W♥M

Minneapolis: December 1 to December 3, 2015

Read More Keep Shelly In Athens As for Keep Shelly in Athens, they are a chillwave duo (RΠЯ and Sarah P) from Athens. I thought their name was funky, considering that there's no Shelly in the band, but apparently they were named after the city Kypseli …

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from December 1 to December 3, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS
at 7th Street Entry
Tuesday, 12/01/2015, 7pm ($8/$10)
first-avenue.com

Keep Shelly In Athens is back in Minneapolis this December 1st, supporting their second album Now I'm Ready (Friends of Friends). We previously caught the Greek band in October 2013 with Chad Valley, and described them as sounding like Portishead, but minus the trip-hop.

Since we last saw the band, Sarah P. stepped down as singer, and producer RΠЯ announced in 2014 that Myrtha will be taking her place. Their upcoming appearance will feature the new singer.

Chicago's one-man-band/DJ Different Sleep to open. Different Sleep recently remixed Keep Shelly in Athen's "Benighted".

Tour dates:

11/27/15 - Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
11/28/15 - Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
11/29/15 - Springfield, MO @ Outland Ballroom
11/30/15 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
12/01/15 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
12/02/15 - Madison, WI @ Frequency
12/03/15 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba's
12/04/15 - Toronto @ Drake Hotel
12/05/15 - Montreal @ Fairmount

All dates w/ Different Sleep

Read More G Herbo Ballin Like I'm Kobe [Explicit] G Herbo Release Date: October 2, 2015 Label: Cinematic Copyright: (C) 2015 Machine Entertainment Group / 150 Dream Team / Cinematic Music Group …

G HERBO
at Triple Rock Social Club
Wednesday, 12/02/2015, 7pm ($15/$55 VIP)
triplerocksocialclub.com

Chicago's G Herbo, formerly known as Lil Herb, will be stopping by the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on December 2nd, as part of his "The #BLINK Tour", featuring his buddies Zuse, MobSquad Nard, $KINNY, and JonRay.

Recently G Herbo released his highly anticipated mixtape, Ballin Like I'm Kobe (Cinematic Music Group/150 Dream Team), and also collaborated with Chicago rapper Lil Bibby for their song "Get 2 Bussin".

Tour dates:

12/02/15 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
12/03/15 Madison, WI Frequency
12/04/15 La Crosse, WI Concordia Ballroom
12/05/15 Chicago, IL Subterranean
12/06/15 St. Louis, MO Fubar
12/12/15 Buffalo, NY Waiting Room
12/13/15 Cambridge, MA Naga
12/14/15 Washington, DC Black Cat

All dates with Zuse, MobSquad Nard, $KINNY, and JonRay

Read More Boredoms Ticket stub to Boredoms at First Avenue, Minneapolis (06/20/1999) One of the first shows, was Boredoms at First Avenue on June 20th, 1999. I honestly don't remember who opened up for them …

OOIOO
at William and Nadine McGuire Theater
Thursday, 12/03/2015, 7pm ($16/$20)
walkerart.org

Japanese noise fans, be sure to catch experimental tribal noise collective OOIOO next Thursday at the Walker Art Center. As you know, we are big fans of Boredoms, and co-founder and drummer Yoshimi P-We is band leader for OOIOO.

We have been following Boredoms and other Japanese bands and we can confirm that it's very rare to see Japanese bands on U.S. soil... so you'll want to be there next Thursday at the William and Nadine McGuire Theater.

Show up early to catch a special set by Minnesota-based Javanese musician Joko Sutrisno and his Sumunar Gamelan Ensemble.

How the Walker Art Center described the show:

Catch a rare US appearance by the enigmatic Japanese avant-tribal-noise-pop collective OOIOO (oh-oh-eye-oh-oh). Under the intrepid leadership of Yoshimi P-We (cofounder of Japanese band Boredoms and the inspiration behind the Flaming Lips’s album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots) the group has subverted expectations and warped perceptions of what constitutes pop and experimental music since the mid-1990s. Simply put, “It’s rugged, inspired, original music” (New York Times). OOIOO perform their Minnesota debut on Thursday, December 3, 8 pm in the William and Nadine McGuire Theater.

The concert opens with a special set by Minnesota-based Javanese musician Joko Sutrisno and his Sumunar Gamelan Ensemble.

Tickets to OOIOO are $20 ($16) available at walkerart.org/tickets or by calling 612.375.7600

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 … Silversun Pickups Having spent many times stopping in Minneapolis at smaller venues, like the 7th Street Entry, Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert was amazed at the massive crowd for Rock the Garden, that he said, "This is a big deal!" … Death Cab for Cutie Anyroad, before we get to Death Cab for Cutie, I have to explain that I've seen the band before in 2001 at the 7th Street Entry for $5. People who live in Minnesota know that the 7th Street is a tiny venue. … Metric I've seen Metric twice (four times if you count Emily Haines solo or Broken Social Scene), so you know I love this little Canadian band. Their Rock the Garden's set was very similar to their …

GO96.3'S SNOW SHOW '15
at Northrop Auditorium
12/03 - 12/04/2015, 7pm ($19.63/$47.50)
northrop.umn.edu

Wow, Go 96.3 continued to book some of the best shows in town, and all for such an affordable price. They often book these shows, undercharging them, all in an effort to promote brand awareness of the new radio station. I think it's working, as every time they book a show, we are talking about it... and this upcoming double-night "Go96's Snow Show '15" is no exception.

