W♥M

Reptar w/ Icky Blossoms at 7th St Entry, Minneapolis (12 Apr 2015)

Icky Blossoms Setlist In Folds Babes Heat Lightning I Am Bang Want You So Bad Sex to the Devil Living in Fiction Cycle (fans' request) Perfect Vision Read More Reptar Athens' Reptar will be playing the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis this April 12th, in support of their sophomore album Lurid Glow (out now on Joyful Noise). .... Icky Blossoms Icky Blossoms has that dance electro-pop sound that gets the party going. As they start the set, onlookers from the crowd.....

Athen's Reptar and Omaha's Icky Blossoms are touring together (at least until tomorrow, April 14th), stopping by the 7th Street in Minneapolis last night, April 12th. I have seen both bands opening up for The Faint in 2012 and 2014, so their music can probably be classified as dance-centric, and maybe even a little quirky.

Icky Blossoms

Icky Blossoms opened up the show on time at 9:30pm, but played past their time allotment... totally a full 45 minute set.

Icky Blossoms is normally a trio, with singer/synth Sarah Bohling, singer/guitarist Derek Pressnall, and guitarist Nik Fackler... but for the live tour, they have added a bassist (not introduced) and a drummer called Ryan.

Icky Blossoms Setlist

As you can see from their setlist, the majority of their set is taken from their 2012 self-titled album, such as fan-favorite "Sex to the Devil" and "Babes" (which was used in the official trailer for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For). Eight minutes past ten, guitarist Nik stopped the show and asked if they could play one or two songs to the soundboard guy. By this time, the fans were shouting "Cycle" from the dancefloor. The band decided to fulfill the request and played that song... right before ending with their original set closer, "Perfect Vision".

Also note, the band previewed three songs ("In Folds", "Want You So Bad", and "Living in Fiction") from their forthcoming album Mask, which they are expecting to release in May 2015, via Saddle Creek.

Since Icky Blossoms went over their time, Reptar had to push their set until closer to 11pm, rather than their intended original 10:30 time slot. Most of the pre-setup was actually trying to get the three main light stand to work - apparently they were too tall for the very cramped 7th Street Entry stage. After some adjustments, the light stands were lowered and doesn't exactly spin in circles, as seen in various live photos. Still, the light show was fun to watch.

If you didn't know, Reptar is from Georgia, featuring singer/guitarist Graham Ulicny, bassist Ryan Engelberger, keyboardist William Kennedy, and drummer Andrew McFarland. For the tour, they also feature extra guitarist Jace Bartet, saxophonist Walter "BadDog" Fancourt, and trumpeter Sean Smith.

Since the current tour is for their recently released album Lurid Glow (Joyful Noise Records), the band played a few tracks from the album, including "Daily Season" and "Ice Black Sand" (which were played as first and second song) and "Amanda" (which was played late in their set).

Also worth noting was that it was keyboardist William's birthday, so they were all in really good spirit, celebrating his birthday.

Reptar and Icky Blossoms' last date together is taking place tomorrow at Icky's hometown, Omaha at Slow Down.

Reptar will continue their tour in Kansas on Thursday:

04.16 // Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck 04.17 // Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge 04.18 // Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court 04.19 // Boise, ID @ Neurolux 04.21 // Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern 04.22 // Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios 04.24 // San Francisco, CA @ Independent 04.25 // Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre 04.26 // San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar 04.27 // Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom

04.29 // Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress 04.30 // El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace 05.01 // Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall 05.02 // Austin, TX @ Stubb's Jr. 05.03 // Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's 05.09 // Tampa, FL @ Big Guava Music 05.14 // Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight 05.15 // Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West 05.16 // Nashville, TN @ The High Watt 06.06 // Ozark, AR @ Wakarusa Music Festival

Reptar at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (12 April 2015)

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

Minneapolis: April 11 - April 12, 2015

Here are some shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul from April 11 to April 12, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Who's Bad As part of their tenth anniversary as a band, Who's Bad, the Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band, stopped by Minneapolis' Mill City Nights on Saturday, April 19th. You have to keep ....

WHO'S BAD?
at Mill City Nights
Saturday 04/11/15, 9pm ($20)
millcitynights.com

Who's Bad at Mill City Nights, Minneapolis (19 April 2014)

We caught the Michael Jackson tribute band Who's Bad at Mill City Nights last year, and it was one of the best cover band we've ever seen. They are really dedicated, evening having two Michael Jacksons (a younger and older version) and they play all the hits... including some Jackson Five.

