W♥M

Looking Back: April 2016

Read More Kid Koala This is a book, completely written and drawn (with accompanying soundtrack) by Kid Koala, called "Nufonia Must Fall". It's a love story between a lonely office girl and an out-of-work robot. … Prince Vu and Langen talked about legendary music icon Prince’s final days and post-death celebrations. Prince’s Final Time Line … Låpsley Liverpool born, London-based Låpsley is on a USA tour (after Coachella, of course) in support of her debut album Long Way Home, via XL Recordings. ..… Hælos Haelos (stylized as Hælos) will be stopping by the 7th Street Entry on Saturday, April 9th, in support of their debut album Full Circle (Matador Records). The London-based trio …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: April 2016.

March and April are really good months for shows in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. This month, we’re up 36 shows, compared to 24 in March.

So, looking back at our 36 shows we covered:

Rising Artist Award goes to London’s Låpsley at 7th Street Entry (04/30). Lapsley may grow as big as Adele.

Buzz Award goes to Haelos at 7th Street Entry (04/09). Like Lapsley, incredible buzz for this London-based band.

Most Entertaining Award goes to Behemoth at Mill City Nights (04/30)... for dressing up in Satantist dress and makeup.

Local Artist Award goes to Har Mar Superstar at First Ave (04/08).

Best Dressed Award goes to Prince Rama at 7th Street Entry (04/07). These two sisters are dressed like they are from the 80s.

Once in a Life Time Award goes to Prince Block Party at First Avenue Block (04/21). When news of Prince’s death reached the internet at midday... fans all gathered at First Avenue for an unexpected block party, some six hours later. We’ll never forget what happened, it was pretty awesome to see some 8,000 people in one place.

Rarely Seen Award goes to Peter Murphy at Mill City Nights (04/12). The Gothfather rarely tours... this was a very rare opportunity to see Murphy in person.

Self-Destructive Award goes to Fat White Family at 7th Street Entry (04/26). Best show ever, despite the smoking, the drinking, and their lateness.

Show of the Month Award goes to Kid Koala at Walker Art Center (04/02) as part of the unique Liquid Music series. Kid Koala and company managed to create a film live via live puppetry, live soundtrack, and special effects. Simply amazing.

APRIL 2016 (36 Shows)

• 04/02 Kid Koala at Walker Art Center • 04/02 Between Buried & Me at Skyway • 04/03 MuteMath at First Ave • 04/03 Rocket Summer at Triple Rock • 04/04 Scale the Summit at Skyway • 04/05 Contortionist at Cabooze • 04/05 Sunflower Bean at 7th St • 04/05 Joy Formidable at First Ave • 04/06 Underoath at Skyway • 04/06 Alex G at 7th St • 04/07 San Fermin at Cedar • 04/07 Ra Ra Riot at Triple Rock • 04/07 Prince Rama at 7th St • 04/08 Geographer at Triple Rock • 04/08 Har Mar Superstar at First Ave • 04/09 Pig Destroyer at Triple Rock • 04/09 Haelos at 7th Street • 04/10 Autolux at Triple Rock

• 04/10 Smith Street Band at Nether • 04/10 Atlas Genius at Fine Line • 04/12 Wild Feathers at Varsity • 04/12 Peter Murphy at Mill City • 04/13 Sonny Knight at Lowertown • 04/16 Santigold at Mill City • 04/19 Matthew Logan Vasquez at 7th Street • 04/19 The Thermals at Turf Club • 04/21 Communion at 7th Street • 04/21 Prince Block Party • 04/23 The Subways at Triple Rock • 04/24 Napalm Death at First Ave • 04/25 Beach Slang at Triple Rock • 04/26 Fat White Family at 7th St • 04/26 Magic Man/Griswolds at Varsity • 04/27 Frightened Rabbit at Varsity • 04/30 Behemoth at Mill City Nights • 04/30 Låpsley at 7th Street

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

Looking Back: March 2016

Read More Meiko Just in time for Valentine's Day, Meiko's five-track EP Lovers & Fighters came out this week (February 10th). You can officially stream the EP over at meikomusic.com. … Marié Digby We previously announced The Hapa Tour (featuring co-headliners Meiko and Marié Digby) earlier in January 2016... and finally the tour will be making a stop at the Cedar Cultural Center this Monday, March 14th. … Lucius At their Rock the Garden show, Lucius previewed a new song (“Dusty Trails”), which just appeared on their latest album Good Grief. … Ty Segall Man, the last time I saw Ty Segall, we were on a boat and Redd Kross’ Steve Mcdonald was on bass! There was maybe about 100 people on the small boat, and it was pretty rad. You can read all about it here: NXNE 2011 (Saturday). …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: March 2016.

