W♥M

Franz Ferdinand at Fillmore, Minneapolis (20 Aug 2022)

Franz Ferdinand Setlist Walk Away Do You Want To Right Action Stand on the Horizon Curious The Dark of the Matinée Billy Goodbye The Fallen No You Girls Lucid Dreams Love Illumination Michael Take Me Out Darts of Pleasure Outsiders -- Encore -- Ulysses Always Ascending This Fire Matthew Dear Setlist Honey Modafinil Blues Hikers Y Slowdance Echo Gem Deserter Read More Franz Ferdinand As I have suspected, Franz Ferdinand will be on a bigger tour in support of their new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out next week (August 27th) on Domino Records.… Matthew Dear Catch Matthew Dear at an intimate 7th Street Entry venue this November 18th before meet up with MGMT. Dear’s Bunny is out now on Ghostly International. …

NME’s “Best British Group” Franz Ferdinand are on a “greatest hits” tour, in support of their greatest hits album Hits to the Head (Domino Records). The Scottish group headlined the Fillmore in Minneapolis on Saturday, August 20th.

Opening the show was Matthew Dear, playing some tracks from his Preacher’s Sigh & Potion: Lost Album (Ghostly International) … his first LP since 2018.

As you can see from the setlist, he played a minimalist version of “Hikers Y”, the second single from the new album. If you’re wondering about the song, it’s about isolation, and very much a song about Matthew Dear. He described it as, “I hear the dark of night in my voice and delivery. This song comes from the isolation of being a musician alone in a studio after midnight.”

The loneliness of the song reflects what you’re seeing on stage: a sole Matthew Dear, producing the audio, and loops, and adding in the live vocals.

What can I say about Franz Ferdinand that haven’t been said? The Scottish band is one of our favorite bands, and with their ability to write really catchy songs, the band had numerous hits in the UK. Unfortunately, only a few of those songs were beloved in the US… but let me tell you, those who found those Franz Ferdinand songs, they swear by it. They love it, and you can see the evidence at the Fillmore show, where everyone is singing and dancing to all the hit songs.

We’ve always loved the band… but it wasn’t until we attended Popscene in Toronto, Canada, when we realized how Franz Ferdinand was. The dance club would play “This Fire” and almost immediately, the audience was dancing and singing in sync to the song… that was same atmosphere at the Fillmore show.

Setlist

As you can see from the setlist, all your favorite FF songs were played, including “Take Me Out”, “This Fire”, “Do You Want To”, and “The Dark Of The Matinée”.

If there is a Franz Ferdinand tour that you absolutely cannot miss… it’s this Hits to the Head tour. This will have all your favorites, so bring your dancing shoes.

Remaining Tour Dates:

Thu, AUG 4 House of Blues Dallas Dallas, TX
Fri, AUG 5 White Oak Music Hall Houston, TX
Sat, AUG 6 Stubbs BBQ Austin, TX
Mon, AUG 8 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Wed, AUG 10 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Fri, AUG 12 The Fillmore Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
Sat, AUG 13 Pier 17 New York, NY
Mon, AUG 15 House Of Blues Boston Boston, MA
Tue, AUG 16 MTELUS Montreal, Canada
Wed, AUG 17 HISTORY Toronto, Canada
Fri, AUG 19 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Sat, AUG 20 Fillmore Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN
Mon, AUG 22 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
Tue, AUG 23 The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Thu, AUG 25 Showbox SoDo Seattle, WA
Fri, AUG 26 The Orpheum Vancouver, Canada
Sat, AUG 27 McMenamins Grand Lodge Forest Grove, OR
Tue, AUG 30 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Thu, SEP 1 Shrine Expo Hall Los Angeles Downtown, CA

Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand at Fillmore, Minneapolis (20 Aug 2022)

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

Minneapolis: This Week (08/21/2022)

I post the W♥M Minneapolis preview calendar a month in advance. Things may have changed, and/or I just wanted to remind you about the shows that we will be covering this week.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

08/18 Peter Hook & The Light with DJ Jake Rudh at First Avenue Read More Peter Hook Peter Hook’s last Minneapolis show at the Fine Line Music Café in November 2014 remained one of my favorite shows of that year. He played THREE sets (well technical two full sets and ...

08/18/2022 Thursday

Peter Hook & The Light
with DJ Jake Rudh
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

The last time Peter Hook was in town in November 2009, it was unforgettable. A massive fan proposed marriage on stage, “The rap portion was handled by a fan (singing the part of England footballer John Barnes). After the song, the fan proposed marriage to his girlfriend, who came on stage to accept the ring.”

You can bet that the married couple will definitely be at this upcoming Peter Hook & The Light show.

The show promises playing Joy Division’s debut album Unknown Pleasures and their last album Closer … plus an opening set of New Order material.

If you love Joy Division, this is an absolute a must-see show.

Tour dates:

August 11 The Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ONT
August 12 The Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ONT
August 13 Club Soda Montreal, QC
August 15 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
August 16 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
August 18 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
August 19 Metro Chicago
August 20 Metro Chicago
August 22 The Pabst Theatre Milwaukee, WI
August 23 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
August 25 The Fillmore Silver Spring Silver Spring, MD
August 26 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
August 27 Terminal 5 New York, NY
August 29 The Van Buren Phoenix, AZ
August 30 Mohawk Austin, TX
August 31 Mohawk Austin, TX
September 2 House Of Blues Houston Houston, TX
September 3 House Of Blues Dallas Dallas, TX
September 5 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
September 6 Humphreys Concerts by the Bay San Diego, CA
September 8 The Theatre At Ace Hotel Los Angeles, CA
September 9 The Theatre At Ace Hotel Los Angeles, CA
September 10 The Warfield San Francisco, CA
September 12 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
September 13 The Showbox Seattle, WA
September 14 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC tour dates

08/18 Petite Amie at Amsterdam Bar & Hall Read More Petite Amie Otra Vez Petite Amie June 15, 2022 1 Otra Vez 6:27 Sold by Amazon Services LLC. Additional taxes may apply. By placing your order, you agree to our Terms of Use. . …

08/18/2022 Thursday

Petite Amie
at Amsterdam Bar & Hall
amsterdambarandhall.com

Petite Amie is heading out on tour, stopping by the Amsterdam Bar in St Paul on August 18. Some dates are with Wild Wild Wets and Hooveriii, however the St Paul show currently does not have an opener listed.

The group recently shared their new single “Otra Vez”, via Devil in the Woods Records. The song is taken from their forthcoming new album.

Petite Amie tour dates

8/3 - Casbah /Soda - San Diego, CA *
8/4 - The Echo - Los Angeles, CA *
8/5 - Amados - San Francisco, CA *
8/6 - The Holland Project - Reno, NV *
8/7 - Starlet Room - Sacramento, CA **
8/9 - Fixin’ To - Portland, OR
8/10 - The Shakedown - Bellingham, WA
8/12 - Substation x Freakout Presents - Seattle, WA
8/13 - Neurolux - Boise, ID
8/15 - Vultures - Colorado Springs, CO **
8/16 - Lost Lake - Denver, CO
8/17 - miniBar - Kansas City, .MO
8/18 - Amsterdam - St. Paul, MN
8/21 - Landline Presents @ The Burl - Lexington, KY **
8/22 - The Blue Room @ Third Man - Nashville, TN **
8/23 - 529 Bar - Atlanta, GA
8/24 - El Rocko @ Dog Day Presents - Savannah, GA
8/25 - Snug Harbor - Charlotte, NC
8/26 - Pie Shop - Washington, DC
8/27 - World Cafe - Philadelphia, PA
8/28 - Berlin Under A - New York, NY

* = w/ Wild Wild Wets
** = w/ Hooveriii

08/19 Hanson at Fillmore Read More Hanson Brothers band Hanson recently released their new Christmas album Finally It’s Christmas (available on 3CG/S-Curve Records). …

08/19/2022 Friday

Hanson
at Fillmore
livenation.com

Trio brothers Hanson (Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson) finally released their Red Green Blue album. The album compiles three solo-led projects from each of the brothers and marks the band’s milestone 30th anniversary.

Red is Taylor’s songs, Green is Isaac’s songs, and finally Blue is Zac’s songs.

