W♥M

Minneapolis: August 26 to August 31, 2015

Read More Mekaal Hasan When they told pioneering guitarist Mekaal Hasan, the first Pakistani to attend Berklee, in jazz harmony class that you shouldn’t add certain notes to certain modes, he immediately ....

We are closing out the rest of August 2015 with some of these shows, events, concerts in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

MEKAAL HASAN BAND
at Cedar Cultural Center
Wednesday, 08/26/2015, 7pm ($20)
thecedar.org

Guitarist Mekaal Hasan is bringing his Indo-Pakistani band Mekaal Hasan Band to the Cedar Cultural Center next Wednesday, August 26th. If you like world music, you definitely need to check out the band on their first ever North American tour (which started at SXSW 2015).

Band members: Mekaal Hasan - Guitars, Composition, Mohammad Ahsan Papu - Flute, Gino Banks - Drums, Sheldon D'Silva - Bass, and Sharmistha Chatterjee - Lead Vocals.

Upcoming tour dates:

Aug 21 - Bloomington, IN - Player's Pub
Aug 26 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
Aug 30 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub
Sep 5 - Los Angeles, CA -The Markaz

Read More Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the largest state fair in the United States, based on average daily attendance. With this year's attendance as the highest it's ever been (new record of 252,092 people on August 30th, 2014) … Def Leppard “You wanted the best, you got the best!”, so is the classic stage intro for Kiss, who come to town alongside fellow hard rock legends, Def Leppard. At least two of the best anyway, as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons .…

MINNESOTA STATE FAIR
at Minnesota Fair Grounds
08/27/2015 - 09/07/2015 ($12 to $67)
mnstatefair.org

Despite my protests, we end up going to the Minnesota State Fair every year. This is the "Great Minnesota Get-together", where everyone goes to enjoy eating something on a stick. I think it can get really expensive, so I recommend buying a coupon book and splitting it with some of your friends. Your food options will be somewhat limited, but at least you save a couple of bucks.

Already legendary hard rock band Def Leppard sold out their MN State Fair appearance.... but not to worry, I know the band will be back in town soon.

Also, I don't think there's been a replacement for the Meghan Trainor yet, she had to cancel her remaining tour because of a throat surgery.

NOTE: In order to see the Grandstand concerts, you'll have to pay the MN State Fair's entrance fee in addition to the Grandstand prices.

Grandstand shows:

• Aug. 27: Def Leppard with Styx and Tesla
• Aug. 28: Keith Urban with Kelsea Ballerini
• Aug. 29: Carrie Underwood with Native Run
• Aug. 30: Alan Jackson with Brandy Clark
• Aug. 31: The Turtles with Flo & Eddie
• Sept. 1: Meghan Trainor (canceled)
• Sept. 2: Pattie LaBelle with the Commodores
• Sept. 3: Lynyrd Skynyrd with Collective Soul
• Sept. 4: A Prairie Home Companion
• Sept. 5: The Avett Brothers
• Sept. 6: Amateur Talent Contest
• Sept. 7: Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson with Sturgill Simpson

If you're a cheapskate like me, the Fair does offer some great free shows. We usually attend the Leinie Lodge Bandshell shows:

Aug. 27 - 28: Gaelic Storm
Aug. 29 - 30: Terri Clark
Aug. 31 - Sept. 1: Andy Grammer
Sept. 2 - 3: Lou Gramm "The Voice of Foreigner"
Sept. 4 - 5: Reel Big Fish
Sept. 6 - 7: Home Free

Read More X For the uninitiated, or for nostalgists such as myself, this compilation serves as either a great introduction or a great recap of one of the finest careers ever in the punk/pop genre. In case you don't already know, X were a …

X
at Mill City Nights
Saturday, 08/29/2015, 8pm ($20)
millcitynights.com

The original Los Angeles punk band (and impossible to Google) X will be in town on August 29th. I'm not entirely sure if their guitarist and X co-founder Billy Zoom will be joining them on this tour, as he is undergoing some bladder cancer treatment, thanks to the $50k plus donation and T-Shirt campaign of "Support Billy Zoom – Nice guy, punk legend". If anything, I'm sure you can pick up the Billy Zoom shirts at their upcoming show to show support.

Dead Rock West to open the show.

Tour dates:

08/28/15 Milwaukee, WI Juneau Park
08/29/15 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
08/30/15 Des Moines, IA Wooly's
09/01/15 St. Charles, MO Bottleneck Blues Bar
09/02/15 St. Louis, MO Blueberry Hill's Duck Room
09/04/15 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
09/05/15 Birmingham, AL Saturn
09/06/15 Nashville, TN City Winery Nashville
09/08/15 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
09/09/15 Atlanta, GA Terminal West
09/11/15 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
09/12/15 Hopscotch Music Festival
09/19/15 Del Mar, CA Kaaboo

Read More Chelsea Wolfe So starting sharply at 7:30pm was Chelsea Wolfe. Wolfe's band played in complete darkness for about half a minute before Wolfe made her grand entrance.…

CHELSEA WOLFE
at Triple Rock Social Club
Monday, 08/31/2015, 8pm ($14)
triplerocksocialclub.com

We previously caught Chelsea Wolfe at Roy Wilkins in 2014 (with Queens of the Stone Age), and at Fitzgerald Theater in 2014 (with Eels)... so we're pretty familiar with her work.

Wolfe's currently headlining a tour in support of her new album Abyss, which came out August 7th on Sargent House.

Denver's Wovenhand (aka David Eugene Edwards) also on the bill.