Officially, I’m out of winter hibernation ... and thanks to SXSW in Austin, Texas, we got a lot of bands booking Midwest tours. March and April are generally our favorite time of the year.

So, looking back at our 24 shows we covered:

Best Billing goes to the Meiko and Marie Digby at Cedar (03/14). Billed as “The Hapa Tour”, the concept behind this is that they are both Asian mixed.

Canadian Award goes to the Basia Bulat at Cedar Cultural Center (03/08). Like Basia Bulat’s previous appearance, she was quite happy and positively glowing.

Buzz Award goes to the Foxing at Triple Rock (03/04). Loads of young fans helped build up a massive Foxing fanbase in Minneapolis.

Most Entertaining Award goes to the Ty Segall at First Ave (03/09). Segall has been around for ages, but keeping it fresh, he re-invented himself as a giant man-baby. Very interesting...

Local Artist Award goes to Soul Asylum at Electric Fetus (03/25). The local band has been around for ages, but it’s always good to see them perform.

Best Dressed Award goes to Lucius at First Ave (03/23). They have capes!

Non Music Award goes to Daniel Clowes at Magers & Quinn (03/31).

MARCH 2016 (24 Shows)

• 03/01 Silverstein at Mill City • 03/03 Ringo Deathstarr at Turf Club • 03/04 Foxing at Triple Rock • 03/08 Great Good Fine OK at 7th • 03/08 Basia Bulat at Cedar • 03/09 B. Dolan at 7th St • 03/09 Ty Segall at First Ave • 03/09 Tortoise at Cedar • 03/10 Blanck Mass at 7th Street • 03/11 Radiation City at 7th St • 03/12 Protomartyr at 7th Street Entry • 03/14 Meiko/Marie Digby at the Cedar

• 03/15 Chelsea Grin at Amsterdam • 03/16 Freakwater at the Cedar • 03/18 Mest at Amsterdam Bar • 03/19 Brian Fallon at Varsity Theater • 03/19 Nuisance at Neisen's • 03/19 Bob Walkenhorst at Outtakes • 03/23 Lucius at First Ave • 03/23 Puscifer at Northrop • 03/25 Reflections at Fallout • 03/25 Soul Asylum at Electric Fetus • 03/26 Judah & The Lion at Varsity • 03/31 Daniel Clowes at Magers & Quinn

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

Looking Back: January 2016

Read More Babes in Toyland Since I love all-things Riot Grrrls, naturally I wanted to check out Babes in Toyland live. A little trivia, but the legendary Minneapolis band actually fired bassist Courtney Love in 1987. She, of course … Bully Opening up the show was Nashville's Bully, lead by singer Alicia Bognanno .... who revealed to us that she's actually from Minnesota. Although the band has been in Minneapolis a few times .... Morris Day From the current incarnation of Morris Day and the Time as well as rising songstress and Grammy winner Judith Hill, who had her debut album, last year’s Back in Time …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: January 2016.

I know it’s late, but let’s be honest, there really weren’t many shows we covered for the month of January. In fact, December to February (our current month) is pretty dead on account of my personal hibernation, but also bands aren’t really touring Minneapolis in the winter months (a smart move on their part).

I’ll never forget watching Ben Folds talk about his very first national tour and he made the mistake of booking Minneapolis in the Winter. What happened was there was a blizzard and they had to push Folds’ piano from the venue to their van... and ended up leaving it in the middle of the street. The band was so naïve about Minneapolis and snow that none of them wore heavy coats, and Folds described it as the harshest lesson he’s learned and since then, the band has never, ever come to Minneapolis in the Winter.