There will also be a massive Global tour from the trio, listed below are the North American dates:

AUGUST
5 – Elizabeth, IN – Caesar's Event Center #
6 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre #
7 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre #
9 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live #
10 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre #
12 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant #
13 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom #
14 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee #
16 – Springfield, MO – Gillioz Theatre #
18 – Council Bluffs, IA – Stir Cove at Harrah’s #
19 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore Minneapolis #
20 – Fargo, ND – Fargo Brewing Company Outdoors#
21 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theater +
23 – Calgary, AB – The Palace Theatre +
24 – Edmonton AB – Midway +
26 – Vancouver, BC – The Vogue Theatre +
27 – Seattle, WA – The Moore +
28 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom +
30 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore +
31 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues +

SEPTEMBER
2 – Los Angeles, CA – Ace Theatre +
3 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay +
4 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren +
6 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl +
7 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot +
9 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre +
10 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre +
11 – Wichita, KS – Cotillion Ballroom +
13 – Austin, TX – Emo’s +
14 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues +

# Allen Mack Myers Moore supporting
+ Zillaz supporting

08/20 Franz Ferdinand at Fillmore Read More Franz Ferdinand As I have suspected, Franz Ferdinand will be on a bigger tour in support of their new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out next week (August 27th) on Domino Records.…

08/20/2022 Saturday

Franz Ferdinand
at Fillmore
livenation.com

If there’s only one Franz Ferdinand tour you have to see, it’s this one. Their greatest hits tour, it’s named after their 20-track greatest hits collection called Hits to the Head. All your favorite songs are here: “Take Me Out”, “The Dark Of The Matinée”, “This Fire”, “Do You Want To”… so many good ones. I can guarantee when they play “This Fire”, the entire audience will be singing along.

Tour Dates:

Thu, AUG 4 House of Blues Dallas Dallas, TX
Fri, AUG 5 White Oak Music Hall Houston, TX
Sat, AUG 6 Stubbs BBQ Austin, TX
Mon, AUG 8 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Wed, AUG 10 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Fri, AUG 12 The Fillmore Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
Sat, AUG 13 Pier 17 New York, NY
Mon, AUG 15 House Of Blues Boston Boston, MA
Tue, AUG 16 MTELUS Montreal, Canada
Wed, AUG 17 HISTORY Toronto, Canada
Fri, AUG 19 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Sat, AUG 20 Fillmore Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN
Mon, AUG 22 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
Tue, AUG 23 The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Thu, AUG 25 Showbox SoDo Seattle, WA
Fri, AUG 26 The Orpheum Vancouver, Canada
Sat, AUG 27 McMenamins Grand Lodge Forest Grove, OR
Tue, AUG 30 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Thu, SEP 1 Shrine Expo Hall Los Angeles Downtown, CA

08/20 Chastity Brown at First Avenue Read More Chastity Brown Chastity Brown played almost everything from her Back-Road Highways album, as you can see from the setlist. The band is joined on stage by Aby Wolf (for "Solely" and "Slow Time") and Hummingbirds (for "Say It" ...

08/20/2022 Saturday

Chastity Brown
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Minneapolis singer/songwriter Chastity Brown is headlining First Avenue on August 20 to support her new album Sing To The Walls (Red House Records).

The singer talked about the long journey to finish the new record:

This record was started in Sweden, and completed in Minneapolis. It’s been made and remade many times over, but ultimately is my audacious expression of black joy and love in response to uprising, confrontation, and pandemic.

And now it’s yours. Thank you for supporting me, for making my music part of your life, and sharing my music with others. I hope you dance your ass off to these songs in your living room or let it score the moments in your life that could use a soundtrack.

My deep and heartfelt thanks to my co-producers on this record, Brady Blade and Greg Schutte, and all the incredible musicians and collaborators who helped bring this to life. Thanks to my team that always has my back and believes in me as an artist and individual ♥

This is just the beginning.

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

At the Fillmore

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

08/20 Franz Ferdinand at Fillmore Read More Franz Ferdinand As I have suspected, Franz Ferdinand will be on a bigger tour in support of their new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out next week (August 27th) on Domino Records.…

08/20/2022 Saturday

Franz Ferdinand
at Fillmore
livenation.com

If there’s only one Franz Ferdinand tour you have to see, it’s this one. Their greatest hits tour, it’s named after their 20-track greatest hits collection called Hits to the Head. All your favorite songs are here: “Take Me Out”, “The Dark Of The Matinée”, “This Fire”, “Do You Want To”… so many good ones. I can guarantee when they play “This Fire”, the entire audience will be singing along.

Tour Dates:

Thu, AUG 4 House of Blues Dallas Dallas, TX
Fri, AUG 5 White Oak Music Hall Houston, TX
Sat, AUG 6 Stubbs BBQ Austin, TX
Mon, AUG 8 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Wed, AUG 10 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Fri, AUG 12 The Fillmore Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
Sat, AUG 13 Pier 17 New York, NY
Mon, AUG 15 House Of Blues Boston Boston, MA
Tue, AUG 16 MTELUS Montreal, Canada
Wed, AUG 17 HISTORY Toronto, Canada
Fri, AUG 19 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Sat, AUG 20 Fillmore Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN
Mon, AUG 22 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
Tue, AUG 23 The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Thu, AUG 25 Showbox SoDo Seattle, WA
Fri, AUG 26 The Orpheum Vancouver, Canada
Sat, AUG 27 McMenamins Grand Lodge Forest Grove, OR
Tue, AUG 30 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Thu, SEP 1 Shrine Expo Hall Los Angeles Downtown, CA

08/19 Hanson at Fillmore Read More Hanson Brothers band Hanson recently released their new Christmas album Finally It’s Christmas (available on 3CG/S-Curve Records). …

08/19/2022 Friday

Hanson
at Fillmore
livenation.com

Trio brothers Hanson (Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson) finally released their Red Green Blue album. The album compiles three solo-led projects from each of the brothers and marks the band’s milestone 30th anniversary.

Red is Taylor’s songs, Green is Isaac’s songs, and finally Blue is Zac’s songs.

There will also be a massive Global tour from the trio, listed below are the North American dates:

AUGUST
5 – Elizabeth, IN – Caesar's Event Center #
6 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre #
7 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre #
9 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live #
10 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre #
12 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant #
13 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom #
14 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee #
16 – Springfield, MO – Gillioz Theatre #
18 – Council Bluffs, IA – Stir Cove at Harrah’s #
19 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore Minneapolis #
20 – Fargo, ND – Fargo Brewing Company Outdoors#
21 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theater +
23 – Calgary, AB – The Palace Theatre +
24 – Edmonton AB – Midway +
26 – Vancouver, BC – The Vogue Theatre +
27 – Seattle, WA – The Moore +
28 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom +
30 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore +
31 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues +

SEPTEMBER
2 – Los Angeles, CA – Ace Theatre +
3 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay +
4 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren +
6 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl +
7 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot +
9 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre +
10 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre +
11 – Wichita, KS – Cotillion Ballroom +
13 – Austin, TX – Emo’s +
14 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues +

# Allen Mack Myers Moore supporting
+ Zillaz supporting

09/06 Echo & the Bunnymen with Cayucas at Fillmore Read More Echo & the Bunnymen My biggest complaint was the opening bicycling riding sequence which dropped the original "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen, in favor of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" song. . …

09/06/2022 Tuesday

Echo & the Bunnymen
with Cayucas
at Fillmore
livenation.com

Liverpool’s Echo & the Bunnymen will be sailing the “Seven Seas” in 2022.

I came late to the party for Echo & the Bunnymen, as I didn’t discover the band until singer Ian McCulloch went solo in the late 80s (I still have his CDs). Of course, after hearing Echo & the Bunnymen’s single, “The Killing Moon”, you knew why the band was special.

Funny enough, years later, the cult film Donnie Darko made me love the band again.

Update: Just announced Cayucas to open.

Tour dates:

August 15th Atlanta Tabernacle
August 17th Houston House Of Blues
August 19th Dallas House Of Blues
August 20th Austin Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theatre
August 23rd Phoenix The Van Buren
August 24th San Diego The Observatory North Park
August 26th Los Angeles The Theatre at Ace Hotel
August 27th Los Angeles The Theatre at Ace Hotel
August 29th Oakland Fox Theatre
August 31st Portland Roseland Theatre
September 1st Seattle The Showbox
September 3rd Salt Lake City The Union Event Centre
September 4th Denver Ogden Theatre
September 6th Minneapolis The Fillmore – Minneapolis
September 7th Chicago The Vic Theatre
September 9th Detroit Fillmore
September 10th Toronto Queen Elizabeth Theatre
September 12th Montreal Corona Theatre
September 14th New York Terminal 5
September 16th Philadelphia Union Transfer
September 17th Washington Lincoln Theatre
September 19th Pittsburgh Roxian Theatre
September 21st Boston House Of Blues
31st October Sinners Day Festival
2nd November Paris – Le Trianon
12th November Valencia – Moon
14th November Barcelona – Razzmatazz 1
15th November Madrid – La Riviera
17th November Lisbon – Coliseu
18th November Porto – Hard Club

08/06 Anthrax & Black Label Society at Fillmore Read More Anthrax A veteran and hard-hitting triple bill we hope you’ve “got the time” for- Anthrax is belatedly celebrating its 40th anniversary a year late (thanks Covid) and is playing all their familiar songs, including their distinctive covers of “Antisocial” . …

08/06/2022 Saturday

Anthrax & Black Label Society
at Fillmore
livenation.com

Metal band Anthrax is celebrating their 40th anniversary with their latest Anthrax XL. The band will be bringing “the noise” this August 6th, with co-headliner Black Label Society.

