W♥M

Desert Daze, feat. Slowdive, Mercury Rev, JJUUJJUU, at Lake Perris, California (13 Oct 2018)

Slowdive at Desert Daze 2018 Slowdive Setlist Slomo Catch the Breeze Crazy for You Star Roving Souvlaki Space Station No Longer Making Time Alison When the Sun Hits Sugar for the Pill Golden Hair (Syd Barrett cover) Mercury Rev Setlist Holes Tonite It Shows Endlessly Opus 40 Hudson Line Goddess on a Hiway The Funny Bird Pick Up If You're There Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp The Dark Is Rising JJUUJJUU Setlist Ancient Future Bleck Zionic Mud A Forming Camo Cold Light G 4 A G Read More Desert Daze Ah, the mornings are beginning to be met by a cool autumn breeze...so this must mean desert festival season is under way! Desert Daze has been a myriad of magical atmospheric wonder along with the most entertaining of artists ....

The palm trees were a blowin’ and the wind was dusty and warm on Friday as music lovers loaded into the Lake Perris campgrounds for Desert Daze’s seventh psychedelic wonderland of American music festivals. Founder Phil Pirrone (Leader of band JJUUJJUU) has gone above and beyond to make this entity, in whatever category you want to put it under, entirely separate from your standard music festival. Year after year, he manages to succeed and surpass expectations, galvanizing us with the joy and euphoria that this celestial event brings. It’s more than just a weekend. It’s an experience of a lifetime...

Saturday, the second day of Desert Daze, is the biggest and best attended of the three-day music festival in Lake Perris, California…

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13

Following the chaos of the previous evening, Saturday was a slothful start to the festival. Meg Duffy’s Hand Habits was a soothing beginning, her dreamy vocals and impressive pedal play putting us into a nice little lullaby under the cloud-spotted sky. She has a Sharon Van Etten vibe about her…seeing the two of them together one day would be a cool duet. Just putting that out there for anyone reading this who could make that happen.

Brazilian psych-rock band Boogarins was a little like seeing a Hendrix at Woodstock set, with Dinho Almeida donning a Mickey Mouse in Fantasia T-shirt and grinning ear to ear as he shredded his guitar. I had never seen them nor did I know of them, but I’ve been keeping them in my rotation and will continue to do so.

Mercury Rev was a highlight for me and put on one hell of a set under the dark and ominous sky, complete with almost the entire Deserter’s Songs album. Holes really needs to have its cinematic debut in some desperately sad drama film soon. It’s just too damn good.

JJUUJJUU rocked out so hard core, complete with Phil giving a heartfelt thank you to all of the Dazers for being patient as they clean up the mishaps from the unforeseen forecast.

Slowdive opened to a black and white swirling backdrop, playing most of their self-titled album that dropped last year. The band was really solid, I just wanted to hear Rachel Goswell’s vocals more, as the set was super bass-heavy. It was an early evening for a majority of festival goers, as some pulled all-nighters the night before waiting for the rain to subside.

[ To be concluded ]

JJUUJJUU

Hand Habits

Boogarins

JJUUJJUU

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Slowdive

Slowdive at Desert Daze (13 Oct 2018)

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

Desert Daze 2018 Kick-Off Week

Desert Daze 2018 Kick-Off Week Read More Desert Daze Ah, the mornings are beginning to be met by a cool autumn breeze...so this must mean desert festival season is under way! Desert Daze has been a myriad of magical atmospheric wonder along with the most entertaining of artists .... Jarvis Cocker Sally, joins us once again to talk more Britpop! Is there a britpopcast in the future? Talks centers around Jarvis Cocker and Pulp, Suede. Pulp started in 1978 … Slowdive Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years! .... My Bloody Valentine The great noise, shoegazing band My Bloody Valentine is on a reunion tour. We’re talking the original classic lineup of Kevin Shields, Colm Ó Cíosóig, Debbie Googe, and Bilinda Butcher. .…

With Desert Daze 2018 coming up this weekend (October 12th-14th, 2018) at Lake Perris, California, we thought we’d spotlight some of these bands we’ve already seen.

Also, the Music Festival announced that Friday’s ticket and Camping are nearly sold out, so if you’re on the fence about attending this weekend, it’s time to pull the trigger.

Jarvis Cocker (Friday): Frontsman of Britpopster band Pulp will be at Desert Daze on Friday. If you’ve ever listened to a Pulp album, you know that Cocker’s lyrics are often like reading a mini novel. He’s a genius. Since going solo, Cocker has really expanded from just a singer in a band to something more interesting, like film actor, film maker, and writer.

Slowdive (Saturday): After years and years of inactivity, the re-formed/re-united English band did small tour in 2014 (which was one of our greatest highlight). Now, with a 2017 self-titled album, the shoegazing band will like stick around. If you’ve never seen the band, you’ll be glad to know that they were recently added to the Desert Daze lineup for co-headlining on Saturday night.

My Bloody Valentine (Sunday): Deservingly headlining Sunday evening. Let’s face it, when you talk about shoegazing music, the band that everyone is influenced by is probably My Bloody Valentine. Like Slowdive, MBV was on a long hiatus, until Kevin Shields got the band back together.

There’s still a million other bands coming to Desert Daze, so there’s a little something for everyone.

