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Hozier at State Theatre, Minneapolis (02 June 2019)

State Theatre marquee Hozier Setlist Would That I Dinner & Diatribes Nina Cried Power Someone New Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene Nobody Talk From Eden Wasteland, Baby! Shrike No Plan To Be Alone Almost (Sweet Music) ackie and Wilson Moment's Silence (Common Tongue) Movement Take Me to Church -- Encore -- Cherry Wine To Noise Making (Sing) Work Song Balien Setlist Rose Leaves Something Tells Me Stray Dog I Was Wrong Going On A Feeling Not Gonna Take Me 25 For The Last Time Read More Hozier Irish singer-songwriter Hozier is enjoying a sold out American tour this Winter. He's touring in support of his eponymous debut self-titled studio album, which hit #1 on the Irish chart and #2 in the US charts. .... Bailen Bailen to open. We last saw her in Sep 2017 and said that they were twins David and Daniel and their sister Julia. ....

Irish singer Hozier is currently on a sold-out American tour, stopping by the State Theatre in Minneapolis on June 2nd.

Opening up the show was sibling band Bailen, featuring Julia, Daniel, and David Bailen. There’s a certain homemade charm about them, as we discovered the first time we encountered the trio with Joseph in Sep 2017.

The NYC group recently released their debut album Thrilled To Be Here (Fantasy Records), and they were literally thrilled to be playing some choice cuts from the record like “Something Tells Me”, “I Was Wrong”, and the rousing foot-stomper “Not Gonna Take Me”.

Before “Stray Dog”, Daniel said that it was nice to be back in the city (headlining the 7th Street Entry on 25 February 2019), but admitted that they didn’t miss the “negative 28 degrees”.

For their self-admitted most pop song, “Going On A Feeling”, the group joked that they needed to turn on the auto-tune machine in the back.

They closed out their 35-min set with the harmonizing “25 For The Last Time”.

Once again, Irish singer and songwriter Hozier is selling out his US tour. We first mentioned his popularity in February 2015, stating “Irish singer-songwriter Hozier is enjoying a sold out American tour this Winter. He's touring in support of his eponymous debut self-titled studio album, which hit #1 on the Irish chart and #2 in the US charts.”

What is even more impressive is that while the debut self-titled album only reached #2 on the US chart, Hozier’s sophomore album Wasteland, Baby! went straight to #1 - thanks to such strong singles as “Movement” and “Almost (Sweet Music)”.

Although his international breakout single “Take Me To Church” (which the band closed out the show with), I think the real secret to Hozier’s success is his very excellent band and backup singers. They were all giving their 150%, and you can just tell how much they love playing these songs.

Wasteland, Baby! is out now on Rubyworks/Island Records.

Remaining tour dates:

04/06/2019 Arvest Bank Theatre, Kansas City, MO
06/06/2019 Stifel Theatre, St Louis, MO
07/06/2019 Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH
08/06/2019 – 09/06/2019 LaureLive 2019
10/06/2019 Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
11/06/2019 Clyde Theatre, Fort Wayne, IN
13/06/2019 Iroquois Amph, Louisville, KY
25/06/2019 Irish Independent Park, Cork
26/06/2019 – 30/06/2019 Glastonbury Festival 2019
27/06/2019 Ormeau Park, Belfast
26/07/2019 BB&T Pavilion, Camden, NJ
26/07/2019 – 28/07/2019 XPoNential Music Festival
01/08/2019 – 04/08/2019 Lollapalooza 2019
02/08/2019 – 04/08/2019 Osheaga Music & Arts 2019
06/08/2019 Colosseum, Caesar's Windsor
10/08/2019 – 11/08/2019 Railbird Festival 2019
21/08/2019 Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
23/08/2019 – 25/08/2019 Today's Festival 2019
26/08/2019 Volkshaus, Zürich, Switzerland
30/08/2019 – 01/09/2019 Electric Picnic 2019
01/09/2019 AFAS Live, Amsterdam,
02/09/2019 Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium
04/09/2019 Große Freiheit 36, Hamburg, Ger
05/09/2019 Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Ger
07/09/2019 Palladium, Warsaw, Poland
07/09/2019 – 08/09/2019 Lollapalooza Berlin 2019
10/09/2019 Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria
11/09/2019 Circus-krone-bau, Munich, Ger
13/09/2019 L'OLYMPIA, Paris, France
15/09/2019 Symphony Hall, Birmingham
16/09/2019 De Montfort Hall, Leicester
17/09/2019 St David's Hall, Cardiff, UK
19/09/2019 O2 Apollo Manchester, Manchester
20/09/2019 Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield
22/09/2019 O2 City Hall Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne
24/09/2019 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, UK
25/09/2019 Usher Hall, Edinburgh, UK