North American tour:

04.08.22 - Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana, Gary, IN
05.08.22 - Oshkosh Arena, Oshkosh, WI
06.08.22 - The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
08.08.22 - Southside Ballroom, Dallas, TX
09.08.22 - Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater, Austin, TX
11.08.22 - The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
12.08.22 - House of Blues, Orlando, FL
13.08.22 - The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
15.08.22 - The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
16.08.22 - Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
18.08.22 - The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
19.08.22 - Main Street Armory, Rochester, NY
20.08.22 - The Fillmore, Detroit, MI
22.08.22 - StageAE Outside, Pittsburgh, PA
23.08.22 - History, Toronto, ON CANADA
24.08.22 - Amphitheatre Cogeco, Trois Riviere/Montreal, QC
26.08.22 - Coney Island Amphitheater, Brooklyn, NY
27.08.22 - Tattoo The Earth Festival 2022, Worcester, MA
28.08.22 -The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

Minneapolis: March 17 to March 18

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

03/17 Glass Animals at Armory Read More Glass Animals Glass Animals highly successful tour continues, in support of last year’s Dreamland (on Universal Music) and held over from its beginning instantly sold-out gigs in small clubs ...

03/17/2022 Thursday

Glass Animals
at Armory
first-avenue.com

We saw Glass Animals earlier in Bonner Springs in Sept 2021 and wrote, “Often, the best nights to see a show at an outdoor amphitheater are later in the season – the air is cool and crisp, less of a rain chance, and none of the oppressive summer heat and humidity. On such a night with a chill in the air, Glass Animals decided to host a pool party for some 18,000 of their area friends. With a set looking like a hotel pool deck, complete with pastel colors, neon lights, a diving board, palm trees, and basketball goal, with a backdrop that was fashioned after a late ‘80s computer terminal screen (with accompanying 8-bit graphics), the band played to its largest area crowd to date on their Dreamland Tour (which continues for almost another year).”

The band returns to Minneapolis, set to play the Armory on March 17th.

Tour Dates

03/04/22 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Federal Theatre
03/08/22 Portland, OR Keller Auditorium
03/09/22 Portland, OR Keller Auditorium
03/10/22 Vancouver, BC Doug Mitchell Thunderbird
03/11/22 Seattle, WA WaMu Theater
03/13/22 Salt Lake City, UT The Union
03/14/22 Denver, CO The Mission Ballroom
03/16/22 Madison, WI The Sylvee
03/17/22 Minneapolis, MN The Armory
03/18/22 Chicago, IL University of Illinois
03/20/22 Milwaukee, WI Miller High Life Theater
03/21/22 Indianapolis, IN Old National Centre
03/22/22 Louisville, KY The Louisville Palace Theater
03/23/22 Saint Louis, MO The Factory
03/28/22 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
03/29/22 Washington, DC The Anthem
04/01/22 Toronto, ON History
04/02/22 Toronto, ON History
04/03/22 Montreal, QC MTELUS
04/04/22 Montreal, QC MTELUS
06/14/22 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater
06/15/22 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater

03/18 Sparks at Fitzgerald Theater Read More FFS FFS - the unique collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks - have announced their first ever North American live dates. This once-in-a-lifetime tour .…

03/18/2022 Friday

Sparks
at The Fitzgerald Theater
first-avenue.com

One of our favorite shows of 2015 was the Franz Ferdinand and Sparks collaboration show, billed as FFS.

The legendary art-pop duo Sparks is back, billed under the title Sparks 2022, they are headlining the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul. Recently the band released the soundtrack to Annette (Milan Records).

The soundtrack was actually originally intended to be a Sparks studio album, but after meeting with director Leos Carax after a meeting at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, the band decided to rework and it as a movie soundtrack.

Of the collaboration, SPARKS say, “Initially, we conceived Annette as another Sparks album. Yet this time it would be a narrative story that would consist of three main characters, a small enough ensemble that would allow us to also present the ‘opera’ live on tour... The music, story and album were finished and ready to go, which is where the story takes a huge detour. After meeting Leos at Cannes, we felt a real kinship, so we thought we would send him Annette, not expecting anything other than to show him what Sparks was currently up to. And lo and behold, he said he really liked the album and would like to consider it as his next project. We were happily surprised and elated at his reaction. As fans of Leos’ films, to now realize that he would be directing a film of ours was beyond our dreams.”

Tour Dates:

Mar 11 San Francisco, CA, US The Warfield
Mar 13 Portland, OR, US McMenamin's Crystal Ballroom
Mar 14 Seattle, WA, US The Showbox
Mar 15 Vancouver, BC, Canada Vogue Theatre
Mar 18 St. Paul, MN, US Fitzgerald Theater
Mar 19 Chicago, IL, US Copernicus Center
Mar 21 Atlanta, GA, US The Eastern
Mar 22 Nashville, TN, US Ryman Auditorium
Mar 24 Knoxville, TN, US Big Ears Festival
Mar 25 Raleigh, NC, US Lincoln Theatre
Mar 26 Washington, DC, US Lincoln Theatre
Mar 28 New York (NYC), NY, US Town Hall
Mar 29 New York (NYC), NY, US Town Hall
Mar 30 Boston, MA, US Shubert Theatre, Boch Center
Apr 1 Royal Oak, MI, US Royal Oak Music Theatre
Apr 2 Toronto, ON, Canada Queen Elizabeth Theatre

03/18 Cannons with Madi Sipes & The Painted Blue at Fine Line Read More Cannons We’re loving everything we’ve heard from Cannons, whose hit single, “Bad Dream”, has been followed by by a digital-only cover album earlier this year. …

03/18/2022 Friday

Cannons
with Madi Sipes & The Painted Blue
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Alternative/electro-pop band Cannons (stylized as CANNONS) will head out on a massive tour in 2022. We saw the band in Nov 2021 and said, “The act we were most anticipating to see, LA-based alternative/electro-pop band CANNONS was next, wowing the audience with a short but sweet thirty-six minute set and since signing with Columbia Records earlier this year they’ve released a four-trackCovers by CANNONS EP, with new full-length due in 2022. The dream pop trio (vocalist Michelle Joy, guitarist Ryan Clapham, and keyboardist Paul Davis, w/Ben on drums) has been a unit since 2013 with two prior albums, but it was the 2020 inclusion of song “Fire for You” in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Never Have I Ever, that really began to turn some music industry heads.”

Tour dates:

Mar 1 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US El Rey Theatre
Mar 1 Live Stream Cannons Live Stream from the El Rey
Mar 2 San Francisco, CA, US The Independent
Mar 3 Santa Cruz, CA, US The Catalyst Atrium
Mar 3 Okeechobee, FL, US Okeechobee Festival
Mar 7 Santa Barbara, CA, US SOhO Restaurant
Mar 9 Arcata, CA, US Arcata Theatre Lounge
Mar 10 Portland, OR, US Wonder Ballroom
Mar 11 Vancouver, BC, Canada Hollywood Theatre
Mar 12 Seattle, WA, US Chop Suey
Mar 15 Salt Lake City, UT, US Soundwell
Mar 16 Denver, CO, US Globe Hall
Mar 18 Minneapolis, MN, US Fine Line
Mar 19 Chicago, IL, US Lincoln Hall
Mar 20 Detroit, MI, US El Club
Mar 22 Somerville, MA, US Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre
Mar 23 Brooklyn, NY, US Elsewhere
Mar 25 Philadelphia, PA, US PhilaMOCA
Mar 26 Washington, DC, US Union Stage
Mar 28 Toronto, ON, Canada Velvet Underground
Mar 29 Pittsburgh, PA, US Thunderbird Café
Mar 30 Lakewood, OH, US Mahall's 20 Lanes
Apr 1 Indianapolis, IN, US HI-FI
Apr 2 Columbus, OH, US Rumba Cafe
Apr 4 Nashville, TN, US The Basement East
Apr 5 Atlanta, GA, US Terminal West
Apr 5 Atlanta, GA, US Terminal West
Apr 7 Baton Rouge, LA, US Chelsea’s Live
Apr 8 Houston, TX, US The Secret Group
Apr 9 Fort Worth, TX, US Tulips
Apr 10 Austin, TX, US Antone's
Apr 12 Phoenix, AZ, US Valley Bar
Apr 13 Santa Fe, NM, US Meow Wolf
Apr 15 Santa Ana, CA, US Constellation Room
May 11 Venice, CA, US The Venice West
May 13 Redondo Beach, CA, US BeachLife Festival

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

Minneapolis: April 27 to April 28, 2018

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from April 27 to April 28, 2018.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

Franz Ferdinand at First Ave Poster Read More Franz Ferdinand As I have suspected, Franz Ferdinand will be on a bigger tour in support of their new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out next week (August 27th) on Domino Records.… Priests Sister Polygon Records (not to be confused with British label Polygon Records) is releasing Priests’ Nothing Feels Natural on January 27th. Priests is also doing an extensive tour in 2017 in .…

FRANZ FERDINAND
+ Priests
First Avenue
Fri 04/27/2018 (8pm/$33/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

We love Franz Ferdinand. The Scottish band is back on tour in support of their fifth album Always Ascending, which came out on Domino in February of this year.

