W♥M

Minneapolis: This Week (10/02/2022)

Here are some shows, this week, in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

09/27 Givēon at Fillmore Read More Givēon GRAMMY nominated singing sensation Giveon is gearing up for another big year in 2021. The Long Beach native took 2020 by storm and has already landed in stardom, thanks to his vocals on Drake's "Chicago Freestyle …

09/27/2022 Tuesday

Givēon
at Fillmore
livenation.com

7x Grammy nominated R&B star Givēon will headline the Fillmore in Minneapolis this September 27th, in support of his debut album Give Or Take.

Tour dates:

9/2 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
9/3 – Miami, FL @ The Oasis
9/4 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
9/6 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
9/8 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
9/9 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre
9/10 – Dallas, TX – The Factory
9/12 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
9/13 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
9/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery
9/16 – Los Angeles, CA – Primavera Sound
9/18 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
9/20 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
9/21 – Seattle , WA- The Paramount Theatre
9/22 – Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
9/24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center
9/25 – Denver, CO- The Mission Ballroom
9/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
9/29 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre
9/30 – Saint Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/2 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
10/4 – Detroit, MI @ The Masonic Theater
10/5 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater
10/7 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
10/9 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
10/11 – Columbus, OH @ Kemba Live!
10/12 – Pittsburgh , PA- Stage AE
10/14 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
10/16 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
10/19 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY

09/29 Amyl and The Sniffers with Bob Vylan and The Rumours at First Avenue Read More Amyl And The Sniffers Melbourne’s Amyl & the Sniffers just made their US television debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers earlier this week. The band played “Hertz” off of their sophomore album, Comfort To Me (ATO Records/Rough Trade) ...

09/29/2022 Thursday

Amyl and The Sniffers
with Bob Vylan and The Rumours
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

We caught Melbourne’s Amyl & the Sniffers explosive sold out show at the Fine Line Music Café in May 2022 and said, “The Australian pub punk band fun to watch, as vocalist Amy Taylor ran and bounced across the stage, never stopping or slowing down. Rounding out the rest of the band are the always shirtless drummer Bryce Wilson, guitarist Dec Martens, and bassist Fergus Romer.”

This time, the band is returning to a much bigger venue, at First Avenue’s mainroom! If you didn’t get a chance to see them in May, now is your chance to see this really fun live band.

Bob Vylan and The Rumours to open.

Tour dates:

9/18/22 - Primavera Sound - Los Angeles, CA
9/20/22 - Brooklyn Bowl - Nashville, TN
9/21/22 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
9/23/22 - Terminal 5 - NYC
9/24/22 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C.
9/25/22 - Big Night Live - Boston, MA
9/27/22 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI
9/28/22 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL
9/29/22 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
10/1/22 - Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO
10/2/22 - The Depot - Salt Lake City, UT
10/4/22 - Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
10/5/22 - Sessions Music Hall - Eugene, OR
10/6/22 - Showbox Sodo - Seattle, WA
10/8/22 - Halloween Meltdown @ Mosswood Park - Oakland, CA
10/9/22 - Ohana Encore Weekend - Dana Point, CA

10/02 New Order & Pet Shop Boys with DJ: Paul Oakenfold at Armory Read More Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys just released their third single, "Memory of the Future", taken from their album, Elysium. To help promote the new release, PSB launched free Memory of the future e-card and Memory .… … New Order The idea behind this show is that the entire New Order and Joy Division’s Substance albums would be played back to back by Peter Hook (who happened to be in both bands). … Paul Oakenfold The DJ legend, Paul Oakenfold is coming, as part of the Jagermeister Ultimate Summer of Music tour including spinning a somewhat intimate set in Minneapolis, compared to the massive ...

10/02/2022 Sunday

New Order & Pet Shop Boys
with DJ: Paul Oakenfold
at Armory
armorymn.com

The long sold out, two years in the making, co-headlining New Order and Pet Shop Boys show will finally come to Minneapolis, at the Armory this October 2nd.

We mentioned the co-headlining show originally in July 2021:

The highly anticipated North American The Unity Tour by co-headliners Pet Shop Boys and New Order will be rescheduled to September and October 2022.

The good news is that this will give us enough time to add legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold to the upcoming 2022 tour.

If you follow our music tastes, you know that we’ve long love and support UK bands, so PSB and New Order are the top of the pops for us.

Pet Shop Boys’ fourteenth studio LP, Hotspot came out on x2 Records/Kobalt and reached #3 in the UK, #1 on German and Spanish albums chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

New Order’s last album Music Complete came out in 2015, but it was recently re-issued for Love Record Stores day in 2020 as a doubly vinyl LP was pressed in orange vinyl and issued in a gatefold sleeve.

If you’re wondering why these two massive bands are friends… it’s probably due to their past collaborations, including the supergroup Electronic (featuring Bernard Sumner, Neil Tennant, and Johnny Marr)… they’re all old friends. Wish somehow they could get Johnny Marr to open for them, so they can all reunite to play out to some classic Electronic songs like “Getting Away with It”. Wouldn’t that just be exciting?

The Unity Tour 2022

09/17—Budweiser Stage— Toronto, ON
09/19—Leader Bank Pavilion—Boston, MA
09/21—Merriweather Post Pavilion—Columbia, MD
09/23—Barclays Center—Brooklyn, NY
09/25—TD Pavilion at the Mann—Philadelphia, PA
09/28—Madison Square Garden—New York, NY
09/30—Huntington Bank Pavilion —Chicago, IL
10/02—The Armory—Minneapolis, MN
10/07—Hollywood Bowl—Los Angeles, CA
10/08—Hollywood Bowl—Los Angeles, CA
10/12—Chase Center—San Francisco, CA
10/14—Climate Pledge Arena—Seattle, WA
10/16—Rogers Arena—Vancouver, BC

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

Rocktober: October 1 to October 2

10/01 Loveless with Futuristic at 7th St Entry Read More Loveless Okay I'll admit that a little biases because Jen Tryin plays in Loveless. Regardless this is a good CD. I enjoyed the music which is fresh and has the "Boston" sound. I really can't find a fault with the songs or music. The band is tight …

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

10/01/2022 Saturday

Loveless
with Futuristic
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Los Angeles alt-rock duo Loveless (Julian Comeau and Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail) will headline the 7th Street Entry this October 1st. They have a pop, rock, emo sound, starting with their debut Loveless I... and speaking of debut, this is their “The Debut Live Experience” tour.

