W♥M

Echo and the Bunnymen at Fillmore, Minneapolis (06 Sep 2022)

Echo & the Bunnymen Setlist Going Up Show of Strength All That Jazz Rescue Flowers Bring On the Dancing Horses All My Colours (Zimbo) Seven Seas Nothing Lasts Forever (failed attempt) Bedbugs and Ballyhoo Nothing Lasts Forever / Walk on the Wild Side Over the Wall Never Stop People Are Strange (The Doors cover) The Cutter -- Encore -- Lips Like Sugar -- Encore II -- The Killing Moon -- Encore III -- Ocean Rain Cayucas Setlist California Girl Topo Ride the Wave Sayulita Yeah Yeah Yeah Jessica WJ A Summer Thing High School Lover Summer Moon Read More Echo & the Bunnymen My biggest complaint was the opening bicycling riding sequence which dropped the original "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen, in favor of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" song. . … Cayucas I have Santa Monica based indie-pop band Cayucas (featuring twin brothers, Zach and Ben Yudin) is back in the area, playing the Turf Club this July 7th. Cayucas’ latest Real Life is out now via Park The Van Records…

Liverpool’s Echo & the Bunnymen headlined the Fillmore in Minneapolis on Wednesday, September 6th.

We previously wrote about Cayucas as originally named Oregon Bike Trails in 2013. The Santa Monica group features twins Zach and Ben Yudin.

After signing to Secretly Canadian and going on tour with Ra Ra Riot, the band remained relatively quiet since they released Blue Summer during the pandemic…. that is until we caught wind that they were heading out on tour with Echo & the Bunnymen, in August 2022.

As Zach explained on stage, they were asked to support Echo because the band is a big fan of their song, “Yeah Yeah Yeah”, which they happily played on their set. In fact, they made sure the song is played every night, per Echo and the Bunnymen’s personal request.

It’s easy to see why the band likes it - it’s super catchy: “I stopped and stuttered, turned around and muttered, ‘damn, I guess I'm a dork’, yeah yeah yeah…” Even if you didn’t know the lyrics, the ‘yeah yeah yeah’ will have you singing along.

They ended their 40-min set with “Summer Moon”, and there was a very long wait until the main attraction came on stage. The crowd was restless, and you can overhear someone asks, “What time are they coming on?”

About 9:30pm, Echo & the Bunnymen, came on stage, in darkness: Ian McCulloch on vocals and Will Sergeant on lead guitars, with Pete Reilly on guitars, Stephen Brannan on bass, Mike Smith on keyboards and Simon Finley on drums.

They had the audience in the palm of their hands, hand-picking selective tracks from their 13 albums! I don’t know every song on their playlist, but I knew plenty of diehard fans in the audience that knew them all.

McCulloch spent the entire show sitting on his chair, so he didn’t bring his dancing shoes with him, despite singing songs very danceable songs like “Bring In the Dancing Horses”.

I felt that the band really came alive only during the encores, and yes, a triple encore, no less. During the encore(s), Ian can be seen standing up and walking about… which I felt should have been on display during the main show.

Of course, they saved all their well-known songs for the encores. “Lips Like Sugar” on the first encore. Then “The Killing Moon”, for the second encore. By now, the majority of fans have left… and finally, “Ocean Rain”. Those who stayed to the very end, there were no complaints…. in fact, they wanted more.

Talking to a true fan, they said that he once saw them in their hometown in Liverpool, and they had to wait a full five minutes before the band came back on stage (and probably by then they lost a sizeable portion of the audience). I guess the band has a history of making the fans earned it… and get rewarded for the wait.

Remaining tour dates:

September 7th Chicago The Vic Theatre
September 9th Detroit Fillmore
September 10th Toronto Queen Elizabeth Theatre
September 12th Montreal Corona Theatre
September 14th New York Terminal 5
September 16th Philadelphia Union Transfer
September 17th Washington Lincoln Theatre
September 19th Pittsburgh Roxian Theatre
September 21st Boston House Of Blues
31st October Sinners Day Festival
2nd November Paris – Le Trianon
12th November Valencia – Moon
14th November Barcelona – Razzmatazz 1
15th November Madrid – La Riviera
17th November Lisbon – Coliseu
18th November Porto – Hard Club

Cayucas

Cayucas

Cayucas

Cayucas

Fillmore

Echo and the Bunnymen

Echo and the Bunnymen

Echo and the Bunnymen at Fillmore, Minneapolis (06 Sep 2022)

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

Flashback: Death Cab for Cutie at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St Paul (15 April 2009)

Setlist The Employment Pages Your Heart Is an Empty Room The New Year Crooked Teeth President of What? My Mirror Speaks No Sunlight Grapevine Fires Title Track I Will Possess Your Heart I Will Follow You Into the Dark Title and Registration Cath... A Movie Script Ending Long Division The Sound of Settling Bixby Canyon Bridge -- Encore -- Little Bribes Soul Meets Body Transatlanticism Read More Death Cab for Cutie Anyroad, before we get to Death Cab for Cutie, I have to explain that I've seen the band before in 2001 at the 7th Street Entry for $5. People who live in Minnesota know that the 7th Street is a tiny venue. …

I actually didn’t get a photo pass for this Death Cab for Cutie show at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium (for April 15, 2009), since I was primarily there to cover Cold War Kids. I also typically don’t cover shows in St Paul, so this was a learning experience for me.

>>>
Blame rush hour traffic, but the drive to St Paul took me nearly an hour to get to the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. I got there a little late, but was very impressed at the sheer size of the venue. My floor ticket was just great, I never understood those people that pay for the balcony seated tickets, but there were plenty of people up there.

Ra Ra Riot started the show exactly at seven and went off the stage by 7:20pm. What a brief set list.

Cold War Kids came on around 8 and did about forty-five minutes of music. They did their big hit songs ("Hang Me Up To Dry", "Hospital Beds") early in their set, but failed to get the audience to move along. I suspect this has more to do with the youth crowd to be mad Death Cab fans, because when Cold War are in their elements (headlining with their fan base), they perform exceptionally well.

I am speaking from experience because I recently saw them headline and the audience loved and the energy they gave off, fed into Cold War Kids and they sweated and teared through their setlist. Unfortunately, not tonight. Tonight, mostly saw the band singing songs and heading right into the next without so much as pauses for applauses.

The last three songs, singer Nathan Willett snuck behind his piano and did three piano-type songs and basically away from center stage view.

Also, whoever was working the lights, they must've really had it in for Cold War Kids.  The lights was either white, yellow-ish, or none at all.  This is in huge contrast to Death Cab, who enjoyed a variety of reds, blues, and smoke machine...  The lighting really made a huge difference, if you ask me.

Anyroad, before we get to Death Cab for Cutie, I have to explain that I've seen the band before in 2001 at the 7th Street Entry for $5. People who live in Minnesota know that the 7th Street is a tiny venue. We reckon it can only hold about 200 people without choking itself. So that was then, a very nice and smokey and not to mention intimate setting to see Death Cab.