Can’t wait for the weekend? There are a couple of smaller, side shows leading up to the big event:

Regent

10/09 Shannon & the Clams, Escape-ism, Tropa Magica

10/10 Jarvis Cocker

The Echo

10/09 Ex-Cult, Holydrug Couple at

10/11 Sons of Kemet, Younatan Gat

10/17 Cut Worms, Michael Rault

Vista Theatre

10/11 Connan Mockasin

Zebulon

10/10 Frankie & Witch Fingers, Stonefield, Wild Wing

Irenic San Diego

10/11 Hinds, Toast Music

Ace Hotel Palm Springs

10/11 Imarhan

Pappy & Harriet's

10/15 Desert Daze Official Wrap Party

Details and lineup:

Desert Daze 2018
October 12th-14th, 2018
Lake Perris, California
Tickets & Camping: ticketfly.com
More Info: desertdaze.org

Friday Tame Impala Warpaint Connan Mockasin Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats Jarvis Cocker Introducing JARV IS… Hinds Pond IDLES DAKHABRAKHA Wand Gum All Them Witches True Widow Lumerians (Late Night) Mary Lattimore Sons Of Kemet Yonatan Gat & The Eastern Medicine Singers L.A. Witch Kikagaku Moyo + Boogarins + JJUUJJUU (Late Night) Tropa Magica Sugar Candy Mountain Opening Ceremonies With Ian Svenonius

Saturday King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Slowdive Mercury Rev Perform Deserter’s Songs Chelsea Wolfe Wooden Shjips BEAK > A Place To Bury Strangers Shannon & The Clams Kevin Morby Kikagaku Moyo Malcolm Mooney Of CAN Damien Echols – High Magick Boogarins Ex-Cult Deap Vally (Late Night) Cosmonauts Prettiest Eyes (Late Night) Cut Worms JJUUJJUU Ulrika Spacek Al Lover Hand Habits Mannequin Pussy Stonefield Cat Scan

Sunday My Bloody Valentine Death Grips Shellac Ty Segall & White Fence Earth Perform The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull Preoccupations King Khan & The Shrines Julia Holter Earthless Follakzoid Bedouine Escape-Ism The Holydrug Couple Death Valley Girls Imarhan Here Lies Man Sextile Vinyl Williams Gladys Lazer Goon The Mad Walls Talks: Steve Albini

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

Desert Daze: October 12-14, 2018

Read More Desert Daze October (thank god because we would all melt in the otherwise typical days of such shenanigans) will bestow the 6th installation of the transcendent music festival Desert Daze in Joshua Tree, California. .... Tame Impala Tame Impala is touring the U.S. again in support of their album, Lonerism. Kevin and crew have definitely crafted a piece of art. Loud, incredibly groovy. ... Slowdive Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years! ....

Ah, the mornings are beginning to be met by a cool autumn breeze...so this must mean desert festival season is under way! Desert Daze has been a myriad of magical atmospheric wonder along with the most entertaining of artists, and this year is no exception. With Tame Impala headlining, it could in fact be the best one yet.

I could enumerate on how this festival is, in my opinion, the Mecca of all festivals, but it is really something to be seen by the own eye to truly comprehend. Along with bizarre instillations and an entire village complete with meditation tent and tea ceremonies, this isn’t just a music festival…it’s an Extraterrestrial Festival.

The California-based festival run by Jjuujju’s guitarist Phil Pirrone has an impressive lineup this year featuring Tame Impala, My Bloody Valentine, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (also a returning band), Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Shellac, Ty Segall & White Fence, Warpaint, Earth (performing The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull), Malcom Mooney of CAN, Steve Albini, Connan Mockasin, Pond, and Julia Holter, Earthless. There are always surprise guests and DJ’s along with plenty of mind-enhancing activities to attend in between shows.

English dream-pop band Slowdive has recently been added to the festival, which will by far be one of the most sought-out performances of the weekend.

Check out Desert Daze’s amazing lineup poster, featuring the latest additions and broken down by day. Single-day tickets are now available in addition to three-day general admission and VIP passes. Visit the festival’s website for more info.

Desert Daze is happening October 12th-14th, 2018 in Lake Perris, California.

Details and lineup:

Desert Daze 2018
October 12th-14th, 2018
Lake Perris, California
Tickets & Camping: ticketfly.com
More Info: desertdaze.org

Friday Tame Impala Warpaint Connan Mockasin Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats Jarvis Cocker Introducing JARV IS… Hinds Pond IDLES DAKHABRAKHA Wand Gum All Them Witches True Widow Lumerians (Late Night) Mary Lattimore Sons Of Kemet Yonatan Gat & The Eastern Medicine Singers L.A. Witch Kikagaku Moyo + Boogarins + JJUUJJUU (Late Night) Tropa Magica Sugar Candy Mountain Opening Ceremonies With Ian Svenonius

Saturday King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Slowdive Mercury Rev Perform Deserter’s Songs Chelsea Wolfe Wooden Shjips BEAK > A Place To Bury Strangers Shannon & The Clams Kevin Morby Kikagaku Moyo Malcolm Mooney Of CAN Damien Echols – High Magick Boogarins Ex-Cult Deap Vally (Late Night) Cosmonauts Prettiest Eyes (Late Night) Cut Worms JJUUJJUU Ulrika Spacek Al Lover Hand Habits Mannequin Pussy Stonefield Cat Scan

Sunday My Bloody Valentine Death Grips Shellac Ty Segall & White Fence Earth Perform The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull Preoccupations King Khan & The Shrines Julia Holter Earthless Follakzoid Bedouine Escape-Ism The Holydrug Couple Death Valley Girls Imarhan Here Lies Man Sextile Vinyl Williams Gladys Lazer Goon The Mad Walls Talks: Steve Albini

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

Slowdive at Palace Theatre, St Paul (02 May 2017)

Slowdive Setlist Slomo (Live debut) Catch the Breeze Crazy for You Machine Gun Star Roving Avalyn Souvlaki Space Station When the Sun Hits Alison Sugar for the Pill She Calls Golden Hair (Syd Barrett cover) -- Encore -- Slowdive No Longer Making Time 40 Days Tour Dates 05/05 Danforth Music Hall, Toronto 05/07 9:30 Club, Washington, DC 05/08 Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY 05/09 Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY 05/10 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC Read More Slowdive Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years! .... 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 ...