Priests to open. We wrote about this band in Jan 2017 when they put out Nothing Feels Natural.

Of course the show is sold out. We love them, and so do you!

Tour dates:

04.24 - Mexico City - Pepsi City
04.27 - Minneapolis - First Avenue
04.28 - Kansas City - The Truman
04.30 - Milwaukee - The Rave
05.02 - St Louis - The Pageant
05.07 - Dallas - House of Blues
05 .08- Houston - White Ok Music Hall
05.11 - Phoenix - The Van Buren
05.12 - Santa Ana - The Observatory
05.13 - San Diego - North Park
05.15 - Los Angeles - The Wiltern
05.17 - Oakland - The Fox Theatre
06.09 - Moscow - Stadium Live
06.11 - St. Petersburg - Stereoleto 2018
06.13 - Kiev - Art Platforma
06.22 - Schessel - Hurricane Festival
06.22 - Neuhausen - Southside Festival
06.26 - Dublin - RDS Arena
06.28 - Santiago Compestela - O Son Do Camino
06.29 - Vilanova - Vida Festival
07.01 - Beuingen - Down The Rabbit Hole
07.04 - Tallinn - Ollesummer Festival
07.06 - Werchter - Rock Werchter
07.08 - Glasgow - TRNSMT Festival
07.10 - Rome - Roma Summer Festival
07.11 - Gardone Riviera - Tener A Mente Festival
07.13 - Madrid - Mad Cool
07.14 - Alges - NOS Alive
07.15 - Aix-Les-Bains - Musilac
08.19 - Landerneau - Fete du Bruit
08.28 - Bergen - USF - Rokeriet
08.29 - Oslo - Sentrum Scene
09.01 - Copenhagen - Store Vega
09.07 - Milan - Milan Rocks
09.09 - Portmeirion - Festival No.6
09.22 - Manchester - British Sound Project
09.26 - London- The Roundhouse

Frenship at 7th Street Poster YFN Lucci 2018 Poster Born Ruffians 2018 Poster Rod Picott: Out Past the Wires Read More Born Ruffians Born Ruffians will be in Minneapolis on November 30th, in support of their new album Ruff. They recently released their single and video for "(Eat Sh**) We Did It". Guitarist and vocalist Luke ... Yoke Lore Overcoats is back in Minneapolis (again!) on this Cinco de Mayo, at the 7th Street Entry. Yoke Lore to open. 8pm, $10.

Other shows in the area:

BIG K.R.I.T.
+ Cyhi The Prynce
The Cabooze
Fri 04/27/2018 (9pm/$25)
cabooze.com

Critically acclaimed rapper and producer, Big K.R.I.T., will be headlining the Cabooze on Friday, as part of his “Heavy is the Crown” 2018 National Tour.

Cyhi The Prynce will be joining Big K.R.I.T. on all tour dates.

Tour dates:

Apr-25-18- Denver, CO @ Cervantes
Apr-26-18- Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Apr-27-18- Minneapolis, MN @ Cabooze
Apr-28-18- Chicago, IL @ Metro

FRENSHIP
+ Yoke Lore
7th Street Entry
Fri 04/27/2018 (7pm/$15/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Los Angeles-based duo Frenship (James Sunderland and Brett Hite) will be headlining the 7th Street Entry this Friday. The show is sold out.

Tour dates:

04/24 Cincinnati, OH Woodward Theater
04/27 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
04/28 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
04/29 Omaha, NE Slowdown
05/01 Boise, ID Neurolux
05/02 Spokane, WA The Bartlett
05/04 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
05/05 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
05/06 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
05/08 San Francisco, CA Independent
05/09 Santa Barbara, CA Soho Music Club
05/11 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
05/12 San Diego, CA Casbah
05/13 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom
05/14 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
05/17 Austin, TX Stubb's JR.
05/18 Houston, TX HOB - Bronze Peacock
05/19 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
05/20 Dallas, TX HOB - Cambridge Room
05/22 Oklahoma City, OK Tower Theatre
05/24 Denver, CO Ophelia's Electric Soapbox
06/07 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo

YFN LUCCI
Minneapolis Music Hall
Fri 04/27/2018 (9pm/$25)
musichallmpls.com

Platinum-certified and critically acclaimed Atlanta rapper and singer YFN Lucci is touring in support of his debut LP Ray Ray From Summer Hill (Think It’s A Game Records/Warner Bros. Records).

Tour dates:

April 25th -- Louisville, KY -- Mercury Ballroom
April 26th -- Milwaukee, WI -- Turner Ballroom
April 27th -- Minneapolis, MN -- Music Hall
April 28th -- St. Louis, MO -- Pops
April 29th -- Lawrence, KS -- Granada Theatre
May 1st -- Denver, CO -- Cervantes Ballroom
May 3rd -- Salt Lake City, UT -- The Complex
May 5th -- Spokane, WA -- Knitting Factory
May 6th -- Portland, OR -- Hawthorne Theatre
May 8th -- San Francisco, CA -- Slims
May 9th -- Los Angeles, CA -- Roxy
May 11th -- Phoenix, AZ -- Crescent
May 12th -- Albuquerque, NM -- El Rey Theatre
May 16th -- New Orleans, LA -- House of Blues
May 17th -- Atlanta, GA -- Center Stage

BORN RUFFIANS
+ Little Junior
7th Street Entry
Sat 04/28/2018 (7pm/$12)
first-avenue.com

Toronto band Born Ruffians is back in town for their fifth studio album Uncle, Duke & the Chief. We caught the band in Oct 2016 and wrote, “Arriving on stage with four circular display that read: “R-U-F-F” in the background. They actually had trouble setting up these things because the 7th Street Entry’s stage is very small and they had to cramped in the letters.”

Show up early to check out Little Junior. The Canadian group will be previewing some songs from their debut album Hi (coming out May 11th on Grand Jury Music).

Tour dates:

04.25.18 – London, ON @ Rum Runners
04.26.18 – Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
04.27.18 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room
04.28.18 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
04.29.18 – Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre

ROD PICOTT
+ Ben De La Cour
Sweeney Todd's
Sat 04/28/2018 (7pm/$20)
eventbrite.com

An odd choice for a venue, but Nashville’s Rod Picott will be at the Sweeney Todd’s Salon this Saturday, April 28th in support of his double album Out Past the Wires.

Tour dates:

April 28 Sweeney Todd's Minneapolis MN
May 4 Morro Bay Wine Cellars Morro Bay CA
May 5 House Concert Davis CA
May 6 Private Show Berkeley CA
May 8 White Eagle Saloon Portland OR
May 9 Treehouse Cafe Bainbridge Island WA