How far they've come! They are now doing 5,000 capacity sized venue. And although it didn't sell out, I would hazard at least 60% of tickets was sold, based on my asian math perception skills (that didn't even make sense, it's 1:30am as I'm writing this). Anyway, floor tickets are the cheapest - at a whopping $49-ish a ticket. The guy next to me said with all the fees involved (this is why I hate ticketmaster), he paid $98 for two tickets online!

For the fans, it was worth every penny... they sang (yes, they all sang along) to every song. HUGE reception to "I Will Possess Your Heart" with its 300-minute epic music intro. This is followed by everyone's favorite acoustic-only song, "I Will Follow You into the Dark", followed by "Cath...", followed by the ba-ba song of "The Sound of Settling". Ben Gibbard had the audience eating out of his hands.

For the encore, they did three songs, I'm sure one of them was brand new from their new EP and the other was "Transatlanticism".

It looks like they're continuing on their very successful, mostly sold-out tour. So even if you wanted to see them, you're probably already out of luck - but of course, if you're a huge fan, you probably have your tickets in advance.

Cold War Kids' latest album is called Loyalty to Loyalty from Downtown Music (get a copy at amazon) and the very popular Death Cab's latest is called Narrow Stairs from Atlantic Records. Not sure what their current relationship is with Barsuk, but Ra Ra Riot is on it and it's still one of my favorite record label :)

PS, no photos for this show, because of the strict anti-camera from the security people.

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

Minneapolis: November 6 to November 10, 2019

Low Cut Connie / Big Freedia at First Ave Read More Low Cut Connie Low Cut Connie (Adam Weiner, James Everhart, Will Donnelly, Larry Scotton, and Lucas Rinz) will be in town in support of their latest Dirty Pictures (Part 1) via Contender Records. … Big Freedia Boyfriend is opening for Big Freedia. Big Freedia is a rapper that knows how to get a crowd going. Frederick Ross (AKA Big Freedia) is not a newcomer to the hip-hop scene by any means…

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from November 6 to November 10, 2019.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

LOW CUT CONNIE and BIG FREEDIA
First Avenue
Thu 11/07/2019 (7pm/$22)
first-avenue.com

The first time we saw Low Cut Connie at Rock the Garden 2018, they really blew us away with their high-octane performance (especially for being first on the bill).

We caught them at their headlining gig at First Avenue Nov 1st and said, “Follow up gigs at increasingly larger rooms have only exponentially increased the local fan base and buzz, culminating in a memorable opening set in the heat and humidity of this past July’s Rock the Garden, a record store appearance just a few weeks later that transformed the retail outlet into the feel of a hot house juke joint, and this stomping eighty-minute good time, inside a crowded Mainroom.”

This time, the piano-driven group is co-headlining with Big Freedia, which should be quite an interesting show.

Tour dates:

11/2: Boston, MA - Royale
11/4: Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
11/5: Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's hall
11/7: Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
11/9: St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall
11/11: Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
11/12: Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
11/13: Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
11/15: Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
11/16: Eugene, OR - Wow Hall
11/17: Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/19: Berkeley, CA - UC Theatre
11/20: Los Angeles, CA - Regent Theater
11/21: Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up

Other shows in the area:

Julia Michaels at First Ave (Sandy) Alex G at Amsterdam Sasha Sloan at Cedar Cultural Center Ra Ra Riot at Fine Line Kindness at 7th Street Joseph Arthur/Jess Malin at 7th Street Read More (Sandy) Alex G Alex G (Alex Giannascoli - not to be confused with singer/songwriter Alex G) just released Beach Music... his seventh full-length album, and his first Domino release. He’s obviously not used to recording in a studio, saying, “I was …

JULIA MICHAELS
+ Rhys Lewis
First Avenue
Wed 11/06/2019 (6pm/$25)
first-avenue.com

Grammy Award-nominated multiplatinum singer / songwriter Julia Michaels will be stopping by First Avenue on November 6th. Michaels was previously in town with Maroon 5 in Sep 2018.

Rhys Lewis to open.

Tour Dates:

11/02/2019 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH
11/04/2019 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
11/05/2019 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
11/06/2019 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
11/08/2019 Gothic Theatre Englewood, CO
11/09/2019 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT
11/11/2019 The Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA
11/13/2019 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
11/15/2019 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR

(SANDY) ALEX G
+ Tomberlin, Indigo De Souza
Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Fri 11/08/2019 (7pm/$18)
amsterdambarandhall.com

Alex G (billed as (Sandy) Alex G) has sold out the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul this November 8th.

Tour dates:

11/01 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/02 - Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial
11/03 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/05 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Greek Station
11/06 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
11/08 - St Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall
11/09 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
11/10 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
11/12 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
11/14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
11/15 - Burlington, VT @ ArtsRiot
11/16 - Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts
11/17 - Boston, MA @ Royale
11/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
4/15 - San Diego, CA @ Soma

SASHA SLOAN
+ Winnetka Bowling League
Cedar Cultural Center
Fri 11/08/2019 (7pm/$31)
thecedar.org

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Sasha Sloan is stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center to play some songs from her new release Self Portrait (RCA Records).

Show up early to check out Winnetka Bowling League, touring in support of Cloudy With A Chance of Sun.

Tour dates:

11/08 – Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
11/09 – Chicago, IL - Chop Shop
11/10 – Detroit, MI - Shelter
11/12 – Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall
11/15 – Montreal, QC - L'Astral
11/16 – Boston, MA - Royale
11/19 – New York, NY- Webster Hall
11/20 – Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Downstairs
11/22 – Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
11/23 – Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11/25 – Nashville, TN - The Basement East
12/05 – Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre

RA RA RIOT
+ Bayonne, Whosah
Fine Line Music Cafe
Fri 11/08/2019 (8pm/$20)
finelinemusic.com

To be honest, I thought Ra Ra Riot broke up … seeing as their previous record, Need Your Light (Barsuk Records) came out in 2016. It appears the band never left, and they’ve released Superbloom on Rob the Rich Recordings/Caroline in August, and set to tour this fall/winter.

We caught RRR in Sep 2016 and wrote, “The band is out in support of Need Your Light (Barsuk Records), released earlier this year as their fourth full-length for the label. With the departure of original cellist Alex Lawn in 2012, the band’s sound has turned more electronic and their near hour-long set didn’t look as much to their past, as much as to their present and future.”

Bayonne and Whosah to open.

Tour dates:

11/01 @ Neptune in Seattle, WA
11/02 @ Biltmore in Vancouver, BC
11/03 @ Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR
11/05 @ Urban in Salt Lake City, UT
11/06 @ Bluebird in Denver, CO
11/08 @ Fine Line in Minneapolis, MN
11/09 @ Thalia Hall in Chicago, IL
11/10 @ Mod Club in Toronto, ON
11/12 @ Sinclair in Boston, MA
11/13 @ 9:30 Club in Washington, DC
11/14 @ Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA
11/16 @ Webster Hall in New York, NY
12/02 @ Paradiso in Amsterdam, NL
12/03 @ Häkken in Hamburg, DE
12/04 @ Musik und Frieden in Berlin, DE
12/05 @ Zehner in Munich, DE
12/07 @ Helios 37 in Cologne, DE
12/08 @ Exil in Zurich, CH
12/10 @ The Thekla in Bristol, UK
12/11 @ King Tuts in Glasgow, UK
12/12 @ The Deaf Institute in Manchester, UK
12/13 @ Oslo in London, UK

KINDNESS
+ Starchild & The New Romantic
7th St Entry
Sat 11/09/2019 (8pm/$20)
first-avenue.com

Kindness is touring in support of their third album Something Like A War (Female Energy)… they’ll be headlining the 7th Street Entry this Saturday, November 9th.