Black Friday deal: for a limited time 11/25 to 11/27, you can get $10 off if you enter "YELP" at checkout.

For the first night:

Night 1 - Thu, Dec 3
Silversun Pickups
Metric
The Wombats
Melanie Martinez

For the second night:

Night 2 - Fri, Dec 4
Death Cab for Cutie
Best Coast
Panic is Perfect

Of course, we've covered most of these bands at one point or another. Here is a breakdown of recent W♥M coverage: Silversun Pickups at Rock the Garden 2013, Metric at Xcel Energy (June 2015), Wombat at Varsity Theater (May 2015), Death Cab for Cutie at Roy Wilkins (April 2009), Best Coast at First Ave (June 2015), and Panic is Perfect at Triple Rock (Oct 2015).

The only artist we haven't seen is Melanie Martinez, who previously headlined Mill City Nights Sep 2015 for her "Cry Baby Tour".

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

Imagine Dragons w/ Metric, Halsey at Xcel, St Paul (09 June 2015)

Imagine Dragons Setlist Shots Trouble It's Time Forever Young (Alphaville cover) Smoke and Mirrors Polaroid I'm So Sorry Summer Gold Bleeding Out Demons Dream Hopeless Opus Amsterdam Release On Top of the World Friction I Bet My Life Radioactive -- Encore -- The Fall Metric Setlist Stadium Love Too Bad, So Sad Speed the Collapse Help I'm Alive Cascades Synthetica Gold Guns Girls Breathing Underwater The Shade Halsey Setlist Castle Empty Gold Hold Me Down Ghost Hurricane Tour Dates 06/13/15 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley 06/15/15 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena 06/16/15 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center 06/18/15 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena 06/19/15 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center 06/22/15 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 06/23/15 Auburn Hills, MI Palace Of Auburn Hills 06/24/15 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center 06/27/15 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center 06/29/15 Newark, NJ Prudential Center 06/30/15 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center 07/01/15 Boston, MA TD Garden 07/03/15 Montreal, QC Bell Centre 07/04/15 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre 07/06/15 Washington, DC Verizon Center 07/07/15 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena 07/08/15 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena 07/10/15 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena 07/11/15 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center 07/13/15 Memphis, TN FedExForum 07/14/15 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena 07/16/15 Houston, TX Toyota Center 07/17/15 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center 07/18/15 Stateline, NV Lake Tahoe Outdoor 07/20/15 Anaheim, CA Honda Center 07/21/15 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena 07/24/15 Inglewood, CA Forum 07/25/15 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center 07/27/15 Denver, CO Pepsi Center 07/28/15 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions 07/30/15 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena 07/31/15 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome 08/01/15 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena Read More 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. … Metric I've seen Metric twice (four times if you count Emily Haines solo or Broken Social Scene), so you know I love this little Canadian band. Their Rock the Garden's set was very similar to their … Halsey Halsey (stagename for Ashley Frangipane) has a debut EP Room 93 is set for release on October 28th via Astralwerks. W♥M fans will know ...

Over 13,000 fans showed up to see Imagine Dragons return to the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul last Tuesday, June 9th. The Las Vegas band is currently on their Smoke + Mirrors Tour.

Halsey photo: Jayme Halbritter

The show started with a technical difficulty that pushed Halsey (an anagram of singer Ashley) to start six minutes late. I didn't think they actually fix the problem with the video screen until Metric came on stage... As a result of the late start, the band had to drop two songs from their set list to maintain the strict music schedule.

Joining Halsey on stage was jazz keyboardist Greg Spero (who had family in Minnesota) and drummer Nate Lotz. Strange, but absent on stage were her guitarists when we first saw Halsey on her first ever tour with the Kooks.

Halsey previewed some songs ("Castle", "Hold Me Down", and "Ghost") from her forthcoming Badlands album, set for release August 28, 2015, on Astralwerks.... however, she ended her set with her most popular song "Hurricane".

Metric photo: Jayme Halbritter

Our favorite Canadian band Metric was up next, with a high energy dance-centric set, consisting of only newer material: 2009's Fantasies ("Stadium Love", "Help I'm Alive", and "Gold Guns Girls"), 2012's Synthetica (Title track, "Speed The Collapse", and "Breathing Underwater"), and from the forthcoming Pagans in Vegas ("Too Bad, So Sad", "Cascades", and "The Shade").

Singer Emily Haines is always fun to watch, often doing her rollerskate and hands waving dancing moves. My favorite was for "Cascades", Haines brought out a shawl or cape and stood over the upflowing fan to create this nice visual flowing cloth dance.

The message was clear, Metric love writing and performing music... otherwise they wouldn't have done this for the past 17 years. Haines also joked that the music help her look 26.

While I love the band, I fear that the days of them doing old favorites from Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? are long gone. The current Metric band, as it is, will only play newer material. Which I can understand, musicians have to change and grow.

When Pagans in Vegas comes out in September 2015, hopefully Metric will be stopping by Minneapolis on their headline tour.

Dan Reynolds photo: Jayme Halbritter

As soon as Imagine Dragons entered the room to a dramatic gigantic moving display, the entire audience immediately stood up to a thunderous cheer.

We've been watching and covering Imagine Dragons since their early days at smaller club shows (Triple Rock, Varsity Theater), and we're incredibly happy to see them do so well with these big stadium shows. The band is incredibly thankful and grateful for everyone in their lives for making them such a success, calling out Cities97's Paul Fletcher and singer Dan Reynolds thanking his wife (Aja Volkman of Nico Vega).