US tour dates:

08/27/15 Las Vegas, NV Backstage Bar
08/28/15 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
08/29/15 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
08/31/15 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
09/01/15 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
09/02/15 Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
09/03/15 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace
09/04/15 Montreal, QC Théâtre Fairmount
09/05/15 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair
09/09/15 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall
09/10/15 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
09/11/15 Washington, DC U Street Music Hall
09/12/15 Hopscotch Music Festival
09/14/15 Atlanta, GA Aisle 5
09/15/15 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
09/17/15 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
09/18/15 Houston, TX Rudyard's
09/19/15 Austin, TX The Mohawk
09/20/15 Dallas, TX The Kessler Theater
09/22/15 El Paso, TX Tricky Falls
09/23/15 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
09/24/15 Phoenix, AZ Valley Bar
09/25/15 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theater
09/26/15 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
09/28/15 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
09/29/15 Seattle, WA Neumos
09/30/15 Vancouver, BC The Rickshaw Theatre
10/02/15 Bellingham, WA The Shakedown

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

MSP Comicon at Minnesota State Fair, Minneapolis (16 May 2015)

Read More MCBA When the 26th annual SpringCon ended over the previous weekend and the dust settled, it became the largest attended in the group’s history and ended the so-called Minneapolis Comic Convention Wars ....

I originally wasn't going to go to the MSP Comicon (formerly Springcon) this weekend at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, but ended up going at the last minute on Saturday.

This is the first year the Midwest Comic Book Association (MCBA) decided to rename Springcon to take advantage of the confusing "Comicon" name. No one I know liked the name change. We think it's too acronym-ey, the same way no one I know refer to this as the "MCBA" brand. Look, we understand why they want to rebrand, but given the 28 years of "Springcon" and "Fallcon", it is going to take a while for us to refer to this as the MSP Comicon show.

The last few times I've gone to Springcon or Fallcon, I felt like I wasn't getting anything out of it. Particularly the smaller Fallcon shows, which has no panels and only serves as something of a paid fleamarket for comics. Which is fine, especially if there are some books I'm looking for... but generally I get what I need at my local comic store or order them online.

The only advantage Springcon and Fallcon has right now is the affordable entrance fee. MSP Comicon cost $12 for both days, which is an unbeatable deal compared to Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con which cost $75 for three days. With the cheaper price, it brought in more attendees/fans and more vendors (with cheaper prices). For example, the V for Vendetta Mask was $10 at Wizard, but only $5 at MSP Comicon. It's probably no secret that exhibitor pay more for a table at Wizard World, so they have to mark up their merchandise to pay for their space.

I'll address some of my complaints now about MSP Comicon/Springcon. While I like the free parking, I'm not a fan of the Minnesota State Fairground. We got lost trying to find the convention (since they move to different buildings depending on the show).

It also took us nearly one hour waiting in a very long line to get inside the convention, which I felt was kind of ridiculous. I understand there are a lot of fans, but how hard is it to take our money and let us in?

You're not going to see any actors like Gillian Anderson, but that's fine, we're only paying $12. We understand it's just going to be focused on (local) artists and writers. We saw/expect to see the same names like Dan Jurgens, Doug Mahnke, Gordon Purcel, Tom Nguyen, etc.

The panels were a joke. First of all, the title/description are all wrong. For example, "Scribbling with a Master" with host Angel Medina... featured no scribbling or drawing. The "DC Comics Today" with Aaron Kuder and Ben Templesmith had nothing to do with DC Comics. Templesmith came in and said he worked for DC but many of his works never saw the light of day and Kuder couldn't really talk much about his involvement in Superman. Instead the two just talk about "mullets" and Templesmith highly endorsed the latest Mad Max: Fury Road movie. Now... if they had change the "DC Comics Today" title to something like "Today in Mullets" or "We Love Mad Max", I would not have an issue. It just felt that none of the speakers were actually prepared for their topics.

The second problem is that it was incredibly noisy. The panel room basically had curtains. No one could hear anything, and even the speakers had trouble hearing each other (and they were speaking with a loudspeaker!) Questions that fans ask could not be heard. Maybe MCBA could set up a microphone for the audience?

Overall, these panels were the absolute worst this year, which is a shame because I've been to better panels from previous Fallcons/Springcons... and especially because we just saw Wizard World two weeks ago that had one thousand percent better panels.

We are not attending the MSP Comicon Sunday show, instead my friends and I would rather see Mad Max: Fury Road on IMAX and call it a day. Anyway, I said this last year, but I think this is probably my last year of going to Springcon/Fallcon. Based on the very strong turnout for the convention, I don't think the MCBA will miss us.

Aaron Kuder and Ben Templesmith at MSP Comicon, Minneapolis (16 May 2015)

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

A Little Look Ahead: Minneapolis/St. Paul Spring/Summer concert outlook

Read More British Music Embassy SXSW 2015 is taking place March 17–22, 2015. We love this time of the year, as many bands heading down to Austin will likely stop in Minneapolis before or after the event. Keep up with more SXSW coverage at sxsw.weheartmusic.com. .... Coachella Covering Coachella Music Don’t want the expense of hopping a plane to the desert in Indio, CA to fight the crowds and heat, and camp like hermits? Relax and enjoy this Festival’s second weekend from your living room chair, as AXS …

With warm sunshine in short supply, temperatures at or near zero, and a snow pack that seemingly will never melt, it’s probably best to look just past these Winter Blues and preview a taste of what’s ahead in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area this spring and summer.

The official start of Spring may be less than a month away, but these are truly the dog days of what’s turned out to be a pretty frigid winter season.  Even W♥M Head Ringmaster Vu, mostly refuses to venture out for these months, and the bands that are daring to tour, are dramatically less in number than in the warmer months.

So with that, we optimistically look ahead at just a few of the upcoming season’s highlights:

MARCH

This month means SXSW or the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, TX, which brings together multitudes of bands March 17-22.  Thankfully, several of these bands decide to make a short tour out of getting-to, and going-from SXSW, meaning many of them book an area performance.

Just a few of these acts include The Church, The Twilight Sad, Gang of Four, and The Ting Tings, among the almost 1,000 acts playing in Austin for those few days and are also making a local appearance in March.

Promotional-related appearances have even reached this far north, with SXSW-bound Delta Spirit headlining a free but invite-only intimate show sponsored by Lagunitas beer on March 12, and upstart alternative station Go 96.3 holding their first station-sponsored concert the next night (March 13) with New Politics, Banks, and K Flay.

