Water and Her New Knife to open.

Tour dates:

10/8 - San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park ~

10/9 - Las Vegas, NV @ 24 Oxford ~

10/11 - Denver, CO @ Gothic ~

10/12 - Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep ~

10/14 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line ~

10/15 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall ~

10/16 - Columbus, OH @ King of Clubs ~

10/18 - Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall ~

10/20 - Boston, MA @ Paradise ~

10/22 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall~

10/23 - Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl ~

10/24 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~

10/26 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West ~

10/27 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East ~

10/29 - Dallas, TX @ Trees ~

10/30 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall !

10/31 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk !

11/2 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom !

11/3 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom !

11/6 - San Francisco, CA @ Independent !

11/7 - Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre !

11/13 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda !

~=w/ They Are Gutting a Body of Water and Her New Knife
!= w/ Frost Children and Her New Knife

14 Oct 2024 Chromeo and The Midnight with Girl Ultra at Palace Theatre Read More Chromeo Montreal funk legends Chromeo will be headlining First Avenue on Monday. Their fifth studio LP Head Over Heels is available now on Big Beat/Atlantic Records. The show is sold out. .... The Midnight Monsters is the new album from The Midnight (Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Tyler Lyle and Danish producer Tim McEwan). The album actually came out in 2020 via Counter Records, but due to the COVID shutdown, the duo …

14 Oct 2024 Monday

Chromeo and The Midnight
with Girl Ultra
at Palace Theatre
first-avenue.com

The co-headlining Chromeo and The Midnight will stop by the Palace Theatre, in St Paul, on October 14, 2024.

We haven’t heard anything new from Chromeo in a while, but it seems that the Canadian electro-funk duo have released Adult Contemporary in Feb 2024 via BMG Records.

As for The Midnight, the synthwave band is working on a video game soundtrack for Road 96: Mile 0 with a couple of singles, “Land Locked Heart” and “Chariot.”

Show up early to check out acclaimed Mexican indie artist Girl Ultra, touring in support of her new EP blush (out now on Big Dada / Ninja Tune).

Tour dates:

Sept 27 - The Eastern - Atlanta, GA †

Sept 28 - Rabbit Rabbit - Asheville, NC †

Sept 29 - The Ritz - Raleigh, NC †

Oct 1 - Franklin Music Hall - Philadelphia, PA †

Oct 2 - Roadrunner - Boston, MA †

Oct 3 - The Anthem - Washington, DC †

Oct 4 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY †

Oct 7 - MTELUS - Montreal, QC †

Oct 9 - HISTORY - Toronto, ON †

Oct 10 - MegaCorp Pavilion - Newport, KY †

Oct 11 - Royal Oak Music Hall - Detroit, MI †

Oct 12 - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL †

Oct 14 - Palace Theater - Minneapolis, MN †

Oct 15 - The Midland Theater - Kansas City, MO †

Oct 16 - Steelhouse Omaha - Omaha, NE †

Oct 18 - The Mission Ballroom - Denver, CO †

† with Girl Ultra

14 Oct 2024 Mdou Moctar with FACS at First Avenue Read More Mdou Moctar Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar (currently based in based in Agadez) is coming back to Minneapolis, at the Cedar Cultural Center on September 18, 2021, to support Afrique Victime (Matador Records). … FACS Chicago art-rock band FACS will be headlining the Turf Club in St Paul on June 12th. The band’s latest Still Life In Decay is available on Trouble In Mind Records. Opening will be Derecho, a band featuring Alan Sparhawk of Low. …

14 Oct 2024 Monday

Mdou Moctar
with FACS
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Nigerien desert blues band Mdou Moctar is headlining First Avenue, in Minneapolis, on October 14, 2024. The band is touring in support of Funeral for Justice, out now on Matador Records. The album was written after two years of constant touring across the globe, and has a slant on the plight of Niger and the Tuareg people.

Mdou Moctar explains, ‘This album is really different for me. Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the US and Europe came here, they said they’re going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution.”

Mdou Moctar at First Avenue (10 Mar 2022)

We saw Mdou Moctar in Mar 2022, and wrote, “Of course, the Niger band loves coming back to Minneapolis. They played a solid set of mostly instrumental songs from Afrique Victime. The audience were all on board, clapping and hand-waving at all the songs. If the audience weren’t fans of the group before, they became fans after seeing this show.”

FACS to open.

