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Rocktober: October 23 - October 24, 2015

Read More Run the Jewels Movie projections on a screen behind them but the images enhanced their set, especially during the hip-hop verse portion of ‘Revolution Indifference’, their collaboration with Run the Jewels. ...

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from October 23 to October 24, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

RUN THE JEWELS
at First Avenue
Friday, 10/23/2015, 8pm ($25/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Megahot rapper/producer duo Run The Jewels' long sold out show at First Avenue is taking place next Friday (October 23rd). Expect to hear some preview from their highly anticipated Run the Jewels 3 due for release in 2016 via Mass Appeal / RED.

Show up early to check out Mike 2600, Trackstar the DJ, Cuz Lightyear, Fashawn, and Boots.

Boots recently announced his debut album AQUΛRIA for November 13th on Columbia Records, which will feature Angel Deradoorian (The Dirty Projectors) on vocals for the title track. We previously caught Boots with fka twigs in November 2014.

Tour dates:

10/17/15 Treasure Island Music Festival
10/18/15 New Noise Block Party
10/18/15 New Noise Santa Barbara
10/20/15 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
10/21/15 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
10/22/15 Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank Theatre
10/23/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
10/24/15 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/30/15 Manchester Warehouse Project
10/31/15 Pitchfork Music Festival Paris
11/21/15 Corona Capital Festival
12/30/15 Reaction New Year's Eve
01/28/16 "X Games" (Aspen)
01/29/16 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen

Read More Matisyahu We've written about Matisyahu a few times, it looks like he will be back in Minneapolis at First Avenue this August 27th with a reggae/rock band called Rebelution. I'm thinking he will be playing songs off his last album …

MATISYAHU
at Pantages Theatre
Saturday, 10/24/2015, 8pm ($32.50)
hennepintheatretrust.org

Matisyahu will be back in Minneapolis next Saturday, October 24. Billed as "An Intimate Evening with Matisyahu", expect this to be slightly toned down compared to his Live at Stubb's album (now celebrating its 10th anniversary). Be sure to pick up his latest live album Live at Stubb's III on this tour.

Tour dates:

10/18/15 "Rock N' Roll Marathon" (Denver)
10/18/15 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
10/20/15 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
10/22/15 Wichita, KS The Cotillion
10/23/15 St. Louis, MO Sheldon Concert Hall
10/24/15 Minneapolis, MN Pantages Theatre
10/26/15 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
10/27/15 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
10/28/15 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman Place
10/29/15 Skokie, IL North Shore Ctr
10/30/15 Cincinnati, OH Live at the Ludlow
10/31/15 Iowa City, IA Englert Theatre
11/04/15 Arcata, CA John Van Duzer Theatre
11/05/15 Sacramento, CA Crest Theatre
11/06/15 San Francisco, CA Herbst Theatre
11/08/15 Riverside, CA Fox Performing Arts
11/10/15 San Luis Obispo, CA Fremont Theatre
11/11/15 Rohnert Park, CA Green Music Center
11/12/15 Agoura Hills, CA The Canyon
11/13/15 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
11/14/15 Los Angeles, CA Luckman Fine Arts
11/15/15 San Diego, CA Balboa Theatre
12/03/15 Festival Of Light
12/04/15 Ithaca, NY State Theatre
12/05/15 Providence, RI The VETS
12/06/15 Concord, NH Capitol Center
12/08/15 New Brunswick, NJ State Theatre
12/09/15 North Bethesda, MD Music Center
12/10/15 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
12/11/15 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
12/12/15 Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House
12/13/15 Durham, NC Carolina Theatre
12/15/15 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
12/16/15 Orlando, FL Plaza Live Orlando
12/17/15 Tampa, FL David A. Straz Jr. Center
12/18/15 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Ponte Vedra
12/19/15 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Ponte Vedra
12/20/15 Melbourne, FL King Center
12/29/15 Miami, FL The Adrienne Arsht Center
12/30/15 West Palm Beach, FL Kravis Center
01/21/16 Santiago, Chile Teatro Cariola

Read More Meg Myers The first non-local band to play was Los Angeles, by the way of Tennessee, Meg Myers, who we previously saw with Royal Blood at Mill City Nights in 2014. Like her last appearance, she is accompanied …

MEG MYERS
at Fine Line Music Cafe
Saturday, 10/24/2015, 8pm ($15)
finelinemusic.com

We previously caught Meg Myers at Go Fest 2015. If you missed her last August, she'll be back in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry next Saturday. Once again, radio station Go 96.3 is sponsoring the event.