Tour dates:

11/02/2019 Boot & Saddle Philadelphia, PA
11/05/2019 Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
11/08/2019 Sleeping Village Chicago, IL
11/09/2019 7th St Entry Minneapolis, MN
11/12/2019 Barboza Seattle, WA
11/13/2019 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
11/15/2019 The Independent San Francisco, CA
11/16/2019 The Roxy Theatre West Hollywood, CA
12/06/2019 Tropico Festival
12/07/2019 Tropico Festival
12/08/2019 Tropico Festival
01/30/2020 Debaser Strand Stockholm
02/01/2020 Ingensteds Oslo, Norway
02/12/2020 La Maroquinerie Paris, France
02/15/2020 Headrow House Leeds
02/20/2020 YES Manchester
02/22/2020 EartH - Evolutionary Arts Hackney London
02/24/2020 Trinity Centre Bristol
03/19/2020 Fellah Hotel Marrakech, Morocco

JOSEPH ARTHUR / JESSE MALIN
7th St Entry
Sun 11/10/2019 (7pm/$18)
first-avenue.com

Joseph Arthur (of R.E.M. fame) is co-headlining the 7th Street Entry with Jesse Malin.

Tour dates:

11/06/2019 Rec Room, Buffalo, NY
11/07/2019 Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON
11/08/2019 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH
11/09/2019 S.P.A.C.E., Evanston, IL
11/10/2019 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN
11/11/2019 Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI
11/15/2019 Southgate House Revival, Newport, KY

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

Young the Giant, with Ra Ra Riot at First Avenue, Minneapolis (27 Sep 2016)

Young the Giant Setlist Jungle Youth I Got Something to Believe In Eros Repeat Apartment Cough Syrup Firelight Elsewhere It's About Time Nothing’s Over Art Exhibit Mind Over Matter Home of the Strange -- Encore -- Amerika Silvertongue My Body Ra Ra Riot Setlist Too Too Too Fast Binary Mind Every Time I'm Ready to Hug Foreign Lovers Bouncy Castle Beta Love Each Year Can You Tell Dance With Me Absolutely Boy Water I Need Your Light Tour Dates 10/04/16 Iron City Birmingham, AL* 10/05/16 House Of Blues New Orleans, LA* 10/07/16 Revention Music Houston, TX* 10/08/16 South Side Ballroom Dallas, TX* 10/09/16 Austin City Limits Austin, TX 10/18/16 House Of Blues San Diego, CA* 10/19/16 House Of Blues San Diego, CA* 10/21/16 Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA* 10/22/16 Fox Theater Oakland, CA 10/24/16 Ace Of Spades Sacramento, CA 10/26/16 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver* 10/27/16 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver* 11/01/16 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO* 11/04/16 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL* *With special guests Ra Ra Riot Read More Young the Giant California's Young the Giant (not to be confused with Australia's Jungle Giants), is currently on tour in support of Mind over Matter, which came out January 2014. … Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is back in town at the Triple Rock Social Club this April 7th, in support of their fourth LP Need Your Light (Barsuk Records). The record came out in February but already Harper’s ....

This year’s political elections proves among other things, that America can truly be a Home of the Strange, but the recent performance by Young the Giant in the First Avenue’s Mainroom, was something to believe in.

Syracuse-area band Ra Ra Riot opened this entertaining evening of a double bill of two established alternative rock bands, each of which could have separately brought the near-capacity crowd into the venue.  Both bands are melodic and a touch eclectic, so were an ideal matching, with Ra Ra Riot’s cello/violin section giving a unique and elegant sheen to all their compositions.

The band is out in support of Need Your Light (Barsuk Records), released earlier this year as their fourth full-length for the label.  With the departure of original cellist Alex Lawn in 2012, the band’s sound has turned more electronic and their near hour-long set didn’t look as much to their past, as much as to their present and future.

The group started with one of their earliest songs, 2008’s ‘Too Too Too Fast’ co-written by the band’s original late drummer, John Pike (but excluded early hit, ‘Dying is Fine’, which was about his passing). The taste of the new began with 2013’s ‘Binary Mind’ with vocalist Miles easily sliding between mid-range vocals to more falsetto as violinist Zeller at his left, led the added elegance with added strings.

Closing tracks ‘Water’, which throbbed with electro-bass and ‘I Need Your Light’ which was also beat propelled, were both from the new album, produced on record by ex-Vampire Weekend keyboardist and longtime friend of the band, Rostam Batmanglij.

Amongst a painted mountain backdrop and with flags fluttering on each side of the stage, Young the Giant took to the stage with bright lights flashing to their opening, ‘Jungle Youth’ and instant energy.  The Irvine, CA quintet (Sameer Gadhia;  Jacob Tilley;  Eric Cannata;  Payam Doostzadeh;  Francois Comtois) is clearly on a bigger and better trajectory with new album, Home of the Strange (Fueled by Ramen), a larger stage setup, has lept to bigger-sized venues than previous, and even had an iHeart Radio release party beamed live for the launch of this third full-length record.

From Sin City to Twin Cities, the band had played Las Vegas’ Life is Beautiful Festival the day before and were making their way down to Austin for two weekends of the ACL Festival but singer Gadhia, dressed in a red one-piece jumpsuit and switching between percussion, keys and guitar, showed none the worse for wear, clearly giving his vocal all and working up a sweat after just the first song.

Current single ‘Something to Believe In’ was played very early in the set (“we’re just getting started”, Gadhia would say after) and call it gutsy or just plain confident, three of the biggest songs from their 2010 debut, ‘I Got’, ‘Apartment’ and ‘Cough Syrup’ were all played relatively early in the evening as well.  Gadhia mentioned their setlists changing almost nightly and while lesser bands might have been afraid of an audience exodus following, that section just succeeded in working the already fired up crowd, up even further.

‘Firelight’ showcased the band’s often hidden vocal harmonics, ‘Nothing’s Over’ had a rhythmic Talking Heads feel about it, and ‘Art Exhibit’ was a love song about finding a quiet spot in the city and is potentially the band’s most ambitiously sweeping song to date.

The title track of the new record, trippy and echoed in a Flaming Lips way ended the main set, just over an hour in, with Gadhia earlier describing its theme as about America-  its beauty and grotesqueness, the hope and heartbreak that makes up its total picture.

The encore started with the new ‘Amerika’, continuing that disillusioned theme and was maybe more appropriate, hearing it played live the night after the first presidential debate was viewed by a hundred million people.