Who's Bad will be returning to Minneapolis this Saturday, April 11th. Get your tickets now, as it will likely sell out.

Tour dates:

04/02/15 Hanover, MD Maryland Live! Casino
04/03/15 Bethlehem, PA Musikfest Cafe
04/04/15 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
04/10/15 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
04/11/15 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
04/17/15 Little Rock, AR Rock Town Distillery
04/18/15 Norwood, MA Norwood Theatre
04/25/15 Hopewell, VA The Beacon Theatre
04/26/15 New York, NY HighLine Ballroom
04/30/15 Hilton Head Island, SC Rooftop Bar
05/01/15 Florence, SC Downtown Florence
05/02/15 Farmville, VA Farmville Regional Airport
05/08/15 Vancouver, BC Fortune Sound Club
05/09/15 Winnipeg, MB Club Regent Casino
05/22/15 Pensacola, FL Vinyl Music Hall
05/30/15 St. John's, NL Holy Heart Theatre
06/03/15 Bensalem, PA TD Bank Amphitheater
06/05/15 Pittsburgh, PA The Rivers Casino
06/12/15 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

Read More Caribou Merge Records is releasing Caribou's Our Love this October 7th. The lead track "Can't Do Without You" has already racked up well over 3.5 million plays across Soundcloud, Spotify and.....

CARIBOU w/ Egyptrixx
at First Avenue
Sunday 04/12/15, 7pm ($17)
first-avenue.com

We previously mentioned that Merge Records was releasing Caribou's Our Love last year... if you haven't bought it yet, the good news is that a new Digital Expanded Version of Our Love came out last month.

In support of the Expanded Edition, Caribou is stopping by First Avenue's mainroom next Sunday, April 12th.

David Psutka, aka Egyptrixx, will be opening up the show.

Caribou Live Dates:

09 Apr Pioneerville, US, Pappy & Harriets
10 Apr Indio, US, Coachella
11 Apr Chicago, US, The Metro
12 Apr Minneapolis, US, First Avenue
13 Apr Winnipeg, CA, Garrick Centre
14 Apr Saskatoon, CA, O'Brians Event Centre
15 Apr Edmonton. CA, Union Hall
16 Apr Calgary, CA, Flames Central
17 Apr Indio, US, Coachella
28 May Milan, IT, Magnolia
29 May Nimes, FR, This Is Not A Love Song
30 May Barcelona, ES, Primavera
04 June Porto, PT, Primavera Porto
05 June Halluin, FR, Heartbeats
06 Jun London, Field Day
07 Jun Manchester, Parklife
13 Jun Toronto, CA, Bestival Toronto
14 Jun Manchester, US, Bonnaroo
25 Jun Werchter, BE, Rock Werchter
27 Jun Paris, FR, Solidays
28 Jun Ljubljana, SK, Flow Festival
29 Jun Vienna, AT, Full Hit of Summer
16 Jul Ostrava, CZ, Colours of Ostrava Festival
17 Jul Suffolk, UK, Latitude Festival

Read More Reptar Reptar, an Athens, GA-based five-piece got their 45 min. set started with a generous helping of new songs from a yet-untitled forthcoming album, as well as selections from its six-year back..... Icky Blossoms Icky Blossoms has that dance electro-pop sound that gets the party going. As they start the set, onlookers from the crowd.....

REPTAR w/ Icky Blossoms
at 7th Street Entry
Sunday 04/12/15, 8pm ($12)
first-avenue.com

Athens' Reptar will be playing the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis this April 12th, in support of their sophomore album Lurid Glow (out now on Joyful Noise).

We previously saw Reptar with The Faint in 2014 and described them as sounding like "everything-including-the-kitchen-sink sound that has a blend of alternative, emo rock, tribal/reggae and more".

Opening up the show will be electronic pop trio Icky Blossoms, who we also previously saw with The Faint in 2012.