Brisbane based artist Jarryd James will open, in support of his debut EP on Interscope Records. The lead single from the EP, “Do You Remember”, debuted at number one on the Hype Machine and Australian iTunes charts.

Tour dates:

10/17/15 Toronto, ON Adelaide Hall
10/19/15 Detroit, MI Shelter
10/20/15 Cincinnati, OH The Ballroom
10/22/15 Chicago, IL Metro
10/23/15 USO Red Rock & Blue
10/24/15 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line
10/27/15 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
10/29/15 San Francisco, CA SF Masonic
10/30/15 Pomona, CA Fox Theater Pomona
11/01/15 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
11/03/15 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q
11/04/15 Houston, TX Revention Music Center
11/05/15 Dallas, TX South Side Ballroom
11/07/15 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
11/08/15 Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank Theatre
11/10/15 Philadelphia, PA Fillmore Philadelphia
11/12/15 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs
11/13/15 New York, NY Marlin Room
11/17/15 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
12/11/15 WLUM Big Snow Show

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

Go Fest '15

poster: Coley Lind Matt & Kim Setlist Overexposed Hey Now w/ snippet of "Party Up" by DMX) I'm A Goner Let's Go Hoodie On Cameras Tonight Ignition (Remix) (R. Kelly cover) Now w/ intro "No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn" by Beastie Boys Get It w/ intro "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa Daylight -- Encore -- Just a Friend (Biz Markie cover) w/ intro "Bring Em Out" by T.I. It's Alright Cold War Kids Setlist All This Could Be Yours Loner Phase Miracle Mile Audience One Song at a Time We Used To Vacation Louder Than Ever Hot Coals Hang Me Up to Dry I've Seen Enough Minimum Day Drive Desperate First Hospital Beds Something Is Not Right With Me Yelawolf Setlist Outer Space Good to Go Box Chevy V Growin' Up in the Gutter Push 'Em Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks cover) Let's Roll Pop the Trunk I Wish / Whole Lotta Love / War Pigs Heartbreak American You MS MR Setlist Reckless Fantasy Think of You How Does It Feel Criminals Painted Hurricane Big Data Setlist Snowed In Clean Big Dater Private Eyes (Hall & Oates cover) The Business of Emotion Dangerous Meg Myers Setlist Adelaide Motel A Bolt From The Blue Go Desire Sorry Heart Heart Head (partial; cut off) 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 … Matt & Kim This is one of the best band to see live is Matt and Kim. The duo is returning to Minneapolis at the Mill City Nights next, next Friday … Cold War Kids It's the big 10 year anniversary of local radio station The Current, and they've been selling out all their shows. I believe most, if not all, of their shows will be broadcasting live .... Yelawolf I was only given a link to the video for Yelawolf's new video "Let's Roll" (watch it in HD on vevo.com). The song is from his latest album, Radioactive, which came out November of last year. .... MS MR NYC duo MS MR came to Minneapolis “for the first time as a band and as people” ...and ‘rocked it like a ‘Hurricane’. ‘Hurricane’, of course, refers to their infectious single of the same name…

The inaugural Go Fest at the Target Field last Friday. We were already impressed with their first ever Go Show #1 earlier in March 2015, but was absolutely blown away at the size and scale and production of Go Fest '15.

The festival took place in the new baseball open field. Only portions of the stadium seats (no access to the green) were opened to view the concert stage. There was a small standing-only section in the front for VIP access... which Go Radio was more than generous in giving away upgrade passes to fans who showed up early.

Prices ranged from $9.63 to $96.30, which I think was a great price for these bands. Even if they lost a ton of money, it was money well spent for promotion of the new radio station, Go 96.3 FM.