In the seven years that Imagine Dragons toured as a band, this is the first tour that they've incorporated lasers into their shows... and they utilized the lasers near the end of the set. Combining with the smoke machine, the lasers created an unforgettable look and feel to their show.

The band ended their set with their most popular song "Radioactive", which got the biggest audience reaction and sing-alongs... however, I felt the highlight of their set was for their encore song "The Fall", which featured images of trees and falling leaves... complete with flowing confetti from the ceiling!

Imagine Dragon's second studio album Smoke + Mirrors is out now on Interscope Records/KIDinaKORNER.

Imagine Dragons at Xcel Energy Center, St Paul (09 June 2015) photo courtesy of Jayme Halbritter Photography, jaymehalbritter.com

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

Minneapolis: June 9, 2015

Read More Starsailor You know, I've never really gotten into Starsailor. They never quite made it as big as the bands of their time (well not here anyway) and I'm ashamed to say that I've always had one of their singles (given to me by god know ....

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area for June 9, 2015. This is an incredibly busy night for us.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

EMBRACE w/ Starsailor
at Mill City Nights
Tuesday, 06/09/15, 8pm ($22.50/18+)
Details: millcitynights.com

English band Embrace is back on a rare US tour in support of their latest self-titled album, which came out last year 2014.

Post-Britpop band Starsailor is also making a rare Minneapolis appearance. The band basically broke up in 2009, despite their best effort to kick off their fourth studio album All The Plans.

After going into extended hiatus, the band reunited to play some festivals: Summer in the City at Castlefield Bowl, Rock Zottegem festival in Belgium, and Pentaport Rock Festival in South Korea. It would seem that the reunion is good for the band that they've decided to co-headline the tour with Embrace this Summer.

This should be a great bill for nostalgic fans.

Tour dates:

06/01/15 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
06/03/15 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
06/06/15 Seattle, WA Neumos
06/09/15 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
06/10/15 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
06/11/15 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
06/14/15 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston

Read More Imagine Dragons Forget 2014 being the “Year of the Horse” according to the Chinese calendar, 2013-14 has clearly been the Year of the Dragon. The Las Vegas quartet … Metric I've seen Metric twice (four times if you could Emily Haines solo or Broken Social Scene), so you know I love this little Canadian band. Their Rock the Garden's set was very similar to their … Halsey Halsey (stagename for Ashley Frangipane) has a debut EP Room 93 is set for release on October 28th via Astralwerks. W♥M fans will know ...

IMAGINE DRAGONS
at Xcel Energy Center
Tuesday, 06/09/15, 6:30pm ($29.50 - $69.50)
Details: xcelenergycenter.com

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. The Minnesota show actually was originally scheduled (as per their tour poster), but the band love playing here that they added the date eventually on their tour itinerary.

As much as we love Imagine Dragons, we're actually pretty excited equally for the two openers: Canada's Metric (who we last saw at Rock the Garden 2013 and State Theatre in 2012) and Halsey (who blew us away at her support show for The Kooks in 2014).

With these types of stadium show, if you want to catch the opening band, be sure to show up before doors open (6:30pm), as getting into the event can be time consuming because of tight security and just the sheer amount of fans in the building.

North American tour dates:

06/03/15 Portland, OR Moda Center
06/05/15 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
06/06/15 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
06/08/15 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
06/09/15 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
06/10/15 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center Omaha
06/12/15 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
06/13/15 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley Center
06/15/15 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
06/16/15 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
06/18/15 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
06/19/15 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
06/22/15 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
06/23/15 Auburn Hills, MI Palace Of Auburn Hills
06/24/15 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
06/27/15 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
06/29/15 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
06/30/15 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
07/01/15 Boston, MA TD Garden
07/03/15 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
07/04/15 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
07/06/15 Washington, DC Verizon Center
07/07/15 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
07/08/15 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
07/10/15 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
07/11/15 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center
07/13/15 Memphis, TN FedExForum
07/14/15 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
07/16/15 Houston, TX Toyota Center
07/17/15 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
07/18/15 Stateline, NV Lake Tahoe Outdoor
07/20/15 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
07/21/15 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena
07/24/15 Inglewood, CA Forum
07/25/15 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
07/27/15 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
07/28/15 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions
07/30/15 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
07/31/15 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
08/01/15 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena

Read More Catfish and the Bottlemen Back in December 2014, we tipped you guys off this new British sensation Catfish and the Bottlemen with their album The Balcony. It's only been a few months, but the band has…

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN
at Varsity Theater
Tuesday, 06/09/15, 8pm ($16.50/18+)
Details: varsitytheater.org

Buzz band Catfish and the Bottlemen just sold out their entire UK Tour (which isn't until October 2015!) In some of these cases, I've met some UK fans that will fly into the US to see their favorite bands (because these are more intimate US shows).

We previously saw the band earlier this year, which John described:

Their landmark album, Cracked Rear View is the 16th best-selling album, anchored by singles ‘Hold My Hand’ and ‘Only Wanna Be with You’… and … err, waitaminute… This isn’t them. This isn’t about Hootie and the Blowfish, or the past. This is about the future- this is about Catfish and the Bottlemen.

Catfish and the Bottlemen is returning to Minneapolis next Tuesday, June 9th.