Tour dates:

04.01 // Raleigh, NC @ King's Barcade
04.02 // Washington DC, DC @ U Street Music Hall
04.03 // Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar
04.04 // Boston, MA @ Great Scott
04.07 // Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
04.08 // Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi
04.09 // Chicago, IL @ Abbey Pub
04.10 // Madison, WI @ The Frequency
04.11 // Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
04.12 // Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
04.14 // Omaha, NE @ Slow Down
04.16 // Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
04.17 // Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
04.18 // Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
04.19 // Boise, ID @ Neurolux
04.21 // Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
04.22 // Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
04.24 // San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
04.25 // Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre
04.26 // San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
04.27 // Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
04.29 // Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
04.30 // El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
05.01 // Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall
05.02 // Austin, TX @ Stubb's Jr.
05.03 // Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's Downstairs
05.09 // Tampa, FL @ Big Guava Music Festival
05.14 // Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
05.15 // Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
05.16 // Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
06.06 // Ozark, AR @ Wakarusa Music Festival

Read More Mr. Gnome Mr. Gnome new album, Roaring Madness In Miniature, is coming out October 25th, 2011, via El Marko Records. They are offering a free single, "Bit of Tongue" available on Soundcloud (as well as elsewhere). ....

MR GNOME
at Nomad Pub
Sunday 04/12/15, 8pm ($10)
nomadpub.com

Cleveland duo Mr. Gnome will be in Minneapolis this Sunday, April 12th at the Nomad Pub (right across the Cedar Cultural Center), in support of their recent album The Heart of a Dark Star.

You may recall we reviewed their self-titled album in 2008 and Derek wrote, "I would think that Mr. Gnome would be an excellent album to introduce fans of "ethereal" music to harder, more intricate acts like Porcupine Tree, Canvas Solaris, and perhaps even Tool.".

Tour starts next week:

4/09/15 Grand Rapids MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
4/10/15 St. Louis MO @ Demo
4/11/15 Madison WI @ The Frequency
4/12/15 Minneapolis MN @ Nomad
4/14/15 Omaha NE @ Reverb Lounge
4/15/15 Kansas City MO @ Mini Bar
4/16/15 Denver CO @ Marquis Theater
4/17/15 Salt Lake City UT @ Bar Deluxe
4/18/15 Boise ID @ Neurolux
4/21/15 Spokane WA @ The Pin
4/22/15 Walla Walla WA @ Gesa Power
4/24/15 Seattle WA @ Columbia City Theater
4/25/15 Portland OR @ Star Theater
4/28/15 San Francisco CA @ Bottom of the Hill
4/29/15 Santa Cruz CA @ The Catalyst
4/30/15 Los Angeles CA @ Bootleg Theater
5/01/15 Tucson AZ @ The Flycatcher
5/02/15 Albuquerque NM @ The Launchpad
5/04/15 Oklahoma City OK @ The Conservatory
5/05/15 Dallas TX @ Club Dada
5/06/15 Austin TX @ Stubb’s Jr.
5/15/15 Chicago IL @ Subterranean
5/16/15 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Ballroom
5/21/15 Newport KY @ Southgate House Revival
5/22/15 Dayton OH Blind Bob's Bar
5/23/15 Columbus OH @ The Basement
5/27/15 Durham NC @ The Pinhook
5/28/15 Nashville TN @ The End
5/29/15 Pensacola FL @ The Handlebar
5/30/15 Atlanta GA The Drunken Unicorn

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

The Faint w / Reptar at Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis (24 May 2014) concert review

The Faint: Doom Abuse Tour Poster The Faint Setlist Animal Needs The Geeks Were Right Desperate Guys Mental Radio Your Retro Career Melted Victim Convenience Posed to Death I Disappear Evil Voices Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat Damage Control Take Me to the Hospital Dropkick the Punks The Conductor Help in the Head Dress Code Agenda Suicide Scapegoat Worked Up So Sexual -- Encore -- Lesson from the Darkness Paranoiattack Glass Danse Reptar Setlist Daily Season Cable Rainbounce No One Will Ever Love You Ice Block In Through the Eyelids, Out Through the Mouth Houseboat Babies Particle Tour Dates 05/30 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune 05/31 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 06/01 - San Francisco, CA @ Independent 06/05 - Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory 06/06 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy Theatre 06/11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot 06/12 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre 06/13 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium Read More The Faint Just two weekends after the first-ever Wizard Minneapolis Comic Con, the 26th Annual MCBA SpringCon Comic Book Celebration takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds … Reptar Hailing from the greater Athens-Atlanta-Asheville area, Reptar is at SXSW 2012 March 15 Cedar Street Courtyard: Reptar (2pm), Band of Skulls (3pm), Kaiser Chiefs (4pm), Keane (5pm) … The Show is the Rainbow I missed The Show is the Rainbow when they came through town (Minneapolis), so I've decided to give their album a review. The Show is the Rainbow is basically Darren Keen, and his album Tickled Pink …

“You know you risk my brain f**k again…”

Todd Fink, singer of The Faint told the crowd mid-set after a rare misstep of forgetting some lyrics. But as the crowd howled in protest, the band re-booted the song and carried on with its infectiously brooding and danceable electro-indie rock, earlier this week at The Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis.