There was a lot of planning and thought involved in orchestrating this music festival... but not everything was set in stone. For example local band Enemy Planes was added last minute (the day of) as first band on the bill with a brief twenty-minute set, and MS MR was switched with Big Data. Otherwise Allan Kingdom (who we previously saw with thestand4rd at Rock the Garden) went on as planned at 4:30.

In between bands RAC (André Allen Anjos) played his DJ sets.

Meg Myers

The first non-local band to play was Los Angeles, by the way of Tennessee, Meg Myers, who we previously saw with Royal Blood at Mill City Nights in 2014. Like her last appearance, she is accompanied by her four-piece band (including a cellist), and she sang dark and delicate songs about relationship and desires.

While we liked her songs, unfortunately most people will likely remember that she was literally played off the stage when she started playing her closing song "Heart Heart Head". Everyone was operating under a very tight schedule, so we were not surprised that they cut off her mic.

Big Data

New York's Big Data was up next. The band was previously in town at the Fine Line Music Café earlier in March 2015. This music project is lead by Alan Wilkis, who teamed up with a variety of artists for their 2.0 album (including guests White Sea, Joywave, Jamie Lidell, Kimbra, Rivers Cuomo, Jenn Wasner, Dragonette, Bear Hands, and Twin Shadow). When they play live, Wilkis had plenty of vocal help from singer Lizy Ryan.

Their set had bookend pre-recorded robotic announcements, and they played it safe by covering Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes" and ending it with their most popular song, "Dangerous"... which is a really catchy song.

MS MR

We've been covering MS MR since 2012, and was happy to be there for them on their first ever Minneapolis appearance in 2013.

The duo Lizzy Plapinger (MS) and Max Hershenow (MR) was happy to announce that they have released a second album How Does It Feel (Columbia Records), which incidentally landed at #1 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. Their new single, "Painted" sounded great live and you can easily see why the song is showing strong support on Top 30 Alternative radio.

They ended their set with their first single "Hurricane", which they kindly note that if you wanted to hear more from them, that they'll be back in Minneapolis at the Varsity Theater on October 15th. Immediately the couple next to me said they'll buy tickets to see them again.

Yelawolf

Based on the biker leather jackets, the tattoos, and hip-hop/rap sound of Yelawolf... they surely stuck out like a sore thumb. Despite being the odd band out, they definitely had their dedicated fans.

Apparently they did not play by the rules. They were slightly rude, spitting, spraying beer in the audience, lighting their setlist on fire and destroying a microphone, and giving the fingers to all the ladies in the audience. After hearing them talk about how they love the south, Hank Williams, and the confederate flag (which is a hot button at the moment), you get the feeling they do and say whatever the f*** they want and they don't care what you think.

After playing "Heartbreak" per request from a fan and ending their set with "American Youth", the band pulled out an autographed baseball and threw it into the audience.

Cold War Kids

We've been covering Cold War Kids since 2008, they are always a good solid live band. In 2013, we saw the band three times (First Avenue (09/26/13), First Avenue (4/5/13), and Target Center (05/31/13)) and didn't feel heartbroken when we didn't see them in late January 2015. Still, we were excited to see them again at Go Fest; it was like seeing an old friend.

By the time CWK took the stage on their first ever baseball field show, it had gotten dark, but the stage direction kept the band in bare minimal lighting (dark blues and dimmed reds).

Songs on their set featured some new songs from their latest Hold My Home ("All This Could Be Yours", "Hot Coals", "Drive Desperate", and "First"), but throwing in fan favorite "Hang Me Up to Dry".

The first time I read about Matt & Kim, they had opened up for Weezer in New York in 2009 and again in 2010. They were described as "dance party", and it wasn't until I saw them in person in Minneapolis in 2012 that I absolutely believed it. Of all the shows I saw in 2012, that one stood out as easily one of my highlight. We've seen them again at Rock the Garden in 2014, and a couple of things you should know about this party band: 1. Kim does this walking on people bit, 2. They go from zero to one hundred percent, 3. They have potty mouths (esp Kim), 4. Plenty of confetti, and 5. Just have a good time. Don't over analyze their songs or question their singing abilities, you're missing the point if you do.

Matt & Kim

I had a lot of fun, and I think the audience did too. Some new gimmick they did tried for this show was getting everyone to blow up balloons and then tossing them up in the air. They also brought out a parachute and had people holding it up (wasn't quite sure this one worked as well as they intended).