Tour dates:

06/03/15 Portland, OR Moda Center
06/05/15 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
06/06/15 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
06/08/15 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
06/09/15 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
06/10/15 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center Omaha
06/12/15 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
06/13/15 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley Center
06/15/15 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
06/16/15 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
06/18/15 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
06/19/15 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center

Read More Purity Ring Purity Ring's Shrines is one of the most uniquely excellent albums of the year. Taking a dark, gothic tone and applying it to extremely catchy pop, the group has earned a spot as a frontrunner … Braids Los Angeles' Islands is releasing Ski Mask this September 17th on Manqué Music. In addition to the new record, the band also announced a string of headlining tour dates in North America this fall. … Born Gold Formerly known as Gobble Gobble, a band that sounds like it was born from a bad Thanksgiving family get together (even though they're Canadians). Well the turkey …

PURITY RING
at First Avenue
Tuesday, 06/09/15, 9:30pm ($20/Sold Out)
Details: first-avenue.com

Embarrassingly enough, I've mistaken Canadian duo Purity Ring as emo band The Promise Ring (who I saw live with Ash many years ago). I think they mean the same thing, right? The duo (singer Megan James and instrumentalist Corin Roddick) is so popular that they've sold out concert at First Avenue on June 9th... forcing the band to quickly add an a second all-ages show at 5pm.

Montreal's Braids, who we previously saw with Wye Oak at the Fine Line in May 2014, will open the show with San Francisco by the way of Canada, Born Gold.

Tour dates:

06/02/15 New York, NY Terminal 5
06/03/15 New York, NY Terminal 5
06/04/15 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
06/05/15 Montreal, QC Metropolis
06/06/15 Field Trip Music & Arts Festival
06/07/15 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
06/08/15 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
06/09/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
06/10/15 Winnipeg, MB Garrick Centre
06/12/15 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall Ballroom
06/15/15 Vancouver, BC The Vogue Theatre
06/16/15 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo
06/17/15 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
06/19/15 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
06/20/15 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
06/22/15 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
06/23/15 Las Vegas, NV Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
07/17/15 RBC Bluesfest
07/23/15 Melbourne, Australia 170 Russell
07/24/15 Melbourne, Australia 170 Russell
07/25/15 Splendour In The Grass
08/15/15 Maha Music Festival
08/22/15 FYF Festivala
09/25/15 Midpoint Music Festival
09/26/15 Pygmalion Music Festival
10/10/15 Corona Capital Festival

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

Emily Haines at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01/13/2007)

Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton at the Varsity Theater (ticket stub) Minneapolis (01/13/2007) Read More Metric I've seen Metric twice (four times if you could Emily Haines solo or Broken Social Scene), so you know I love this little Canadian band. Their Rock the Garden's set was very similar to their show last year …

This show took place only weeks before W♥M, so again, no notes or detailed account of this Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton show in 2007.

Varsity Theater Marquee photo: Brody

Just a little back story on Haines, I was already a Metric fan at this point, but I never knew Emily Haines had a solo career. She actually released a solo album in 1996, but it wasn't until Knives Don't Have Your Back that she stopped by Minneapolis in January 2007.

Opening up the show was Tall Firs, a NY folk/rock duo consisting of Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan. As noted below, we only caught the tail-end of their performance.

The whole account was written by Brody, via britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com:

After enjoying 40 degree spring like temperatures the weather decided to get very nasty (basically what everyone expects in Minnesota). Heading to the Varsity there was no line, and surprising a show that wasn't even close to selling out. You would think being right next to the U [University of Minnesota] you would get all those college kids that are big fans of Emily's main projects over the years in Metric and Broken Social Scene. Guess not tonight.

"The Crew" photo: Brody

There was still a lot of people at the show; probably 300. I was just surprised that someone of Emily's talent and stature wouldn't attract all that attention. Let's cut to the chase, well let's just say thank god we missed most of that Tall Firs set... Absolutely awful. We also stood behind a crowd of people because there were people enjoying their comfy chairs, tables, and couches around the theater.

On to Ms. Haines, we expected a quiet, dark psychedelic evening in Emily's melodies, and that's what exactly happened. Everyone was silent, the only word from the crowd was "spit it out sister", when Emily went off on her strong opinions. She expressed that she's best friends with the British, bloggers, and skinny people. Everyone got expressions, it's good to be honest, let things out, and Emily is a very independent gal that says what she wants, I respect that. I make fun of people all the time, in a little nicer way. I think it did bring back some memories of that Cat Power show, where Chan talked about her ups in downs in life with drugs, alcohol, and her fight against depression. Emily is far from that and is much more upbeat with a band behind her and a great mix of darkness and melodies. I still highly recommend seeing Soft Skeleton to see how far Emily can reach on another side of music and to watch her express all her thoughts into one album. Good show nonetheless, but I prefer Broken Social Scene and Metric just a little bit more. I need that energy in a live performance!!!

Despite what City Pages' Sarah Askari wrote, the show was not sold-out, or at least did not feel like it, as we freely walked around near the front of the stage. It is possible that the record label decided to buy up all remaining unsold tickets.

The show was pretty low-energy, mostly piano-driven songs from her then-new album Knives Don't Have Your Back.

Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01/13/2007) photo by Brody, britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Rock the Garden 2013

Metric Setlist Read More Rock the Garden Rock The Garden is an annual music festival organized by Walker Art Center and The Current 89.3. As far as I can tell, the popular music festival usually sells out as soon as it is announced to the public because the tickets …

The popular annual Summer music festival, Rock the Garden, just took place on Saturday in Minneapolis.