Futuristic, who appeared on Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, and Good Day New York, and had over 56 million streams with his collaboration with NF on Spotify, will open the show.

Futuristic tour dates:

9/14 – Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall *
9/16 – London, ON @ London Music Hall*
9/18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theater *
9/19 – Louisville, KY @ WWME Hall *
9/21 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th St *
9/23 – Denver, CO @ The Roxy *
9/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Crafthouse Stage & Grill ^
9/27 – New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall ^
9/29 – Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge ^
10/1 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^
10/2 – Eugene, OR @ Sessions Music Hall *
10/4 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s *
10/5 – Reno, NV @ Virginia Street Brewhouse *
10/7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Catch One *
11/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo ^

* - Indicates show w/Ekoh
^ - Indicates show w/ Loveless

10/02 New Order & Pet Shop Boys with DJ: Paul Oakenfold at Armory Read More Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys just released their third single, "Memory of the Future", taken from their album, Elysium. To help promote the new release, PSB launched free Memory of the future e-card and Memory .… … New Order The idea behind this show is that the entire New Order and Joy Division’s Substance albums would be played back to back by Peter Hook (who happened to be in both bands). … Paul Oakenfold The DJ legend, Paul Oakenfold is coming, as part of the Jagermeister Ultimate Summer of Music tour including spinning a somewhat intimate set in Minneapolis, compared to the massive ...

10/02/2022 Sunday

New Order & Pet Shop Boys
with DJ: Paul Oakenfold
at Armory
armorymn.com

The long sold out, two years in the making, co-headlining New Order and Pet Shop Boys show will finally come to Minneapolis, at the Armory this October 2nd.

We mentioned the co-headlining show originally in July 2021:

The highly anticipated North American The Unity Tour by co-headliners Pet Shop Boys and New Order will be rescheduled to September and October 2022.

The good news is that this will give us enough time to add legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold to the upcoming 2022 tour.

If you follow our music tastes, you know that we’ve long love and support UK bands, so PSB and New Order are the top of the pops for us.

Pet Shop Boys’ fourteenth studio LP, Hotspot came out on x2 Records/Kobalt and reached #3 in the UK, #1 on German and Spanish albums chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

New Order’s last album Music Complete came out in 2015, but it was recently re-issued for Love Record Stores day in 2020 as a doubly vinyl LP was pressed in orange vinyl and issued in a gatefold sleeve.

If you’re wondering why these two massive bands are friends… it’s probably due to their past collaborations, including the supergroup Electronic (featuring Bernard Sumner, Neil Tennant, and Johnny Marr)… they’re all old friends. Wish somehow they could get Johnny Marr to open for them, so they can all reunite to play out to some classic Electronic songs like “Getting Away with It”. Wouldn’t that just be exciting?

The Unity Tour 2022

09/17—Budweiser Stage— Toronto, ON
09/19—Leader Bank Pavilion—Boston, MA
09/21—Merriweather Post Pavilion—Columbia, MD
09/23—Barclays Center—Brooklyn, NY
09/25—TD Pavilion at the Mann—Philadelphia, PA
09/28—Madison Square Garden—New York, NY
09/30—Huntington Bank Pavilion —Chicago, IL
10/02—The Armory—Minneapolis, MN
10/07—Hollywood Bowl—Los Angeles, CA
10/08—Hollywood Bowl—Los Angeles, CA
10/12—Chase Center—San Francisco, CA
10/14—Climate Pledge Arena—Seattle, WA
10/16—Rogers Arena—Vancouver, BC

10/02 La Dispute with Sweet Pill and Pictoria Vark at Fine Line Read More La Dispute La Dispute’s “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” Great album! Awesome sound! But I have to dock one star in my review because this is a 45 rpm record, not 33. You won’t find any indication …

10/02/2022 Sunday

La Dispute
with Sweet Pill and Pictoria Vark
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Acclaimed post-hardcore band La Dispute announced their delayed ten year anniversary tour in celebration of their seminal 2011 record, Wildlife. The quintet will play the Fine Line in Minneapolis, on October 2nd.

Sweet Pill and Pictoria Vark to open.

Tour dates:

9.15.22 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme
9.16.22 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot
9.17.22 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
9.18.22 - Toronto, ONT - Opera House
9.20.22 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
9.21.22 - New York, NY - Warsaw
9.23.22 - Providence, RI - Fete Music Hall
9.24.22 - Washington, DC - Union Stage
9.25.22 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
9.26.22 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
9.27.22 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogarts
9.29.22 - Columbus, OH - Skully's
9.30.22 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
10.1.22 - Milwaukee, WI - BackRoom @ Colectivo
10.2.22 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Café
10.3.22 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
10.5.22 - Denver, CO - The Oriental Theater
10.6.22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell
10.7.22 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
10.8.22 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
10.9.22 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
10.10.22 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
10.12.22 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
10.13.22 - Berkeley, CA - Cornerstone Berkeley
10.14.22 - Fresno, CA - Strummer's
10.15.22 - Ventura, CA - Ventura Music Hall
10.16.22 - Los Angeles, CA - 1720
10.18.22 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House
10.19.22 - San Diego, CA - SOMA
10.20.22 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Theater
10.21.22 - Tucson, AZ - 191 Toole
10.22.22 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Festival
10.23.22 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Festival
10.25.22 - Dallas, TX - Amplified Live
10.26.22 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
10.27.22 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
10.28.22 - Mobile, AL - Alabama Music Box
10.29.22 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
10.30.22 - Gainesville, FL - Fest