The various snippets of DMX's "Party Up", Beastie Boys' "No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn", Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It", went over really well with the crowd, who seemed to know the material. The introduction to "Ignition (Remix)" was pretty funny, Matt explained, "R Kelly was supposed to play Arizona, but he didn't because he wasn't going to get paid... So if R. Kelly won't play R. Kelly songs, Matt and Kim will play R. Kelly songs!"

Seeing as there was only a few minutes until closing time of 11:30, I was surprised to see that the band came back for a quick encore at the eleventh hour. At first with a prerecorded T.I.'s "Bring Em Out" and then they covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend", which got the crowd singing along. Their finale "It's Alright" ended their set with a couple of audience body surfing with plenty of beach balls that was released by the stage hand.

Go Fest '15 was an experience. They're already talking about doing another one (before the end of the year???), and honestly I can't wait to see how they are going to top this show. Given that the event was nearly 8 hours long, I think perhaps next time, they can have the Go Fest to fall on a Saturday (when most normal people don't have work or school).

Matt & Kim at Go Fest, Target Field (07 Aug 2015)

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

Photos: Go Fest '15 at Target Field, Minneapolis (7 Aug 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 …

While we work out the setlists and review, here are some photos from Go Fest '15. For the entry price of $9.63 (for 96.3 FM), this served as a nice promotion for the new radio station Go 96.3.

We've previously seen MS MR, Cold War Kids and Matt and Kim as headliners for their own shows, and seeing them all together in one bill is simply unbelievable.

Lineup and Set Times

4 p.m. - Gates Open
4:05 p.m. - Enemy Planes
4:30 p.m. - Allan Kingdom
5 p.m. - Meg Myers
5:50 p.m. - Big Data
6:40 p.m. - MS MR
7:30 p.m. - Yelawolf
9 p.m. - Cold War Kids
10:30 p.m. - Matt and Kim
11:30 p.m. - End of Show

I don't honestly know how Go Radio will top themselves for their next Go Show.

Meg Myers	Meg Myers	Big Data	Big Data	MS MR	MS MR
Yelawolf	Yelawolf	Cold War Kids	Cold War Kids	Matt & Kim	Matt & Kim

Matt & Kim at Go Fest '15, Target Field (7 Aug 2015)

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

Minneapolis: August 7, 2015

Read More Go 96.3 I attended the Go 96.3's first concert (dubbed Go Show #1) at the Aria in Minneapolis on Friday the 13th. For the young radio station's very first show . … Cold War Kids It's the big 10 year anniversary of local radio station The Current, and they've been selling out all their shows. I believe most, if not all, of their shows will be broadcasting live .... MS MR NYC duo MS MR came to Minneapolis “for the first time as a band and as people” ...and ‘rocked it like a ‘Hurricane’. ‘Hurricane’, of course, refers to their infectious single of the same name… Matt & Kim This is one of the best band to see live is Matt and Kim. The duo is returning to Minneapolis at the Mill City Nights next, next Friday …

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on Friday, August 7, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

GO FEST '15
at Target Field
Friday, 08/07/2015, 4:30pm ($9.63)
go963mn.com

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... and they've completely done it by booking Target Field with this incredible band lineup.

We've previously seen covered most of these bands, but to see them all on one bill is simply unbelievable. The kicker? Nosebleed tickets are under $10 each, so you can bring all your friends (well, restricted to a 20-ticket maximum) and hang out in the green.

Lineup:

Cold War Kids

MS MR

Meg Myers

Matt and Kim

Big Data

Yelawolf

Allan Kingdom (from thestand4rd)

Plus: DJ Sets by RAC

Read More Irish Fair First of all, I think we're definitely going to be doing the Irish Fair this year. I know St Patrick's Day was in March, but who cares when it's free in August! The two main attraction seems to be California's Young Dubliners .…

IRISH FAIR
at Harriet Island (St Paul)
08/07/2015-08/08/2015, 7pm (FREE)
irishfair.com

The free annual Irish Fair will start next Friday, August 7th and ending on Sunday, August 9th, at Harriet Island. Headliner for the first two nights will be Los Angeles' Young Dubliners.... currently touring in support of their latest album Nine. We previously caught Young Dubliners when they headlined the Irish Fair in 2010, so I'll be good to have them back in the Twin Cities.