Reunited shoegazing English band Slowdive recently headlined the new Palace Theatre in St Paul on Tuesday, May 2nd.

Since the Palace’s opening in March 2017 (with first national act Phantogram), the venue has been booking a ton of great bands, including the xx, String Cheese Incident, and, of course, Slowdive.

DJ Jake Rudh played music before the start of the show .... which was unexpected, but not really a surprise if you follow his work. Rudh is a big fan of UK bands, particularly of the 70s-80s era. His playlist on Tuesday was a little more expanded, since it wasn’t just limited to music videos (there was no video setup at the Palace Theatre). The music is what you would expect at a typical Transmission show.

Oregon’s Japanese Breakfast opened up the show. We’ve seen the band multiple times, and every time singer and band leader Michelle Zauner (who is Korean, not Japanese) kept adding people to her live band: starting with a duo, then trio, and, now on Tuesday’s show, they are a quartet.

Even though Zauner still do not understand the differences between St Paul and Minneapolis, she always made sure that they mentioned local band Strange Relations. Apparently Zauner’s first ever band was in Strange Relations (who we believe started on the east coast before locating to Minneapolis), so it’s with heartfelt love that she dedicated ‘Everybody Wants to Love You’ (from their record Psychopomp) to the local trio.

The band recently announced their lead single ‘Machinist’, taken from their forthcoming Soft Sounds From Another Planet album - set for July 14th release via Dead Oceans.

We were pretty excited (and lucky) to have caught Slowdive in October 2014 and made for one of the most memorable shows we’ve attended. Part of the fun was that the band (guitarist/singer Neil Halstead, guitarist/singer Rachel Goswell, bassist Nick Chaplin, guitarist Christian Savill, and drummer Simon Scott), all dressed up in costumes for Halloween.

We actually thought that was it for the reunion tour, so it was pretty exciting to hear a year ago, that the band, was in fact, writing and recording new material. Since they came back together, the band had to re-learn how to play their old songs... and that put in motion the inspiration to put together new songs to better reflect the band now. As a result, the band’s self-titled 2017 record is coming out May 5th, via Dead Oceans.

The band seemed really excited to play the new songs, giving us the live debut of ‘Slomo’ as the intro song. As the song title suggest, this was a “slow-motion”, slow-burning buildup song.

All of their songs were also accompanied by various imagery, which were projected on the background... often in sync with the flow of the songs. This tells me that the band put a lot of thoughts into making for an interesting show, especially since the custom videos are unique to each song.

Fans of their 90s records (Just for a Day, Souvlaki , and Pygmalion) were in for a treat, as many of those songs were played on their set. Newer songs, like the lead single ‘Star Roving’, were played sparingly. They ended their set with a Syd Barrett cover, ‘Golden Hair’... which was the same set closer from their 2014 set.

Look for Slowdive’s self-titled in stores this Friday. Slowdive is continuing their U.S. tour.

Marquee	Japanese Breakfast	Japanese Breakfast	Slowdive Setlist	Slowdive
Slowdive	Slowdive	Slowdive	Slowdive	Slowdive

Slowdive at Palace Theatre, St Paul (02 May 2017)

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

Minneapolis: April 29 to May 02, 2017

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from April 29 to May 02, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Hurray For The Riff Raff Hurray For The Riff Raff just released their latest, Small Town Heroes, on ATO. Really good Cajun Sound. I saw them at the Mojo BBQ, two or three years ago and have always been impressed. ...

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFT
at Fine Line Music Café
Sunday 04/30/17, 7:30pm ($16)
finelinemusic.com

Hurray For The Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) is back in Minneapolis at the Fine Line Music Café this Sunday.

Ron Gallo to open.

Tour dates:

4/27 - Ferndale, MI - The Magic Bag*
4/28 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall*
4/29 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon*
4/30 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Café*
5/2 - St. Louis, MO - Old Rock House*^
5/3 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge*^
5/4 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn*^
5/5 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theater*
6/2 - Dallas, TX - Trees
6/3 - Houston, TX - Free Press Summer Fest
6/4 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk#
6/6 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf#
6/7 - Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom#
6/9 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom#
6/10 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theater#
6/11 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore#
6/13 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall#
6/15 - Vancouver, CA - Imperial#
6/16 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile#
6/18 - Boise, ID - The Olympic Venue#
6/19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge#
6/21 - Denver, CO - The Bluebird Theater#

* with Ron Gallo
^ with Becca Mancari
# with Making Movies

Read More White Reaper Louisville's White Reaper is heading to CMJ in support of their debut EP, out now on Polyvinyl Records. Look for the trio to open up for Deerhoof later in November. … No Parents The White Fang & No Parents co-headlining “Escape From LA” North-American tour will stop by the Turf Club this Saturday, October 15th. …

WHITE REAPER
at 7th Street Entry
Monday 05/01/17, 7pm ($10)
first-avenue.com

Kentucky’s White Reaper is back in town in support of The World's Best American Band (Polyvinyl Records).

The last time we saw them in 2015, we noted, “I couldn't help but be completely captivated by keyboardist of White Reaper. I don't think there was a second where this guy was standing still. He was all over the stage and it was honestly hard to keep track of him because I wanted to watch everything else going on at the same time. He seemed to be a bit of a goofball and would play the keys with his teeth and lick the bass guitar in between songs. It sounds dumb but it really did add to the fun factor of this show. Like I said, if the band looks like they are having fun, the crowd is more apt to have fun.”