The new ‘Silvertongue’ followed, whose lyrics “Open my mouth, all the gems falling out, make you lose control” would prove a prediction for their final song, ‘My Body’ as the crowd did indeed lose their minds, jumping in place, hands swaying back and forth, and all singing along.

While the country’s current political and social climate definitely reinforces the band’s current home of the strange theme, Young the Giant shows the better side of that street; one more of hope, and a laid back chance to let your hair down and just let the music carry you.

Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot

Young the Giant Setlist

Young the Giant

Young the Giant

Young the Giant at First Ave, Minneapolis (27 Sep 2016)

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

Minneapolis: September 27 to September 28, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from September 27 to September 28, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Young the Giant California's Young the Giant (not to be confused with Australia's Jungle Giants), is currently on tour in support of Mind over Matter, which came out January 2014. … Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is back in town at the Triple Rock Social Club this April 7th, in support of their fourth LP Need Your Light (Barsuk Records). The record came out in February but already Harper’s ....

YOUNG THE GIANT
at First Avenue
Tuesday, 09/27/16, 7pm ($27/$30)
first-avenue.com

California’s Young The Giant is currently on tour in support of their highly anticipated third studio Home of the Strange (Fueled By Ramen). The album has already hit No. 1 on iTunes Alternative chart and top 3 overall when it was recently released.

Ra Ra Riot will open the show. The band’s latest album Need Your Light is available now on Barsuk Records.

We previously caught the New York band earlier this April 2016 at the Triple Rock Social Club, which we described as “a bit of an orchestral feel to them due to the violin and cello but at the same time, it's nothing short of great dancing music. It didn't matter what song they were playing, the crowd reacted the same way and was unable to stand still.”

Young The Giant Live:

09/24/16 Madison Theater Covington, KY*
09/25/16 Life Is Beautiful Las Vegas, NV
09/27/16 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN*
09/29/16 The Pageant Saint Louis, MO*
09/30/16 Power & Light Kansas City, MO*
10/02/16 Austin City Limits Austin, TX
10/04/16 Iron City Birmingham, AL*
10/05/16 House Of Blues New Orleans, LA*
10/07/16 Revention Music Houston, TX*
10/08/16 South Side Ballroom Dallas, TX*
10/09/16 Austin City Limits Austin, TX
10/18/16 House Of Blues San Diego, CA*
10/19/16 House Of Blues San Diego, CA*
10/21/16 Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA*
10/22/16 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
10/24/16 Ace Of Spades Sacramento, CA
10/26/16 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver*
10/27/16 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver*
11/01/16 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO*
11/04/16 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL*

*With special guests Ra Ra Riot

Read More Porches Co-headlining will be Porches, the project of Aaron Maine. He’s currently touring in support of his Domino Records Pool, which came out February 5th. The record was called “Best New Music” from Pitchfork, as well as Harper's Bazaar … Japanese Breakfast Opening will be singer Michelle Zauner, of Philadelphia indie punk band Little Big League, under the solo moniker of Japanese Breakfast. The music showcases Zauner's dark ...

PORCHES
at 7th Street Entry
Wednesday, 09/28/16, 7:30pm ($13/$15)
first-avenue.com

We caught Porches at the 7th Street Entry in April 2016 and described their frontman Aaron Maine as “a charismatic young singer”.

Maine is back at the 7th Street, this time, as headliner and bringing Japanese Breakfast and London’s Rivergazer. We caught the former in July 2016 and noted that Michelle Zauner’s “songs were chilling yet up-beat. At times Zauner's voice was haunting and beautiful and other times you could really hear her punk side come out as she screamed into the microphone.”

Japanese Breakfast’s debut album, Psychopomp is out now on Yellow K Records (not to be confused with K Records).

Tour dates:

09/24 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court *
09/26 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge *
09/27 Omaha, NE Milk Run *
09/28 Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry *
09/29 Madison, WI High Noon *
09/30 Chicago, IL Subterranean *
10/01 Detroit, MI El Club *
10/02 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern *
10/03 Montreal, QC Bar Le Ritz *
10/04 Burlington, VT ArtsRiot *
10/05 Boston, MA The Sinclair *
10/18 Brighton, ENG Sticky Miles
10/19 Leeds, ENG Brudenell Social Club
10/20 Dublin, IRL Whelans
10/21 Glasgow, SCT The Hug & Pint
10/24 London, ENG The Dome
10/25 Lille, FR La Péniche
10/26 Reims, FR La Cartonnerie
10/28 Paris, FR Pitchfork Festival
10/29 Amsterdam, NL London Calling

* w/ Japanese Breakfast, Rivergazer

Read More Controversial New Skinny Pill The Controversial New Skinny Pill, The first band You turn to for the soundtrack to a UFO sex-cult party ....

THE GOOCH PALMS
at Triple Rock Social Club
Wednesday, 09/28/16, 7:30pm ($7)
triplerocksocialclub.com

Los Angeles (by the way of Australia) punk two-piece The Gooch Palms (Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend) will be headlining the Triple Rock Social Club next Wednesday, September 28th, in support of their new album Introverted Extroverts (Summer Camp Records).

Randomly: The Gooch Palms’ favorite food is a vegetarian burrito at El Metate in San Francisco. Believe them when they say, “We've eaten a LOT of Mexican food since then but can confirm that 5 years and hundreds of burritos later... [El Metate]’s STILL THE BEST!!!”

In typical Triple Rock fashion, you get at least three bands - which for this show, includes The Black Widows, The Controversial New Skinny Pill and Tights.

Tour dates:

09/24 Seattle, WA Black Lodge
09/28 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
09/29 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
09/30 Detroit, MI UFO Factory
10/01 Toronto, ON Silver Dollar
10/04 Brooklyn, NY Baby’s Alright
10/07 Baltimore, MD Windup Space
10/08 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups
10/12 St Augustine, FL Shanghai Nobby’s
10/13 New Orleans, LA Siberia
10/14 Houston, TX Walter’s Downtown
10/15 Austin, TX Hotel Vegas
10/20 Phoenix, AZ Valley Bar
10/21 Las Vegas, NV Bunkhouse

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

Ra Ra Riot at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (07 April 2016)

Tour Dates 4/11 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar ^* 4/12 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre ^* 4/14 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace ^* 4/15 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz ^* 4/16 - Geneva, NY - The Cracker Factory ^ 4/29 - Revolution Live - Ft. Lauderdale, FL 4/30 - Tampa, FL - WMNF's Tropical Heatwave 6/05 - Toronto, ON - Field Trip Festival 6/11 - Cleveland, OH - LaureLive ^ with PWR BTMM * with And The Kids Read More Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is back in town at the Triple Rock Social Club this April 7th, in support of their fourth LP Need Your Light (Barsuk Records). The record came out in February but already Harper’s .... PWR BTTM PWR BTTM were a lot more pop than I expected them to be. For some reason because of their name I expected them to be a raucous and angsty punker band. Well, maybe they are a bit angsty ....

It was a sold out show for Ra Ra Riot’s appearance at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, last Thursday night (April 7th). The event featured “gender neutral” bathrooms, in part to protest to North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law, the so-called “bathroom law” which prevents transgender people from using their bathroom of choice.