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

Peter Hook and the Light at First Avenue, Minneapolis (18 Aug 2022)

Peter Hook Setlist -- New Order --  Your Silent Face Age of Consent Everything's Gone Green Procession Blue Monday Temptation Unknown Pleasures Disorder Day of the Lords Candidate Insight New Dawn Fades She's Lost Control Shadowplay Wilderness Interzone I Remember Nothing Closer                Atrocity Exhibition Isolation Passover Colony A Means to an End Heart and Soul Twenty Four Hours The Eternal Decades -- Encore --  Atmosphere * Ceremony ^ Transmission * Love Will Tear Us Apart * ^ = New Order                * = Joy Division cover Read More Peter Hook Peter Hook’s last Minneapolis show at the Fine Line Music Café in November 2014 remained one of my favorite shows of that year. He played THREE sets (well technical two full sets and ...

Co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, bassist Peter Hook and his band The Light headlined First Avenue’s mainroom on August 18, 2022, to play Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures and Closer in its entirety.

For those who arrived early, you were treated to a DJ set from Jake Rudh, who named his radio program and dance night, Transmission in honor of Joy Division, so it’s only fitting that he’s at the show. It’s typical 70s/80s British bands, from post-punk to alternative rock, on the video screen.

At 8pm exactly, Peter Hook & the Light took the stage. They are on a tight schedule, as playing both Joy Division albums will clock in over two hours… and to make it worth your time, Hook and company played a selection of early New Order songs to help the audience (like “Age of Consent”, “Blue Monday” and “Temptation”) get excited about what’s to come.

The New Order set was about 40 minutes before a brief intermission. The band returned to play Unknown Pleasures. As expected, the band is very tight in play every song, in its original track listing order. Fans who knew and love the album from start to finish, eagerly anticipate the next song. There were no surprises, but that’s not what the fans came for.

Favorite songs were immediately cheered and sung to, and the whole thing felt like two plus hours of a double album listening party… and it’s amazing to see that everybody is on the same page.

It seemed Peter Hook is the only person interested in playing these Joy Division or early New Order songs, so if you want to experience these songs live, especially if you want to share your love with other fans, these Peter Hook shows are the only option. The band is really good, having to play the same set every night (with the exception of the random New Order songs that preceded the main Joy Division show).

So yeah, it’s a lovely celebration of all-things Joy Division. If you love Joy Division, go see Peter Hook on this 2022 tour. Remaining tour dates:

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

Peter Hook and the Light at First Avenue, Minneapolis (18 Aug 2022)

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

Pet Shop Boys and New Order: The Unity Tour 2022

Read More Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys just released their third single, "Memory of the Future", taken from their album, Elysium. To help promote the new release, PSB launched free Memory of the future e-card and Memory .… … New Order The idea behind this show is that the entire New Order and Joy Division’s Substance albums would be played back to back by Peter Hook (who happened to be in both bands). … Paul Oakenfold The DJ legend, Paul Oakenfold is coming, as part of the Jagermeister Ultimate Summer of Music tour including spinning a somewhat intimate set in Minneapolis, compared to the massive ...

The highly anticipated North American The Unity Tour by co-headliners Pet Shop Boys and New Order will be rescheduled to September and October 2022.

The good news is that this will give us enough time to add legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold to the upcoming 2022 tour.

If you follow our music tastes, you know that we’ve long love and support UK bands, so PSB and New Order are the top of the pops for us.

Pet Shop Boys’ fourteenth studio LP, Hotspot came out on x2 Records/Kobalt and reached #3 in the UK, #1 on German and Spanish albums chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

New Order’s last album Music Complete came out in 2015, but it was recently re-issued for Love Record Stores day in 2020 as a doubly vinyl LP was pressed in orange vinyl and issued in a gatefold sleeve.

If you’re wondering why these two massive bands are friends… it’s probably due to their past collaborations, including the supergroup Electronic (featuring Bernard Sumner, Neil Tennant, and Johnny Marr)… they’re all old friends. Wish somehow they could get Johnny Marr to open for them, so they can all reunite to play out to some classic Electronic songs like “Getting Away with It”. Wouldn’t that just be exciting?

The Unity Tour 2022

09/17—Budweiser Stage— Toronto, ON
09/19—Leader Bank Pavilion—Boston, MA
09/21—Merriweather Post Pavilion—Columbia, MD
09/23—Barclays Center—Brooklyn, NY
09/25—TD Pavilion at the Mann—Philadelphia, PA
09/28—Madison Square Garden—New York, NY
09/30—Huntington Bank Pavilion —Chicago, IL
10/02—The Armory—Minneapolis, MN
10/07—Hollywood Bowl—Los Angeles, CA
10/08—Hollywood Bowl—Los Angeles, CA
10/12—Chase Center—San Francisco, CA
10/14—Climate Pledge Arena—Seattle, WA
10/16—Rogers Arena—Vancouver, BC

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

Going for Gold XXX

Read More Ethan Gold Ethan Gold's album, Songs From a Toxic Apartment was released in January 11th, 2011, via his own label, Gold Records. I don't have the album for review, but I did like what I heard from the free song, "Come On Beat It Down", which sounds a bit like a poppy Elliott Smith. ....

Read more Going for Gold

ETHAN GOLD
ethangold.com

We wrote about Ethan Gold in Feb 2011, when he released Songs From a Toxic Apartment on his label, Gold Records. We liked his cover of New Order’s “Age of Consent”.

The Los Angeles singer/songwriter released his new single “Our Love Is Beautiful” on May 29, 2020, taken from his forthcoming new double LP Earth City.