Bailen

Bailen

Bailen

Bailen

Bailen

Hozier

Hozier

Hozier

Hozier

Hozier

Hozier

Hozier at State Theatre, Minneapolis (02 June 2019)

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

Troye Sivan at State Theatre, Minneapolis (17 Oct 2018)

Troye Sivan on Tour Troye Sivan Setlist Seventeen Bloom Plum Heaven Fools Lucky Strike Wild Postcard The Good Side What a Heavenly Way to Die Cool Bite 1999 (partial) Dance to This Animal -- Encore -- Youth My My My! / My My My! (Throttle Remix) Kim Petras Setlist All the Time I Don't Want It at All Hillside Boys Tell Me It's a Nightmare Close Your Eyes Heart to Break Can't Do Better Carlie Hanson Setlist Why Did You Lie? Toxins Hazel Only One Us Read More Troye Sivan Troye Sivan is playing the State Theatre on Wednesday. The new album Bloom is out now on Capitol Records. Show up early to check out YouTube star Kim Petras. ..… Kim Petras Show up early to check out YouTube star Kim Petras. Petras recently released her her Halloween-themed mixtape Turn Off The Light Vol 1. ..…

Teen idol Troye Sivan brought his Bloom tour to the State Theatre in Minneapolis on October 17th.

First on the lineup was Carlie Hanson (who was a surprise as she’s not listed on the venue’s website). Hanson is joined by a live guitarist (sorry didn’t catch his name) and typically shirtless Tosh Peterson (Tosh the Drummer).

Since her set time was so short (20 minutes), there was very little banter between songs. We did learn that she’s from St Croix, Wisconsin, and mentioned that some of her best friends drove all that way to see her in Minneapolis.

Hanson’s set featured five original songs, ending with “Us”. The singer actually left a few minutes before twenty, but her band continued to jam until the very last minute allowed.

Next up was German singer (but currently based in Los Angeles) Kim Petras and her dancing beatmaster DJ, playing some pop songs.

If you didn’t know, Petras came in the spotlight at an early age, when she became one of the first (if not the first) to undergo gender transition in the media. With the current climate of LGBT, the community is behind Petras in full support of her music.

Petras played her debut hit single “I Don't Want It at All”, and based on the brother and sister and others, in front of my seat, she’s got quite a few fans. They were mimicking (in an awesome way) the way Petras does her “woot” after some songs.

Again, with a limited opening 30-min set, Petras just concentrated on playing songs rather than talking. I’ll fill in the news for Petras, since she didn’t mention it.

Just in time for Halloween, Petras released her Halloween-Themed Mixtape Turn Off the Light Vol 1, and the tape features a special appearance from Elvira, herself! The lines from her mixtape were all taken from various horror films, from John Carpenter’s Halloween, to my personal favorite A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, to the classic original zombie film George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. It’s obvious that Petras loves her horror movies, so if you do too, check out the mixtape on various streaming services.

Whatever Troye Sivan is doing, it’s working for him. As an actor (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) or YouTube star or promoting queer youth, the South African-born Australian singer has become one of the most influential teens in the world. Thanks to his fans, Sivan’s first single, “Youth” was top 40, and his various singles have landed at #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

With his second album Bloom (Capitol Records) out, Sivan has plenty of material to work with on his full hour long show, featuring plenty of costume changes and chatting with his fans. Whatever songs he played next, the audience knew the songs and often helping him sing.

Sivan’s live backing band is tight, never missing a beat. They’re so well-rehearsed, from starting behind the curtains of “Seventeen” to floor-stomping satisfying concluding song “My My My!” (both regular and the Throttle Remix version!)

Bloom is out now on Capitol Records.