PWR BTTM

The show started out with the band PWR BTTM. Yes, you read that right, PWR BTTM, as in power bottom, as in this was a queer duo from New York that truly caught me off guard. Ben and Liv are the two members of this band and they are truly "out there" but in the best way possible. Their set was just as much of a comedy routine as it was a concert. Majority of the jokes were inappropriate and raunchy. They were the kinds of joke that usually make you feel uncomfortable. You know, the ones where you don't know if it's okay to laugh at them or not? The jokes had the crowd laughing until they couldn't breathe and it felt okay to laugh because the whole venue just had a very cozy vibe about it. The chemistry between Ben and Liv is perfect and the banter they have is enough to make even the most straight faced person in the audience to giggle at least a little bit.

Their music sounded raw and unfinished but it fit their look perfectly. The two members swapped places seamlessly between the drums and guitar and they both sang. For the first song they had Taliana Katz on bass, from And the Kids. They switched her out for Mathieu Santos, the bassist of Ra Ra Riot but after a song or two with Mathieu playing bass, they got rid of the bass altogether and just stuck to drums, guitar, and vocals.

Glitter was falling off of Ben's face as he sang through the short set. He explained that he had had the makeup and glitter on all day because they had a performance at Radio K earlier. Even though the set was short, the two members were swarmed at the merch table after their set. The crowd loved it. It was weird, it was strange, the lyrics were funny at times and oddly relatable at other times. I definitely didn't know what to expect from these guys but I walked away with a desire to see them again very soon.

Ra Ra Riot was the headliner of this sold out Thursday night show. These guys are an indie rock band from Syracuse, New York that has been around for years. Their first full length album came out in 2008 and it seems like they have been touring/ performing/ recording ever since.

Ra Ra Riot has a bit of an orchestral feel to them due to the violin and cello but at the same time, it's nothing short of great dancing music. It didn't matter what song they were playing, the crowd reacted the same way and was unable to stand still. It was the first time in a long time where I have seen the Triple Rock turn into what resembled a dance club. Each of the audience members had a smile on their face as they danced and sang along to the indie rock anthems.

Violinist, Rebecca Zeller, had a violin that literally sparkled in the insane light show that was going on due to the rhinestones that covered the instrument. It was hard to take your eyes off of singer Wes Miles due to his charming smile and subtle but fun dance moves. He paced the stage as he sang in his flawless voice that was able to hit notes all over the sound spectrum.

And The Kids was the group sandwiched between these two amazing groups and they were more than able to hold their own. This female trio had energy and feeling behind every single song during their short set. Guitarist Hannah Mohan had a voice that turned heads with the first note. It was powerful and raw but at the same time had a sweet pop vibe to it. Their songs weren't fast and they weren't slow, they were just perfect.

Ra Ra Riot at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (07 April 2016)

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

Minneapolis: April 7, 2016

Read More San Fermin San Fermin played a killer set at SXSW mixed with a crew of stellar UK artists: Splashh, Temples, and Drenge. Nearly everyone was there to see the debut of UK psych rockers Temples ... Esmé Patterson All dates with Esmé Patterson. Tour dates: Oct. 17 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern Oct. 19 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme Oct. 20 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi Fi ....

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on April 7, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

SAN FERMIN
with Esmé Patterson
at Cedar Cultural Center
Thursday, 04/07/16, 7pm ($15/$18)
thecedar.org

Brooklyn’s San Fermin is back in town... I believe their latest album is called San Fermin, which came out last year on Downtown Records.

Esmé Patterson (from Paper Bird) to open the show. Her forthcoming album We Were Wild will arrive June 10th, 2016, via Grand Jury Music. Patterson was previously on tour with Craig Finn.

North American Tour Dates

4/4/16 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre *
4/5/16 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Lounge *
4/5/16 Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival *
4/6/16 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon *
4/7/16 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center *
4/8/16 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe's Oasis *
4/9/16 Holland, MI @ Park Theatre *
4/11/16 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge #
4/12/16 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place *
4/13/16 Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt *
4/14/16 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
4/15/16 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar *
4/17/16 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
4/18/16 Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub #
4/19/16 Evanston, IL @ S.P.A.C.E. #

* with San Fermin
# headlining date

Read More Prince Rama Sister act Prince Rama (Taraka Larson and Nimai Larson) set to open the show. We haven't heard from them since the Top Ten Hits Of The End Of The World album in 2012. ....

PRINCE RAMA
at 7th Street Entry
Thursday, 04/07/16, 8pm ($10)
first-avenue.com

I have been meaning to check out Brooklyn’s Prince Rama for a long time now... but every time they’re in town, I have had other commitments (they were previously in town with Dan Deacon in May 2015). They’re known for their great live performances, dressing up, and looking fab.

The sisters (Taraka and Nimai Larson) has a new album called Xtreme Now (Carpark Records) and it was inspired by a near-death experience Taraka underwent at an ancient Viking ruin on the Estonian island of Vormsi.

Sasha Conda and Oaks (not to be confused with Strand of Oaks) to open.

Tour dates:

04.03.16 – Reno, NV @ The Holland Project
04.04.16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
04.05.16 – Denver, CO @ GLOB
04.06.16 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
04.07.16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Hexagon
04.08.16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Linnemans Inn
04.09.16 - Chicago, IL @ Emporium
04.10.16 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory
04.11.16 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
04.12.16 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
04.13.16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium
04.14.16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
04.15.16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits
04.16.16 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Phuzz Fest
04.18.16 – Chattanooga, TN @ JJ’s Bohemia
04.19.16 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
04.20.16 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
04.21.16 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar
04.22.16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
04.23.16 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda
04.24.16 – El Paso, TX @ Monarch
04.25.16 – Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room

Read More Ra Ra Riot It's been a while since I last written about Ra Ra Riot. I saw them a few years ago when they opened up for the silly-named band Death for Cutie. Barsuk Records just released Ra Ra Riot's .... PWR BTTM PWR BTTM were a lot more pop than I expected them to be. For some reason because of their name I expected them to be a raucous and angsty punker band. Well, maybe they are a bit angsty ....

RA RA RIOT
at Triple Rock Social Club
Thursday, 04/07/16, 7:30pm ($18)
triplerocksocialclub.com

Ra Ra Riot is back in town at the Triple Rock Social Club this April 7th, in support of their fourth LP Need Your Light (Barsuk Records). The record came out in February but already Harper’s Bazaar announced that album as one of ten albums “you need to listen to in February.”

In addition to promoting the new album, they’re also promoting Oxfam America and their efforts to help end hunger and poverty.

“Western Mass. indie scene’s brightest” And the Kids to open with New York’s PWR BTTM (Power Bottom?). PWR BTTM was previously in town in November 2015 with Mitski.