Trust me when I tell you that I’ve seen a lot of bands and for many who has never been to Minneapolis in the Winter (especially if they’re from a warmer area), they all say the same thing: Minneapolis is pretty darn cold. It’s also probably because many of these touring bands aren’t properly dressed.

Anyway, with that said, here are some highlights from January:

Buzz Award goes to the Bully at Fine Line (01/18). The Current loves her... and so does everyone else!

Come Back Award goes to Morris Day at Paisley Park (01/29). The last time The Time played was in 2001 - a 15 year absent!

First Time Award goes to Venom Inc at Turf Club (01/12). The band’s very first St Paul appearance, even though they’ve been around for at least 35 years.

Legendary Award goes to “local” Babes in Toyland at First Ave (01/30). Officially their first non-festival Minneapolis appearance... and it brought out all the local musicians and riot fans.

JANUARY 2016 (11 Shows)

• 01/10 Royal'z at Skyway • 01/12 Venom Inc at Turf Club • 01/18 Bully at Fine Line • 01/20 1349 at Triple Rock • 01/23 Lower Dens at 7th Street

• 01/27 Bayonne at 7th Street • 01/27 Josh Ritter at Pantages • 01/29 Morris Day at Paisley Park • 01/29 Decapitated at Skyway Theatre • 01/30 Babes in Toyland at First Ave • 01/30 Blue Felix at Cabooze

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

Looking Back: December 2015

Read More 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 … Alice Cooper A classic Vincent Price introduction led to the curtain fall and a canvas backdrop of a close-up of Alice Cooper’s eyes as the shock rocker and band launched into the opening ‘Black Widow’ of its too-short 50 minute set. … Johnnyswim Acclaimed husband-and-wife team Johnnyswim will be heading out on their second annual "A Johnnyswim Christmas Tour" this December, stopping by the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday … 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. …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: December 2015.

As expected, with "the great Winter Hibernation", our show coverages have gone drastically down in December (and possibly equally worst in January and February). That's not new, if you look over our year-end summary, this is typical.

December is the worst, because basically the last week are holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, etc.)...

December Awards:

Largest Show Award goes to the Rhymesayers 20 at Target Center (12/04). Featuring a million Rhymesayers acts, this was an unbelievable show for all ages.

New Tradition Award goes to Go96's Snow Show! Featuring Silversun Pickups, Metric, The Wombats and Melanie Martinez for the first night and Death Cab for Cutie, Best Coast and Panic is Perfect for the second night. We love it look forward to again next December. Read about Night #1: Go96's Snow Show Night 1 (12/03).

Legendary Award goes shock rocker Alice Cooper at State Theatre (12/06). The way he dances and sings, you'd never know he's nearly 68 years old!

Christmas Award goes Johnnyswim at Varsity Theater (12/08). Christmas only comes around once a year, and this couple absolutely love the holiday spirit.

Most Memorable Show goes to The 1975 at at First Ave (12/10). We've see the band at least five times, but this was probably our favorite. They're on the very cusp of arena shows, and a good indication was when we got out of the venue - there were bootleg T-Shirt sellers! That's unheard of for a "club" size band.

Below are links to all 11 shows we covered for the month of December 2015.

• 12/03 Go96's Snow Show Night 1 • 12/04 Rhymesayers 20 at Target • 12/05 August Burns Red at Skyway • 12/06 Alice Cooper at State Theatre • 12/08 Johnnyswim at Varsity

• 12/08 Jack Ladder at 7th Street • 12/09 J Fernandez at 7th Street • 12/10 The 1975 at First Ave • 12/11 P.O.S. at First Ave • 12/12 By the Thousands at Vaudeville Mews • 12/19 All Them Witches at Turf

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

Looking Back: November 2015

Read More Squeeze "The New Lennon and McCartney", Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook (billed under their popular band name Squeeze) will be playing an acoustic set across America this November. The exciting news is that ...

Here is the wrap-up for last month: November 2015.

Despite Vu's absent from show coverages (the great Winter Hibernation), we still covered 33 shows for November. Most of these shows were spillage from Rocktober 2015... but eventually slowed down due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Forecast for December shows will likely take a dive with only about 10 to 15 shows.