APRIL

April means Coachella, a massive music festival in the desert of Indio, CA that has recently expanded to two separate weekends.  Like SXSW, many bands schedule touring coming or going to the West Coast and Minnesota benefits from some of that.  Clean Bandit, George Ezra, Glass Animals, Father John Misty and Milky Chance are just a few of the bands making a local stop en route.

MAY

Northern Invasion (09 May 2015)

Concerts start to ramp up as the weather warms with Slipknot and friends staging a headbanging Northern Invasion in nearby Somerset, WI on May 9.

Local hip-hop collective Rhymesayers bring its more-successful-than-ever Soundset back to Canterbury Park on May 24, with act details announcing soon.

JUNE

Bonnaroo is a growing music festival in Manchester, TN happening June 11-14, and like Coachella and SXSW, fingers are crossed that MN gets a few of those key acts in transit.

Blue Ox Music Festival (11-13 June 2015)

June brings the inaugural Blue Ox Music Festival to nearby Eau Claire, WI from the 11^th-13^th, focusing on Americana and Bluegrass with acts such as Pert Near Sandstone, Justin Townes Earle, and Sam Bush.

Rock the Garden returns to the Walker Art Center as a two-day affair June 20/21, with acts to be announced on-air March 31^st.  Wishful thinking says Belle and Sebastian w/Courtney Barnett (who are touring together), Run the Jewels, and Florence + the Machine would be great additions, though it’s all pure speculation.

 

UPDATE: 89.3 The Current announced last week that the RTG lineup announcement has been bumped up, now to be revealed on March 10.

Twin Cities Jazz Festival (25-27 June 2015)

Last year’s fun, free, and outdoor Twin Cities Jazz Festival was its biggest yet in its 17 years and this year’s (June 25-27) looks to be even bigger, with the not-yet-officially announced Saturday headliner being Dr. John, so keep those Mardi Gras beads handy.

JULY

Taste of Minnesota recently decided to return to last year’s site of Waconia and will be held July 2-5, with a roster of acts expected to be announced soon.

The annual Basilica Block Party is scheduled for July 10/11 and typically features a diverse range of alternative acts over its two main stages, with local acts on a third stage.  Jason Isbell was briefly listed as a performer (an artist the sponsoring radio station doesn’t even play), but the listing was removed with full announcements expected late next month.

Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival (17-18 July 2015)

One of the most anticipated events of the summer is the first Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, scheduled July 17-18, in Eau Claire, WI and curated by Justin (Bon Iver) Vernon and Aaron (The National) Dessner. In addition to their own bands, Charles Bradley, Doomtree, Spoon, and The Lone Bellow, round out a very full bill.

The annual Vans Warped Tour returns on July 26 at Canterbury Park, with Blessthefall, Splitbreed, and Family Force 5 among the dozens of bands performing.

Lollapalooza happens in Chicago on July 31- August 2^nd, and with its close proximity to Minneapolis, expect several of the bands playing there, to make a stop here.  Acts to be announced.

AUGUST

Summer Set (14-16 August 2015)

August begins with the mostly EDM and hip-hop related festival Summer Set at Somerset Amphitheater on August 14-16, with acts to be announced.

Chipotle recently announced its free Cultivate Festival is returning on August 22, headlined by Walk the Moon, who has a two-night already upcoming in March at First Avenue, with other acts to be announced.

The end of the month brings the last days of summer and the glorious twelve days of the Minnesota State Fair, running August 27-Sept 7. In addition to the Grandstand evening shows (some already announced include Carrie Underwood, Def Leppard, and Alan Jackson, with more TBA) most of the artists on the free Leinie Lodge Bandshell have leaked out.  Look forward to two-night stands from Pine Leaf Boys, Sonny Knight and the Lakers, ex-Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm, swamp blues guitarist Kenny Neal, and just maybe, Merle Haggard.

TBD (and rumors)

Will this finally be the year the First Avenue Festival gets off the ground, after a couple years of delays due to bookings and logistics?

Rumors are that Target Field is working on a non-country show to be booked in sometime this summer. As much as I’d like it to be AC/DC and/or The Rolling Stones, who have both announced summer stadium tours, it will more likely be along the lines of Jimmy Buffet, who’s heading out this summer as well.

We ended up loving the first Festival Palomino experience, held last September as a Trampled by Turtles curated festival, and despite the bad weather that chased 10,000 people indoors for two hours we hope it returns again.

Prince has had two new albums out for some time (with no real tour that followed), and a deal with Warner Brothers that returned his masters of the classic songs to him.  2015 is perfect timing to re-establish himself on the concert stage and fingers are crossed that he does something completely memorable locally.

Could 2015 mark the long-awaited return of Jack White (who hasn’t come to town since a two-night stand in 2005 with The White Stripes)?

WHEW!

With this just being the tip of the concert iceberg ahead (expect the unexpected shows too) and warmer days within sight, it’s hard NOT to get excited about live music in the upcoming months.

♥♥♥We Heart Music will do our best to bring you all the details and reports! ♥♥♥

john (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minnesota State Fair: Labor Day re-cap (01 Sep 2014)