No Parents will open.

White Reaper On Tour 2017

April 26- San Antonio, TX- The Korova #
April 29- Norman, OK- Norman Music Fest
May 1 - Minneapolis, MN- 7th Street Entry #
May 2- Madison, WI- The Frequency #
May 4- Milwaukee, WI- Rave Bar #
May 5- Chicago, IL- Beat Kitchen #
May 6- Cincinnati, OH- Madison Theater #
May 8- Columbus, OH- Basement #
May 9- Grand Rapids, MI- The Stache #
May 12- Nashville, TN- Basement East
May 13- Lexington, KY- The Burl ^
May 19-21- Gulf Shores, AL- Hangout Music Festival
June 2-4- Cincinnati, OH- Bunbury Music Festival
June 11- Manchester, TN- Bonnaroo
July 29-30- Detroit, MI- Mo Pop Festival

# W/ No Parents
^ W/ Twin Peaks

Read More Slowdive Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years! .... 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 ...

SLOWDIVE
at Palace Theatre
Tuesday 05/02/17, 7pm ($25)
palacestpaul.com

English shoegazing band Slowdive is back in Minnesota. The trio (Rachel Goswell, Simon Scott, and Neil Halstead) now has added two additional players: Nick Chaplin and Christian Savill.

We previously caught the band when they re-formed in 2014 and wrote that it was one of our most memorable shows from October! Since the band played Minneapolis on Halloween, they were all dressed up in costumes: “Anyway, Halloween shows are always fun, because half the fun of watching the band is also watching the audience for some great costumes. Usually bands will come on stage in costumes, but for Reading-based Slowdive, they went all out! Not only was everyone, including the audio techs and sound engineers, dressed up, but they went the extra mile and dressed their stage with various Halloween fun like cobwebs, handmade pirate flags, skulls, pumpkins, candies! This tells me the band are really committed to show us a good time!”

Japanese Breakfast to open. We saw the band in Sep 2016 and wrote, “Japanese Breakfast played their new album, Psychpomp, from front to back which was definitely a treat. These guys have a super unique and fun sound but and to be able to hear and see them play this in album in its entirety definitely raised the bar. None of the songs sounded the same which was refreshing. Each song had a different feeling to it and a different energy. There's some slow songs, almost ballad like songs, some fast ones, and their signature closing song about falling in love with a robot that has a very electronica feel to it.”

Tour dates:

May 2nd - Palace Theatre, St. Paul, MN
May 3rd - The Vic, Chicago, IL
May 5th - Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, Canada
May 7th - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
May 8th - Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY
May 9th - Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY
May 10th - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC

Read More The Wooden Sky Toronto band The Wooden Sky has a sound that’s hard to define. They’ve been described as alt-country, alt-folk, fuzz-folk, folk rock and roots rock. On June 16th, they will release their fourth full-length album, Let’s Be Ready. … Pond The thing about Perth, Australia's Pond is that three band members is actually in another, more successful Australian band Tame Impala. Although, it would seem that Pond …

Other shows in the area:

04/29/17 American Football is touring for their second album American Football (Polyvinyl Records), stopping by First Avenue on Saturday. S. Carey and Aero Flynn to open. 7pm, $25.

04/29/17 Toronto-based artist, composer and producer Lydia Ainsworth is headlining the 7th Street Entry this Saturday. This is her first-ever headlining tour, in support of her album Darling of the Afterglow. Dem Yuut and Eric Mayson to open. 8pm, $10.

04/29/17 Timber Timbre is playing the Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday. Show up early to check out alt-country Canadian collective The Wooden Sky. We saw the Wooden Sky in 2015 and said, “Canada's The Wooden Sky was up next, playing songs from their latest album Let's Be Ready, which Dena called "soothing and upbeat". While they mostly just played straight through their set, they did pause a minute to dedicate "Baby Hold On" to the Replacements and how three members of the band went to see them on their first show in Toronto.” 7pm, $15.

05/02/17 The Pines is playing at the great Hopkins Center For The Arts in Hopkins, Minnesota. We previously saw the Pines in 2013 and wrote, “The mellow night started off with special guest Dave Simonett, of Trampled By Turtles, doing a solo set. In contrast, The Pines had a full band with them. Then about four songs into their set, they added a mandolin player, as well as a cellist. It was really funny, because the scarecrow they had behind them almost fell down a couple times. I have seen them about three times, and I have to say it was a good performance. They commented on how they love playing at the Cedar.” 6pm, $25.

05/02/17 Australia’s Pond is back at the Turf Club in St Paul. I believe the last time they were in town was in 2014 with Doctopus. This time they are bringing fellow Australian Kirin J Callinan. 7pm, $15.

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

Vu's Best Of 2014 Concerts

Read More Slowdive Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years! .... Kaiser Chiefs Never miss a beat. It had been a long seven years since their last appearance in Minneapolis (the band skipped us in 2012), but Leeds, UK band Kaiser Chiefs re-stormed the city and stage for an animated, back-to-glory performance .... Paul Weller The Modfather Paul Weller is currently on a tiny US tour heading to Riot Fest in Chicago. For some reason, Minneapolis is just one of four US non-festival dates, and so naturally, the Varsity Theater show last night, September 10th, was sold out. .... Stars Canadians Stars and Hey Rosetta! are currently on tour together, supporting new albums, stopping by First Avenue in Minneapolis, last night, November 19th. For fans who couldn't make it, you can watch the show streaming online Lily Allen Lily Allen is currently in the US, touring in support of her latest album, Sheezus (Regal, Parlophone), stopping by the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis last night

Of my 113 live shows I personally attended in 2014, these are my top ten.