Regarding the song, Ethan Gold said, “I wanted to express global consciousness in a way that felt like a celebration. The song is about love — self-love, romantic love, and love in the largest universal sense. The video was made on an old iphone, going on a round-the-world trip as I was recovering from a head injury. People around the world delivering the words of the song. This is a big call for global consciousness, delivered as simply as I can.”

The music video features footage of Gold’s travel to Tokyo & Osaka (Japan), Hong Kong, Mumbai (India), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Istanbul (Turkey), Helsinki & Tampere (Finland), Vilnius (Lithuania), St Petersburg & Moscow (Russia), Mexico City & Patzcuaro (Mexico), as well as New York, Asheville, Cleveland, Nashville, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The rest of the clips were submitted by friends in various other countries.

KYGO
kygomusic.com

Global superstar, producer and DJ, Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll a.k.a Kygo has released his third album Golden Hour on Sony Music International/Ultra Records/RCA Records. The album features such previously hit singles as “The Truth” with Valerie Broussard, “Lose Somebody” with OneRepublic and “Higher Love” with Whitney Houston. The latter song had more than 651 million audio/video streams and charted at the Top 40 radio stations.

“I was fortunate enough to work with some of my favorite artists and writers on Golden Hour,” said Kygo. “There are quite a few songs on the album where I had the chance to collaborate with our team. These are artists I believe in. Working with some of my favorite up-and-coming musicians really made these songs special for the album.”

GOLDEN SHOALS
goldenshoals.com

Nashville’s Golden Shoals (duo Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski) is about to release their self-titled LP on Free Dirt Records (set for August 7th, 2020).

Talking about their song, “I’ll Fall In Love Again” (which you might think is about Amy and Mark), with Mark stating, “Rather than cutting off our friendship, we worked through those difficult feelings, became better friends for it, and I moved on to new loves. A couple of years after its inception, the song adopted a twist ending, turning the cliche country song trope of unrequited love on its head.”

AND IN GOLDEN DUO NEWS.....

LAYZEE GOLD instagram.com Ireland’s indie-pop music group Layzee Gold recently released “Me, Myself & I” on all major platforms, taken from their upcoming EP I Can’t Sleep. The four-piece ensemble made up of Philip Nolan, Jamie Nolan, Chris Nolan, and Roisin O’Keeffe, the group draws influence for their music from a mish-mash of expansive genres, including Sam Fender and Dermot Kennedy.

HEART OF GOLD facebook.com Manchester’s Michael McGough (best known for his work in rock-band Being As An Ocean) is in Heart of Gold. Heart of Gold’s new single “Midnight in Miami” and McGough explained his motivation in writing the song, “I wanna write a song that physically makes me feel something like these songs do. I wanna write a song that can transport you to a completely different place to where you’re currently at.”

TEDDI GOLD teddigold.com Caribbean-raised Teddi Gold is back with her second EP, titled Vol 2, set for release later this year. You can get a taste of Vol 2 with her single, “Confetti”, available on soundcloud and spotify.com

FERGUS intofergus.com London based alt-pop Fergus just released Young Tonight on Goldun Egg Records. Fergus described the song, “It’s a breakup anthem that pairs bitter lyrics with euphoric sounds as you cast off a heavy sentence and emerge, reborn, surveying the wreckage one last time before leaving it behind for good.”

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

The Bee's Knees

Read more When Animals Attack.

Read More The Bird and the Bee We’re kind of excited to hear that The Bird and The Bee is back with a new cover album Interpreting the Masters Volume 2: A Tribute to Van Halen (available August 2 on No Expectations…

INARA GEORGE
thebirdandthebee.com

The Bird and The Bee’s vocalist Inara George will be releasing a new three-song bundle called The Youth of Angst on June 5, 2020, via Release Me Records.

The bundle was produced by Wendy Wang. The two met when The Bird and the Bee released their second album, which George recounts, “I remember being impressed with her right away. That was about 12 years ago, and since then she’s become an in-demand producer and songwriter, as well as a dear friend and collaborator. I’m equally proud of her and in awe of her…. There was no rush on my side, and Wendy’s been super busy with her own career, so it took a few years to finish by getting together for a few hours every so often. Maybe I had it in mind to make a full album? Or maybe a traditional EP?”

The Bird and the Bee at Cedar (02 Nov 2015)

We’ve seen The Bird and The Bee live a few times, despite the fact that the Greg Kurstin famously does not / refuses to tour… making it difficult for promotion and bringing music to different regions. Basically seeing the Bird and the Bee live, you’re mostly seeing Inara George and her friends (which she often surrounds herself with other like-minded women singers and performers).

Anyway, check out Inara George’s three-song bundle “The Youth of Angst” on June 5th via Release Me Records.

Read More Vanessa Carlton Vanessa Carlton will be in town in support of her latest album Liberman (Dine Alone Records). The ten songs on the upcoming album reflect Vanessa's current state of mind since moving from NYC to Nashville, marrying husband …

VANESSA CARLTON
vanessacarlton.com

Earlier this month, Vanessa Carlton, in promoting her sixth album Love Is An Art (Dine Alone Records), Carlton appeared on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee to perform her new single “The Only Way To Love”. You can watch the video on YouTube.

Vanessa Carlton describes Love Is An Art as an “art project is being released during unprecedented times. There could not be a better time to send this out to the world. Music connects us and frees us all at once. It will be art that gives us the strength to survive these times. I spent two years working on this music with visionary artists and I hope that people feel healed by our muses. Despite this invisible war we are fighting, we must find the quiet moments to simply listen and connect and feel human.”

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Orpheum (25 Nov 2015)

Incidentally, in the summer of 2019, Vanessa Carlton made her Broadway debut as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. As you may remember, we had a wonderful time watching this musical in November 2015 (our King was played by Abby Mueller).

FOREST BEES
forestbees.bandcamp.com

San Francisco solo artist Sheetal Singh is Forest Bees.