Marcia Ball Tour Dates 09/13/14 Strawberry Music Festival 09/17/14 Hill Top Cafe at Cherry Spring, TX 09/19/14 Boogie on the Bayou at Tucson, AZ 09/20/14 Boogieon the Bayou at Poway, CA 09/21/14 Saban Theater at Beverly Hills, CA 09/23/14 Waterloo Records at Austin, TX 09/26/14 One-2-One Bar at Austin, TX 09/27/14 Kessler Theater at Dallas, TX 09/28/14 Levitt Pavilion at Arlington, TX 10/09/14 Rockin' The Rails at Covington, LA 10/10/14 100 Men Hall at Bay Saint Louis, MO 10/11/14 Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival 10/16/14 Variety Playhouse at Atlanta, GA 10/17/14 Magnolia Music Festival 10/18/14 Clearwater Jazz Holiday at Clearwater 10/21/14 B.B. King's Blues Club at New York 10/22/14 Iron Horse Music Hall at Northampton 10/23/14 Bull Run Restaurant at Shirley, MA 10/24/14 Building 24 Live at Wyomissing, PA 10/ 25/14 Barns At Wolf Trap at Vienna, VA 10/30/14 Franklin Theatre at Franklin, TN 10/31/14 Infinity Hall at Norfolk, CT 11/01/14 Kents Hill School at Readfield, ME 11/ 05/14 Maverick Saloon at Santa Ynez, CA 11/06/14 Freight & Salvage at Berkeley, CA 11/07/14 Palms Playhouse at Winters, CA 11/08/14 City Winery at Napa, CA 11/14/14 Luna Live at Lake Charles, LA 11/15/14 Louisiana Vets Festival 11/19/14 Knuckleheads at Kansas City, MO 11/20/14 The Washington at Burlington, IA 11/21/14 Old Town School at Chicago, IL 11/22/14 Callahan's at Auburn Hills, MI 11/23/14 Music Box Supper Club at Cleveland 12/05/14 Funky Biscuit at Boca Raton, FL 12/06/14 Bradenton Blues Festival 01/10/15 Delbert McClinton Cruise at Miami, FL 01/17/15 Krewe of Lyra at Covington, LA Read More Minnesota State Fair As previously mentioned, the Minnesota State Fair is starting this week: August 21 to September 1st. While the paid events are out of my price range, I would love to check out Journey with Joan Jett …

The Minnesota State Fair is the largest state fair in the United States, based on average daily attendance. With this year's attendance as the highest it's ever been (new record of 252,092 people on August 30th, 2014), it's easy to see why they call this "The Great Minnesota Get-Together."

The fair, this year ran from August 21 and ending last night, September 1, Labor Day. Despite the rain fear, I still thought the attendance was the best it's ever been for its last day.

Corn Art

The MN State Fair offered something for everyone, from agriculture art displays (note: the Dr. Who corn art), animal exhibits, daily parade, music, shopping, health inspections, talent contests, tractors, and, of course, the various food vendors. One thing that the MN State Fair is known for is that almost every food item is battered fried and comes on a stick.

Norwegian Musicians

For the first time, we decided to check out the International Bazaar, which featured various goods vendors from Mexican, Chinese, Scandinavian, to Ireland, etc. There was a main stage, which for September 1st, the International Institute of Minnesota offered us "Norwegian Musicians". I'm not quite sure if they had a band name, but the band had a large cast of 11 musicians and they played traditional Norwegian music all day.

Twin Cities Hardingfelelag

Over in the market itself, were also Twin Cities Hardingfelelag, a five Hardanger fiddle group founded by Norwegian master fiddler Olav Jørgen Hegge. They also played 30 minute sets of Norwegian folk music throughout the day time.

Also, as tradition goes, we stopped by the Leinie Lodge Bandshell to catch a little set from Texas-born, Louisiana-based Marcia Ball playing some old time rock and blues on her keyboard.

Ball is currently on tour in support of her forthcoming album Tattooed Lady & The Alligator Man (set for release on September 23, 2014, via Alligator Records).

Overall, it was all good fun, and personally, I'm looking forward to attending The Minnesota State Fair next year.

Marcia Ball at Leinie Lodge Bandshell, Minnesota State Fair (01 Sep 2014)

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

Minnesota State Fair: August 21 to September 1

Read More Minnesotat State Fair Good news: The Minnesota State Fair is here! That’s somewhat bad news as well, as it signals the end of what’s been a very pleasant summer, but the Grandstand ...

As previously mentioned, the Minnesota State Fair is starting this week: August 21 to September 1st.

While the paid events are out of my price range, I would love to check out Journey* with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts on Labor Day (September 1st). Since it's my day off, I'll probably be wandering the fair ground and eating something on a stick.

* Please note that this Journey does not feature Steve Perry (who previously showed up randomly at Eels at Fitzgerald Theater), but Filipino singer-songwriter Arnel Pineda.

If you're going this year, I've broken down the two stages that I normally go to, for all free events listing, head over to mnstatefair.org.

Bandshell

Aug. 21 & 22:	Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice
Aug. 23 & 24:	Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound
Aug. 25 & 26:	Scott Stapp - The Voice of Creed
Aug. 27 & 28:	Dr. Dog
Aug. 29 & 30:	Buckwheat Zydeco
Aug. 31 & Sept. 1:	Charlie Worsham

Below are paid (with one free) events at the main stage at the Grandstand.

Grandstand

Aug. 21:	Toby Keith with special guest Colt Ford
Aug. 22:	Aretha Franklin with special guest The Four Tops
Aug. 23:	Kid Rock with special guest Blackberry Smoke
Aug. 24:	DigiFest Minnesota
Aug. 25:	The Happy Together Tour 2014
Aug. 26:	Linkin Park & Thirty Seconds to Mars with special guest AFI
Aug. 27:	Tim McGraw with special guest Ryan Kinder
Aug. 28:	Fall Out Boy & Paramore with special guest Bad Suns
Aug. 29:	A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor
Aug. 30:	MN Music On-A-Stick featuring Brother Ali, Doomtree, Bob Mould, Har Mar Superstar, Cloud Cult and The Cactus Blossoms
Aug. 31:	Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest Finals - FREE!
Sept. 1:	Journey with special guest Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

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

Minneapolis Music Guide: August 17 - August 23, 2014

Here is the weekly guide of some Minneapolis live concerts and events from August 17 to August 23.

Read More Kiss Gene Simmons, the man behind KISS and is a franchise king, has opened up a restaurant called Rock & Brews, with impresario Michael Zislis and concert promoter Dave Furano. …

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17
Target Center
Kiss / Def Leppard / The Dead Daisies

“You wanted the best, you got the best!”, so is the classic stage intro for Kiss, who come to town alongside fellow hard rock legends, Def Leppard.  At least two of the best anyway, as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons lead the now-Rock Hall inducted band in what will no doubt be a highly pyrotechnic and entertaining show.