Tour dates:

4/03 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge ^*
4/04 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre ^*
4/06 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room ^*
4/07 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock ^*
4/08 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall ^*
4/09 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall ^*
4/11 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar ^*
4/12 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre ^*
4/14 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace ^*
4/15 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz ^*
4/16 - Geneva, NY - The Cracker Factory ^
4/29 - Revolution Live - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
4/30 - Tampa, FL - WMNF's Tropical Heatwave
6/05 - Toronto, ON - Field Trip Festival
6/11 - Cleveland, OH - LaureLive

^ with PWR BTMM

* with And The Kids

Read More The Coathangers The Coathangers, the all-girls punk band, will be stopping by St Paul's Turf Club, the same venue where we previously saw them open up for Guitar Wolf. Audacity (not to be …

AUDACITY
at Hexagon Bar
Thursday, 04/07/16, 9pm (FREE)
hexagonbar.com

California’s Audacity (not to be confused with the free audio editor) was previously known as Nontoxic, The Plaid, and The Attachments. The garage (or rather basement)/feel good/sloppy, but easy Cali style or Burger-type band will be at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis this Thursday, April 7th. Although the venue does not have listing information, I believe all the shows are free and starts at 9pm.

Audacity’s new album Hyper Vessels is out now on Suicide Squeeze Records. Vinyl collectors will want to look at their limited run (500 each) on green marble vinyl. All vinyl copies include download cards.

Tour dates:

04.03.16 – Reno, NV @ The Holland Project
04.04.16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
04.05.16 – Denver, CO @ GLOB
04.06.16 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
04.07.16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Hexagon
04.08.16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Linnemans Inn
04.09.16 - Chicago, IL @ Emporium
04.10.16 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory
04.11.16 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
04.12.16 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
04.13.16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium
04.14.16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
04.15.16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits
04.16.16 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Phuzz Fest
04.18.16 – Chattanooga, TN @ JJ’s Bohemia
04.19.16 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
04.20.16 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
04.21.16 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar
04.22.16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
04.23.16 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda
04.24.16 – El Paso, TX @ Monarch
04.25.16 – Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room

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

Repeat Repeat

Read More Django Django Top 10 Best Performances SXSW 2012!!!!! 1. Django Django @ Flat Top Burger Shop 2. Michael Kiwanuka @ St. David's Church 3. Free Energy ND .…

My theory about repeating band names is that people tend to remember them if bands repeat their name. Remember Duran Duran? Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

Read more: Double Double and Indie Indie Yeah Yeah.

DJANGO DJANGO
djangodjango.co.uk

Do you remember listening to Brody talk about SXSW 2012? Django Django was his number one band as far as "Best Performances" goes.

The London-based quartet is in the middle of their world tour in support of their debut 2012 album… hitting the United States in March.

Although Django Django lost out to Alt-J for the Mercury Music Prize, being nominated for 2012 was a boon for the band. Other publications like Rolling Stones, Entertainment Weekly, and WNYC have all put Django Django on their 'best of' 2012 list.

I have not seen them live, but their buzz will make me break my winter hibernation to check them out when they arrive in Minneapolis on March 16th.

Feb. 12 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City * Feb. 13 - Liverpool, UK @ Academy * Feb. 15 - Norwich, UK @ UEA * Feb. 16 - Birmingham, UK @ Academy * Feb. 17 - Cardiff, UK @ Uni Great Hall * Feb. 19 - Bristol, UK @ Academy * Feb. 20 - Bournemouth, UK @ Academy * Feb. 21 - Brighton, UK @ Dome * Feb. 23 - Brixton, UK @ Academy * March 6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall March 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall March 8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

March 9 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club March 11 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club March 12 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House March 13 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music March 15 - Chicago, IL @ Cabaret Metro March 16 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave March 19 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Ballroom March 20 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge March 22 - San Francisco, CA @ Public Works March 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre * NME Awards Tour

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
everything-everything.co.uk

Manchester's Everything Everything is currently on tour for the second album, Arc (out now on RCA Victor), the follow-up to their debut Geffen Records' Man Alive. If record label switching is your thing, you'd be happy to know that their latest US debut EP, Cough Cough is out now on Julian Casablancas' Cult Records and Kemosabe Records.

If you're lucky enough to live in Los Angeles or New York City, the band has confirmed those two dates so far. More dates to follow.

As for the UK dates, every date is "completely SOLD OUT". This tells me that they are massive or that they are booking very small venues for their fanbase size.

Everything Everything's next single is called "Duet", and you can hear it now on soundcloud.com.

11/02 - The Junction, Cambridge 12/02 - HMV Library, Birmingham 13/02 - Heaven, London 14/02 - O2 Academy 2, Oxford 16/02 - The Leadmill, Sheffield 17/02 - O2 Academy 2, Liverpool 18/02 - Whelans, Dublin 20/02 - Oran Mor, Glasgow 21/02 - O2 Academy 2, Newcastle 22/02 - Academy 2, Manchester

01/03 - Vega, Copenhagen 02/03 - Molotow, Hamburg 04/03 - Lido, Berlin 05/03 - Atomic Café, Munich 06/03 - Tunnel, Milan 08/03 - Fleche d’Or, Paris 09/03 - Rotonde, Brussels 11/03 - Bitterzoet, Amsterdam 19/03 - Roxy Theatre, LA 25/03 - Bowery Ballroom, NY

RA RA RIOT
rarariot.com

It's been a while since I last written about Ra Ra Riot. I saw them a few years ago when they opened up for the silly-named band Death for Cutie.

Barsuk Records just released Ra Ra Riot's new album Beta Love on January 22nd, and, yes, of course, they're on tour to promote the album. What's interesting to note is that with Beta Love, this mark the band's new synthypop music direction and as a four-piece (with cellist Alexandra Lawn leaving the band).

Bassist Mathieu Santos talks about the creative process of recording of Beta Love, "Making the record was a lot of fun for us, because we were in a completely different environment, trying a completely new approach. We'd been used to arriving at a session with every song totally arranged and figured out, but in Oxford, a lot of the creative decision-making happened in the studio, on the fly. We wanted to be outside of our collective comfort zone for this record. We wanted to be open to new things happening. There was a lot of building up and tearing down with [Producer Dennis Herring] —a lot of problem solving, a lot of trial and error, and that was really exciting for us."

February 12 El Rey Los Angeles, CA‡§ February 13 The Observatory Santa Ana, CA‡§ February 15 Belly Up Solana Beach, CA‡§ February 16 Club Congress Tucson, AZ‡ February 19 Kessler Theater Dallas, TX‡ February 20 The Belmont Austin, TX‡ February 21 Fitzgerald’s Houston, TX‡ February 23 Proud Larry’s Oxford, MS‡ February 24 Masquerade Atlanta, GA‡ February 25 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC‡ February 26 Grey Eagle Asheville, NC‡ February 28 A&R Music Bar Columbus, OH‡

March 1 Metro Chicago, IL‡ March 2 Der Rathskeller Madison, WI‡ March 3 Triple Rock Minneapolis, MN‡ March 5 The Blind Pig Ann Arbor, MI‡ March 6 Lee’s Palace Toronto, ON‡ March 7 Il Motore Montreal, QB‡ March 8 Higher Ground Burlington, VT‡ March 9 Pearl Street Northampton, MA‡ ^ with Guards, % with Dirty Projectors, † with Best Coast Dirty Projectors, ‡ with Pacific Air, § with Cayucas

MARY MARY
mary-mary.com

Mary Mary (real life sisters, Erica and Tina Atkins-Campbell) won a Grammy for Best Gospel Song at last night's award show. This adds four Grammys to this My Block/Columbia Records artist.