The outdoor festival had a rocky start with heavy, heavy rain. Dan Deacon started off schedule because of the weather, and he decided at the last minute to move his set to the smaller garage area.

LOW photo from John

By the time Low took the stage, the sun started to come out through the clouds. I don't know if the band felt their time was limited (since they started a little late), or if they were protesting being put on the bill so early, or if they wanted to do something more of an art-piece, but they didn't play the conventional "rock" set. Instead, they did this slow jam song of "Do You Know How To Waltz?", a nearly thirty-minute song that left everyone in the audience confused. When the band finished, singer Alan Sparhawk only said something about how they're "not drones." Later on, Silversun Pickups and DJ Mark Wheat would comment how "insane" (in a loving way) Low was today.

BOB MOULD BAND photo from John

Bob Mould was more along the line of what I wanted to see at Rock the Garden. He basically played half of Sugar's album Copper Blue, probably still fresh on their mind from their twentieth anniversary tour. The energetic set are lifted in track order from Copper Blue: "The Act We Act", "A Good Idea", "Changes", "Helpless", "Hoover Dam", and saving the best for last "If I Can't Change Your Mind".

Rounding out the rest of his set (after "Hoover Dam") were songs from his recent album, Silver Age, including "Star Machine", "The Descent", "Round the City Square", "Steam of Hercules", and "Keep Believing".

SILVERSUN PICKUPS photo from John

Having spent many times stopping in Minneapolis at smaller venues, like the 7th Street Entry, Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert was amazed at the massive crowd for Rock the Garden, that he said, "This is a big deal!" The band is currently touring in support of their 2012 album Neck of the Woods, but recent live shows featured singer/guitarist from The Happy Hollows, Sarah Negahdari, replaced regular bassist Nikki "mother of Dragons" Monninger.

As expected, the majority of their set is from Neck of the Woods ("Skin Graph", "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)", "Busy Bees", "Mean Spirits", "Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)"), but, clearly the crowd's favorite song was their set closer, "Lazy Eye" from Carnavas.

Come on, baby, play me something, like, ‘Here Comes the Sun’

I've seen Metric twice (four times if you could Emily Haines solo or Broken Social Scene), so you know I love this little Canadian band. Their Rock the Garden's set was very similar to their show last year, complete with their display background and Emily Haine's short shorts and dance routine!

The majority of their set is from their last album, Synthetica ("Artificial Nocturne", "Youth Without Youth", "Speed The Collapse", "Dreams So Real", "Synthetica", and "Breathing Underwater"), which I'll have to say now that I've gotten a chance to listen to it, that I can really appreciate hearing them live now.

The last two were my favorite double-wammy from Fantasies: "Gold Guns Girls," and "Gimme Sympathy". "Sympathy" was done with just acoustic guitars from James Shaw with Emily Haines providing the vocals. By the end of the song, the entire audience was singing these words: "Come on, baby, play me something, like, 'Here Comes the Sun'."

Metric at the Rock the Garden, Minneapolis (06/15/13)

For more photos, check out Photo Album for Rock the Garden 2013.

john + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ walkerart.org/calendar/2013/rock-garden-2013

Rock the Garden

Read More Metric As singer Emily Haines said on stage, it's hard to believe that Metric's been around for about 15 years. As the band grow, so have their audience. .…

ROCK THE GARDEN 2013
walkerart.org

Rock The Garden is an annual music festival organized by Walker Art Center and The Current 89.3. As far as I can tell, the popular music festival usually sells out as soon as it is announced to the public because the tickets are first offered to Walker and NPR members.

As usual, whoever the curator is for Rock The Garden does an excellent job in picking the bands. We've previously covered all those bands on the lineup for 2013, which is taking place Saturday, June 15, 2013.

Rock the Garden 2013 Schedule

3:00 pm – Gates open
3:45 – 4:15 pm – Dan Deacon
4:30 – 5:15 pm – Low
5:45 – 6:45 pm – Bob Mould Band
7:15 – 8:15 pm – Silversun Pickups
8:45 – 10 pm – Metric
10:00 pm – Music ends
10:30 pm – Gates close

Here are some news update on each of these bands (since it may have been a while since we wrote about them).

Dan Deacon will be back in the U.S. this summer to tour with Animal Collective. You can catch his interactive video called "Konono Ripoff No 1" over at dandeacon.com/konono.

Low is touring overseas at the moment, there a few dates with Mike Doughty in June, and their new music video "Just Make It Stop" can be seen on youtube.

As usual, Bob Mould is on tour, although no longer for the Copper Blue (Sugar) anniversary tour. He's just announced some new August dates here.

We actually haven't been keeping up with Silversun Pickups, since we covered them three years ago in Australia. The Los Angeles band just showed off their video for "Simmer" at the Onion's A/V Club.

I love Metric, having already seen them a few times in Minneapolis. I'm glad to see the Canadian band is headliner this year. If you can't get enough of singer Emily Haines, she's just joined FLEET4HEARme, a project where proceeds of jewelry design collaborations go towards building a retrofitted recording studio in an orphanage with the organization HearMe. You can check out her designs at Fleet’s website.

Read More Rock the Vine Rock the Vine is a music/wine tasting music festival in Stillwater, Minnesota. This is the third year hosted by the non-profit Rock the Cause organization. …

ROCK THE VINE 4
irockthecause.org

Also, don't forget a week before Rock the Garden is Rock the Vine.