Though Def Leppard’s  guitarist Vivian Campbell continues to bravely battle Hodgkin's lymphoma, he refuses to let it sideline him and expect him and the band to play all the 80s/90s classics during their hour+ set.

Down Under-formed band The Dead Daisies begins the evening, featuring ex-INXS singer Jon Stevens and an A-list of supporting players.

Best of all, KISS and Def Leppard jointly are supporting members of the armed services by partnering with numerous military organizations for the tour.

Tour dates:

08/15/14   East Troy, WI  Alpine Valley Music Theatre
08/16/14   Tinley Park, IL  First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
08/17/14   Minneapolis, MN  Target Center
08/20/14   Des Moines, IA  Wells Fargo Arena
08/22/14   Noblesville, IN  Klipsch Music Center
08/23/14   Clarkston, MI  DTE Energy Music Theatre
08/24/14   Burgettstown, PA  First Niagara Pavilion
08/26/14   Cuyahoga Falls, OH  Blossom Music Center
08/28/14   Maryland Heights, MO  Verizon Wireless Amph. St. Louis
08/29/14   Tulsa, OK  BOK Center
08/31/14   The Woodlands, TX  The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Read More Summer Set Music Festival Summer Set 8/15, 8/16, 8/17 Wu Tang, Big Gigantic, Bassnectar …

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17
SOMERSET AMPHITHEATER
Summer Set Music & Camping Festival

Summer Set Music Festival, not to be confused with the band The Summer Set, is wrapping itself up over the weekend (August 15-17), in, where else?, Somerset, Wisconsin.

Too many bands on the bill, but the big headliners that played were recently-reformed Wu-Tang Clan, Chromeo and Cults.

Sunday's bands:

Bassnectar
Umphrey's McGee
Chance The Rapper
Datsik
Flying Lotus
Cedric Gervais
Green Velvet
The Floozies
ProbCause
Kids Like Us
The Main Squeeze
R.A.S. Movement
Aer

Read More The Polyphonic Spree The Polyphonic Spree just played the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, near the start of their 2013 tour for their upcoming album, Yes, It's True (coming out August 6th). …

MONDAY, AUGUST 18
CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER
The Polyphonic Spree

Time to “reach for the Sun”!

Dallas-based choral symphonic rock band The Polyphonic Spree is back on the road for their Psychphonic Tour in support of last year’s Yes, It's True and just-released  remix album Psychphonic (Kirtland Records). Expect a gang of robed singers to crowd the small Cedar Cultural Center stage and an unavoidable feeling of glee to fill the audience.

The oddly named Catbath opens, composed of former members of Nightosaur, Hot Rash, and Skipper, as well as a current member of MiddlePicker—what’s that mean?—arrive early to find out.

Tour dates:

08/15/14 Academy Of Contemporary Music
08/16/14 St. Louis, MO Blueberry Hill's Duck Room
08/17/14 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
08/18/14 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
08/19/14 Evanston, IL SPACE
08/21/14 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
08/22/14 Ferndale, MI Magic Bag
08/23/14 Cleveland, OH Music Box Supper Club
08/25/14 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
08/26/14 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Bowl
08/27/14 Philadelphia, PA Prince Music Theatre
08/28/14 Washington, DC Black Cat
08/29/14 Carrboro, NC ArtsCenter
08/30/14 Atlanta, GA Loft At Center Stage
08/31/14 Jefferson, LA Southport Hall
11/01/14 Dallas, TX Gilley's Dallas

Read More Lewis & Clarke Lewis & Clarke since 2009's Light Time EP, but having previously worked with the likes of Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan and Strand Of Oaks’ Timothy Showalter, Rogai has not been dormant during his time away from the spotlight. …

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19
7TH STREET ENTRY
Strand Of Oaks w/ Christopher Denny

Strand of Oaks can attest to the healing power of music.

The project is essentially singer-songwriter Tim Showalter who plays somewhat dark folk rock and was sidelined last Christmas as Showalter and his wife were involved in an icy car accident with two semis that left him concussed with all broken ribs on his right side.  The resulting HEAL (Dead Oceans Records) is a revelatory insight into Showalter’s near-death trauma.

Southern pre-country blues folk singer Christopher Denny to open the show.

Tour dates:

08/15/14 Bloomington, IN Russian Recording
08/16/14 Goshen, IN Ignition Music Garage
08/17/14 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
08/18/14 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
08/19/14 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
08/21/14 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway Nightclub
08/22/14 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
08/23/14 Denver, CO Hi-Dive
08/24/14 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
08/26/14 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
08/27/14 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
08/28/14 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
08/30/14 San Francisco, CA Independent
08/31/14 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
09/03/14 Los Angeles, CA Echo
09/04/14 San Diego, CA The Casbah
09/05/14 Phoenix, AZ Last Exit Live
09/07/14 Dallas, TX Three Links Event Center
09/08/14 Austin, TX Waterloo Records
09/09/14 Austin, TX Lamberts Downtown Barbecue
09/10/14 Birmingham, AL BottleTree
09/11/14 Atlanta, GA The EARL
09/12/14 Nashville, TN High Watt
09/13/14 Durham, NC The Pinhook
09/14/14 Washington, DC DC9
09/15/14 Brooklyn, NY Rough Trade
09/17/14 York, PA Central Market House
09/18/14 Arden, DE Arden Gild Hall
09/19/14 Philadelphia, PA Boot & Saddle
09/20/14 Philadelphia, PA Boot & Saddle
12/01/14 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
12/03/14 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer

Read More Kingmaker (UK) Kingmaker were a British indie rock group, founded in Kingston upon Hull in 1990. The group was formed during their gap year by school friends Loz Hardy and Myles Howell.…

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20
THE GARAGE
Kingmaker w/ Seeker, Widow

When I saw that Kingmaker were playing at the Garage in Burnsville, Minnesota, I was really excited. After all, we haven't heard much from this British band since the 90s (they broke up in 1995 but reformed in 2010). But alas, this Kingmaker band is a hardcore band from Chicago.