Tour dates:

Oct 3 Jersey City, NJ, US White Eagle Hall

Oct 5 Woodstock, NY, US Bearsville Theater

Oct 6 South Burlington, VT, US Higher Ground

Oct 9 Toronto, ON, Canada The Concert Hall

Oct 11 Columbus, OH, US Athenaeum Theatre

Oct 12 Grand Rapids, MI, US Pyramid Scheme

Oct 13 Madison, WI, US Majestic Theatre

Oct 14 Minneapolis, MN, US First Avenue

Oct 16 Omaha, NE, US The Waiting Room

Oct 17 Englewood, CO, US Gothic Theatre

Oct 19 Boise, ID, US Treefort Music Hall

Oct 22 Seattle, WA, US The Crocodile

Oct 23 Portland, OR, US Revolution Hall

Oct 25 San Francisco, CA, US The Regency Ballroom

Oct 26 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US Teragram Ballroom

Oct 28 Phoenix, AZ, US Crescent Ballroom

Oct 29 Albuquerque, NM, US El Rey Theater

Oct 31 Austin, TX, US The Black Angels

Nov 2 Mexico City, Mexico Hipnosis Festival

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: June 12

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

06/12 grandson and K.Flay with Jack Kays at Palace Theatre Read More K.Flay After a short set by hip-hop songstress K. Flay (who we previously saw at a Go 96.3 show and was still promoting last year’s Life as a Dog (Bummer Picnic Records), this co-headlining bill ... Grandson Nothing But Thieves + Grandson with Royal & The Serpent, Granada. The Toronto alt-rap/rock singer-songwriter is getting even bigger after his 2020 debut album, Death of an Optimist. Since then, he’s also collab’ed with the likes .…

06/12/2023 Monday

grandson and K.Flay
with Jack Kays
at Palace Theatre
first-avenue.com

LA based Multi-platinum two-time GRAMMY-Award nominated artist K.Flay is co-headlining with Grandson (stylized as grandson). The tour will take them to the Palace Theatre in St Paul.

K.Flay (17 May 2017)

We first saw K.Flay in May 2017 and wrote, “Musician singer and songwriter K.Flay just headlined First Avenue last Wednesday, May 17th, in support of her new record Every Where Is Some Where (Interscope/Night Street)… The key difference between the Fine Line show and this First Avenue show is its audience. You see, Go 96.3’s audience is slightly more pop music fans, while the 93x’s audience at First Avenue leaned to the hard rock/metal audience. Still, it didn’t matter if the audience liked pop, rap, or heavy rock, they all move to songs like ‘The Cops’ and ‘Hollywood Forever’. ”

Tour Dates:

May 12 @ House of Blues in San Diego, CA
May 13 @ Orpheum Theatre in Flagstaff, AZ
May 14 @ Sunshine Theatre in Albuquerque, NM
May 16 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
May 17 @ Boeing Center in San Antonio, TX
May 18 @ House of Blues in Dallas, TX
May 19 @ The Joy Theater in New Orleans, LA
May 20 @ Zydeco in Birmingham, AL
May 22 @ The Ritz Ybor in Tampa, FL
May 23 @ The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA
May 24 @ Skydeck in Nashville, TN
May 26 @ The National in Richmond, VA
May 27 @ The Fillmore in Charlotte, NC
May 28 @ Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, NC
May 29 @ The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD
May 31 @ House of Blues in Boston, MA
June 2 @ Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT
June 3 @ Webster Hall in New York, NY
June 4 @ Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia, PA
June 5 @ Roxian Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA
June 6 @ Egyptian Room in Indianapolis, IN
June 8 @ Skull’s in Columbus, OH
June 9 @ St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, MI
June 10 & 11 @ House of Blues in Chicago, IL
June 12 @ Palace Theatre in Minneapolis, MN
June 13 @ The Rave in Milwaukee, WI
June 15 @ The Admiral in Omaha, NE
June 16 @ The Factory in St Louis, MI
June 17 @ Boulevardia Fest in Kansas City, MO
June 19 @ Mission Ballroom in Denver, CO
June 20 @ The Complex in Salt Lake City, UT
June 22 @ Revolution in Boise, ID
June 23 @ Showbox SoDo in Seattle, WA
June 24 @ Roseland Theater in Portland, OR
June 26 @ The Warfield in San Francisco, CA
June 27 @ the Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA
June 29 @ The Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ
Sept 20 @ Hybrydy in Warsaw, Poland
Sept 22 @ Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany
Sept 23 @ Melkweg MAX in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sept 25 @ Meetfactory in Prague, Czech Republic
Sept 26 @ Luxor in Cologne, Germany
Sept 28 @ Flex in Vienna, Austria
Sept 29 @ Heimathafen in Berlin, Germany
Oct 2 @ Gorilla in Manchester, UK
Oct 3 @ Brixton Electric in London, UK

06/12 Bayonne with mmeadows at 7th St Entry Read More Bayonne Bayonne, the new moniker of Austin-based Roger Sellers, will be making a stop at the 7th Street Entry on Wednesday, January 27th. The artistic style ....