1. Slowdive at Fine Line (31 Oct 2014)
An absolutely unforgettable show. After a 22 year absent, the band is back, healthier, happier, and dressed for the occasion (Halloween). Played all the hits, completely professional and absolutely a treat (like the candies they handed out) to finally see live.

2. Kaiser Chiefs at First Ave (13 June 2014)
WOW, these guys are amazing live. They did some things on this show that I've never, ever seen done at First Avenue (climbing owner's box rafters).

3. Paul Weller at Varsity Theater (10 Sep 2014)
Speaking of 20+ years absent from Minneapolis, the Modfather Paul Weller returned to the city. Fans of British music could not absolutely miss this sold out show.

4. Stars at First Avenue (19 Nov 2014)
Maybe it was because they were filming this live show for Yahoo, but this was a great show. I've criticized the band before when they only played new songs... but not this 2014 show. They played a lot of old stuff, including some hits and they did it because of the fans.

5. Lily Allen at Skyway (01 Oct 2014)
I love it when a band put on a show, and that's exactly what I got when I saw Allen. Sure, the setlist is the same every night, but the routines (including three costume changes) were absolutely fun to watch.

6. Peter Hook at Fine Line (15 Nov 2014)
I'll probably never see New Order live, so seeing Peter Hook play some classic New Order songs were good enough for me. Plus, bad snowstorm and sold out environment and three-hour music set, made it for a memorable show.

7. Buzzcocks at Varsity Theater (11 Sep 2014)
Legendary punk band... absolute blast to see them still at it.

8. Tori Amos at O'Shaughnessy (03 Aug 2014)
My first time seeing Tori, and it was everything I expected! Her set is different every night, thanks to fan requests... so you never know what she is going to play!

9. Pixies at State Theatre (11 Oct 2014)
This is one of those bands on my bucket list... I can finally cross them off the list. Really tight show, the band played all the hits and showcased their new songs.

10. Festival Palomino (20 Sep 2014)
Although the Americana music thing isn't my cup of tea, I have to give big thumbs up for this incredibly well-organized first-ever music festival of its kind. The event sold so well that they've already announced a second Festival Palomino... so obviously I'm looking forward to 2015.

W♥M223: Rocktober to Snowvember

Read More Lily Allen Lily Allen is currently in the US, touring in support of her latest album, Sheezus (Regal, Parlophone), stopping by the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis last night. …

Vu and John recaps Rocktober 2014, plus news/rumors, and November show previews.

News

Macaulay Culkin is not dead. He's in a cover band The Pizza Underground (a Velvet Underground cover band... but the subject matter are all replaced by pizzas). The Pizza Underground was recently in Minneapolis, playing a show with Har Mar Superstar... currently in Texas.

Rumor: Could Liam and Noel be getting back together? With Beady Eye's break up, via twitter.com/liamgallagher, the rumors are coming fast and furious. Noel, on the other hand has a new Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds coming out early 2015 called Chasing Yesterday (Sour Mash Records).

Robert Plant apparently kiboshed a Led Zeppelin reunion guaranteeing $800 mil. from Richard Branson. 35 dates in 3 cities (London, Berlin, NJ).

Artists and digital music sites: U2 uploading new album Songs of Innocence to all iTunes users, Morrissey's music is not online, Taylor Swift pulls hers from Spotify, Garth Brooks self-distributing...

Rocktober 2014

Pre-Rocktober: Lykke Li and La Roux

Rocktober Highlights: Lily Allen, Paloma Faith, Vintage Trouble, Placebo, Pixies, Augustines, and Slowdive.

Honorable mentions: of Montreal, Kooks, and Agnes Obel

Here is a list of all the shows we covered in October:

10/01 Lily Allen at Skyway 10/01 Phantogram at Myth 10/02 Paloma Faith at Triple Rock 10/02 Agent Orange at 7th St 10/04 Kooks at First Ave 10/05 Vintage Trouble at Varsity 10/06 of Montreal at Cedar 10/07 Lucius at Electric Fetus 10/07 Tennis at Fine Line 10/07 Belle & Sebastian at Theatre 10/08 Screaming Females at Triple R 10/08 Banks at First Ave 10/09 We Are Scientists at Turf Club 10/09 Allen Stone at Terminal 5 10/10 Sloan at Turf Club

10/11 Augustines at Turf Club 10/11 Pixies at State Theatre 10/14 Communion Clubnight 10/15 Kina Grannis at Varsity 10/16 Kat Edmonson at Dakota Jazz 10/17 Placebo at Mill City Nights 10/17 Iggy Azalea at TCF Stadium 10/18 Angus & Julia Stone at Cedar 10/22 Dum Dum Girls at Fine Line 10/24 Minus the Bear at Triple Rock 10/27 Ray LaMontagne at Saenger 10/29 Bear's Den at Fine Line 10/30 Agnes Obel at Dakota Jazz 10/30 Kimbra at Fine Line 10/31 Slowdive at Fine Line 10/31 Alt-J at Myth

November Shows Highlight

FKA Twigs at Fine Line (11/14)

Interpol and Hundred Waters at First Avenue (11/14)

Peter Hook and the Light at Fine Line (11/15)

Amanda Palmer at Cedar (11/16)

Suzanne Vega at the Dakota Jazz Club (11/18-11/19)

Stars at Minneapolis (11/19)

Better than Ezra at the Varsity (11/20)

Death from Above 1979 at First Avenue (11/24)

Bonus:

Song of the show is Morrissey's "November Spawned a Monster".

Synthpop Lovelife (previously Viva Brother) and their relationship to Morrissey.

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler (both from Aerosmith) and their rivalry.