Tour dates:

10/22 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
10/24 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
10/25 San Diego, CA Cal Coast Credit Union
10/27 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
10/30 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
11/1 San Francisco, CA The Masonic
11/2 San Francisco, CA The Masonic
11/5 Portland, OR Roseland Ballroom
11/7 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
11/8 Vancouver, BC Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Carlie Hanson

marquee

Carlie Hanson

Kim Petras

Kim Petras

Kim Petras

Kim Petras

Setlist

Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan at State Theatre, Minneapolis (17 Oct 2018)

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

Erasure at State Theatre, Minneapolis (29 July 2018)

State Theatre marquee Erasure Setlist Oh L'Amour Ship of Fools Breathe Just a Little Love Chains of Love Sweet Summer Loving Victim of Love Phantom Bride World Be Gone Who Needs Love Like That Atomic (Blondie cover) Love to Hate You Take Me Out of Myself Blue Savannah Drama! Love You to the Sky Sometimes Always Stop! -- Encore -- A Little Respect Reed and Caroline Setlist Ocean Dark Matter Buoyancy Before Oh My Dog John and Rene Singularity (We Bond) Electrons Read More Erasure London’s Erasure will be stopping by the State Theatre in Minneapolis, as part of their new live album World Be Gone. This is a rare chance to see the English duo (Andy Bell and Vince Clarke) live. … Reed & Caroline Special guest Reed & Caroline to open. Tour dates: 07/20 – Washington, DC – Warner Theater 07/21 – Washington, DC – Warner Theater …

English snythpop Erasure (singer Andy Bell and keyboardist/guitarist Vince Clarke) returned to Minneapolis at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on Sunday, July 29th. We’ve previously mentioned this was a rare opportunity to see the duo, as the last time Erasure headlined a local gig, it was over a decade ago at First Avenue (27 July 2007).

Although not on the bill, I believe DJ Jake Rudh was handling the playlist for the State Theatre, based on familiar Rudh-approved tracks like Visage’s “Fade to Grey”, New Order’s “Blue Monday”, or Gary Numan’s “Cars”. The Current’s twitter account confirmed it via tweet.

New York’s Reed and Caroline (Reed Hays and Caroline Schutz) opened the show, playing some tracks from their new album Hello Science. The two met through their first collaboration for a L’Oreal hair color commercials. If you’re wondering why they were asked to support Erasure on this tour, apparently Vince Clarke heard their debut record Buchla and Singing and immediately commissioned them for an album on his record label VeryRecords.

Caroline sang and talked most of the time, and whenever Reed talk, it sounded like he was a robot, thanks to his vocoder. The duo played gentle, calming songs while a custom video was shown in the background. The video often made sense to the music, for example, opening number “Ocean” had home videos of people swimming. However, that video of a longhaired black cat on “Oh My Dog” didn’t make any sense to me.

It was really good to see Erasure back at touring in America again. Andy Bell is more flamboyant than ever, while Vince Clarke looked conservative and prefers to be in the background. Although Bell has stopped pogoing since his hip replacements, he still was more energetic than most people his age (or younger!)

The Erasure tour setup featured two raised “windows” and one center room with a roof. Clarke spent the entire set playing on the roof with his keyboards and guitars. You hardly notice him doing all the background work, until Bell points it out or whenever the two dancers/backup singers (Emma Whittle and Valerie Chalmers) climbed to the top for “Chains of Love”. The whole setup, especially with the intro song “Oh L'Amour”, made it look like a set from Broadway musical.

The show started dramatically, with Andy in a glittery gold diamond T-Shirt and jacket (with what appears to be dripped waxed). As the show went on, Andy started to take off the exterior clothing to reveal his skin-tight tattooed body suit. By the time “Phantom Bride” was played, it basically a brand new costume.

Although the tour is for their new record World Be Gone (Mute Records), you know all the fans came to hear the hits. Speaking of which, there were so many reunions of old friends, and they sang and dance to all the popular songs (particularly for “Chains of Love” and show ender “Stop!”).

Personally speaking, my favorite was their take on Blondie’s “Atomic”. The lighting was in sync with the song, so right before the “Atomic” drop, the light goes out and returned to the disco-y bass. It’s just a fantastic number, and you can tell Andy absolutely love the song. Although they were Blondie fans, I suspect that they were also friends, as the two bands toured together with Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour in 2007.

Of course, no Erasure show would be complete without their signature song, “A Little Respect”. This was the encore song, and finally, Vince Clarke joined the group on the stage and they sang out their heart, sometime drowned out by the sheer number of fans in the audience screaming back/sing along to the song. Everyone in the crowd was having the time of their life.