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

W♥M's Favorite 15 Shows of 2015

Read More Sleater-Kinney What are you doing on V-Day? If you're a Sleater-Kinney fan, you'll be at this sold out show. According to my bad memories and physical ticket stubs, I've seen Sleater-Kinney at least three times, and have expressed sadness ... The Decemberists Sure, their music is associated with hipsters and it's fair to assume singer Colin Meloy writes lyrics like he's from 1920, but The Decemberists are an unbelievably good band. … Belle & Sebastian Our favorite Scottish band Belle & Sebastian is releasing Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance tomorrow, January 20th, via Matador Records, their first new record since 2010's Write About Love. ... Sam Smith Sam Smith has sold out Madison Square Garden in NYC and The Forum in Los Angeles in minutes, with a second show in Los Angeles being added on January 29, 2015. The month-long .... Big Star Big Star is releasing some singles on Record Store Day. This is to coincide with the release of the documentary of Big Star called "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me", which you can check out the … Blur After the release of The Magic Whip (first album since Think Tank was released in 2003), this world tour sees Blur play Australia (including the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay) … Wizard World Minneapolis Wizard World Minneapolis officially began its pop culture weekend takeover last night, with a kickoff event held last night at the rotunda in the Mall of America. In addition to a trivia contest for … Violent Femmes Violent Femmes have announced details of their eagerly awaited new EP, HAPPY NEW YEAR. The four-track EP will be released April 18th, exclusively on 180 gram champagne clear vinyl … Go 96.3 We were really impressed with Go 96.3 FM's first Go Show #1 (featuring New Politics and Banks at Aria on Mar 2015). We were wondering how they can top that debut show … Festival Palomino We covered Trampled By Turtles' first ever Festival Palomino last year. It was such a great learning experience for us, and we had a great time... so much that it made it onto my top ten favorite shows from 2014 (out of … The 1975 Matt Healy, lead singer for Manchester UK band, The 1975, is a marked man. And this past weekend, he returned to the city where it all happened. … The Adicts The version Cristina loves is the Adicts' version. Song of the week is Adicts' "Falling in Love". ... FFS FFS - the unique collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks - have announced their first ever North American live dates. This once-in-a-lifetime tour .… Weezer Weezer's singer Rivers Cuomo brought out his dad, Frank Cuomo, and they play "Back to the Shack". One of the most touching things I have witness in my many years of watching Weezer shows. … Carole King Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a musical on the life of songwriter Carole King, based on the biography written by Douglas McGrath. The musical has a residency at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis until the end of November. …

This year (2015), W♥M covered 346, which is an absolutely amazingly large number considering that we basically don't cover shows from December to February.

With so many shows, it's hard to just pick 15 shows to talk about... and I know there are a few that I feel bad about leaving off the list. I recommend looking over our list below and clicking on the shows you are most interested in reading and checking out for yourself.

With that said, here 15 favorite moments of 2015:

Sleater-Kinney at First Avenue
14 February 2015

This was my fourth time seeing Portland's Sleater-Kinney, and it was possibly my favorite. After "breaking up" in 2006, it was a bit of a surprise when they announced their reunion in October 2014 (with a new album No Cities to Love no less!). Of course, their entire 2015 North American show immediately sold out, but we were lucky enough to be there.... as were all the dedicated fans (who we haven't seen in quite a while).

We wrote, "I also wanted to mention that this wasn't just a SK reunion, but a reunion for all their fans. Personally speaking, I saw old friends I have not seen in nine years and it was all because SK came back to the music scene... so from the bottom of my heart, thank you Sleater-Kinney. "

The Decemberists at Northrop Auditorium
24 March 2015

Similar to Sleater-Kinney, beloved The Decemberists disappeared from the music scene in 2011. We caught singer Colin Meloy solo in 2013, and although he did play some Decemberists songs, it just didn't feel the same. When the opportunity to see them live, after they announced an unexpected new album What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, we jumped on board on the sold out show.

Their encore, with a giant whale, was a delight: "...then was a direct hit to the gullet, with their other folky mega-epic, the bouncy ‘The Mariner’s Revenge Song’ which stretched some twenty minutes. People were prompted to scream at a certain part ¾ of the way into the song, and the reaction was not unwarranted as a large cut-out profile of a whale ambled on stage to slowly eat each of the band members in a row, to the crowd’s shrieking delight."

Belle & Sebastian at Enmore Theatre and Rock the Garden
29 January 2015/20 June 2015

My all-time favorite post-Britpop is Scottish band Belle & Sebastian. Although the band experienced some difficulties with their label (basically Jeepster Records didn't think they can grow beyond their cult-like status) and losing a few key band members (including sweet songstress Isobel Campbell), the band seemed to be in top form on this 2015 tour. They first hit the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia, and eventually made their way to Minneapolis at Rock the Garden.

Personally speaking, as a diehard fan, I felt it wasn't their strongest performance in Minneapolis. They've been gone for 9 years from the city, and their song choices weren't what I wanted or expected. Still, despite all that, their two song finales were unfortgettable: "The two closing tracks, ‘The Boy With the Arab Strap’ and ‘I Didn't See It Coming’ were absolutely unforgettable. Murdoch walked on the front barrier and asked if anyone wanted to dance and encourage fans to come on stage. About thirty fans jumped to the stage and just had an absolute blast singing and dancing... and, yes, taking plenty of selfies."

Sam Smith at Roy Wilkins Auditorium
24 January 2015

We were lucky enough to have caught Sam Smith right before his road to stardom: winning six Grammy Awards (in Feb 2015) - including Record of the Year and Song of the Year - and Brit Award winner for British Breakthrough Act and Global Success.

We wrote, "With his career just starting (though he mentioned he’s had a manager since age 12) and a strong chance that he walks away with several Grammys next weekend, Sam Smith’s local debut was worth the wait, with likely several more appearances in the years ahead, to come."

Wizard World Minneapolis
01-03 May 2015

The second annual Wizard World Minneapolis was a whole lot of fun. Unlike 2014's show, this year they had a few musical acts in conjunction to the comic book/geek fandom show: Critical Hit and our favorite Japanese Superhero band Peelander-Z. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, the Peelander-Z show was cut short.

As we reported, "After just 25 minutes, the venue cut off the band's instruments!! Everyone in the audience and the band looked incredibly puzzled by the shutdown. The fans were screaming "One more song! One more song!" and Pink replied, "If only we could, but they won't let us play!"

Barenaked Ladies and Violent Femmes at Treasure Island
12 June 2015

After Brian Ritchie sued singer Gordon Gano in 2007, The Violent Femmes broke up. It was only recently (2015) that they reformed, so we were more than happy to make that long drive to Treasure Island Casino in Red Wing, Minnesota, to see them. Embarrassingly enough, I thought this was my first time seeing VF, until I was reminded by a friend of mine that we had seen them in early 2000 at First Avenue. Suddenly, the memories flooded back! I will confess that I have a terrible memory.

Anyway, seeing VF was such fun! Everyone in the audience were singing to every word (expect for the two new songs), but I will also mention that I LOVE Colin Hay (from Men At Work) and he was definitely the highlight of the Barenaked Ladies' set. BNL aren't bad either, they were surprisingly a very entertaining band.

We wrote, "Say what you will about Canada's Barenaked Ladies, but they are a great live band. All those years touring, singer Ed Robertson has developed an amazing ability to randomly improvise some raps and songs. My personal favorite was the "Ring Ding Ding for Red Wing" rap, it's clear to me that they just actually thought of it while randomly shouting out rhymes."

Go 96.3 Shows
13 March 2015/07 August 2015/03-04 December 2015

We were quite impressed with Go 96.3's very first show at Aria in early March 2015 (featuring New Politics and Banks). They spared no expenses, and it showed! They would later go on to book Go Fest 2015 (featuring Cold War Kids and Matt & Kim on 07 August 2015) and Go Snow Show (featuring Metric and Silversun Pickups on 03-04 December 2015). In fact, all the Go Shows are nothing less than spectacular. We speculate that they are possibly just losing money (thanks to their affordable pricing of "$9.63" or FREE), but we also think that getting their brand name out is well worth it.

We wrote, "So, with little Snow outside, but plenty Show inside, consider the inaugural Go96.3 Snow Show a success with the hope that this becomes a bigger and better holiday tradition, for years ahead. "

Blur in Sydney, Los Angeles, and New York
25 July 2015/20 October 2015/23 October 2015

Legendary Britpopster Blur is finally back in Australia, playing their first gig in 18 years in the country. The whole gang is back (including Graham Coxon), and we love the band so much, we travelled to Los Angeles and New York for Blur's final two US tour. It's hinted heavily that this was the band's final U.S.A. appearance. A sad reminder that for this megastar band in England... that they never really broke America.

We wrote, "I'll just say the show was bittersweet. Albarn plans to spend next year working on the band that did break the States, Gorillaz, and he has enough side projects to distract him from the band he first started out in. This may be their last concert in the country they couldn't break."

FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks) at First Avenue
09 October 2015

FFS is the special project of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks. The two bands recorded an album and as expected with these type of one album-only tour, they basically played the entire album. As an added bonus, selective songs from their respective catalog was also played, including the wildly popular FF's song "Take Me Out" (the entire audience was bouncing and singing along to this number).

Of all the places the band could have chosen to play, they surprisingly added Minneapolis to their limited first-ever US tour... and it was well worth it for fans who showed up to catch this unique performance.

As we reported, "Both bands collaborated to produce some of the most interesting pop songs on the FFS album. It's smart, it's catchy, it's fun, and it's uniquely FFS. While I do not think there will be a sequel in the future, this was, by far, the most interesting team-up we've seen in a while."