Due to set times being incorrect on the venue’s website, we only caught the end of electronic oddity, Darren Keen, an Omaha native who also sometimes tours under the guise of The Show is the Rainbow. Set up on the floor in front of the main stage in near-darkness and sans shirt and shoes, Keen weaved an eclectic mix of electronica, ambient rock and hip-hop, that mostly served as a soundtrack for people’s conversations, or for them to stand back to take in Keen’s unique soundscapes.

Reptar Setlist

Reptar, an Athens, GA-based five-piece got their 45 min. set started with a generous helping of new songs from a yet-untitled forthcoming album, as well as selections from its six-year back catalogue, including 2012’s Body Faucet (Vagrant Records).

The band kind of employs an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink sound that has a blend of alternative, emo rock, tribal/reggae and more, and features the wails of singer Graham Ulicny, who seems to stick his tongue out a lot while singing (a la Michael Jordan?).

Reptar

The group (playfully named after a Rugrats character) seems to have a loyal core following (mostly frat boy looking) who even brought custom silk-screened posters to hold up, in hopes of further inciting the rest of the crowd. New single ‘Daily Season’ warmly started things, with older song, ‘Rainbounce’ probably getting the most response from the faithful up front, who pogo’d in place to the band which features duel percussionists.

Amidst intro music that sounded like Darth Vader breathing over air raid sirens, monochromatic Vari-Lites flashing, five LED background panels cued, and dry ice smoke filling the stage area, indie dance-punk/synth band The Faint stormed on for a 90 min. performance that warmed the small club with little ventilation, to near sweltering temperatures.

The Faint

The Omaha, NE four-piece (which even counts Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst as an early member) recently released its first studio album in six years, Doom Abuse (Sqe Music), which signals a return to more of a post-punk influence showing through the wall of retro-synth keyboards.

New song ‘Animal Needs’ started their set with dark and raw energy, and the crowd responded immediately, moving as singer Fink peeked through the dry ice haze and bobbed along with guitarist Michael “Dapose” Dappan, who shook his sweaty hair to and fro so persistently, that his actual face was rarely seen.

Electro-bass throbbed and rumbled all night from keyboardist Jacob Thiele’s consoles, with the band rarely stopping much between songs or talking to the crowd; somewhat rushed, but also keeping important momentum going. Fink looked more than casual, dressed in a loose t-shirt and floppy scarecrow hat, but rarely kept still on the small Fine Line stage, darting in and out of the fog, and in between the colored spotlights.

Anything from their notable 2001 album, Danse Macabre, including ‘Your Retro Career Melted’ and ‘Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat’ was immediately recognized by most in the crowd, who would respond in kind; while newer tracks like ‘Mental Radio’ and ‘Evil Voices’ brought forward more of a basic guitar/bass/drum dynamic that lent itself well to the live versions.

The Faint Setlist

“I’ll take the blame for that one… I feel like we should just move on”, Fink said after dropkicking some lyrics on ‘Dropkick the Punks’, but quickly decided to give the people what they wanted, and re-started the song again perfectly. The main set ended with an exclamation as ‘Worked Up So Sexual’ accomplished its mission of frothing up the mostly younger crowd into a sweaty mess on the floor, as those in the balcony looked on.

The bleak lyrics of new ‘Lesson from the Darkness’ (“Have you seen the silent tyrant? Swollen underneath his skull”) started the three-song encore, which belied its peppy Goth synth beat, while ‘Paranoiattack’ from 2004’s Wet from Birth simply invited pure movement.

Show closer, ‘Glass Danse’ was the culmination of building a near rave-like atmosphere the band and crowd had been working toward for the previous hour and a half; and despite the ominous overtones, doom and gloom dancing never felt so bright to the capacity crowd.

The Faint at Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis (24 May 2014)

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com