Remaining tour dates:

07/31 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat
08/01 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
08/03 – Dallas, TX – Toyota Music Factory
08/04 – Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre
08/05 – San Antonio, TX– Tobin Center
08/07 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Live
08/08 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Live
08/10 – Denver, CO – Opera House
08/11 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kingsbury Hall
08/12 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kingsbury Hall
08/14 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
08/15 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theatre
08/17 – San Francisco, CA – Masonic Auditorium
08/18 – San Francisco, CA – Masonic Auditorium
08/19 – San Francisco, CA – Masonic Auditorium
08/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater
08/22 – San Diego, CA – Symphony Hall
08/24 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater
08/25 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater
08/26 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater

Reed and Caroline

Reed and Caroline

Emma Whittle

Erasure

Erasure

Erasure

Erasure at State Theatre, Minneapolis (29 July 2018)

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

Camila Cabello at State Theatre, Minneapolis (20 April 2018) (Updated)

Camila Cabello 2018 Tour Poster Camila Cabello Setlist Never Be the Same She Loves Control Inside Out Get Busy (Sean Paul song) (Dance Break) Bad Things (Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello cover) Can't Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley cover) Consequences All These Years Something's Gotta Give Scar Tissue In the Dark Real Friends Know No Better (Major Lazer cover) Crown (Camila Cabello & Grey cover) Into It -- Encore -- Sangria Wine Havana Bazzi Setlist Beautiful Gone Why? Star Alone Honest Dreams Mine Tour Dates Apr. 21 -- Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater Apr. 22 -- Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater Apr. 24 -- Saint Louis, MO @ The Pageant Apr. 25 -- Detroit, MI @The Fillmore Detroit Apr. 27 -- Toronto, ON @ Sony Centre Apr. 28 -- Montreal, QC @ Canada M Telus Apr. 29 -- Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre May 1 -- Philadelphia, PA @The Fillmore May 4 -- New York, NY @ Terminal 5 June 5 -- Glasgow, UK 2 Glasgow O2 Academy June 6 -- Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham O2 Academy June 12 -- London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton June 13 -- Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live Read More Camila Cabello All girls pop group Fifth Harmony was recently invited to appear at the 92nd annual National Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington, D.C. on December 4 (this Thursday). The girls (Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui, Camila Cabello …

Not in recent memory has a tour been so aptly named—

The twenty-date Never Be the Same Tour featuring currently nitro-hot pop singer Camila Cabello pulled into the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis for a long sold-out and highly anticipated first area solo headlining appearance by the former Fifth Harmony vocalist. 

Beginning the evening was another internet sensation, Bazzi (aka Andrew Bazzi), a Dearborn MI pop/R&B singer-songwriter who broke through (in a very 21^st century way) last fall with his song ‘Mine’, via a meme through the use of a Snapchat filter.  After a handful of singles, his first album, Cosmic (iamcosmic records) is out this month, which most in the screaming crowd already seemed to know. 

“I think we should turn this thing up a bit!” Bazzi said, on the electronic-tinged ‘Gone’ getting the crowd to raise their hands with him on cue, singing about the life of excess.  Phone lights went up for newest single, ‘Honest’ as the lyric reflected a vulnerability between regret and betrayal, with the singer admitting he still feels all the raw emotions of the situation that spurred him to write the song, every night as he performs it. 

Best was saved for last, as breakthrough hit ‘Mine’ finished the set, with the audience singing the first verse back to the singer and band, as heavy electronic bass throbbed and shook.  “You were an absolute pleasure tonight” Bazzi said, smiling as many in the crowd finished the verses he began. 

A set change cleared the stage and revealed a massive widescreen along the back, that would serve as video segues between songs and Camila Cabello, her band, and dancers emerged following an on-screen countdown and very cinematic video intro.  

Beginning with ‘Never Be the Same’ was apropos, as the Florida singer is clearly looking forward to bigger and better after leaving girl group Fifth Harmony and releasing a very successful debut solo album earlier this year, Camila (Epic/ Syco Records). 

Her former band attempted to carry on without Cabello as she collaborated with others and worked on her own material, but eventually imploded as well, with each remaining member headed to their own respective solo careers.  As the group’s break-up is relatively fresh, Cabello is “Ms. Movin’ On” in terms of performing any Fifth Harmony songs live, preferring to concentrate on the new material.