Big Star's Third at First Avenue
20 September 2015

This is one of our favorite 2015 shows: Big Star's Third. Every show they do is different, mainly because they have different guests. With all these great guests, you would think they can easily screw up, but they were all surprisingly well-rehearsed and seemed to know their material and what they had to work with.

We concluded, "This show was such a massive pleasure to watch. Between a stage loaded with talent and music loaded with emotion, it was hard to walk away from this and not be inspired and heartened. Big Star created some of the most beautiful and timeless music of all time, the soundtrack to our lives. Stamey, Stringfellow and every single person who contributed to Wednesday night’s performance brought that soundtrack to life. "

The 1975 at First Avenue
10 December 2015

This was our third time seeing The 1975, fifth time if you count their two promotional appearance at Cities 97 and the Mall of America... and we called it long ago: This band is going to be massive! Not only have they sold out every appearance in the Twin Cities, but ahead of their sophomore album, they've already announced a date at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. We think it's going to sell out, which very few bands have managed such a feat. We'll wait and see. If you need further proof that the band has made it - after we saw them at First Avenue, there were bootleg T-Shirt vendors!

As reported, "From the show’s early sell out, to the stage production, and the crowd’s intense reaction to every song, it was clear right away that the band has outgrown its club confines and is destined for bigger things (something we predicted when we first saw them too)."

Festival Palomino 2015
September 2015

We felt that the inaugural Festival Palomino last year was nothing short of perfect... however, the organizers (First Avenue and Trampled by Turtles) improved on perfection! We love the new setup and, based on these two successful shows, we're pretty sure they will be hard at work on a great 2016 Festival Palomino.

We praised, "If local festivals were racehorses, Festival Palomino is best in show. Again.

The Trampled by Turtles-curated festival, held again in the inside greens of the horse racetrack at Canterbury Park in the southwest suburb of Shakopee, triumphed once more in its sophomore year, as a prime example of a highly enjoyable, expertly-run day of music. "

Rev Horton Heat & The Adicts at First Avenue
24 September 2015

This was an odd-pairing, but we were really excited about UK's The Adicts' very first Minneapolis show. They were just super-duper entertaining. The band clearly has their live show down to a T, incorporating various fun stage props, various costume changes, and choreographic dance routines. The only down side to these shows is that they are practically the same routine every night, so if this is your second or third time seeing them, it'll get old fast... but personally speaking, since it was their first Minneapolis show: we loved it.

Worth the price of admission: "If anything, The Adicts is one of the most entertaining bands touring right now. I've never seen so many stage prop used on stage, from pounds of confetti (used in streamers, umbrellas, hats, etc.) to Chinese take-out cartons (used for "Chinese Takeaway"), playing cards (used for "Joker in the Pack") to light-up plastic glass (used during "Who Spilt My Beer?") to various costume changes (hats, gloves, shirts) to beach balls, to stuffed monkeys (thrown into the audience). Although this may seem gimmicky, you can't ignore that this was a first-rate production and worth the price of admission. "

Weezer at Burgerama IV and Basilica Block Party
29 March 2015/10 July 2015

We're big fans of Weezer since 1994. Admittedly, the band's outgrown us, but we still have a soft spot for the nerdy band. Seeing them at Burgerama IV in Santa Ana was a treat, but because Rivers' dad came on stage to sing "Back to the Shack" with the band. We caught them again locally at Basilica Block Party, and it's probably our favorite Basilica show in recent memory.

The fans loved it, "As soon as the first few chords of ‘Hash Pipe’ were played, the audience immediately recognized it and started screaming and singing. Other big hits blocks included ‘Surf Wax America’, followed by ‘Island in the Sun’ with personalized "Minneapolis" lyrics, and ‘Beverly Hills’ (which did gangbuster in California, but surprisingly did really well in Minnesota as well)."

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
25 November 2015

This one is still fresh in my mind, so it's one of my favorite music event I've attended. I can probably count on my hand the few plays and musicals I've attended (The King and I, Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, etc.), but watching Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was simply just magical. The seamless set changes, the constant costume changes (and one great "quick change" costumes), the great singing and music playing... they were just flawless! It probably helped that they act the same scene night after night for the last 200+ shows, but it was still pretty amazing to witness live. I have told people that it is like watching a movie, only it's completely live.

We concluded, "If you're a fan of live musical, you definitely will want to attend a show. It is a lot of fun, and the musical numbers will bring back a lot of wonderful memories."

Below are links to all 346 shows we covered in 2015:

FFS (Franz Ferdinand + Sparks) at First Avenue, Minneapolis (09 October 2015)

FFS Setlist Johnny Delusional The Man Without A Tan Police Encounters Do You Want To↗ The Power Couple Little Guy From The Suburbs Save Me from Myself Things I Won't Get So Desu Ne The Number One Song in Heaven❇ Michael↗ This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us❇ Dictator's Son Take Me Out↗ Piss Off -- Encore -- When Do I Get to Sing "My Way"❇ Call Girl Collaborations Don't Work ↗ Franz Ferdinand songs ❇ Sparks song Tour Dates 10/11/15 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre 10/13/15 Hollywood, CA Hollywood Palladium 10/14/15 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory 10/15/15 Oakland, CA Fox Theater Read More FFS FFS - the unique collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks - have announced their first ever North American live dates. This once-in-a-lifetime tour .…

FFS, the unbelievable collaboration of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, just played First Avenue in Minneapolis last Friday, October 9th. This was one of the very rare US appearance, the whole show was captured live by Yahoo Live (if you can get it to work).

DJ Jake Rudh played various 70s/80s music videos on screen while fans waited for the first band to go on stage. We've seen his playlist before, plenty of British-invasion favorites like David Bowie, The Buzzcocks, The Who, The Jam, etc.

The Intelligence

The Intelligence is from Seattle, lead by Lars Finberg (drummer of the A-Frames and Thee Oh Sees). Their 30-min set included a mix of their albums, including 2012's Everybody's Got It Easy But Me (In the Red Records). They were quirky, lo-fi, post-punk , and reminded me of the Fall, minus the monotonic vocal styling of Mark E Smith.

You can tell by the way they handled themselves on stage, that they've been around and have been making and playing live music for a long time.

We couldn't believe that FFS decided to add Minneapolis to one of their 11 North American tour dates. They've already played/headlined massive music festival (Glastonbury Festival), so seeing them at First Avenue was a much better experience than the crowded festival scene.

Although officially formed/announced on 9 March 2015, the two bands have been recording and collaborating on and off since mid-2000s. The record came out in June 2015, and in August announced their North American tour.

While we expected the band to play their entire self-titled debut album, we were surprised to see that they decided to throw in a few Sparks ("The Number One Song in Heaven", "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", and "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'") and Franz Ferdinand ("Do You Want To", "Michael", and "Take Me Out") songs.

The two Sparks brothers Ron and Russell Mael, clearly stood out. Russell was singing and dancing and very animated compared to his brother Ron, who is expressionless and remained quietly behind the keyboard ... that is until "The Number One Song in Heaven", which had Ron take center stage, loosen his tie, and then proceeded to do a 50s style dance.

FF's Alex Kapranos and Spark's Russell Mael handled most of the singing, so I was surprised to see guitarist Nick McCarthy take lead vocals for "Things I Won't Get".

Based on the strong reactions to the Franz Ferdinand songs (particularly for "Do You Want To" and "Take Me Out"), it's clear to me that the majority of fans were familiar with FF's pop/rock songs. Sparks, on the other hand, has always been on the weird / quirky / experimental side that appeal to a smaller, niche audience.

Both bands collaborated to produce some of the most interesting pop songs on the FFS album. It's smart, it's catchy, it's fun, and it's uniquely FFS. While I do not think there will be a sequel in the future, this was, by far, the most interesting team-up we've seen in a while.

FFS' self-titled debut album is available now via Domino.

FFS at First Avenue, Minneapolis (09 October 2015)

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

Rocktober: October 9, 2015

Read More FFS FFS - the unique collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks - have announced their first ever North American live dates. This once-in-a-lifetime tour .… Franz Ferdinand As I have suspected, Franz Ferdinand will be on a bigger tour in support of their new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out next week (August 27th) on Domino Records.… Sparks Sparks are a new wave/glam band from Los Angeles, lead by two brothers: Ron and Russell Mael. The Los Angeles duo influenced everyone from Nirvana to New Order to They Might Be Giants. .…

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on October 9, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

FFS
at First Avenue
Friday, 10/09/2015, 8pm ($35)
first-avenue.com

What happens when you take the pop/dance rock of Franz Ferdinand and combine them with the quirkiness of Sparks? You get FFS.

We never thought we'd see these two unique bands together, but they've added Minneapolis as one of their 11 North American tour dates! Think about this: they've already played/headlined massive music festival (Glastonbury Festival), so seeing them at First Avenue will be a lot more personal and up close!