NOTE: The Irish Fair fans should know that there is a $20 Kickoff Party event on Thursday, August 6th, featuring local Irish band Wild Colonial Bhoys.

Young Dubliner's tour dates:

08/07/15 Irish Fair Minnesota
08/08/15 Irish Fair Minnesota
08/09/15 Crestone Music Festival
08/14/15 Santa Rosa, CA Annie O's Music Hall
08/15/15 Paso Robles, CA Private Function
08/16/15 Los Osos, CA Sea Pines Golf Resort
08/21/15 Hopefest
08/22/15 Lodi, CA Private Function
08/27/15 Colorado Springs, CO Thirsty Parrot
08/28/15 Denver, CO The Oriental Theater
09/11/15 Sisters Folk Festival
09/12/15 Sisters Folk Festival
09/13/15 Sisters Folk Festival
09/16/15 Somerville, MA Johnny D's
09/17/15 Newton, NJ The Newton Theatre
09/18/15 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
09/19/15 Irish 2000 Festival
09/20/15 Get Shamrocked Festival
09/26/15 Treasure Valley Celtic
10/02/15 Chicago, IL Beverly Arts Center
10/03/15 Huntsville, UT Snowbasin
10/04/15 Blues, Brews & BBQ
10/08/15 Wilmington, DE World Cafe Live
10/09/15 Leesburg, VA Smokehouse Live
10/10/15 Alexandria, VA John Strongbow's Tavern
10/11/15 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
10/14/15 Jim Thorpe, PA Mauch Chunk Opera House
10/15/15 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
10/16/15 Macungie, PA Private Function
10/17/15 Chesapeake Roots Festival
10/18/15 Harrisburg, PA The Abbey Bar
11/05/15 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
11/06/15 Tucson Celtic Festival
11/07/15 Tucson Celtic Festival
11/13/15 Grants Pass, OR Rogue Theatre
11/14/15 Portland, OR Melody Ballroom
11/19/15 Sturtevant, WI Route 20 Outhouse
11/20/15 South Bend, IN Club Fever
11/21/15 Joliet, IL The Tree

Read More Social Distortion Do you know what's funny? Social D was one of the first bands I saw when I was living in Fresno, California. They were huge back then just coming off their big hit single "Bad Luck"..…

SOCIAL DISTORTION
at First Avenue
Friday, 08/07/2015, 7pm ($35/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Our new writer Langen will be seeing Social Distortion at First Avenue. Not to brag, but I saw Social D in 1992(?) in Fresno, California. They played a tiny club and changed the line in "Ball & Chain" from "county jail" to "Fresno County Jail" and got a huge roar from the audience.

Mike Ness and company are on tour at the moment because their debut self-titled album turned 25 in 2015 (originally released in 1990). Expect the punk band to play the entire album, plus throwing in some old favorites from Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell, etc.

Drag the River and Nikki Lane to open the show.

Tour dates:

07/31/15 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Live
08/01/15 Houston, TX House Of Blues
08/02/15 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
08/05/15 Sturgis Rally
08/07/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
08/08/15 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
08/09/15 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
08/11/15 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
08/14/15 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room
08/15/15 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
08/16/15 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
08/18/15 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
08/19/15 Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier
08/21/15 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
08/22/15 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony Summerstage
08/23/15 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston
08/25/15 Silver Spring, MD Fillmore Silver Spring
08/27/15 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
08/28/15 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte
08/29/15 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
09/02/15 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
09/03/15 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
09/05/15 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
09/06/15 Bumbershoot Festival
09/07/15 Bend, OR The Century Center
09/09/15 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
09/11/15 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
09/12/15 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
09/13/15 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory

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

Royal Blood at Mill City Nights, Minneapolis (19 Sept 2014)