We heard Machine Gun Kelly sing ‘Bad Things’ in February over Super Bowl Week and were treated to Cabello’s version of their successful duet early on in the set, followed by lights dimming and Cabello slowing things down for a tender Elvis Presley cover.

“This show feels the most intimate and connected” Cabello gushed, taking time out before ‘After All These Years’ to knowledge her fans’ attentiveness and allegiance to the new songs, that most already knew every word to.

During the ballad ’Something’s Gotta Give’ poignant images of recent social issues (gun control, racial profiling) flashed across the screen, and though it didn’t make the album, Cabello stills considers the unreleased ‘Scar Tissue’ as “part of my story”, the mid-tempo number getting hands swaying to and fro during its chorus. 

For ‘Crown’, dancers covered themselves in dark sheets, each wearing a crown as they expressively moved about, and sure-to-be future hit single, ‘Into It’ closed the main set with aplomb.

The two-song encore began with the second unreleased song, ‘Sangria Wine’, a Latin banger that set the stage for the night’s biggest hit and final song, ‘Havana’, as the dancers donned zoot suits, wide brimmed hats, and classic dresses to evoke that signature Cuban lifestyle. 

The production and performer are already seasoned and precise enough to be considered arena-ready and from the quick ticket sell out, the demand is there for bigger venues as well, with Cabello already having road tested parts of the show while opening for Bruno Mars last fall.  And while there is some pre-taped guide/backing vocals (like almost any pop show), Cabello’s voice is authentic and formidable, with dance moves honed to perfection by years with Fifth Harmony.

Bottom line, Camila Cabello is the real deal – destined for bigger stages, more radio hits, and bigger venues… and she’s just twenty-one, still at the beginnings of what should be a very long career.  For her, it rings the most true- things will never be the same. 

(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)

Bazzi

Bazzi

Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello at State Theatre, Minneapolis (20 April 2018)

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

Michael McDonald w/ Marc Cohn at State Theatre, Minneapolis (02 Nov 2017)

Michael McDonald Setlist Ya Mo Be There Here to Love You (The Doobie Brothers song) I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) Find It in Your Heart Just Strong Enough Sweet Freedom On My Own (Patti LaBelle cover) Hail Mary Beautiful Child Minute by Minute (The Doobie Brothers song) What a Fool Believes (Kenny Loggins cover) -- Encore -- with Marc Cohn The Letter (The Box Tops cover) Into the Mystic (Van Morrison cover) Takin' It to the Streets (The Doobie Brothers song) Marc Cohn Setlist From the Station Dig Down Deep Perfect Love 29 Ways Silver Thunderbird True Companion Walking in Memphis Read More Michael McDonald With that, Michael McDonald's A Tribute to Motown Live and Michael McDonald Live comes on one DVD or Bluray disc. Running time is about two hours, both concerts .....

For Michael McDonald, the touring life is still a long train runnin’ that remains wide open—

The five-time Grammy award winner and former Doobie Brother brought his recent show to downtown Minneapolis at the State Theatre, in support of his first album of original music in seventeen years, Wide Open (Chonin/BMG Records).

This evening’s solid double-bill began with an opening forty-five minute set from singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, a headliner in his own right, and who has built a considerable fan base locally through his many appearances here over the last quarter-century (which he remembered by relating back the various venues he’s previously played- Lake Harriet Bandshell, Fine Line, Zoo Amphitheater, Pantages, Guthrie, and more). 

Cohn’s most recent release is a self-issued collection, Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities pleasing even the most casual fans with its selection of previously unreleased demos from his earliest days (which he autographed after his set).

Cohn’s oldest brother just celebrated his fiftieth wedding anniversary, so he dedicated 1991’s ‘Perfect Love’ to them, his gravel voice still enchanting and intact after over two decades of touring, then Cohn brought out “the band”, Canadian pianist Glenn Patscha who would accompany him for the remainder of the set starting with the Fats Domino-dedicated ’29 Ways’.  Saving the most popular for last, Cohn closed with his biggest radio hits, including the 1991 breakthrough ‘Walking in Memphis’ which brought the biggest cheers.

Drawing on over four decades of music, Michael McDonald had the crowd on his side from the first notes of his ninety-minute set, beginning with 1983’s ‘Ya Mo Be There’, originally a duet with James Ingram.  McDonald’s seasoned band included his wife Amy Holland, an artist in her right, and a bevy of talented side players.