We covered Rock the Vine last year, so I can tell you it's a pretty easy ride to Saint Croix Vineyards in Stillwater (just east of St Paul).

This year's Rock the Vine will take place on Saturday June 8, 2013. Depending on how much you paid for your admission ticket, they all include free bottled water and parking. Paying extra will get you handcrafted beer and wine! Unfortunately, this event is 21+ due to the alcohol.

This year's lineup:

Mark Mallman
Roster McCabe
Actual Wolf
The Melismatics
Van Stee
Fathom Lane
Savannah Smith
Hounds of Finn

I have to say that the free bottled water (including "Vitamin" drinks) is pretty awesome.

The event is organized by Rock the Cause, a nonprofit Minnesota company. Their whole goal is to help finance organizations like Free Arts Minnesota, Minnesota AIDS Project, Open Arms of Minnesota, etc.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Metric at the State Theatre, Minneapolis (09/11/12)

Tour Dates 09.12.12 Beaumont Club Kansas City, MO * 09.14.12 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN * 09.15.12 Rock the Green Milwaukee, WI 09.17.12 The Fillmore Charlotte, NC * 09.18.12 Stage AE Pittsburgh, PA * 09.20.12 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA * 09.21.12 The Strathmore Washington, DC * 09.22.12 Tower Theater Philadelphia, PA * 09.23.12 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY * 09.27.12 Hard Rock Orlando, FL * 09.28.12 The Fillmore Miami, FL * 09.29.12 The Ritz Tampa, FL * 10.01.12 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA * 10.02.12 The Pageant St. Louis, MO * 10.04.12 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO * 10.05.12 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT * 10.06.12 House of Blues Las Vegas, NV * 10.09.12 The Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA * 10.10.12 Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ * 10.12.12 Emo's East Austin, TX * # 10.13.12 Austin City Limits Austin, TX 10.15.12 House of Blues - Houston, TX * * w/ Half Moon Run # w/ Poliça Read More Metric I must confess, I have loved Metric since I heard their song "Combat Baby." Since then, I've seen Emily Haines as a solo artist and saw her with Metric at First Avenue…

As singer Emily Haines said on stage, it's hard to believe that Metric's been around for about 15 years. As the band grow, so have their audience. Clearly the band can no longer play at 7th Street Entry, as you hear the cheers and claps from the 2000+ fans at the State Theatre in Minneapolis last night.

Opening up for them were fellow Canadians, Half Moon Run. As with these "theater-style" shows, the band started on time! Late comers, which accounted for a lot of the empty seats, missed out on this Fleet Fox-y/Radiohead-y sounding band. As I recall, they did a lot of songs from their album Dark Eyes, including "Full Circle" and "She Wants to Know" (which was the song that ended their very brief set.)

As for Metric, everyone who was at the show mentioned how great Emily Haines legs were! I guess it's hard to not notice them.

Haines did this jogging/riding invisible bicycle dance routine at most of her songs. As for the songs, they sure did a lot of songs from their new album, Synthetica. If you haven't heard the new album, do yourself a favor and buy it before you see them, otherwise you won't really know any of their songs on this tour schedule.

If I remember correctly, from the new album, they did "Artificial Nocturne," "Speed The Collapse," "Lost Kitten," "Youth Without Youth," "Synthetica," "Clone," and "Breathing Underwater."

Like me, the audience didn't really seem to know the new songs… but they did responded well to the old songs. For instance, after three new songs were played back to back, they started playing "Empty" and that had a huge cheer. Thankfully, towards the end of their set, they started doing more songs from Fantasies ("Sick Muse"), and even throwing in an oldie from Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? ("Dead Disco")!

I should also mention that Metric did this 160 seconds rule for stepping off stage. They did three songs for the encore, all old fan favorites: "Monster Hospital," "Gold Guns Girls," and "Gimme Sympathy." The first is from Live it Out and had a memorable line of "I fought the war and the war won." The last two are, in my opinion, the best two songs off of Fantasies. I already mentioned how much I love "Gold Guns Girls" on the our podcast, but I also really love "Gimme Sympathy." That last song, it was taken down a few notches with just James Shaw and Emily Haines on stage. Haines sang her heart out with, "Who would you rather be? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?"

Metric is currently on tour in support of their latest album, Synthetica.

Metric at the State Theatre, Minneapolis (09/11/12)

vu () ♥ ilovemetric.com ♥ halfmoonrun.bandcamp.com

Metric

Read More Metric You can probably tell that I like these new wave bands. This one is called Metric, and they are a band from Toronto, Ontario (but formed in New York City).

METRIC
ilovemetric.com

I must confess, I have loved Metric since I heard their song "Combat Baby." Since then, I've seen Emily Haines as a solo artist and saw her with Metric at First Avenue a few years ago. I noted that the show was sold-out, and I suspect their forthcoming show at The State Theater on September 11th will likely sell out as well. The State Theater is a lot smaller than First Avenue, but it is much cleaner and fancier (they have ushers!)

Hopefully, if it works out, we'll cover their appearance in Minneapolis.

In the meantime, The A.V. Club just posted the first episode of the behind-the-scene documentary of their fifth album, Synthetica. Look for the rest of the four episodes to be announced in the next few weeks.

You can currently listen to the entire Synthetica album via Metric's Soundcloud. The album came out this summer via Mom+Pop Records (Australians will notice that Synthtetica is available on the Create/Control label.)