With the recent Sleeper at Studio B at the Skyway Theatre because fans of Louise Wener may be disappointed to find out that, this Sleeper is actually a Minneapolis DJ.

I suppose there's only so many names to go around, but still...

Anyway, Kingmaker are touring with Seeker, a metal band from Dallas, and Widow, a metal band from Houston.

Tour dates:

08/15 Haysville, KS - KC's Too
08/16 Salina, KS - Indian Lodge
08/17 Oamha, NE - THe Hideout
08/18 Des Moinse, IA - Underground Rock
08/19 Cudahy, WI - Metal Grill
08/20 Burnsville, MN - Garage
08/21 Barrington, IL - Penny Road
08/22 Evansville, IN - The Hatch
08/23 St Loise, MO - Fubar

Read More Psychostick Wrapping up their "'Merica F*ck Yeah Tour'" this week w/ Dog Fashion Disco and The Bunny The Bear, Psychostick are taking a break in July to reboot and get back on the road ..

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21
FIRST AVENUE
Psychostick

What's next after Psychostick's "'Merica F*ck Yeah Tour'"? Starting today (Friday 08/15), the band is back on the road for "The Blood, Guts, and Sprinkles Tour" in August with One Eyed Doll and Wild Throne. What's next? Possibly "Touring 'Til We're Dead! Tour".... Whatever the tour is, they sure look like a lot of fun.

The Blood, Guts And Sprinkles Tour w/ One Eyed Doll, Wild Throne:

08/15 - Newport, KY @ Thompson House
08/16 - Beckley, WV @ Muncheez
08/17 - South Bend, IN @ Cheers Pub
08/19 - Chicago, IL @ Reggie's Rock Club
08/20 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
08/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
08/22 - Eau Claire, WI @ Hipps Pub-N-Grub
08/23 - Missouri Valley Fair Grounds
08/24 - Williston, ND @ DK's Lounge
08/25 - Minot, ND @ 'O'riginal Bar
08/26 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
08/28 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
08/29 - Pontiac, IL @ Freaksters Roadhouse
08/30 - New Albany, IN @ The Rustic Frog
08/31 - Knoxville, TN @ The Concourse
09/02 - Raleigh, NC @ The Maywood
09/03 - Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
09/04 - Destin, FL @ Club LA
09/05 - Orlando, FL @ Bombshells
09/06 - Jacksonville, FL @ Aqua In
09/07 - Tallahassee, FL @ Atmosphere

Read More Minnesota State Fair It's that time of the year again: the Minnesota State Fair! We went last year to see Wilson Phillips at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell inside the State Fair. As we mentioned, the MN ...

AUGUST 21-SEPTEMBER 1
MINNESOTA STATE FAIRGROUND
Toby Keith, Aretha Franklin, Kid Rock, more

Good news: The Minnesota State Fair is here!

That’s somewhat bad news as well, as it signals the end of what’s been a very pleasant summer, but the Grandstand has a few noteworthy acts on their main lineup, starting with the opening weekend which brings in tastes of country, classic soul, and straight-up rock.

Food on a stick, the great outdoors, and music filling the air- sounds like a good way to enjoy summer’s last days.

Acts this week:

Thu., Aug. 21- Toby Keith with special guest Colt Ford

Fri., Aug. 22- Aretha Franklin with special guest The Four Tops

Sat., Aug. 23- Kid Rock with special guest Blackberry Smoke

Read More Portugal. The Man For a show that was reportedly had a pre-sale of 800 tickets, it sure felt really sold out as bodies crushed us in the front at Portugal. The Man's show at First Avenue in Minneapolis ...

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23
LORING PARK
Cultivate Festival

How much would you pay to see Portugal. The Man, Grouplove, The Mowgli's, and Vintage Trouble together on one bill? How about FREE, courtesy of Chipotle. This is an unbelievable deal! If you've never seen these bands, get there early for a good spot. Bring fold-able chairs or blankets. Let's hope it doesn't rain.

Although this will be Minneapolis' first Cultivate Festival, the festival started in 2011 in Chicago. 2014 is the first time the Denver-based burrito chain is expanding to Minneapolis.

Spokesman Chris Arnold said festivals in other cities have drawn between 25,000 and 40,000 people... but based on seeing the turnout for the Internet Cat Video at Walker Art Center last night, I would think higher!

Read More Making Movies Anyway, the concert I was referring to was for Kansas City's Making Movies, a band that sings in both English and Spanish. They played at this tiny coffeehouse called The Beat Coffee ...

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23
CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER
Making Movies

After attending the Cultivate Festival, you still have enough time to head over to the Cedar Cultural Center for their "The Cedar's 25th Anniversary Dance Party", free courtesy of Target.

Headlining the show will be Making Movies, who I've previously seen and described them as "a band that sings in both English and Spanish".

Description from the Cedar:

A night of regional world music goodness, ticket giveaways and other fun. Featured acts are Making Movies (Kansas City, MO), De La Buena (Milwaukee, WI), and Worldwide Discotheque (Minneapolis, MN).

As a thank you to all who have kept us going through the past 25 seasons, and with help from Target, this event is free and open to all!

Beer specials: $4 Pabst tallboys!

Grand Prize: One lucky winner will go home from this event with our first ever Cedar Passport! We will be selecting one random winner (must be present to win) during the course of the evening. The Cedar Passport winner will gain free access for themself and a +1 to all on-site Cedar events in the 26th Season (certain restrictions will apply; non-transferable, no cash value).

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

W♥M217: Minnesota Summer Music Festivals 2014

W♥M217: Summer Music Fests (42 mins) Read More Rock the Garden Minneapolis’ annual summer music festival Rock the Garden used to be a single Saturday in June, featuring four to five bands as well as tons of local food and drink vendors to satisfy hungry concertgoers …

Vu and John look ahead at the great Minnesota Summer Music Festival!