The music superstar duo is currently enjoying the success of their originally scripted WE TV reality series called "Mary Mary", now in its second season which has just been ranked by Nielsen Media as the #1 TV show for African American women in their timeslot on cable.

"Mary Mary" is airing Thursdays at 9PM ET/PT.

Mary Mary will appearing live at Sun Life Stadium on March 17th in Miami, Florida.

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

Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids, Ra Ra Riot at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St Paul (4/15/09)

Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart Death Cab For Cutie Tour Dates 04/17/09 Aragon Ballroom (SOLD OUT) Chicago, Illinois 04/18/09 Breslin Events Center East Lansing, Michigan 04/19/09 Van Male Fieldhouse (SOLD OUT) Waukesha, Wisconsin 04/22/09 Mount Baker Theatre (SOLD OUT) Bellingham, Washington 04/24/09 McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, Washington 04/25/09 The Morrison Center (SOLD OUT) Boise, Idaho 04/27/09 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, California 04/29/09 RIMAC Arena (SOLD OUT) La Jolla, California 05/01/09 Austin Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Ausitn, Texas 05/02/09 Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, Louisiana 05/03/09 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee 05/04/09 Ryman Auditorium (SOLD OUT) Nashville, Tennessee 05/05/09 BJCC Concert Hall Birmingham, Alabama 05/06/09 Fox Theatre (SOLD OUT) Atlanta, Georgia 05/07/09 Hard Rock Live (SOLD OUT) Orlando, Florida 07/05/09 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, California 07/11/09 Greek Theatre Berkeley Berkeley, California 07/13/09 Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre Salt Lake City, Utah 07/14/09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, Colorado 07/16/09 Pacific Coliseum Vancouver, British Columbia 07/17/09 Edgefield Amphitheatre Troutdale 07/18/09 Marymoor Park (SOLD OUT) Redmond, Washington 07/19/09 Marymoor Park Redmond, Washington Read More Death Cab for Cutie http://weheartmus... Death Cab for Cutie I know, I know, Death Cab is a serious, important band. Forgive me. By the...

Blame rush hour traffic, but the drive to St Paul took me nearly an hour to get to the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. I got there a little late, but was very impressed at the sheer size of the venue. My floor ticket was just great, I never understood those people that pay for the balcony seated tickets, but there were plenty of people up there.

Ra Ra Riot started the show exactly at seven and went off the stage by 7:20pm. What a brief set list.

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry

Cold War Kids came on around 8 and did about forty-five minutes of music. They did their big hit songs ("Hang Me Up To Dry", "Hospital Beds") early in their set, but failed to get the audience to move along. I suspect this has more to do with the youth crowd to be mad Death Cab fans, because when Cold War are in their elements (headlining with their fan base), they perform exceptionally well.

I am speaking from experience because I recently saw them headline and the audience loved and the energy they gave off, fed into Cold War Kids and they sweated and teared through their setlist. Watch the video! Unfortunately, not tonight. Tonight mostly saw the band singing songs and heading right into the next without so much as pauses for applauses.

The last three songs, singer Nathan Willett snuck behind his piano and did three piano-type songs and basically away from center stage view.

Also, whoever was working the lights, they must've really had it in for Cold War Kids.  The lights was either white, yellow-ish, or none at all.  This is in huge contrast to Death Cab, who enjoyed a variety of reds, blues, and smoke machine...  The lighting really made a huge difference, if you ask me.

Anyroad, before we get to Death Cab for Cutie, I have to explain that I've seen the band before in 2001 at the 7th Street Entry for $5. People who live in Minnesota know that the 7th Street is a tiny venue. We reckon it can only hold about 200 people without choking itself. So that was then, a very nice and smokey and not to mention intimate setting to see Death Cab.

How far they've come! They are now doing 5,000 capacity sized venue. And although it didn't sell out, I would hazard at least 60% of tickets was sold, based on my asian math perception skills (that didn't even make sense, it's 1:30am as I'm writing this). Anyway, floor tickets are the cheapest - at a whopping $49-ish a ticket. The guy next to me said with all the fees involved (this is why I hate ticketmaster), he paid $98 for two tickets online!

For the fans, it was worth every penny... they sang (yes, they all sang along) to every song. HUGE reception to "I Will Possess Your Heart" with its 300-minute epic music intro. This is followed by everyone's favorite acoustic-only song, "I Will Follow You into the Dark", followed by "Cath...", followed by the ba-ba song of "The Sound of Settling". Ben Gibbard had the audience eating out of his hands.

For the encore, they did three songs, I'm sure one of them was brand new from their new EP and the other was "Transatlanticism".

It looks like they're continuing on their very successful, mostly sold-out tour. So even if you wanted to see them, you're probably already out of luck - but of course, if you're a huge fan, you probably have your tickets in advance.

Cold War Kids' latest album is called Loyalty to Loyalty from Downtown Music (get a copy at amazon) and the very popular Death Cab's latest is called Narrow Stairs from Atlantic Records. Not sure what their current relationship is with Barsuk, but Ra Ra Riot is on it and it's still one of my favorite record label :)

PS, no photos for this show, because of the strict anti-camera from the security people.

 04/16/2009 01:40:42 ♥ vu () ♥ deathcabforcutie.com/myspace.com ♥ coldwarkids.com/myspace.com 

Indie Indie, Yeah Yeah

My theory about band names with repeating words is that they're easy to remember and easier to say. So below are some bands with repeating words.