November Awards:

Unique Award goes to Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Orpheum (11/25). It's just like watching a movie, but completely live. Truly, a magical two hour jukebox of your favorite 50s/60s music biography comes to life on the stage.

Reunion Award goes to The Bird And The Bee at Cedar Cultural Center (11/02). The band's been away for a long time (their last appearance was at the Varsity Theater in 2008), and it was worth it to see them, despite Greg Kurstin's absent from the group.

Best Lineup goes to Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik at the Cedar Cultural Center (11/15). These two artists are absolutely perfect together on one bill.

Most Entertaining Show goes to Gogol Bordello at First Ave (11/14). The gypsypunk band played every song from their Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike album.

Legendary Award goes Squeeze at the Cedar Cultural Center (11/25) and also Glen Hansard at the State Theatre (11/20).

Below are links to all 33 shows we covered for the month of November 2015.

• 11/01 Front Bottoms at Varsity • 11/01 Here We Go Magic at 7th St • 11/02 Circa Survive at Mill City • 11/02 Bird And The Bee at Cedar • 11/03 Albert Hammond Jr at Turf • 11/04 Shakey Graves at First Ave • 11/04 Small Black at 7th Street • 11/07 City and Colour at First Ave • 11/08 Parkway Drive at Cabooze • 11/09 Contortionist at Cabooze • 11/10 Matt Pond PA at Turf Club • 11/11 Big Freedia at Varsity • 11/11 Gestures at Electric Fetus • 11/12 WWPJ at Varsity • 11/13 Roger Clyne at Turf • 11/14 Gogol Bordello at First Ave

• 11/14 Hey Rosetta at Triple • 11/15 Suzanne Vega at Cedar • 11/17 Copeland at Varsity • 11/18 Bottle Rockets at Turf • 11/19 Mitski at 7th St • 11/20 Glen Hansard at State • 11/21 Little Fevers at Amsterdam • 11/21 Dandy Warhols at Fine Line • 11/22 Royal Concept at Nether • 11/23 BTB&M at Varsity • 11/24 Odesza at First Ave • 11/25 Beautiful at Orpheum • 11/25 Squeeze at Cedar • 11/27 Tori Kelly at MOA • 11/28 Lights at Varsity Theater • 11/29 Slow Magic at Varsity • 11/29 Together Pangea at 7th Street

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

Looking Back: October 2015

Read More 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) … Ringo Starr You know I love the Beatles (who doesn't?), as I've previously mentioned. Today (October 17th), Ringo Starr announced that his All Starr Band will tour the Pacific Rim ... Slash Legendary Guns N Roses guitarist Slash is headlining Mill City Nights next Wednesday, October 7th. The show has long sold out. ... Madonna Our favorite Material Girl has done things the old-fashioned way to get attention, but is showing some movement in the digital direction. First, she posed provocatively in the Art Issue of the Dec/Jan .… 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 .…

Here is the wrap-up for last month: October 2015.

It's official, this is the most shows we've ever covered for the month of October, aka Rocktober. We typically only cover about 35 to 40 shows, but this year, we broke the record with 62 shows.

Awards:

Busiest Day goes to October 28th for four shows: Leon Bridges at First Ave , Nathaniel Rateliff at Turf Club , Shannon And The Clams at 7th Street, and Mal Blum at Nether Bar . Technically October 14 also featured four shows, but one of the show was The Struts in Los Angeles...

Unique Award goes to FFS at First Avenue (9 Oct 2015). Look, we have previously covered Sparks and Franz Ferdinand, but having the two band teamed up as its own entity is pretty unique. The collaboration was a success, but I have a feeling that we probably won't see FFS again... at least any time soon.

Most Entertaining Show goes to Peaches at First Ave (10/15). For just a one-woman show, Peaches is just a delight to watch. Sure, her shows are NSFW, but that's why we love her.

Most Diverse Booking goes to The Varsity Theater for booking these shows in a row: Singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata on 10/17, hard rock The Darkness on 10/18, goth rock IAMX on 10/19, and Americana The Lone Bellow on 10/20.

Reunion Award goes to Blur at Hollywood Bowl (10/20) & Madison Square Garden (10/23). Blur, with all the original band members, will probably never play the USA again, and that motivated some diehard fans to fly into Los Angeles and New York to see them for, perhaps, the final time.