On the calendar:

Rock the Garden 6/21, 6/22
Spoon, Guided by Voices, De La Soul

Twin Cities Pride 6/28
Betty Who, Thelma Houston

Taste of Minnesota
7/3 Soul Asylum
7/4 Starship, Badfinger, Cowboy Mouth
7/5 Tom Keifer (Cinderella)

Basilica
7/11 Ed Sharpe, Airborne Toxic, Franti, E-Hutch, Detla Rae
7/12 Train, Ingrid, Ben Harper/Musselwaite, Alpha Rev, Wild Feathers

Stillwater Log Jam 7/18-20
TBD

Summer Set 8/15, 8/16, 8/17
Wu Tang, Big Gigantic, Bassnectar

Cultivate (Chipotle) 8/23
Portugal The Man, Vintage Trouble, Grouplove

MN State Fair 8/21-9/1
Main Stage - Linkin Park/30 Sec; Fall Out Boy/Paramore Free Stage- Dr Dog, Scott Stapp, Blood Sweat Tears,

Festival Palomino - 9/20 Canterbury
TBT, Charles Bradley, Low, Head and the Heart

---Other Notable Area Shows---
Macca- Target Field 8/2
ImagineDragons- MLB All Star weekend Replacements- Midway Stadium 9/13

Lollapalooza and Austin City - spillover effect of acts making a short tour coming/going there

Lollapalooza Chicago 8/1-8/3
Eminem, Lorde, Outkast, Kooks, Lykke Li
Austin City Limits Fest Oct 3-5, 10-12
Beck, Lana Del Ray, Belle and Sebastian, Eminem, Outkast

--
W♥M Radio is available on iTunes, please subscribe!

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____
Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com

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

Depeche Mode at the Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair (08/27/13)

Set List Welcome to My World Angel Walking in My Shoes Precious Black Celebration Policy of Truth Should Be Higher Barrel of a Gun Higher Love Shake the Disease Heaven Soothe My Soul A Pain That I'm Used To A Question of Time Enjoy the Silence Personal Jesus Encore: Home Halo Just Can't Get Enough I Feel You Never Let Me Down Again Tour Dates 09/01 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian * 09/03 Montreal, QB Bell Centre* 09/06 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center* 09/08 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones * 09/10 Washington DC Jiffy Lube Live* 09/12 Atlanta, GA Aaron's Amph * 09/14 Tampa, FL Live Nation Amph * 09/15 Ft Lauderdale, FL BB&T Center* 09/18 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods ** 09/20 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy ** 09/22 San Diego, CA Sleep Train Amph** 09/24 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl** 09/26 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amph** 09/28 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center 09/29 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center 10/02 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center 10/04 Austin, TX Austin City Limits 10/06 Las Vegas, NV Pearl Concert Theater 10/08 Phoenix, AZ Desert Sky Pavilion 10/11 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Support: * w/ Bat For Lashes ** w/ Crystal Castles Read More Depeche Mode Anyway, Depeche Mode will appear on Wednesday, March 13th at 5pm at the Austin Convention Center. It is a "discussion" to be moderated by Jason Bentley . Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andy Fletcher .…

Depeche Mode is currently on their Delta Machine tour, stopping by Minnesota State Fair, of all places, last Tuesday, August 27th.

The thing about the Grandstand stage is that it's a baseball stadium. In order to actually see the show at the Grandstand, you're actually forced to pay, on top of the ticket price, an entrance fee. It's kind of an unwanted tax, if you are only interested in attending a show and not care about all the food vendors that the Minnesota State Fair is known for.

By the time Depeche Mode took the stage, no one was sitting down at their seat. Surprisingly only about five songs from Delta Machine ("Welcome To My World", "Angel", "Should Be Higher", "Heaven", "Soothe My Soul") were played, which is fine, because I think everyone wanted to hear the hits/old classics anyway. After all, DM's last appearance in Minnesota was in 2001 at the Xcel Energy Center. It was a nice homecoming of sorts, as fans were eagerly singing along to such hits like "Walking in My Shoes" and "Policy of Truth".

The slower moments of the show was Martin Gore singing on "Higher Love" and "Shake the Disease" (he would also come back on vocal duties for the encore, "Home"). It's funny, but when Gore took over, I had almost forgotten that Gore also sings in the band (and he has a lovely singing voice).

As for the main singer Dave Gahan, he looks incredible for his age… the man has a six, possibly eight, pack. It was incredible to watch Gaham danced and rocked throughout the two-hour set. Keep in mind that Minnesota is going through a record-breaking heat wave!

Anyway, as long as I can remember, the cool gothy kids at my school, they all listened to Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths, and New Order. Of course, Depeche Mode had some hits, like "People Are People" (kind of sad to not see this on their current set), but it wasn't until Violator in 1990 that Depeche Mode really went beyond 'the cool kids' to mainstream.

Violator was the first DM album I went out and bought, based purely on the music video for "Enjoy the Silence", directed by Anton Corbijn about a prince wandering the countryside with his lawnchair. So imagine my surprise that DM decided to end their set with a double-wammy of Violator songs, two of their biggest hits, "Enjoy the Silence" and "Personal Jesus". What a great way to end their set.

For the encore, they did five songs, which is pretty unusual for encores. I think one song is mandatory, two is standard, three is stretching it… so five is sort of a second set.

I found out later that the five-song encore is consistent with all their 2013 show, so if you really love "Never Let Me Down Again", you'll have to wait it out before you take a ride home with your best friend.