Tour starts this September:

09.06.12 - Water Street Music - Rochester, NY * 09.07.12 - XFest - Indianapolis, IN 09.08.12 - The Fillmore - Detroit, MI * 09.09.12 - Madison Theatre - Covington, KY * 09.11.12 - State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN * 09.12.12 - Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO * 09.14.12 - Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN * 09.15.12 - Rock the Green - Milwaukee, WI 09.17.12 - The Fillmore - Charlotte, NC * 09.18.12 - Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA * 09.20.12 - Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA * 09.21.12 - The Strathmore - Washington, DC * 09.22.12 - Tower Theater - Philadelphia, PA * 09.23.12 - Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY * 09.27.12 - Hard Rock - Orlando, FL *

09.28.12 - The Fillmore - Miami, FL * 09.29.12 - The Ritz - Tampa, FL * 10.01.12 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA * 10.02.12 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO * 10.04.12 - Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO * 10.05.12 - The Depot - Salt Lake City, UT * 10.06.12 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV * 10.09.12 - The Greek Theatre - Los Angeles, CA * 10.10.12 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ * 10.12.12 - Emo's East - Austin, TX * # 10.13.12 - Austin City Limits - Austin, TX 10.15.12 - House of Blues - Houston, TX * * w/ Half Moon Run # w/ Poliça

In other Metric news:

JASON COLLETT
arts-crafts.ca

Joason Collett is one of the five hundred band members from Broken Social Scene. He has a new solo album called Reckon, coming out on Arts & Crafts this September 25th. If you pre-order the album, you also get "Essential Cuts" songs. These songs featured some of the BSS army: Amy Millan (Stars), Feist, Emily Haines (Metric), etc.

Jason Collett's national fall tour dates starts in October:

10/02: Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall (cd release show, special guests tba)
10/03: London @ The London Music Club
10/04: Hamilton ON @ The Casbah
10/06: Wakefield, QC @ Blacksheep Inn
10/07: Montreal, QC @ Lion d'Or
10/08: Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
10/09: Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live (upstairs)
10/10: New York, NY @ Joe's Pub

RIECES PIECES
riecespiec.es

Not many details were given about Rieces Pieces. Is it one word or two? Don't know if it's a he or a she. The website doesn't really have information either. All I know is that he/she must enjoy eating Reese's Pieces.

The .ELEKTROAKOUSTIC EP was released last week on Soundcloud.

The 9-track EP features nothing but remixes and reworking of pop songs, including Metric's "Artificial Nocturne."

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

Metric at First Avenue, Minneapolis (6/13/09)

Tour Dates 06/14/09 Metro Chicago, Illinois 06/15/09 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI 06/17/09 Terminal 5 NY 06/18/09 9:30 Club  Washington DC 06/19/09 Trocadero Philadelphia, PA 06/20/09 Edge Fest, Toronto, Ont 06/26/09 Hard Rock Calling, London 06/27/09 Glastonbury Festival 07/04/09 Halifax Nova Scotia 07/16/09 Imperial de Que - Quebec 08/21/09 Pukkelpop, Hasslet 08/28/09 Leeds Festival 08/29/09 Reading Festival 08/30/09 Domaine National de Saint Cloud 09/26/09 Parklife Brisbane Festival 09/27/09 Parklife Perth Festival 09/26/09 Parklife Melbourne Festival 09/27/09 Parklife Sydney Festival Read More Metric http://weheartmus... Someone told me that his theory is that Toronto bands are really from one source: Broken Social S...

Metric played to a very packed First Avenue last night. The show was sold out in advance (plus all the reserves at the door were immediately sold out), so let's just say Minneapolis can't get enough of this Canadian band.

Smile Smile - Sad Song Sebastien Grainger - By Cover Of Night Metric - Gold Guns Girls

Before we get to them, we have two very different bands opening up for Metric. First up was cute boy/girl duo, Smile Smile (official/myspace/twitter). I didn't quite catch what they were saying but Jency Hirunrusme said something like how they were so glad to be in Minneapolis from Kansas. What's wrong with Kansas ? They didn't really specify. They seem like they're a couple, like The Submarines or KaiserCartel.

Note to self: Keep band in mind for another Double Double article.

Saddle Creek's recording artist Sebastien Grainger (official/myspace/twitter) brought the rock, all in that crazy cokacola jumpsuit. At one point Mr Grainger slid across the stage on his knees - he didn't get too far as the performing stage was tiny due to all the other equipment. But I laughed to myself seeing that. As for the music, well best not think too hard (or think at all) when you hear them. They seem like a really fun band, at least the band seems to enjoy themselves.

Note to self: Keep Sebastien in mind for my next Silhouette article.

I've seen Emily Haines live at the Varsity Theater on her solo record, Knives Don't Have Your Back, and between the audience and the venue, it was like night and day. Haines' solo material and live performance is a lot mellower. I don't know if it's the same fans, but last night's audience was mostly younger 18-23 year olds. The audience dance and sung along to every song.

Metric at First Ave, Minneapolis (06/13/09)

When Emily Haines isn't rocking out the keyboard, she's rocking the wireless mic in her disco-y glittery dress. She would play for chunks of five songs and then talk. And when she talks, it's actually long conversations. I did remember hearing her thank Radio K and talking about the Minneapolis' shitty weather. All true.