Los Angeles' The Intelligence and DJ Jake Rudh to open.

FFS' self-titled debut album is available now via Domino. The album was recorded at London's RAK Studios in London and produced by Grammy-award winner John Congleton (St Vincent, David Byrne, Anna Calvi).

FFS Tour Dates

Oct 3 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Oct 5 Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theater
Oct 6 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Oct 8 Chicago, IL @ Rivera
Oct 9 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Oct 11 Denver, CO @ The Ogden
Oct 13 Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Oct 14 Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory
Oct 15 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre

Read More The Joy Formidable It's been a while since I mentioned Wales' The Joy Formidable. Their sophomore album, Wolf's Law was released today (Jan 22nd) via Canvasback Music / Atlantic Records. .…

JOY FORMIDABLE
at Turf Club
Friday, 10/09/2015, 8pm ($3)
turfclub.net

This is the best deal in town: if you RSVP, you get in the door for $3, plus you get a free Red Bull (basically you're paying for the drink and getting the show for free). This is a wonderful deal, the last time they were in town as headliner at First Avenue, the tickets were about $20.

The reason for the reduced pricing is because this show is sponsored by Red Bull Sound Select, who is picking up most of the tab in exchange for promoting the Red Bull brand and awareness.

We've been talking about the Welsh band/London-based The Joy Formidable since 2008, and was thrilled about their EP A Balloon Called Moaning.

Murder Shoes and Verskotzi to open.

Tour dates:

09 Oct 2015 Turf Club, St Paul, MN
15 Oct 2015 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY
16 Oct 2015 Cargo, Reno, NV
30 Oct 2015 City Park, New Orleans, LA
31 Oct 2015 City Park, New Orleans, LA
01 Nov 2015 City Park, New Orleans, LA
12 Nov 2015 Masonic Lodge, Los Angeles
14 Nov 2015 San Diego Music Thing
21 Nov 2015 Gundlach Bundschu Winery

Read More Lewis Black I have been aware of Lewis Black since the early 2000's. Lewis Black is an interesting stand-up comedian. He's not the type of comedian that has set ups and punchlines. He is the type more .…

VARIOUS ARTISTS
at Various Venues
Friday, 10/09/2015

As usual, there are too many shows in the area for Rocktober.

Here are some shows we are not covering, but I felt they were important enough to mention:

Get Your Gear in Rear: Classic Rock Night at Varsity Theater. Classic rock covers by The G Men, Mars Attrax, and Black Sabbath the Resurrection, to benefit the Colon Cancer Coalition. (7pm/$10)

Merge Records' Titus Andronicus sold out show at Triple Rock Social Club. Spider Bags and Baked to open. (8pm/$15/Sold Out)

Latin urban artist J Balvin will be at Myth Live, Becky G to open (8pm/$29.50)

Alternative tattooed/piercing sexy SuicideGirls to return to Minneapolis at Mill City Nights (8pm/$25)

Country/Americana singer Hayes Carll will be in town with Aubrie Sellers at Cedar Cultural Center (7pm/$20)

Vancouver's Bob Moses is headlining the 7th Street Entry, with Desert Colony Sound to open (8pm/$12)

Gwar will be at Cabooze (6pm/$25)

Ranty Lewis Black will make an appearance at The State Theatre (7pm/$39.50). Look, the man's just angry all the time.

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

Franz Ferdinand w/ Frankie Rose, Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis (10/09/13) concert review

Setlist The Dark of the Matinée Bullet Do You Want To No You Girls Evil Eye Walk Away Stand on the Horizon Can't Stop Feeling (w/ I Feel Love by Donna Summer) Brief Encounters The Fallen This Fire Treason! Animals Take Me Out Love Illumination Ulysses Encore: Right Action Michael Goodbye Lovers and Friends Read More Franz Ferdinand As I have suspected, Franz Ferdinand will be on a bigger tour in support of their new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out next week (August 27th) on Domino Records.… Read More Frankie Rose Guess who is opening up for Franz Ferdinand for all their U.S. tour dates? That's right, Frankie Rose. She'll be here on Wednesday at the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis..…

Even after four years away, Glasgow four-piece Franz Ferdinand still has a fire that’s out of control. In their time away, the band seemed to re-discover the vitality and freshness that brought their debut album, now almost ten years past, to great international acclaim. Touring in support of their just-released Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (Domino Records), their 80 min. performance in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Skyway Theatre proved that their distinctive and sharp dance-rock riffs are still a viable part of today’s musical ether.

The Skyway Theatre

The Skyway Theatre itself is a third-floor old six-screen cineplex, with seats removed on the sloped floor and stepped balcony, and a wide stage placed in front of the screen area. Mostly known for hosting EDM acts, the 1,956 capacity room actually holds more than neighboring First Avenue, though promoter Live Nation prefers to keep attendance at a more comfortable 1,800 or less. Concession stands have been converted to full bars and escalators that didn’t work in the 90’s, still don’t work. The garish carpet and theater smell of yesteryear all still linger, though there is a certain charm/kitsch about it, as well as somewhat boomy but otherwise decent acoustics in the venue.

FRANKIE ROSE

Brooklyn-based Frankie Rose opened the evening with a brief but solid 30 min. set. After playing in Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and Vivian Girls, Rose struck out on her own in 2010 with the release of Frankie Rose and the Outs. She toured under that name (the Outs being her band), but by her sophomore album, Interstellar, she dropped the name the Outs, possibly due to changing band members, or most likely, to keep it simple.

Frankie Rose Setlist

Rose started her set with "The Depths", from her latest album Herein Wild, and then after the song was over, she commented that it was about a lake. After a pause, she added, "Lake Minnetonka" (jokingly). The Minnesota-love theme would soon follow with her commenting on how she loved it here and wants to move here. No one believed her, but it does goes to show that she probably spent some time here and knows the area well enough to talk about it.

I also wanted to note that how she handled some heckler, with a response of, "Say it to my face!" This tells me that Rose can handle herself and has probably encountered other very rude people throughout her career. Despite the anonymous idiot in the crowd, she still insisted that everyone in the audience were more than welcome to join her van. "It'll be just like the Polyphonic-Spree, only bigger."

Anyway, Rose previewed three songs ("The Depths", "Into Blue", and "Question/Reason") from Herein Wild, her first release from Fat Possum Records. The rest of her set was made up of songs from Interstellar, and ended with a cover of The Damned "Street of Dreams" and one of her first written solo songs, "Save Me".

Alex Kapranos

Headliner Franz Ferdinand couldn’t have planned their opener any better. As lights dimmed and the intro music was cued, the Scottish quartet took to the stage to great applause and went into the more-than appropriate ‘The Dark of the Matinée’. “You sound pretty good tonight!”, singer Alex Kapranos addressed the crowd, co-guitarist/keyboardist Nick McCarthy buoying left and right in place while the rhythm section of bassist Bob Hardy and drummer Paul Thomson stayed mostly in the shadows but kept momentum going with angular bass lines and high-hat percussion.

‘Do You Want To’ rose the crowd early on, the lead single from the band’s second album inspiring dancing and cheering from the mostly younger audience. ‘Walk Away’, the “only song we’ve ever written in a dressing room” was well received as was ‘Stand on the Horizon’, which the band transitioned effortlessly into next.

Franz Ferdinand Setlist

The setlist was a well-planned seamless mix of newer songs and older classics from their three previous albums, and included a number of alt-radio staples you may have forgotten until you hear them played again. “It feels pretty good!”, Kapranos emoted before the band stretched into a set highlight of the throbbing ‘Can’t Stop Feeling’, which morphed into Donna Summer’s disco-classic ‘I Feel Love’- an homage to the driving beat that anchors both songs and made the crowd wish for a giant disco ball overhead. “You’ve got me all excited up here--I’ve got to take my inhaler”, Kapranos explained after the song performance, “that’s the sign of a good night” he gleaned, keeping his asthma in check.

Red lights appropriately bathed the stage for a passionate ‘This Fire’, with Kapranos feeling some gospel soul and becoming preacher-like as he incited the crowd to chant the chorus in unison. The requested ‘Treason! Animals’ followed, bassist Hardy anchoring the song with a fierce bottom rhythm, then the band segued into the massive ‘Take Me Out’, which prompted pogoing and beer swilling from both sides of the sloped floor. The upbeat ‘Ulysses’ from the band’s previous album, closed the main set, audience members hands all waving left to right and ending with thunderous applause.

The encore began with the first single from their newest album, “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action…Right Now!” - Kapranos introduced the bouncy song that fits perfectly in the oeuvre of their other radio hits. Guitarist McCarthy began the pulsing ‘Michael’ with a machine-gun riff and the show ended with an apropos ‘Goodbye Lovers and Friends’, a classy farewell song to wish us all well after their long absence from local stages.