Gang Gang Dance - House Jam Gang Gang Dance GANG GANG DANCE ganggangdance.com ♥ myspace.com Gang Gang Dance caused quite a stir on last year's CMJ. I know for a fact that they left a great impression on all the people that went to see them. Their music is best described as "experimental", if not world primitive or tribal rhythm (see Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Apache Beat). Saint Dymphna is their fourth album, having already established themselves in the New York scene. If you listen carefully to the album, each song flows into the next with background noises and such. Among the songs that stood out, I did enjoyed the rap-ish song "Princes", which is sung by Tinchy Stryder. He's from London, so you can hear the distinctive accent in his lyrics. Although this could easily be their stand-out-track, I felt it wouldn't represent the band's sound as it sounds pretty different from the rest of the album. While as much as I enjoy the occasional, as Lara puts it, "Weird Crazy Things That Sound Like Woodlawn Creatures and Kitchen Utensils", Saint Dymphna does an OK job on balancing this sound with more pop-friendly tunes like "House Jam". "House Jam", along with "First Communion" and "Princes", really made the album worth checking out, even if you don't like that sort of thing. So find out why Fact Magazine thinks "one of the best albums we've heard all year." You can pick up anywhere, including amazon and itunes. They will be heading out to do a massive world tour: 02/13/09 Paradiso Amsterdam 02/14/09 AB Club Brussels 02/15/09 Uebel + Gefahrlich Hamburg 02/16/09 Schauspielhaus Leipzig 02/17/09 Volksbuhne Berlin 02/18/09 Karlstorbahnof Heidelberg 02/19/09 Generiq Festival Dijon 02/20/09 Point Ephemere Paris 02/21/09 Route du Rock Festival St. Malo 02/22/09 Grand Mix Tourcoing 02/25/09 Roadhouse Manchester 02/26/09 Dingwalls London 02/27/09 Fleece Bristol 02/28/09 Audio Brighton 05/30/09 Primavera Sound Festival Barcelona		Tapes N Tapes-Le Ruse Tapes N Tapes TAPES 'N TAPES tapesntapes.com ♥ myspace.com I'm not qualify to write this review, but since I couldn't actually convince my local writers here to do an article on their second album, Walk It Off, because they actually paid real-life money for it... I don't know what all the fuss is about this band. I think sometime in 2007, I started hearing this band a lot from friends and not-so-friends. So definitely, there's some huge buzz and they're known in other parts of the world - not just in Minneapolis. Andrew reckons that the band got so massive that they basically left Darren (from Kid Dakota) on his own for his just-released The Hopefuls' album (someone, not me, is supposed to review this one). Anyway, my expectation for Tapes 'N Tapes' Walk it Off is that it's supposed to be fun and bouncy and dancey. It's not. The album failed on all three accounts. Maybe I'm just not listening to it right? The most exciting song on the album is possibly "Le Ruse", all the other songs, including their single, "Hang Them All", did not did not impress me. Hey, but if you're looking for a cool indie band, you should check out Tapes 'N Tapes, everyone else seems to love them. Hopefully Lara & Kate will have some favorable things to say about them on February 6th, when they are stopping back home with what the LA Times are calling "2009 Artist to Watch", Wild Light. The tour dates: 01/15/09 The Waiting Room Omaha, Nebraska 01/17/09 Fox Theater Boulder, Colorado 01/19/09 Neurolux Boise, Idaho 01/20/09 Neumo’s Seattle, Washington 01/21/09 Doug Fir Portland, Oregon 01/23/09 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California 01/24/09 El Rey Theater Los Angeles, California 01/25/09 The Casbah San Diego, California 01/27/09 Sante Fe Brewing Company Sante Fe, New Mexico 01/29/09 Parish Austin, Texas 01/30/09 Club Dada Dallas, Texas 01/31/09 Opolis Norman, Oklahoma 02/02/09 Jackpot Music Hall Lawrence, Kansas 02/03/09 Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri 02/04/09 Maintenance Shop @ Iowa State Ames, Iowa 02/05/09 Nutty’s Sioux Falls, South Dakota 02/06/09 First Ave Minneapolis, Minnesota 02/20/09 Legends @ Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana 02/21/09 The Basement Columbus, Ohio 02/22/09 Brillobox Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 02/24/09 Paradise Boston, Massachusetts 02/25/09 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York 02/26/09 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York 02/27/09 Rock & Roll Hotel Washington DC, Washington DC 02/28/09 Johnny Brendas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 03/02/09 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina 03/03/09 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia 03/04/09 Bottletree Birmingham, Alabama 03/05/09 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee 03/06/09 Phoenix Hill Tavern Louisville, Kentucky 03/07/09 Metro Chicago, Illinois
Pas Chic Chic!-En Chaine et en Vogue Pas Chic Chic! PAS CHIC CHIC! paschicchic.com ♥ myspace.com Pas Chic Chic! (which means "not smart"?) are a band based out of Montreal, Canada. Their debut album, Au Contraire was released last year on Semprini Records... and it's entirely in French. The songs are mostly sung by Eric (?), with the exception of a few songs by Marie-Douce ("Se Mirer Mare", "Mlle Mille" and "Brise Méprise") which comes off as very 60s girl pop. Eric's songs sounds like it's trying to be sexy, and maybe it is to girls swooning over his sex Canadian French accents. There's a few brilliant pop songs on the album that I really enjoy, including "Mlle Mille" and "Tesclichés Déclenchés". My favorite is "En Chaine et en Vogue", which is a good example of their sound because the boy-girl vocals works very well here. Apparently the band caught the attention of Julian Cope (who apparently when not being a musician is also a music critic): I've also been hugely impressed by AU CONTRAIRE, the debut album by Montreal's Pas Chic Chic, whose urgent, disorientating and eloquent experimental psychedelic pop inhabits a bizarre hinterland somewhere between Alan Gill's beautiful early Dalek I Love You COMPASS KUMPAS sound, The Teardrop Explodes circa ‘When I Dream’ and ‘Thief of Baghdad’, and Dave Balfe and Bill Drummond’s Lori & the Chameleons project as played by Stereolab. Whirling ice-rink string synths, uppity toy soldier snare drummers and clamorous tragic male’n’female French language vocals conspire to create a sound of huge tragedy and loss... Look for the band coming up on "Canadian Music Week" on March 12th in Toronto. You can find Au Contraire digitally (itunes or emusic) or CD via amazon.		I Hope My New House Feels Welcoming For You Pee-Pee PEE-PEE myspace.com Possibly one of the worst name for a band, and equally "catchy" album name, is Pee-Pee's Castile Jackine is Vooded at Broonus Mousin: Volume 1. If you can get past the name(s), this is a pretty interesting and developed band, from the strange non-sense improv of "Freakout Jam" to rock funk of "I Love U 2 Much" to the melodic folk "I Hope My New House Feels Welcoming For You". There's a lot of layers in their music, with a lot of instruments that you would find in bluegrass or Americana band: a saw here, an accordion there. I'm not sure if I hear the banjo, but I wouldn't be surprise if they incorporate that in their music. What sets them apart from traditional Americana bands is that they seem to really enjoy using technology to make them sound warp. For example, check out the sound from the acoustic guitar on "Love needs a Quivering, Restless, Aching, Fire to Lay its Head On" and vocals on "Madness Song (remix)". The different shifts in style and tone of their songs makes the album all over the map. I'll only recommend the album if you enjoy different genre of music, but fans of Animal Collective and Of Montreal to 60s psychedelic rock should like this band. Be on the look out for Volume Two of Castile Jackine..., as the album is actually already "in the can" as they say. Apparently in recording of their album, they had enough material to be split on two albums. You can get Castile Jackine..., released last November on the Helmet Room Label, at most online stores (emusic), physical CDs can be found on cdbaby. PS, bonus points for utilizing "Hey Jude" on "O, Little Boy".

Did you all like that? Check out some other bands that we've previously covered:

Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! - Crime Wave	Tiger! Tiger! - Black Daggers	Tiger, Tiger - I Suppose	Dark Dark Dark - Ashes	Duran Duran - The Reflex
Yo-Yo Mundi -There is a Light that Never Goes Out	Patron & Patron - Either Or	Xiu Xiu - Fast Car	Die! Die! Die! - Sideways, Here We Come	The Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy
Caw! Caw!-Organisms	Ra Ra Riot - Dying Is Fine	Me Me Me - Hanging Around	Sing-Sing - Feels Like Summer	Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

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