Perhaps the long talk was meant for the rest of the band gearing up to play the next song (in this case, the first talk-break was before "Gimme Sympathy" and after "Help I'm Alive"). Right after the first encore, "Monster Hospital", she did another long conversation. I didn't catch call the banter, something about music in 2009 or something like that. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, the words were just recited like it was from a poem or something.

PS, Usually I'll just grab the setlist at these shows, but when I asked the guy at the stage, he said to me, "They've gone green, their setlist are on the monitor." Wow, this is a first.

 06/14/2009 01:28:14 ♥ vu () ♥ ilovemetric.com ♥ myspace.com/metricband ♥ twitter.com/MetricBand 

Metric - Fantasies

Metric - Gold Guns Girls Metric Tour Dates 04/09/09 HMV - In-Store at 333 Yonge St. Toronto, Ontario 04/12/09 Live 88.5 Lounge Ottawa, ON 04/14/09 Mod Club Toronto, Ontario 04/16/09 Apple Store Saint-Catherine Montreal, Quebec 04/24/09 Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival Whistler, British Columbia 05/04/09 La Maroquinerie Paris 05/05/09 Luxor Koln 05/06/09 Melkweg Amsterdam 05/08/09 Les Nuits Botanique Brussels 05/09/09 Magnet Berlin 05/11/09 Academy 3 Manchester 05/12/09 Oran Mor Glasgow 05/13/09 Kasbah Coventry 05/15/09 Great Escape Festival Brighton 05/16/09 Thekla Bristol 05/17/09 Oxford Academy Oxford 05/18/09 Electric Ballroom London 06/04/09 The Showbox Seattle, WA 06/05/09 Wonder Ballroom Portland,OR 06/06/09 BFD Fest San Francisco, CA 06/07/09 Independence Jam San Diego, CA 06/08/09 Wiltern Theatre Los Angeles, CA 06/11/09 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO 06/12/09 Granada Lawrence, Kansas 06/13/09 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN 06/14/09 Metro Chicago, Illinois 06/15/09 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI 06/17/09 Terminal 5 New York, NY 06/18/09 9:30 Club Washington, DC 06/19/09 Trocadero Philadelphia, PA 06/20/09 EDGEFEST - DOWNSVIEW PARK Toronto, Ontario Discography [2005] Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? [2007] Live It Out [2007] Grow Up and Blow Away (originally recorded in 2001) [2007] Knives Don't Have Your Back (Emily Haines) [2009] Fantasies Video   Gimme Sympathy [Official Music Video] Read More Metric http://weheartmus... Someone told me that his theory is that Toronto bands are really from one source: Broken Social S...

There seems to be a problem with music being leaked online, and in order to combat it, the record company are forced to release albums earlier than their original release dates. Case in point is Metric's Fantasies to be sold as of yesterday (April 7^th, originally scheduled for April 14^th). I suspect it has something to with the fact that it's been four years since Metric was together.

Edit: I'm am told the release date is still April 14^th, however digital version are made available once you preorder and exclusively on iTunes since March 31^st.

I did check out their pre-order page, it seems you're still going to have to wait until the end of April to get the 180g 12" and other specialty items. Still, if you're a mega fan, you'll definitely want the deluxe package, which will include a special VIP Fan Pass and "Hardcover Digipack CD". Very tempting!

So, I've briefly mentioned Metric before, and I noted that all Toronto musicians are from the big bang called Broken Social Scene. That's not exactly true, although Metric's two core members (Emily Haines and James Shaw) have played with BSS, Metric was actually formed a year earlier than BSS in New York.

 

Metric - Combat Baby

By 2004, Metric had a commercial success with "Combat Baby", which might have been sparked by iTunes' free download. The single moved the album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? and pretty much followed by their award-winning sophomore album Live It Out. It sold so well in Canada that they released their original first album Grow Up and Blow Away - which was recorded a long time ago, but finally officially released in 2007.

I think singer/songwriter Emily Haines needed a break, at least from the full band, that she went solo for a time. I got a chance to catch her at the Varsity Theater a few years ago, where she mainly stuck with new darker Haines song.

With Fantasies, Haines explained in the "behind the scene" documentary below, that she went to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to escape the major city to do some music writing. She was relieved that no one in Argentina knew who she was and she seems genuine happy.

I am happy to let you know that I had a chance to listen to Fantasies for the past few days for review. Here are the songs that I really, really, like:

• "Gold Guns Girls"
  Heavy guitars and percussions starts the song with Haines weirdish sexual lyrics "all the toys and the tools in the box, couldn't get you off". I think this song will do really well, especially live. If you're hearing it for the first time, you probably won't hear or understand the lyrics, but the music will keep you feet-tapping.
• "Gimme Sympathy"
  I think this is the new single for the album, which I can't say I disagree with their pick. It features a lot of Haines' bold and hollow vocals. The video for the song is pretty standard "live" performance, but if you stayed to the end: scary children running on stage! BTW, two points for "Beatles" or "Rolling Stone" and "here comes the sun" references.
• "Satellite Mind"
  I really liked "Satellite Mind", I feel it has the same energy and tone as "Live It Out" from their album with the same title. And who can't relate to these lyrics: "I'm not suicidal, I just can't get out of bed.".

If you have the album and agree or disagree with me, let me know. If you don't have the album yet - they are allowing their entire album to be streamed online. So pick a song (or video) below:

04/09/2009 00:17:58♥ vu () ♥ ilovemetric.com ♥ myspace.com/metricband