You may remember Singh’s former shoegazing band The Stratford 4 when they signed to major label Elektra Records. Reflecting on the band’s reunion in 2015, Sinh noted, “I was bored. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. In fact, it never really was. I never felt like I was able to express myself in the Stratford 4, which was a white, male-fronted, guitar-heavy shoegaze band. I did love the music and my bandmates … [But] I knew I needed to do it on my own terms.”

Enter Forest Bees, a project inspired by Mazzy Star to Ladytron to the “Manchester scene” (The Smiths, New Order, Stone Roses).

Forest Bees’ self-titled album is coming out on June 12th, 2020. You can preview some tracks at Bandcamp.

BEE BEE SEA
beebeesea.bandcamp.com

Italian garage-psych trio Bee Bee Sea will be releasing Day Ripper on October 9, 2020, via Wild Honey Records. They’ve recently revealed their single “Daily Jobs” through an animated video directed by Francesca Papi.

The band described the song as, “The prospect of having a shitty job for the rest of our lives can be suffocating. This song, and the album as a whole, are basically the summary of our lives in the last couple of years, split between working in a factory during the day and playing our music at night. Night is a dream and a day... Day Ripper!”

Bee Bee Sea formed in 2013 and have since released two albums: the self-titled debut in 2015 and Sonic Boomerang in 2017.

PUBLIC
publictheband.com

Ohio-bred pop-rockers Public’ summer single “Honey in the Summer” is out now. The Cincinnati-based trio became a breakout sensation thanks to their global smash “Make You Mine” which was RIAA Certified Gold in the US. The song was used in over 2.5 million videos on TikTok, thanks to its catchy hooks.

With “Honey In The Summer” the band wants to put the listeners in a good, positive mood… especially with the COVID19 situation.

Public was last in Minneapolis in February 2020 via the American Authors and Magic Giant tour.

SHAW & GROSSFELDT
soundcloud.com/basgrossfeldt

London-based label Drone (founded by Death In Vegas’ Richard Fearless) will be releasing Shaw & Grossfeldt’s Klavier album this June 6, 2020. The record was inspired by the Yamaha Disklavier.

The duo was created when Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw was playing a gig in Cologne and met Bas Grossfeldt (aka Søren Siebel). With Simian Mobile Disco on temporary hiatus, Shaw & Grossfeldt is the latest project. Expect a club tour/DJ set show when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

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

Minneapolis: November 1 to November 5, 2019

Peter Hook at First Avenue Read More Peter Hook Peter Hook’s last Minneapolis show at the Fine Line Music Café in November 2014 remained one of my favorite shows of that year. He played THREE sets (well technical two full sets and ... DJ Jake Rudh This is billed as a Transmission (aka DJ Jake Rudh) / BNLX release show, but music fans may want to take note that at nearly midnight, The Ocean Blue is scheduled to appear. …

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from November 1 to November 5, 2019.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT
+ DJ Jake Rudh
First Avenue
Sat 11/02/2019 (8pm/$27.50)
first-avenue.com

Former Joy Division and New Order bassist, Peter Hook (billed as Peter Hook & the Light) will be returning to Minneapolis this November 2nd.

As with Hook’s previous appearances, there’s a theme to his set. In May 2018 and Oct 2016 he played Substance from Joy Division and New Order. In Nov 2014 he played a collection of early New Order, Brotherhood and Low-Life.

This 2019 tour, Hook will revisit New Order’s albums Technique and Republic. We’re very excited about Republic, because the record spawned some massive hits for the American audience.

DJ Jake Rudh (from Transmission), will DJ before the show.

Tour dates:

10/24/2019 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
10/25/2019 Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn NY
10/26/2019 Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA
10/28/2019 Danforth Music Hall, Toronto ON
10/29/2019 Fairmount Theatre, Montreal QC
10/31/2019 St. Andrews Hall, Detroit MI
11/01/2019 Metro, Chicago IL
11/02/2019 First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
11/04/2019 Venue, Vancouver BC
11/05/2019 Neptune Theatre, Seattle WA
11/07/2019 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
11/08/2019 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
11/09/2019 The Wiltern, Los Angeles CA
11/11/2019 Emo’s, Austin TX
11/12/2019 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA

Other shows in the area:

Tiffany Young at First Ave Devendra Banhart 2019 Tour Magic Sword at 7th Street Tyler Childers at First Ave Lisa Phrank at 7th Street Read More Devendra Banhart Back in 2004, Acid-folk god Devendra Banhart compiled a collection of folk music for some magazine. Much like Nostradamus before him, he managed to predict some of the leading lights of modern folk music … Tyler Childers Tyler Childers to play the 7th Street Entry, in support of his debut record Purgatory (Hickman Holler Records/Thirty Tigers). Sammy Brue will open. 7:30pm, $10. … Magic Sword Magic Sword's electronic fantasy epic "In the Face of Evil" (I recently used it in my D&D campaign to introduce a new villain). …

TIFFANY YOUNG
First Avenue
Fri 11/01/2019 (6pm/$30)
first-avenue.com

Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany Young will be headlining First Avenue this November 1st. Young is an American, but was discovered by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment at the age of fifteen. She moved to South Korea to join Girls’ Generation (later Girls’ Generation-TTS).

Tour Dates:

10/25 San Francisco, CA
11/09 Washington, DC
10/27 Vancouver, BC
11/10 Brooklyn, NY
10/28 Portland, OR
11/12 Raleigh, NC
10/29 Seattle, WA
11/13 Atlanta, GA
11/01 Minneapolis, MN
11/15 Houston, TX
11/02 Chicago, IL
11/16 Dallas, TX
11/04 Toronto, ON
11/18 Denver, CO
11/06 Philadelphia, PA
11/20 Phoenix, AZ
11/08 Boston, MA
11/21 Los Angeles, CA

DEVENDRA BANHART
+ Black Belt Eagle Scout
Varsity Theater
Sat 11/02/2019 (7pm/$28)
varsitytheater.com

Venezuelan/American songwriter Devendra Banhart will be stopping by the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis this November 2nd.