Legendary Award goes Ringo Starr at State Theatre (10/16), Slash at Mill City Nights (10/07) and Madonna at Xcel Energy (10/08).

These artists need no introduction, but perhaps I should explain why these shows are so important. There's also no denying that as one of two living Beatles member, Ringo Starr is just a legend. Same goes for Slash, formerly of Guns N Roses... and most importantly, Madonna is back on tour and it is perhaps her last tour before retirement. People often ask if she's relevant at a time when the music industry is packed with younger girls like Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Lorde, and many others. Of course, the Material Girl shows us how it's done.

Below are links to all 62 shows we covered for the month of October 2015.

• 10/01 Of Monsters and Men at Roy Wilkins • 10/02 Four Letter Lie at First Ave • 10/02 American Scarecrows at Turf • 10/02 Oh Land at Triple Rock • 10/03 Doomtree Zoo • 10/03 Battles at First Ave • 10/04 Blitzen Trapper at First Ave • 10/04 Districts at Triple Rock • 10/05 Mew at Triple Rock • 10/05 Wolf Alice at First Ave • 10/06 Russian Circles at Triple Rock • 10/06 Marian Hill at 7th St • 10/06 Kodaline at First Avenue • 10/07 Frank Turner at Varsity Theater • 10/07 Slash at Mill City Nights • 10/08 Madonna at Xcel • 10/09 FFS at First Avenue • 10/09 Joy Formidable at Turf Club • 10/10 Chvrches at Myth Live • 10/10 Tove Lo at First Avenue • 10/11 Fraser A. Gorman at 7th St • 10/12 Bully at 7th Street • 10/13 Disclosure at Roy Wilkin • 10/13 Mikky Ekko at Triple Rock • 10/14 DIIV at Turf Club • 10/14 Bring Me The Horizon at Myth • 10/14 Hiatus Kaiyote at Fine Line • 10/14 Struts at Troubadour (CA) • 10/15 Peaches at First Ave • 10/15 MS MR at Varsity • 10/16 Ringo Starr at State Theatre

• 10/16 Neighbourhood at First Ave • 10/16 Flux Pavillion at Skyway • 10/17 Rachael Yamagata at Triple Rock • 10/18 The Darkness at Varsity • 10/18 He Is Legend at Studio B • 10/19 IAMX at Varsity Theater • 10/19 Carnifex at Amsterdam • 10/20 The Lone Bellow at Varsity • 10/20 Neon Indian at First Avenue • 10/20 Blur at Hollywood Bowl (CA) • 10/21 Lucero at First Ave • 10/22 Salad Boys at Hexagon • 10/22 John Grant at Cedar • 10/22 Grace Potter at State Theatre • 10/23 Blur at Madison Sq Garden (NY) • 10/23 Run The Jewels at First Ave • 10/23 Sheepdogs at 7th St Entry • 10/24 Matisyahu at Pantages • 10/25 A Silent Film at 7th St • 10/25 Motion City Soundtrack at First Ave • 10/26 New Politics at First Ave • 10/27 Misterwives at First Ave • 10/27 Little May at 7th Street • 10/28 Leon Bridges at First Ave • 10/28 Nathaniel Rateliff at Turf Club • 10/28 Shannon And The Clams at 7th St • 10/28 Mal Blum at Nether Bar • 10/29 Dave Rawlings Machine at Fitzgerald • 10/30 All That Remains at Skyway • 10/30 Fruit Bats at Turf Club • 10/30 Ben Sollee at Cedar

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

Looking Back: August 2015

Read More 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 …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: August 2015.

Not counting our Winter Hibernation period - August was our weakest month in 2015. Between August and July, these have traditionally been our slowest months. The reasons? People are on vacation or summer break. Shows will pick up when the school season starts again, which usually starts after Labor Day and the shows will continue strong into November.

Anyway, looking over our measly 27 shows, the big "festival" type shows stood out: Go Fest '15, Cultivate, and the two-week big Minnesota State Fair. Between the three major shows, we had an excellent time at Go Fest, sponsored by radio station Go 96.3. Plus many of the bands appearing on Go Fest will be back in Minneapolis at a later date (Big Data and MS MR), so playing this high profile festival proved to be good promotions for them.