We caught up with Kapranos post-show and asked whether he would return to producing other acts after the current tour, as he has done previous. Franz Ferdinand fans will be pleased to hear he feels the band is sounding better than ever and will likely instead re-enter the studio to begin plotting the next Franz Ferdinand release - hopefully making it a less-than-four-year-wait until we see them again next.

Franz Ferdinand at Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis (10/09/13)

vu + john () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ missfrankierose.com ♥ franzferdinand.co.uk/

Rocktober Round Two

Read More Cave Chicago's Cave was a little more my thing. Let me preface this by announcing that their music is not "drone". I don't know why the band is labeled as such, they sound to me like classic instrumental surf rock..…

CAVE
facebook.com

For Rocktober week two, here are the shows coming to Minneapolis.

Starting on Sunday, we have Cave. The "none-drone" band will be out in support of their new album Threace (coming out October 15th on Drag City).

I've seen this Chicago band before, opening up for Chelsea Light Moving (Thurston Moore) and was rather impressed with their ability to build up their instrumental rock.

Cave tour dates:

10/04 - Milwaukee, WI @ Riverwest Public House
10/06 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Belmore
10/08 - Missoula, MT @ VFW
10/09 - Olympia, WA @ Northern
10/10 - Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
10/11 - Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
10/12 - Portland, OR @ Dante's
10/13 - Eugene, OR @ Old Whiteaker
10/14 - Eureka, CA @ The Ink Annex
10/15 - Sacramento, CA @ Bows & Arrows
10/16 - San Francisco, CA @ Elbo Room
10/17 - Oakland, CA @ LCM
10/20 - Tucson, AZ @ Solar Culture
10/21 - Marfa, TX @ Padre's
10/22 - Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas
10/23 - Houston, TX @ Mango's
10/24 - New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
10/25 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
10/26 - Athens, GA @ Athens Intensified Fest
10/27 - Asheville, NC @ Mothlight
10/28 - Boone, NC @ Black Cat Burrito

Read More Jack Johnson First up is "The 3 R's" by Jack Johnson. It's taken from the Curious George soundtrack titled Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies and is an upbeat, children's song about reducing, reusing, and recycling. ..…

JACK JOHNSON
jackjohnsonmusic.com

On Monday is Jack Johnson. We're actually not covering this show, but if you live in the Twin Cities and like him, he's playing at the Orpheum Theatre.

Johnson will likely play songs from his 2013 album From Here to Now to You

Tour dates:

10/02/13 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
10/03/13 Durham, NC Performing Arts Center
10/05/13 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
10/06/13 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
10/07/13 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
10/09/13 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
10/12/13 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
10/14/13 Vancouver, BC Orpheum
10/15/13 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
10/16/13 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer
10/18/13 San Diego, CA Balboa Theatre
10/19/13 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
10/20/13 Santa Barbara, CA Arlington Theatre
12/03/13 Auckland, New Zealand Aotea Centre
12/04/13 Auckland, New Zealand Aotea Centre
12/05/13 Auckland, New Zealand Aotea Centre
12/07/13 Perth, Australia Kings Park
12/10/13 Sydney, Australia Forecourt
12/11/13 Sydney, Australia Sydney Opera House
12/12/13 Sydney, Australia Sydney Opera House
12/14/13 Brisbane, Australia QPAC Concert Hall
12/16/13 Melbourne, Australia Plenary Hall
12/17/13 Melbourne, Australia Plenary Hall
05/16/14 Cherokee Creek Music Festival

Read More Frankie Rose You remember Frankie Rose, right? We like her. After paying her dues in all these bands we like: Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and Vivian Girls, Rose finally decided to go solo..…

FRANKIE ROSE
missfrankierose.com

Guess who is opening up for Franz Ferdinand for all their U.S. tour dates? That's right, Frankie Rose. She'll be here on Wednesday at the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis. I've never been inside this venue, so I'm very excited to see it in action.

She may be playing songs from my previously mentioned of Herein Wild, which just came out September 24th.

Rose's dates:

10.08.13 - Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS !
10.09.13 - Skyway Theatre - Minneapolis, MN !
10.10.13 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL !
10.12.13 - Emo's - Austin, TX !
10.15.13 - Cannery - Nashville, TN !
10.16.13 - The LC Pavilion - Columbus, OH !
10.17.13 - Music Center - North Bethesda, MD !
10.19.13 - Tower Theatre - Upper Darby, PA !
10.20.13 - Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA ! #
10.22.13 - Hammerstein - New York, NY ! #
10.23.13 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC ! #
10.24.13 - Kool Haus - Toronto, ON ! #
12.03.13 - 02 Academy - Newcastle, UK *
12.04.13 - 02 ABC - Glasgow, UK *
12.06.13 - Academy - Manchester, UK *
12.07.13 - Rock City - Nottingham, UK *
12.08.13 - 02 Academy - Bristol, UK *
12.10.13 - Roundhouse - London, UK *
12.14.13 - UEA - Norwich, UK *
12.15.13 - Institute - Birmingham, UK *

! with Franz Ferdinand, # with Casual Sex, * with White Lies

Read More Phantogram Phantogram, as described on their myspace are: a duo of Sarah D. Barthel and Joshua M. Carter of Saratoga Springs, NY. Their music is a mix of organic and electronic sounds...…

PHANTOGRAM
phantogrammusic.virb.com

Thursday, Phantogram will be in Minneapolis at First Avenue. Phantogram has been very busy since their set at 2012 Bonnaroo Festival, writing and recording new music.

Perhaps the New York duo (Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter) will showcase some new songs on this upcoming tour. In the meantime, they've just released a self-titled digital EP via Stereogum (streaming right now at stereogum.com).

Tour dates:

10/06 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
10/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10/09 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
10/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
10/12 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
10/13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
10/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
10/17 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at The Market
10/18 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/19 – San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island
10/21 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
10/22 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
10/23 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
10/25 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
10/26 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
10/28 – Houston , TX @ House of Blues
10/30 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
10/31 – Atlanta , GA @ Masquerade
11/01 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/02 – Chalottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre
12/04 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
12/05 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
12/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
12/08 – Boston, MA @ Paradise

Read More John Wesley Harding The first time I saw John Wesley Harding, he was a guest host for MTV's 120 Minutes in the very early 90s, and he did this amazing song called "Ordinary Weekend" live..…

WESLEY STACE
wesleystace.com

Friday we have Wesley Stace (formerly known by his stage name, John Wesley Harding) at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. He'll probably be doing songs from his Self-Titled, but expect some fun, non-music and poetry variety hour, if his "Cabinet of Wonders" shows are any indication.

USA / Canada tour dates:

09/13 New York, NY City Winery*
09/14 Northampton, MA The Parlor Room†
09/15 Somerville, MA Johnny D’s†
09/21 Rahway, NJ Hamilton Stage†
10/03 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live†
10/04 Asbury Park, NJ The Saint†
10/06 Stony Brook, NY University Café†
10/10 Chicago, IL City Winery*
10/11 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center*
10/12 Iowa City, IA The Englert Theatre*
10/13 Grinnell, IA Bucksbaum Center .*
10/18 New York, NY City Winery*
10/24 New York, NY City Winery†
11/07 Seattle, WA Triple Door†
11/09 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios†
11/11 San Francisco, CA Jewish Community*
11/13 Santa Barbara, CA Campbell Hall*
11/15 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s Guitar Shop†
11/22 New York, NY City Winery*
01/06 Tampa, FL Univ. of Tampa†
01/25 Mamaroneck, NY Emelin Theatre*

* Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders
† Wesley Stace headlining performance

Read More ZZ Ward It's been a great year for ZZ Ward, having sold-out many of her shows throughout the country. The last time we saw her, it was at The Basilica Block Party, where she played ..…

ZZ WARD
zzward.com

Finally Saturday, we have ZZ Ward at the Skyway Theatre. Yes, the same theater that my first time will be on Wednesday for Franz Ferdinand, so this venue is booking some really good musicians!

The soul songstress will be almost wrapping up her "Down and Dirty Shine Tour" with Saturday's show, ending in Chicago.

Expect her to play the hit songs "Put The Gun Down" and "365 Days" from her debut album, Til The Casket Drops as well as some covers, etc.

Tour dates:

Oct 05 Toronto, ON The Opera House
Oct 06 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall
Oct 08 Indianapolis, IN Deluxe
Oct 11 Kansas City, MO Midland
Oct 12 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theater
Oct 14 St. Louis, MO The Firebird
Oct 15 Chicago, IL House of Blues

That's it for Rocktober Week Two! The W♥M team will not be able to sleep until November, so stay tuned for the Week Three previews!

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