Photo Gallery Meg Myers Tour Poster Meg Myers Royal Blood Royal Blood drummer Ben Thatcher Setlist Hole Come On Over You Can Be So Cruel Figure It Out Little Monster Better Strangers Blood Hands Ten Tonne Skeleton Loose Change -- Encore -- Out of the Black Royal Blood Tour Dates 09/26/14 Tucson, AZ The Rock 09/27/14 San Diego, CA Humphrey's Concerts 09/29/14 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour 09/30/14 San Francisco, CA The Masonic 10/02/14 Garden City, ID Revolution Concert 10/03/14 Spokane, WA INB Performing Arts Center 10/05/14 Calgary, AB MacEwan Conference 10/06/14 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference Centre 10/07/14 Saskatoon, SK TCU Place 10/09/14 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings 10/11/14 Minneapolis, MN The State Theatre 10/12/14 Madison, WI Orpheum Theater 10/14/14 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace 10/16/14 New York, NY Webster Hall Read More Royal Blood Royal Blood – TONIGHT at Mill City Nights AND opening for The Pixies Oct 11 at State Theatre …

Forget those every-so-often cries that “rock is dead”…

Rock in fact, is alive and kicking, full of lifeblood, and is maybe best personified in two lads from Worthing, UK …whose blood runs royally.

Royal Blood: Mike Kerr

Royal Blood, a new duo comprised of Mike Kerr on lead vocals/bass guitar and Ben Thatcher on drums recently played Mill City Nights in Minneapolis, and showed the attending crowd, what the immediate future of Rock, has in store.

On the heels of a successful EP, Out of the Black (Warner Bros/Black Mammoth), the duo has just released their self-titled debut full-length to great acclaim, including a nomination for the fabled Mercury Music Prize in the UK.

Kerr uses pedals, reverb, and effects to make his bass often sound like a lead guitar, and drummer Thatcher hits the skins and keeps the underlying rhythm, like his life depended on it.

Meg Myers

Los Angeles-based Tennessee native Meg Myers played a brief opening set, in support of her second EP, Make a Shadow (Atlantic Records), overcoming some initial technical issues. Myers and her 4pc band (which included a cellist, and herself on bass) had an roughness about them, that could also be dark and delicate. This was coupled with her sometimes painful lyrics on songs like ‘Go’ and ‘Desire’, with the latter finding Myers yelling into the mic, “how do you want me”. Closing song, ‘Heart Heart Head’ was heavy with cello and Myers’ vocals were somewhat evocative of Evanescence’s Amy Lee, on the song.

With only one album to their credit (+one EP), their self-titled debut (on Warner/WEA), Royal Blood played a short but powerful 45min. set that covered most of the full album’s songs.

The band was already exuding a confident attitude before they even took the stage, as Jay-Z’s ’99 Problems’ was blasted on the speakers as the band’s intro music. Opener ‘Hole’ from their EP, was a mid-tempo number, full of crunchy blues/rock riffs and dynamic drumming from Thatcher. Kerr’s bass playing style makes him somewhat reminiscent of Josh Homme (the Them Crooked Vultures version, more than QOTSA) and Thatcher usually looked all business on the skins.

Little was said between songs, the duo instead letting the music do most of the talking, with ‘You Can Be So Cruel’ revved up enough to spur swaying in the crowd and a small mosh pit to emerge at floor center. The band’s music has a distinct dichotomy of sounding both raw and technically tight and precise, a quality truly unique among newish harder rock bands.

Royal Blood Setlist

Before ‘Little Monster’, Kerr teased the crowd saying he heard the city didn’t like to party, and for them to prove him wrong, which of course, incited the already worked-up audience. Their sound, like other successful duos (White Stripes, Black Keys) is much bigger than the two on stage, and the show seemed to go by very quickly, with the band exiting at the 39 min. mark, only to re-emerge with the evening’s crunchiest and throbbing number, as an encore – ‘Out of the Black’.

Building towards a climatic cacophony of sound to end the evening, the band bowed triumphantly and departed, with the audience so clearly still wanting to hear more. Though it wouldn’t happen this night, there is related good news—Royal Blood hits the road again soon, as openers for The Pixies, including a local stop at The Orpheum Theatre on Sat. October 11^th- mark your calendars, as that’s the day Rock comes back to town.

Royal Blood at Mill City Nights, Minneapolis (19 Sept 2014)

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