Depeche Mode at the Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair (08/27/13)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ depechemode.com

Bat for Lashes at the Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair (08/27/13)

Set List Lilies Glass What's A Girl To Do? Travelling Woman Sleep Alone A Wall Laura All Your Gold The Haunted Man Daniel Tour Dates 08/28/13 Indianapolis, IN Deluxe 08/30/13 New York, NY Webster Hall 08/31/13 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom 09/01/13 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amph* 09/03/13 Montreal, QC Bell Centre* 09/06/13 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center* 09/07/13 "Boston Calling" 09/08/13 Wantagh, NY Nikon* 09/10/13 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live * 09/12/13 Atlanta, GA Aaron's Amph* 09/14/13 Tampa, FL MidFlorida Credit Union Amp* 09/15/13 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center* * Appearing with Depeche Mode Read More Bat for Lashes Bat for Lashes is currently back in the U.S. to tour with Depeche Mode, but in between those dates, the band booked a few headlining side shows. Not surprising since they did a similar deal when they played Coachella.…

Bat For Lashes is currently touring in America with Depeche Mode (more on their show later), and the band stopped by the Minnesota State Fair as part of their tour.

We've been following and documenting Bat For Lashes since 2007, and we've seen singer/songwriter Natasha Khan (the woman behind the band) continually grow as an artist. I believe we covered her first appearance in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry in 2007 and then again at the Varsity Theater in 2009.

With the release of her third album The Haunted Man last year, we waited patiently for a major tour announcement. Well, it finally happened: Khan is currently on tour in support of The Haunted Man! As expected, we got to hear some of those new songs played live at last night's show.

Natasha Khan

The band came on stage dressed in all black, while Natasha was clearly the star in her gorgeous red dress.

The set was about half new songs, with the rest mixing the old hit song, "What's A Girl To Do?" (thanks to that Donnie Darko-inspired video) and some hits from Two Suns (including my favorite "Sleep Alone").

Of the new songs ("Lilies", "Glass", "A Wall", "Laura", "All Your Gold", "The Haunted Man"), I found the latter two tracks worked best, simply because of the catchy dance rhythms. The two songs were so good, that some lone fan at the show got up to dance to "The Haunted Man" that inspired Natasha to encourage everyone to stand up for her finale "Daniel".

Bat For Lashes is currently on tour with Depeche Mode in support of The Haunted Man. If you find it hard to afford a ticket to see Depeche Mode, Bat For Lashes are playing a number of smaller side shows, so check your local listings.

Bat for Lashes at the Grandstand, Minnesota State Fair (08/27/13)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ batforlashes.com

Blue Öyster Cult at the MN State Fair, Leinie Lodge Bandshell stage (8/25/13) live review

Set List The Red & the Black The Golden Age of Leather Burnin' For You OD’d on Life Itself Harvest Moon Black Blade Last Days of May Godzilla (Don’t Fear) the Reaper Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll Tour Dates 08/29/13 Milwaukee, WI Harley Davidson 2013 09/07/13 Citrus Heights, CA Sunrise Marketplace 09/11/13 Central Point, OR Lithia Motors Amph 09/28/13 Hollister, CA Hollister Concerts 10/05/13 Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas BikeFest 10/12/13 Stateline, NV Harrah's Tahoe 11/01/13 Nashville, TN Wildhorse Saloon 11/02/13 Columbus, OH Hollywood Casino 12/07/13 Miami, FL Magic City Casino 12/13/13 Chicago, IL Copernicus Center 01/24/14 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club 01/25/14 Beverly Hills, CA Saban Theatre 01/31/14 Sycuan Casino Sycuan Casino 02/22/14 Newark, OH Midland Theatre Read More Minnesota State Fair It's that time of the year again: the Minnesota State Fair! We went last year to see Wilson Phillips at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell inside the State Fair. As we mentioned, the MN State Fair is the .…

40+ years on, Blue Oyster Cult still doesn’t fear the reaper. Or anything else. The band proved that on a recent two-night stand on the Lodge stage at the Minnesota State Fair.

Buck Dharma

The longtime group, still boasting original members, vocalist/guitarist Eric Bloom and lead guitarist Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser, started in Long Island, NY in 1967 as Soft White Underbelly, with vocalist Bloom joining two years later. The current lineup is ably rounded out by Jules Radino on drums, Richie Castellano on keyboards/guitar/vocals, and the talented, well-seasoned Kasim Sulton on bass guitar/ vocals, and is continuing its 40th anniversary tour, which began last year.

Set list photo

The band entered for their 80 min. set, to the rumbling ‘Game of Thrones’ theme as intro music, and segued into their opener, ‘The Red & the Black’, which set the mood for the evening. Following was ‘The Golden Age of Leather’, from 1977’s “Spectres” and a testament to their growing biker fan base. One of their biggest hits was played early, ‘Burnin’ for You’ from 1981’s classic ‘Fire of Unknown Origin’, with Bloom still in good voice and Dharma shredding it centerstage on guitar.

The band changed the setlist slightly on the second night, keeping the performance fresh and playing a variety of non-hits, to please the faithful and to stretch their musical chops. ‘Black Blade’ featured an intro that mentioned the influence of Michael Moorcock’s sword-wielding hero, Elric, and ‘Last Days of May’ led into an extended Dharma guitar solo that allowed him to freeform. Castellano proved a versatile utility man, deftly moving between guitar solos and keyboard riffs, having stepped into the shoes of original member Alan Lanier, who hadn’t toured since 2006, and who passed away just two weeks ago.

Eric Bloom

‘Godzilla’ was prefaced by Bloom’s pitchman-like intro about ‘dinosaurs walking the earth, all wiped out by meteor…except one…!’ prompting the crowd to chant the song’s title, before the band revved it up. The song featured not only a Radino drum solo, but also a career-spanning bass solo from Sulton, featuring riffs from his previous incarnations as bass player for Joan Jett, Utopia, and Meat Loaf.

Their biggest hit culminated the set, ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’, which the band no doubt has a love/hate relationship with, being their best-known song and subject of a classic SNL skit. Several in the crowd predictably brought their own cowbells and were striking them in rhythm as Bloom himself even played along on ‘air cowbell’.

The set had ended just before the 10pm curfew, but Bloom then called an ‘audible’, off the setlist, and the band returned for a finale of ‘Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll’ - an apt ending song (given the extreme heat outside) from their 1972 self-titled album. Thankfully, no cowbell needed.

Blue Oyster Cult at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell, Minnesota State Fair (8/25/13)

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ blueoystercult.com

b