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

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

Shoegazing 2014

W♥M132: Shoegazing (42 mins) Read More Slowdive Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years! …

It's an exciting time to be a shoegazing music fan, especially with the recent Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine reunions.

Just to brush you up on this music genre, it involves layers and layers of guitars and indistinguishable vocals. Journalists called it 'shoegazing' because the musicians and fans are often staring at their shoes. As insulting as the name is, it stuck.

There is a movement among fans to re-define the music as 'stargazing', which is a good idea... but I doubt the term will catch on.

Check out Amy & Vu's Shoegazing Podcast to get a better introduction to the genre.

Bands on our list:

Slowdive (later Mojave 3)

Chapterhouse

My Bloody Valentine

Moose

Lush (early Lush)

Catherine Wheel

Fleeting Joys

Belong

DIIV (recently changed their name from Dive)

Twilight Sad

Ringo Deathstarr

Young Prisms

The Depreciation Guild

Song of the show is Catherine Wheel's "Black Metallic"

Read More The Jesus and Mary Chain Now... The Jesus and Mary Chain; totally not what I was expecting at all. After seeing Duran Duran last week though, it was nice to see a group of guys (that herald from a similar era, but opposite genre) …

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
thejesusandmarychain.uk.com

The Scottish shoegazing/alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain has a new book written by Zoë Howe called The Jesus and Mary Chain: Barbed Wire Kisses (named after their 1999 album) out today on St Martin's Press. I thought I read this was the band's first biography, which Record Collector described as "engaging throughout." The biography follows the story of brothers Jim and William Reid and their journey to Alan McGee's Creation Records and beyond.

Psychocandy Live November Dates

If you didn't know, the band broke up in 1998 (officially 1999), but after the successful reissues of their five albums, the band decided to reform to play Coachella in 2007. In 2014, the band signed back with Alan McGee and announced November 2014 tour dates to debut the performance of Psychocandy Live ... to lead to the record's 30th anniversary tour in 2015. Here's hoping they bring Psychocandy Live to the USA.

The Jesus and Mary Chain tour dates:

19/11/14 London Troxy
20/11/14 Manchester Academy
21/11/14 Glasgow Barrowlands
23/11/14 Glasgow Barrowlands
24/11/14 London Troxy
16/02/15 Liverpool Guild of Students
17/02/15 O2 Academy Leeds
18/02/15 Newcastle O2 Academy
21/02/15 Norwich Norwich UEA
22/02/15 Rock City Nottingham
23/02/15 Brighton Dome
25/02/15 Birmingham Digbeth Institute
26/02/15 O2 Academy Bristol
27/02/15 Park Place, Cardiff Great Hall

Read More Whirr Heavy distortion rockers Whirr are making the rounds around the States. Literally in every city. They'll be making a stop in a really rad Art Gallery called The Big Top (3 Ring Circus) right of St. Charles …

NOTHING
bandofnothing.com

Nothing and Whirr recently recorded two new songs with producer Will Yip. The Yip songs will be on a split 12", which will come with a full-length Whirr/Nothing 'In The Studio' documentary DVD.

Nothing Tour Dates:

11/11 - Cassiopeia - Berlin, Germany
11/12 - Hafenklang - Hamburg, Germany
11/13 - Loppen, Christiania - Copenhagen
11/14 - Inkonst - Malmö, Sweden
11/15 - Revolver - Oslo, Norway
11/16 - Kulturhuset Lava - Stockholm
11/18 - Dynamo - Eindhoven, Netherlands
11/19 - Jugendhaus West - Stuttgart
11/20 - De Kruen - Kortrijk, Belgium
11/21 - Green Door Store - Brighton, UK
11/22 - The Oobleck - Birmingham, UK
11/23 - Broadcast - Glasgow, UK
11/24 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, UK
11/25 - Birthdays - London, UK
11/26 - Het Bos - Antwerp, Belgium
11/27 - OCCII - Amsterdam, Netherlands

BRIEFLY...

PINKSHINYULTRABLAST bandcamp.com Russian five-piece Pinkshinyultrablast just released their first single "Umi" on November 10th via Club AC30. The song (taken from their forthcoming album Everything Else Matters) is described as evoking the spirit of bands like Slowdive, Lush, and The Cocteau Twins. Disdain for a stagnant scene can often be a driving force of creativity; the band say of St Petersburg that, “we realised the local indie scene was totally boring and wanted to play something radically different”.

DRAAG draagdraag.bandcamp.com Los Angeles shoegaze rockers Draag recently shared their latest single "Lavender Hole", from their forthcoming EP Tracii Lordz. Draag started in the fall of 2013 as the solo recording project of Adrian Acosta (guitar, programs, vocals) who would later recruit Jessica Huang (guitar, keys, and vocals), Adrian De La Cruz (guitar), Carlos Michel (bass, sampler) and Danny Rossi (drums).

REV REV REV facebook.com/revrevrev.band Italy's Rev Rev Rev has a debut single "Catching a Buzz" (released via new One Little Indian imprint Win-Win Records) out now, which you can hear on Mark Radcliffe's 6music show last month. The band is mostly Sebastian Lugli and Laura Iacuzio, but when they play live, there's also bassist Andrea Dall'Omo and drummer Giovanni Sisillo.

TIBICAN facebook.com/tibican London based Tibican has a new EP called It Runs Deep. The band is described as "Indie/Shoegaze mixed with a tinge of psychedelic garage", and influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai, Muse, Foals, etc. Tibican are Domenico Scialo (guitar/vocals), Peter Saunby (guitar), Cathal Wharton (bass), and Marc Saunders (drums/vocals).