06/12/2023 Monday

Bayonne
with mmeadows
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Multi-hyphenate experimental band Bayonne (aka Roger Sellers) is currently on tour in support of his new album Temporary Time (Nettwerk Records). The tour will take them to Minneapolis, at the 7th Street Entry.

Bayonne (04 Apr 2017)

We caught Bayonne in April 2017 and compared him to Thom Yorke: “Opening up the show was Austin’s Bayonne, the stagename for one-man-band Roger Sellers, with a brief 30-min set. Armed with headphones and using various loops and pre-recorded beats, combined with raw vocal performances and sometime live instruments, Bayonne was able to recreate some unique songs. Some of the songs sounded like what Thom Yorke (Radiohead) would create with his experiments.”

mmeadows to open.

Tour Dates:

5/30 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
5/31 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
6/2 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
6/3 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
6/5 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
6/6 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
6/7 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
6/9 – Salt Lake City @ Kilby Court
6/10 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
6/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
6/13 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
6/15 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement
6/16 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s
6/17 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern
6/19 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
6/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made
6/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
6/23 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
6/24 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Backroom
6/25 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl Centerstage
6/27 – Dallas, TX @ Club DaDa
6/28 – Austin, TX @ New Parish

06/12 Bebe Rexha with Zolita at Fillmore Read More Bebe Rexha Armed with a custom knuckle duster microphone, American singer and record producer Bebe Rexha took the stage on her All Your Fault tour. Although she only has two EPs under her belt …

06/12/2023 Monday

Bebe Rexha
with Zolita
at Fillmore
livenation.com

Brooklyn’s Bebe Rexha is back in Minneapolis, as part of her “Best F’n Night of My Life” North American Tour.

Bebe Rexha (19 Mar 2017)

We caught the singer in Mar 2017 and noted, “Bebe Rexha ended her set with two of her biggest hits, ‘No Broken Hearts’ (normally featuring Nicki Minaj), and her latest hit, ‘I Got You’ (her first Hot 100 hit single). The fact that Bebe Rexha wrote many of these hit songs, she seemed quite humble about it. Based on Rexha’s stories on stage, she seemed very friendly and approachable.”

Show up early to check out alt-pop sensation, songwriter, and filmmaker Zolita, touring in support of her latest EP Falling Out / Falling In, featuring her new single and video “Crazy Ex.”

Tour Dates:

May 31 Phoenix, AZ, US The Van Buren
Jun 1 Anaheim, CA, US House of Blues
Jun 3 San Diego, CA, US House of Blues
Jun 4 Oakland, CA, US Fox Theater
Jun 6 Seattle, WA, US Showbox SoDo
Jun 7 Portland, OR, US McMenamins Crystal
Jun 9 Salt Lake City, UT, US The Complex
Jun 10 Brighton, CO, US Adams County
Jun 12 Minneapolis, MN, US Fillmore
Jun 13 Chicago, IL, US Riviera Theatre
Jun 15 Toronto, ON, Canada REBEL
Jun 17 Boston, MA, US Citizens House of Blues
Jun 18 Outdoor New York (NYC), NY, US The Rooftop
Jun 20 Philadelphia, PA, US The Fillmore
Jun 21 Silver Spring, MD, US The Fillmore
Jun 23 Atlanta, GA, US Tabernacle
Jun 24 Orlando, FL, US Hard Rock Live
Jun 26 Houston, TX, US House of Blues
Jun 27 Dallas, TX, US
Jun 30 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US The Wiltern
Jul 1 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US The Wiltern
Jul 28 London, UK O2 Shepherds
Jul 30 Cologne, Germany Live Music Hall
Aug 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso
Aug 12 Canada International De Mongolfières
Sep 2 São Paulo, Brazil The Town

06/12 FACS with DERECHO (featuring Al Sparhawk) at Turf Club Read More FACS There’s a Russian Circles and Facs (stylized as FACS) show at the Cedar Cultural Center this Thursday, September 12th. Russian Circles’ album Blood Year is out now on Sargent House. …

06/12/2023 Monday

FACS
with DERECHO (featuring Al Sparhawk)
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

Chicago art-rock band FACS will be headlining the Turf Club in St Paul on June 12th. The band’s latest Still Life In Decay is available on Trouble In Mind Records.

Opening will be Derecho, a band featuring Alan Sparhawk of Low.

Tour dates:

May 15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Government Center
May 16 Washington, DC @ DC9
May 17 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
May 19 Providence, RI @ Fete Lounge
May 20 Montreal, QC @ La Sotterenea
May 21 Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
June 12 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
June 13 Moorhead, MN @ Harold’s on Main
June 16 Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
June 17 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
June 19 Sacramento, CA @ Starlet Room
June 20 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
June 21 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
June 22 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
June 24 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
June 25 Kansas City, MO @ miniBar
June 26 Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
July 28 Indianapolis, IN @ Post. Festival

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

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