We last saw Banhart in May 2016 and said, “The Saturday night would also have a similar setup, Devendra Banhart, this time with a full electric band, would open up the show. As described by Banhart, there were no established setlist for his band and some sets were entirely improvised and some old songs are completely redone in a different direction. Whatever they decided to play, it was clear that Banhart was absolutely giggly about the whole thing. You can hear it in his voice and his mannerism, he was extremely excited to perform these songs for us.”

Tour dates:

10/19/19 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
10/20/19 - Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
10/22/19 - Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
10/24/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre
10/25/19 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Yost Theater
10/26/19 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/27/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/30/19 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
11/01/19 - Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown
11/02/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
11/03/19 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/05/19 - Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone
11/07/19 - Austin, TX @ Stubbs (Levitation)
11/23/19 - Leon, Guanajuato Mx @ Tecate Bajio
11/25/19 - Mexico City, Mx @ El Plaza Condesa
11/30/19 - Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art
12/01/19 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
12/03/19 - Montreal, QC @ The Olympia
12/04/19 - Boston, MA @ The Wilbur
12/05/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
12/07/19 - Washington, D.C. @ 930 Club
12/08/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

MAGIC SWORD
+ Droid Bishop
7th St Entry
Wed 10/30/2019 (8pm/$15)
first-avenue.com

Magic Sword is touring in support of their new EP Awakening (Joyful Noise Recordings). Expect an LP sometime in 2020.

Tour dates:

31 Oct Summit Music Hall, Denver (CO)
01 Nov The Riot Room, Kansas City (MO)
02 Nov 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (MN)
03 Nov Beat Kitchen, Chicago (IL)
05 Nov The Drake, Toronto, Ontario (CAN)
06 Nov Theatre Fairmount, Montreal, Quebec (CAN)
07 Nov Great Scott, Boston (MA)
08 Nov Mercury Lounge, New York City (NY)
09 Nov Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia (PA)
10 Nov Songbyrd, Washington, D.C.
12 Nov Pioneer, Indianapolis (IN)
05 Dec The Echo, Los Angeles (CA)
06 Dec The Casbah, San Diego (CA)
07 Dec Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (CA)
12 Dec Doug Fir Lounge, Portland (OR)
13 Dec Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver, BC (CAN)
14 Dec Barboza, Seattle (WA)

TYLER CHILDERS
+ Courtney Marie Andrews
First Avenue
Sun 11/03/2019 (7pm/$31)
Mon 11/04/2019 (7pm/$31)
first-avenue.com

Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician Tyler Childers will be playing First Avenue on both November 3rd and November 4th.

Tour dates:

10/18—Oakland, CA—Fox Theater
10/20—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom
10/21—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom
10/22—Vancouver, BC—Commodore Ballroom
10/24—Bend, OR—Bend Concert Series
10/25—Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre
10/26—Spokane, WA—Knitting Factory Concert House
10/29—St. Louis, MO—Stifel Theatre
10/30—St. Louis, MO—The Pageant
10/31—Chicago, IL—Aragon Ballroom
11/2—Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater
11/3—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue
11/4—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue
11/12-11/15—Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
12/05—Indianapolis, IN—Murat Theatre
12/06—Detroit, MI—The Fillmore
12/08—Toronto, ON—Rebel
12/10—Boston, MA—House of Blues
12/11—Philadelphia, PA—The Fillmore
12/13—Washington, DC—The Anthem
12/14—Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Steel
12/15—Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Steel
12/18—Raleigh, NC—The Ritz
12/19—Charlotte, NC—The Fillmore
12/21—Atlanta, GA—The Tabernacle
12/22—Atlanta, GA—The Tabernacle
12/27—Pikeville, KY—Appalachian Wireless Arena
12/28—Pikeville, KY—Appalachian Wireless Arena
12/31—Pikeville, KY—Appalachian Wireless Arena

LISA PRANK
+ Kitten Forever, Real Numbers
7th St Entry
Tue 11/05/2019 (7pm/$12)
first-avenue.com

Seattle pop-punk royalty Lisa Prank (not to be confused with sticker queen Lisa Frank) is headlining 7th St Entry in support of her new album Perfect Love Song.

Tour dates:

Oct 31 - Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Basement
Nov 01 - Missoula, MT @ Zootown Arts
Nov 02 - Bozeman, MT @ The Labor Temple
Nov 04 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
Nov 05 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
Nov 06 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Nov 07 - Detroit, MI @ Trumbullplex
Nov 08 - Toronto, ON @ The Rec Room
Nov 09 - Boston, MA @ O'Briens
Nov 11 - Richmond, VA @ Gallery5
Nov 12 - Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
Nov 13 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Vinyl Lounge
Nov 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
Nov 15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Nov 16 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project
Nov 17 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Nov 18 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Nov 19 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
Nov 21 - Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas
Nov 22 - Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street OKC
Nov 23 - Kansas City, MO @ miniBar
Nov 24 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
Nov 25 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Nov 26 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic
Nov 30 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
Dec 01 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
Dec 02 - Arcata, CA @ Outer Space
Dec 03 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord
Dec 05 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater
Dec 06 - San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe
Dec 08 - Reno, NV @ Holland Project
Dec 09 - Corvallis, OR @ Mudville Stadium

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

Double Exposure Tour, feat. Chromatics, Desire, and In Mirrors, at First Avenue, Minneapolis (30 May 2019)