STILLWAVE stillwavemusic.com Utrecht trio Stillwave (Michaël van Putten, Marcel Jongejan and Adriaan Hogervorst) semi-recently released their single "Rich Ones" from their eponymous self-titled EP (which they described as sounding like Merchandise, The National, My Bloody Valentine). Their upcoming single "Slow Binders" will be out November 25th.

UMMAGMA ummagma.com Originally formed in Moscow in 2003, Ummagma (Canadian Shauna McLarnon and Ukrainian Alexx Kretov) is currently based in Ukraine. Their latest album Kiev Remixes came out October 31st on Emerald & Doreen Recordings, and the duo has received support from Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Malcolm Holmes (OMD).

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

Slowdive at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (31 Oct 2014)

Halloween with Slowdive photo courtesy of Slowdive Slowdive Setlist Intro song "Halloween Theme" by John Carpenter Slowdive Avalyn Catch The Breeze Crazy For You Machine Gun Souvlaki Space Station Blue Skied an' Clear When The Sun Hits Morningrise She Calls Dagger Alison Golden Hair (Syd Barrett cover) -- Encore -- Albatross 40 Days Low Setlist No Comprende Plastic Cup On My Own Holy Ghost Monkey Murderer Shame/Laser Beam High + Right Landslide Tour Dates 11/03/14 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom 11/04/14 Seattle, WA The Neptune 11/05/14 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal 11/07/14 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre 11/08/14 Los Angeles, CA Theatre At Ace Hotel 12/19/14 London, United Kingdom The Forum 12/20/14 London, United Kingdom The Forum Discography [1991] Just for a Day [1993] Souvlaki [1995] Pygmalion Read More Slowdive This January, a mysterious text read, “here she comes…”, a song from Slowdive’s second album, Souvlaki; and with that, the long-awaited reunion was in motion for this Reading, UK shoe-gaze … Low Attention then shifted to the small Satellites stage for Duluth’s Low, who opened with two new songs from their latest, The Invisible Way (Sub Pop Records) before drummer Mimi Parker took over for a slo-core …

Shoegaze band Slowdive are currently on a reunion tour, stopping by Minneapolis' Fine Line Music Café, after being absent from the city in twenty-two years!

Local DJ Jake Rudh played some 80s music for fans waiting for the band to take the stage. Originally music videos, but after Low, there was no video screen, so it was just audio.

Low

Low came on stage as ZZ Top, complete fuzzy guitars and horseshoe moustache on drummer Mimi Parker. The band Duluth band have been busy playing support dates for Slowdive on this current tour, which singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk described Slowdive "as sweet as they sound."

Low Setlist

The slo-core band played a block of The Invisible Way early in their set ("Plastic Cup", "On My Own", and "Holy Ghost") and filling out the rest of their limited set with songs from their previous other albums. Since it was Halloween, the band said it was fitting that they played "Murderer".

The audience was completely attentive and quiet, which is the perfect crowd for Low's music... but a few of us wondered why there was the rare barrier to the stage at the Fine Line Music Café. It was probably because it was sold out (but I've attended many sold out shows at the Fine Line and they never had a barrier), but it's probably more likely that it was set up to give easier access to photographers.

Before we talk about Slowdive, you have to get yourself familiarized with Shoegazing music, which is typically full of guitar effects and layers with melodic vocals blending in. Check out our 40-min podcast on the subject, which we discussed Slowdive (later Mojave 3), among others. That type of music took roots in the early 90s, but almost immediately went away as the popular Britpop genre that took over England in the early to mid-90s. With the recent revival of Chapterhouse and My Bloody Valentine, it might be worth your time to check out some of these bands' back catalog to get a complete picture of the genre.

Slowdive

Anyway, Halloween shows are always fun, because half the fun of watching the band is also watching the audience for some great costumes. Usually bands will come on stage in costumes, but for Reading-based Slowdive, they went all out! Not only was everyone, including the audio techs and sound engineers, dressed up, but they went the extra mile and dressed their stage with various Halloween fun like cobwebs, handmade pirate flags, skulls, pumpkins, candies! This tells me the band are really committed to show us a good time!

Talking to fans before the show, there were a lot of people who never caught the band the first time around when they came to the US with Ride in 1992, so they were all eager to see Slowdive for the first time. Fans drove as far as from Oklahoma City (a six hour drive) just to see this Slowdive appearance.

Slowdive Setlist

As soon as Slowdive came on stage to John Carpenter's "Halloween Theme", the band handed everyone in front glowsticks to get us into the dark mood. In addition to the Halloween decorations, the band also had a custom stage projection of graphics to their songs. With Slowdive's live set, they did a great job reproducing tracks from their three studio albums (Just for a Day, Souvlaki and Pygmalion) with some great vocals from Slowdive's two main songwriters, Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell. In fact, most of the primarily original band members (drummer Simon Scott, bassist Nick Chaplin, guitarist Christian Savill) were really tight on their instruments, as if they have been rehearsing since the 90s.

In the middle of their set, the band handed us Halloween candies, which was such a treat. They would later hand us candies again on their encore. I've attended a lot of Halloween concerts, and this is the first time the band brought us sweets.

The biggest cheers of the night had to before "Machine Gun" and "Alison". The set closer, "Golden Hair", Syd Barrett cover, had Rachel leaving early to let the rest of the band play an extended jam as the audience cheered on until the band left the stage, only to come back for the inevitable encore. Two tracks "Albatross" and "40 Days" were played to perfectly end their show.

With a lot of interests and rumors of Slowdive to record a fourth studio album, we all hope they'll return back to the city soon and not take another 20 years to come back. I doubt anyone in the audience will likely forget this show.