The Chipotle's Cultivate Festival would have been really good too - if it wasn't for the fact that the rain caused headliner Walk the Moon to cancel their appearance.

The first part of the month had some great shows: Screaming Females returning to the Triple Rock, Django Django returning to First Ave, Woody Allen playing New Orleans jazz (and not promoting his latest hit movie?), The Kills made a rare non-music festival at at First Avenue, and the "new One Direction" band The Vamps made an impact with their young girl fans at First Avenue.

Of course, we like our old bands... and August had their fair share of these important guys and girls: Mötley Crüe's last tour ever at Xcel Center, Social Distortion at First Ave, KMFDM at Mill City Nights, Gwar at Wooly's (Des Moines), and X at Mill City Nights.

Despite breaking my camera, what a way to close out August than with goth/drone Chelsea Wolfe at Triple Rock.

Below are links to all 27 shows we covered in August 2015.

• 08/01 Screaming Females at Triple • 08/01 Rise Against at Cabooze • 08/02 Django Django at First Ave • 08/02 Woody Allen at State Theatre • 08/03 The Kills at First Avenue • 08/04 Bleachers at Cabooze • 08/05 The Vamps at First Avenue • 08/05 Mötley Crüe at Xcel Center • 08/07 Go Fest '15 at Target Field • 08/07 Social Distortion at First Ave • 08/08 Pizza Lucé Block Party • 08/08 Jack Garratt at 7th Street • 08/15 KMFDM at Mill City Nights • 08/17 Rachel Platten at MOA

• 08/17 Delta Saints at 7th Street • 08/19 Summer Cannibals at 7th St • 08/21 Tim Heidecker at the Cedar • 08/22 Cultivate 2015 at Loring Park • 08/22 Blue Öyster Cult at Mystic Lake • 08/23 Supernatural Convention • 08/26 Mekaal Hasan Band at Cedar • 08/27 Gwar at Wooly's, Des Moines • 08/27 Minnesota State Fair 2015 • 08/29 X at Mill City Nights • 08/29 Tallest Man on Earth at 1st Ave • 08/30 Slightly Stoopid at Cabooze • 08/31 Chelsea Wolfe at Triple Rock

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

Looking Back: July 2015

Read More 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. …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: July 2015.

The Minneapolis summer festivals officially kicked off last month with Rock the Garden, and continues into July with the biggest music festival of July: Basilica Block Party and Vans Warped Tour. Personally speaking, this year's Basilica had a killer lineup with headliner Weezer and Nate Ruess (of fun.).

Traditionally, July has always been a slow month for music, speaking from personal experience - shows in July don't have the best attendance. I believe people go on vacation, travelling, living out on their cabins, or don't want to leave their air conditioned home. The shows that do really, really well are early outdoor shows - for example the Cabooze Outdoor Plaza shows (which we only attended the Switchfoot/Needtobreathe show).

Older, established bands who know their market prefer to tour Minneapolis in the Summer were: Toad the Wet Sprocket (who had a side show in Minneapolis from their regular tour with Smash Mouth), Say Anything (who was experimenting with a four-piece orchestra on their set), Indigo Girls (a nice reunion of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers), Veruca Salt (their second appearance in Minneapolis after reuniting with all the original members), Flock Of Seagulls (at the second annual Ribfest in Mystic Lake), and Everclear (with Toadies on their annual 90s revival Summerland Tour).

Other highlight in July: Blur's first show in Australia in 18 years took place July 25th in Sydney. Freezepop making a semi-rare Midwest appearance at the Nether Bar on July 18th.

Also what a great way to end July with soul music at the Secret Stash Revue at First Avenue. The show featured Sonny Knight and the Lakers, Wanda Davis, and others.

Below are links to all 33 shows we covered in June 2015.