Chromatics at First Avenue Chromatics Setlist     Intro: Tick of the Clock Lady Kill for Love Night Drive / Paradise Back from the Grave I Can Never Be Myself When You're Around Time Rider These Streets Will Never Look the Same Blue Girl I Want Your Love Cherry Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover) -- Encore -- I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover) Shadow Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (Kate Bush cover) Desire Setlist Mirroir Mirroir Dans mes rêves Don't Call If I Can't Hold You Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order cover) Under Your Spell In Mirrors Setlist Gold Human Mirror Girl Take Your Movement Away Escape From Berlin Choose a Side Streets of Philadelphia (Bruce Springsteen cover) Tour Dates 06/04/2019 – The Palace - Calgary, AB 06/06/2019 – Vogue Theater - Vancouver, BC 06/07/2019 – Showbox - Seattle, WA 06/08/2019 – Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR 06/09/2019 – Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR 06/11/2019 – Mezzanine - San Francisco, CA 06/12/2019 – Mezzanine - San Francisco, CA 10/04/2019 - Copenhagen- The Grey Hall 10/05/2019 - Stockholm - Berns 10/07/2019 - Oslo - Rockefeller Music Hall 10/09/2019 - Berlin - Astra Kulturhaus 10/11/2019 - Vilnius - Art Factory Loft 10/12/2019 - Warsaw - Praga Centrum 10/14/2019 - Vienna - Arena 10/16/2019 - Prague - MeetFactory & 10/17/2019 - Munich - Muffathalle 10/19/2019 - Cologne - Carlswerk Victoria 10/22/2019 - Dublin - Vicar Street 10/23/2019 - Manchester - Albert Hall 10/24/2019 - Glasgow - SWG3 10/26/2019 - Bristol - Anson Rooms 10/27/2019 - London - The Roundhouse 10/29/2019 - Antwerp - Trix 10/30/2019 - Amsterdam - Paradiso Read More Chromatics David Lynch’s favorite band Chromatics will be headlining First Avenue’s mainroom on May 30th. If you love hypnotic singing and melodies and synthpop and Twin Peaks, you really need to check out Chromatics next .... Desire As for the soundtrack, I love it too! The songs are synthy, I guess for that 80s tone that I previously mention that the film is drenched in. The soundtrack is courtesy of Lakeshore Records ....

Portland’s Chromatics is back in town on a rare tour. The last time they were at First Avenue, it was with Hot Chip in July 2012… so it’s been a good seven years since they played here.

All three bands listed on this Double Exposure tour had Johnny Jewel in them… so the man was basically playing three hours a night. He had so much dedication, and I think is really the mastermind behind this whole tour.

Starting the show was Vancouver’s In Mirrors (Jesse Taylor with Johnny Jewel). The duo played in near-darkness for their entire set, with some video images shown in the background. The darkness did help with the feeling of isolation, which was a real focus on their debut LP Escape from Berlin.

Closing out the set, Taylor asked the audience, “do you want a fast or slow one?” I’m not sure what the crowd said in response, but the answer was In Mirrors playing a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” (assuming they said “slow”).

Next up was Montreal’s Desire, featuring frontwoman Megan Louise, with Johnny Jewel on synthesizers, and Aja (from Heaven) on additional synth (she took place for Nat Walker, who is normally in the band). The group is probably the most pop of the three bands, as evident by their stand-out pop-ish song “Mirroir Mirroir”, telephone-prop for “Don’t Call”, and their Italo Disco cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle”. That was such a great cover, that it was hard to follow that up with their closing song, “Under Your Spell.” However, it’s still a good choice, because it’s probably their best-known song. The song was featured in the underrated and amazing Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive soundtrack (we mentioned the soundtrack in 2011).

Finally, Chromatics closed out the show. Before we talk about the show, I wanted to mention that I really love the overall theme and re-invention of the band. I’m talking about the eerie-movie visuals from Johnny Jewel (mixed by video artist Danny Perez from Antibirth and Panda Bear), the neon-lights at their merchandise table, and atmospheric lighting. It’s really cool, and I’ve never seen so many fans buying merchandise at a show. That’s because the prices are so affordable, it’s like they made those neon lights with the prices ten years ago.

The other thing I wanted to address is their long hiatus from the music scene. In 2014, the band announced Dear Tommy… but the record never came out because Johnny Jewel, a perfectionist, destroyed all copies of the album after a near-death experience. According to legends, Jewel re-recorded the entire album, but as of this writing, the record has yet to see the light of day. Some singles, like “Just Like You” and “I Can Never Be Myself When You’re Around” came out before the record was scrapped… so you got a glimpse of what the record sounded like.

Anyway, currently, at least for this tour, Chromatics features Ruth Radelet, Adam Miller, Matt Miller (replacing Nat Walker), and Johnny Jewel. The show is really special to brothers Adam & Matt, who told us that they grew up in Minneapolis. So when they were young, and going to concerts, “First Avenue was this place that was a doorway to a different reality.” They were very grateful to be on stage, closing their speech with “Thank you, thanks a lot.”

Since being absent from touring in so long (Chromatics’ last live show was five years ago), they did the right thing by playing some of the fans’ favorite songs… playing everything from “Kill for Love” to “Blue Girl” (with Adam Miller on lead vocals), and their cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” (which closed out their set).

For the encore, Ruth came back solo to play a stripped down (and slowed) version of Springsteen’s “I'm on Fire”. The cover has been quite popular recently (with Lykke Li, Brown Shoe, Young Turks, AWOLNATION, Ten Fe, and Soccer Mommy from our previous coverages).

The rest of the band joined Ruth to close out the encore with their recent hit “Shadow” (which was used in Twin Peaks Season 3) and a cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”.

If you are on the fence about seeing Chromatics, you should do it… especially if you enjoy the work of Johnny Jewel (who had his finger in every aspect of the show). Also, who knows when the band will get together for another tour, so take this opportunity to see the band, at what I considered, is their finest hour.