Slowdive will be in Vancouver, Canada, on November 3rd and continues to the West Coast (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and ending in Los Angeles) before returning to London at the Forum for a two night residency. If those dates are not already sold out, you must do yourself a favor and get a ticket.

Slowdive at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (31 Oct 2014)

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

Rocktober: October 31, 2014

Read More Mojave 3 It's in this thin veneer of nostalgia that Mojave 3 find their sound. If I could sum up the whole of my summers past in an album, it would undoubtedly be Mojave 3's Spoon and Rafter. The band -- founded by once-Slowdive members …

Here are shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul on October 31, 2014.

What a way to end Rocktober 2014 with these Halloween shows! Unfortunately, there's still no rest for us - as November is looking to be just as busy as October ... stay tuned.

SLOWDIVE with Low
at Fine Line Music Café
Friday 10/31/14, 8pm
$25: finelinemusic.com

This January, a mysterious text read, “here she comes…”, a song from Slowdive’s second album, Souvlaki; and with that, the long-awaited reunion was in motion for this Reading, UK shoe-gaze, experimental dream pop band.

European summer festivals and a 20-date tour on the continent followed, with the band finally coming to these shores for our own 20-date set of reunion dates. The local appearance is sold out, so hope your tickets are already in hand.

Tour Dates:

10/22/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
10/23/14 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
10/25/14 New York, NY Terminal 5
10/26/14 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
10/27/14 Montreal, QC Le National
10/28/14 Toronto, ON Opera House Concert
10/30/14 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
10/31/14 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe
11/03/14 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
11/04/14 Seattle, WA The Neptune
11/05/14 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal
11/07/14 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
11/08/14 Los Angeles, CA Theatre At Ace Hotel
12/19/14 London, United Kingdom The Forum
12/20/14 London, United Kingdom The Forum

Read More alt-J British indie-rock quartet Alt-J (∆) wrapped up their US tour last night at the Bluebird Theater in Denver. Touring in promotion of their debut album, An Awesome Wave, these highly coveted tickets for the band’s first performance … Lovelife UK/LA-based synth-pop group Lovelife's new EP, Feel (with the track 'Your New Beloved') is currently iTunes Single of the Week! As of this writing, the song received over 120,000 downloads, and you can count me as one of those downloader. …

ALT-J with Lovelife
at Myth
Friday 10/31/14, 7pm
$35: mythlive.com

British band Alt-J (∆) have been consistently selling out all their Minnesota appearance, and their special Halloween show at the Myth Nightclub is no less. Typically Halloween shows are amazing, because everyone is dressed up ... and watching the show on stage is only half the fun.

Alt-J is on tour in support of their latest album This Is All Yours, out now on Atlantic.

Opening up for Alt-J on the first leg of their tour will be Lovelife, a band that we previously mentioned was iTunes Single of the Week. Lovelife's latest release is called Silk Road EP, which is out now.

Tour Dates:

10/24 - San Diego, CA - Soma *
10/27 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex *
10/28 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium *
10/31 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth *
11/02 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
11/04 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom *
11/05 - Dallas, TX - Southside Ballroom *
11/06 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center *
11/07-11/09 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/10 - Detroit, MI - The Filllmore
11/11 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus
11/12 - Montreal, QB - Metropolis
11/14 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater
11/16 - New York, NY - Beacon Theater
11/18 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater
11/19 - Washington, DC - Echostage

* with Lovelife

Read More My Gold Mask We've written about My Gold Mask before, but I don't think that would prepare us to see how feisty singer Gretta gets on stage. You can tell they love performing on stage. …

THE HOOD INTERNET with Various
at Turf Club
Friday 10/31/14, 8pm
$15: turfclub.net

Chicago's The Hood Internet (Aaron Brink and Steve Reidell) are DJing across the country with other fellow Chicagoans: Psalm One (as Hologram Kizzie), My Gold Mask, and Fluffy (not to be confused with UK all-girls "Eight t*ts, no talents" band Fluffy).

We previously seen My Gold Mask before and I noted that singer Gretta Rochelle was quite comfortable on stage.

My Gold Mask recently showcased their "goth-pop ecstasy" song "Explode", via soundcloud.com.



Tour Dates

10/23 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme*
10/24 - St Louis, MO - 2720 Cherokee *
10/25 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck *
10/30 - Milwaukee, WI - Miramar Theatre *
10/31 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club *
11/01 - Chicago, IL - Double Door *

* w/ My Gold Mask, Hologram Kizzie & Fluffy

Read More DJ Paul Oakenfold But a few of the fortunate on Friday got to see landmark DJ, Paul Oakenfold, hit the decks in the new Rev Ultra Lounge (the downstairs of Union Restaurant)- a room with a capacity of a mere 280. …

HALLOWEEN PARTY and COSTUME CONTEST
at First Avenue
Friday 10/31/14, 8pm
$5: first-avenue.com

If you feel like dancing away in your Halloween costume, First Avenue's annual Halloween Party, billed as "The Best Halloween Party In Town", is the place to be. DJs spinning are:

DJ FooLProoF

☁ (CLOUD)

DJ Espada

Mike 2600

DJ Smitty

Roy Freedom

and more...

Hosted by Ian Rans.

Plus don't forget you can win over $1000.00 in cash prizes:

First Place: $500.00 + 5 pairs of concert tickets*
Second Place: $300.00 + 3 pairs of concert tickets*
Third Place: $200.00 + 2 pairs of concert tickets*
Ian’s Pick: $50.00
Best Bar (1st Place): $200.00
Best Bar (2nd Place): $50.00

[* = mutually agreeable shows]

Also, over at the Record Room, is the "Holla-Ween 9: The Walking Dread Volume 2" party, featuring Verb X.

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