• 07/01 Mates of State at Turf Club • 07/02 Owl City at Oake on the Water • 07/04 Blue Coupe at Taste of MN • 07/08 Toad the Wet Sprocket at Mill • 07/08 Sam Dew at the Echo • 07/09 Lenka at the Cedar • 07/10 Basilica Block Party • 07/11 Head East at Fun Fest • 07/12 Graham Parker at Brit's Pub • 07/17 Say Anything at First Ave • 07/17 Indigo Girls at MN Zoo • 07/18 Freezepop at Nether Bar • 07/18 Widowspeak at GA Theatre • 07/19 Lydia Loveless at Turf Club • 07/20 Ex Hex at Triple Rock • 07/21 Lower Dens at 7th Street • 07/21 Ryn Weaver at Triple Rock

• 07/23 Veruca Salt at the Cedar • 07/24 This Will Destroy You at Varsity • 07/24 Lazyeyes at 7th Street • 07/24 Needtobreathe at Cabooze • 07/25 Blur at Qantas, Sydney • 07/25 Sage Francis at First Ave • 07/25 Tour de Fat at Loring Park • 07/25 On An On at Icehouse • 07/26 Frankie Teardrop at Triple • 07/26 Flock Of Seagulls at Ribfest • 07/26 BulletBoys at G.B. Leighton • 07/27 Gary Louris at Loring Park • 07/29 Zella Day at 7th Street • 07/29 Ringo Deathstarr at Turf Club • 07/30 Summerland Tour at Mill City • 07/31 Secret Stash Revue at First Ave

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

W♥M239: June is the new Rocktober

W♥M239: June is the new... (73 mins) Read More Rocktober Vu and John recaps Rocktober 2014, plus news/rumors, and November show previews. News Macaulay Culkin is not dead. … Rock the Garden The second Rock the Garden music festival on Sunday saw a seemingly bigger crowd, particularly near the front of the stage. … Spotify The problem with free version of Spotify is that you're tied to your computer. Most people listen to music on their mobile device, such as a modern phone. If you have a Nokia Lumia phone, the good news … 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 … Imagine Dragons With over 14,000 fans in attendance at Imagine Dragons last appearance in Minnesota, I can tell you that the band has massive appeal to a younger demographic. …

Vu and John looks back and reflect on June... the new Rocktober. For the full 36 shows links, head over to Looking Back: June 2015.

News:

Apple Music launched June 30th. This is a paid ($10/month) streaming music platform with some exclusive artists plus Beats 1 internet radio station.

What does this mean for Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, Google Music, Tidal, and various other streaming music services out there?

Further reading: Bloomberg: Spotify's Best Week Ever on iTunes.

Double trouble days:

June 9

Imagine Dragons and Metric at Xcel Energy Center

Embrace and Starsailor at Mill City Nights

June 10

Shonen Knife and CJ Ramone at Amsterdam Bar

Elle King at Varsity Theater

June 11

Tori Kelly at Varsity Theater

White Lung at 7th Street

June 12

Michael Franti and Spearhead at Cabooze Plaza

Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes and Colin Hay at Treasure Island

June 13

Kate Tempest at 7th Street

July Talk at Triple Rock

Hayden at Turf Club

Festivals:

Rock the Garden at the Walker Art on 20-21 Jun 2015

Twin Cities Jazz Festival at various venues on 25-27 June 2015

AthFest at various venues on 26-28 Jun 2015

BONUS: I love you like a pop song baby - Owl City, Selena Gomez, Charlie XCX, and Peaches.

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype, CallGraph, and Audacity.

W♥M238: Athfest 2015 (18 May 2015) Vu, Dena W♥M237: Road to SXSW 2015 (28 Feb 2015) Vu, Jonathan, Christopher, Brody W♥M236: Fuzzy Machete #1 Fan (21 Feb 2015) Vu, Fuzzy Machete W♥M235: Bud Petal (15 Feb 2015) Sally, Bud W♥M234: London Grammar and Until the Ribbon Breaks (04 Feb 2015) Vu, John W♥M233: S*M*A*S*H (3 January 2015) Vu, Edward Borrie

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Looking Back: June 2015

Read More Rock the Garden The second Rock the Garden music festival on Sunday saw a seemingly bigger crowd, particularly near the front of the stage. … 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 … Imagine Dragons With over 14,000 fans in attendance at Imagine Dragons last appearance in Minnesota, I can tell you that the band has massive appeal to a younger demographic. …

Here is the wrap-up for last month: June 2015.