Desire

In Mirrors

In Mirrors

Desire

Desire

Chromatics Setlist

Chromatics

Chromatics

Chromatics

Chromatics

Chromatics

Chromatics at First Avenue, Minneapolis (30 May 2019)

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

Johnny Marr at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (17 Sep 2018)

Johnny Marr at Varsity Theater Johnny Marr Setlist The Tracers Bigmouth Strikes Again Jeopardy Day In Day Out New Dominions Hi Hello The Headmaster Ritual Walk Into the Sea Getting Away With It Hey Angel Bug Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me Get the Message Spiral Cities Easy Money Boys Get Straight How Soon Is Now? Actor Attractor -- Encore -- Rise New Town Velocity There Is a Light That Never Goes Out You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby = The Smiths song = Electronic song Tour Dates 09/20 | Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theater 09/21 | Seattle, WA @ The Showbox 09/22 | Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 09/24 | Santa Cruz, CA @The Catalyst 09/25 | Berkeley, CA @ UC Theater 09/26 | San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore 09/28 | Sonoma, CA @ Old Redwood Barn 09/30 | Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee 10/2 | Mexico City, Mexico @ Plaza Condesa 10/4 | Los Angeles, CA @ The Theater 10/8 | San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger 10/9 | Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater 10/10 | Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room 10/11 | Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 10/13 | Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club 10/15 | New York, NY @ Irving Plaza 10/16 | Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw 10/17 | Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore 10/19 | Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix 10/20 | Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom 10/21 | Boston, MA @ The Paradise 10/22 | Philadelphia, PA @ TLA Read More Johnny Marr Godlike guitar genius Johnny Marr is headlining the Varsity Theater on Monday, September 17th, in support of his new album Call The Comet. … Belle Game Belle Game to open. Their latest album Fear/Nothing is out now on Arts & Crafts. The band was last seen in town in October 2017. …

Legendary The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is on his Call The Comet tour, stopping by the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis last night, September 17th.

Vancouver’s Belle Game (singer Andrea Lo, guitarist Adam Nanji, drummer Alex Andrew, keys Katrina Jones) spent about forty hours driving to Nashville, and then another twelve hours driving to Minneapolis, so they were just so happy and excited to jump around on stage and singing to us.

I think the energy and sometime upbeat songs could’ve benefit from a younger crowd, because Johnny Marr’s fanbase is mostly middle aged (45-65) and some couldn’t be bothered to do audience participation (answering “yes” to “who’s excited to see Johnny F---- Marr?”).

Marr is a fan of the Canadian band and personally asked them to support some of his tour dates. Marr even voiced his opinion and love for the band at the end of his set, urging fans to really check out their dark electro-pop-ish music, describing them as “awesome.”

Belle Game ended their set with a couple of songs from their sophomore album Fear/Nothing (Arts & Crafts), “Oh I” and “I Want Nothing”.

Godlike Genius Award winner Johnny Marr returned to the Varsity Theater on Monday night. He has a full backing band, which included bassist Iwan Gronow, drummer Jack Mitchell, and guitarist James Doviak. This current 2018 Call The Comet tour set is, by far, the best set yet. This is mostly thanks to some classic The Smiths songs, and a pair of Electronic songs!

Just a little background on my love for Marr: The Smiths was a band that was a little before my time. I discovered Morrissey in 1991 (on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) and went through his back catalog with The Smiths. The songwriting team of Morrissey & Marr was unbeatable, combining Marr’s diverse songs with Morrissey’s witty and often depressing lyrics.

After the Smiths broke up in 1987, Marr spent his time collaborating with other artists, including The Pretenders, Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, Talking Heads, etc. You got the feeling that Marr was just itching to work with other people that he admired.

It really wasn’t until Marr formed Johnny Marr and the Healers that he started concentrating on writing songs (and lyrics) for himself. Call the Comet is Marr’s third solo album (fourth if you count The Healers’ Boomslang), and it’s probably Marr’s best album yet. He showcased some of those songs on his set, and even a fan requested “Spiral Cities” (Marr: “Yeah well do that!”).

Johnny Marr has been in Minneapolis about three times, in May 2003, in April 2016, and last night. So, as far as Marr-solo appearances goes, it’s a bit of a rarity to see the musician in the city.

As usual, Marr is just amazing playing guitars. The way he’s making those guitar wonky effect sounds, the dexterity, and the timing, it was just perfect. I almost felt bad for the guitar tech backstage, who was constantly coming on stage between songs to hand Marr another (pre-tuned) guitar. As we’ve previously written, Marr collects Fender and various guitars like most people collect CDs or DVDs.

Obviously, fans responded well to any classic Smiths songs, including “Bigmouth Strikes Again” (played early in to get fans excited), “The Headmaster Ritual” (a song about being bullied), “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” (not really an upbeat song, but very dramatic and full of sadness), and “How Soon Is Now?” (The Smiths’ most famous song - at least in America).

By far, fans of Electronic, would be really pleased to hear that Marr played “Getting Away With It” (introduced as “This is a disco song from Manchester.”) and “Get the Message”. It’s a rare treat to hear these songs live, because it’s impossible to get the supergroup (New Order singer and guitarist Bernard Sumner, Pet Shop Boys’s Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, and Johnny Marr) together on tour.

For the encore, Call the Comet song “Rise” and debut The Messenger song “New Town Velocity”, were played before the double-Smiths song that ended the show: “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” and “You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby”. For “There Is A Light...”, Marr really didn’t need to sing towards the end, instead just relying the dedicated fanbase to just sing back the chorus. This is likely the same scenario, night after night at a typical Marr show. It was pretty impressive.

During band introduction, although Marr knows people comes to these shows to hear those “old songs”, he also added that there are some fans that is very supportive of his new work, adding, “I really appreciate that you’re loving the new songs... I saw some of you guys even dancing - in an age appropriate way!”

Johnny Marr’s Call the Comet is out now. If you have ever loved The Smiths, Electronic, or just appreciate great guitar-playing, check out this current tour. Marr will be playing Belle Game’s hometown gig at Vogue Theater in Vancouver this Thursday.

Johnny Marr 2018 Tour Poster

Marquee

Johnny Marr Setlist

Belle Game

Belle Game

Iwan Gronow and Jack Mitchell

Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (17 Sep 2018)

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