The month started off slow, but once it got going, it was unstoppable. This was our busiest month so far in 2015, covering over 36 shows (up from 32 shows in May 2015).

Like 'Rocktober', June had multiple bands playing different venues on the same date. For one person, it's impossible to cover two or three bands the same date, so we had to regrettably choose one over the other (if we didn't have enough people to cover everything.)

The first date that we couldn't cover was for Catfish and the Bottlemen or Purity Ring on June 9th, but we were able to give coverage to Imagine Dragons with Metric and Halsey at Xcel in St Paul, and Embrace with Starsailor at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis.

The double/triple night shows would continue: June 10th (Shonen Knife and CJ Ramone vs Elle King), June 11th (Tori Kelly vs White Lung), June 12th (Michael Franti and Spearhead against Barenaked Ladies) and June 13th (Kate Tempest vs July Talk vs Hayden).

Personally, the very big big highlight was seeing Violent Femmes with Barenaked Ladies. Two key things: (1) my first show ever at Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Red Wing, Minnesota (about two hours drive) and (2) my first ever Violent Femmes show. This is important because the Femmes had stopped writing music and essentially broke up in 2007 over disputes of selling out "Blister in the Sun" to Wendy's. When you hear some of these songs like "Kiss Off" and "American Music", you just have to sing along. It's so good live... and I hope VF do a normal club tour. You know we will be first in line to see them when they return.

June also meant big weekends for music festivals: particularly with Stone Arch Bridge Festival pitting against The Walker Art Center/The Current's two-day festival Rock the Garden. We had such a blast at Rock the Garden; this was our biggest highlight for the month of June. Where else are you going to see Belle & Sebastian playing with Courtney Barnett and Conor Oberst? For the second night, teaming up Modest Mouse with Babes in Toyland and Seun Kuti & Egypt 80? Each band had to top each other, and it's okay to love them all for their diversity.

The festivals continued into the last week of June with Twin Cities Jazz Festival (25-27 June 2015) in St Paul, Minnesota, and AthFest (26-28 June 2015) in Athens, Georgia.

With the double/triple dates show in the first half and music festivals in the second half of June ... this resulted in one of the busiest, biggest month we've had to endure in a long time.

Below are links (if available) to all 36 shows we covered in June 2015.

01 Jun 2015 The Dø at 7th Street Entry 02 Jun 2015 Shana Cleveland at Bryant-Lake 04 Jun 2015 Lindsey Stirling at Northrop 05 Jun 2015 The Script at State Theatre 05 Jun 2015 Soul Asylum at First Ave 08 Jun 2015 Best Coast at First Avenue 09 Jun 2015 Imagine Dragons at Xcel 09 Jun 2015 Embrace at Mill City Nights 10 Jun 2015 Shonen Knife at Amsterdam Bar 10 Jun 2015 Elle King at Varsity Theater 11 Jun 2015 Tori Kelly at Varsity Theater 11 Jun 2015 White Lung at 7th Street 12 Jun 2015 Michael Franti at Cabooze Plaza 12 Jun 2015 Barenaked Ladies at Treasure Island 13 Jun 2015 Kate Tempest at 7th Street 13 Jun 2015 July Talk at Triple Rock 13 Jun 2015 Hayden at Turf Club 14 Jun 2015 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Turf

15 Jun 2015 Jeremy Loops at 7th Street 16 Jun 2015 Communion at Turf Club 18 Jun 2015 The Maccabees at Fine Line 20 Jun 2015 Rock the Garden at Walker Art 21 Jun 2015 Rock the Garden at Walker Art 22 Jun 2015 San Cisco at Triple Rock 24 Jun 2015 Chastity Belt at Triple Rock 24 Jun 2015 Trails and Ways at Turf Club 25 Jun 2015 PINS at 7th Street Entry 26 Jun 2015 Griswolds at 7th Street 26 Jun 2015 AthFest 2015 27 Jun 2015 AthFest 2015 27 Jun 2015 Dr. John at Twin Cities Jazz Festival 27 Jun 2015 Southside Johnny at Rolling River 28 Jun 2015 AthFest 2015 28 Jun 2015 Suffers at 7th Street 29 Jun 2015 The Hunts at 7th Street 29 Jun 2015 Heartless Bastards at First Ave

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