His blues/soul raspy vocal remains incredibly distinctive, with the older songs sounding near-identical to the original versions and the set was peppered with numerous new album cuts as well as old favorites-“We’re gonna do a song we hope you remember… at our age, I hope we remember!” he teased before ‘I Keep Forgettin’.

The new bluesy torch song, ‘Just Strong Enough’ written with Gary Nicholson, was intended for Bonnie Raitt, only to have McDonald take it back and 1986’s ‘Sweet Freedom’ had people clapping along, taking us back to the Running Scared soundtrack, while that same year’s ‘On My Own’ found several couples slow dancing in the aisles.

Husband and wife took center stage as McDonald left the piano to strap on a guitar to duet with his wife on the new album’s opener, ‘Hail Mary’, ‘Half Truth’ was on the setlist but skipped, and the main set ended with favorites, ‘Minute by Minute’ and ‘What a Fool Believes’. 

The three-song encore was a treat as openers Marc Cohn and Glenn Patscha joined on stage, beginning with a sparse but soulful cover of a 1967 Box Tops hit (also popularized by Joe Cocker), a 1970 Van Morrison classic, and finishing with the full band re-emerging for a celebratory ‘Takin it to the Streets’, that found Cohn and McDonald trading verses and ending with a gospel-like flourish. 

At age 65, it seems like Michael McDonald is just getting started, still embracing the time-honored favorites of yesteryear, while continuing to put out familiar-sounding but more current, mature songs such as the ones on his most recent album-- his road, it seems, is still wide open. 

Remaining tour dates:

11/14/2017 Salt Lake City, UT Eccles Theater 11/16/2017 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 11/17/2017 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre 11/18/2017 Rancho Cucamonga, CA Lewis Family 02/07/2018 Tarrytown, NY The Tarrytown Music Hall 02/09/2018 Charles Town, WV Hollywood Casino 02/10/2018 Brookville, NY Tilles Center For The Perf. Arts 02/13/2018 Rocky Mount, VA Harvester Performance 02/14/2018 Tallahassee, FL Ruby Diamond Auditorium 02/16/2018 Daytona Beach, FL Peabody Auditorium 02/17/2018 Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Perf. Arts Hall 02/18/2018 Fort Myers, FL Barbara B. Mann Perf. Arts

02/20/2018 Gainesville, FL Univ. Of FL Phillips Center 02/22/2018 Cleveland, MS Bologna Performing Arts 02/23/2018 Biloxi, MS IP Casino, Resort & Spa 02/25/2018 Birmingham, AL UAB's Alys Stephens 02/27/2018 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theatre 03/03/2018 Fort Pierce, FL Sunrise Theatre 03/04/2018 Fort Lauderdale, FL Parker Playhouse 03/05/2018 Fort Lauderdale, FL Rock & Romance 03/17/2018 Randers, Denmark Vaerket 03/18/2018 Copenhagen, Denmark VEGA 03/20/2018 Zurich, Switzerland Volkshaus 03/22/2018 Amsterdam NL Royal Carré

Marc Cohn

Marc Cohn

Michael McDonald w/ Marc Cohn

Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald at State Theatre, Minneapolis (02 Nov 2017)

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

Retro Futura, feat. Howard Jones, Men Without Hats, English Beat at State Theatre, Minneapolis (17 Aug 2017) (Updated)

Setlist Katrina Rock 'n' Roll Girl Going Down to Liverpool Walking on Sunshine Paul Young I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down Everytime You Go Away Come Back and Stay (Jack Lee cover) Modern English Ink and Paper Moonbeam I Melt With You with Paul Young The Beat Mirror in the Bathroom Tenderness (General Public song) Save It for Later Never Die Men Without Hats Pop Goes the World Where Do the Boys Go? The Safety Dance Howard Jones Like to Get to Know You Well You Know I Love You, Don't You? The Human Touch No One Is to Blame Everlasting Love Life in One Day What Is Love? New Song Things Can Only Get Better Things Can Only Get Better - techno reprise Read More Howard Jones You know, we've already mentioned how much we love Howard Jones. He'll be stopping by the Fine Line Music Café as part of his "The Songs, The Piano & The Stories'" tour. ..... English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. ..... Men Without Hats After forty years, Men Without Hats, are still an excellent band. Known in America as a one-hit-wonder band for "Safety Dance", but I have to say, I love them anyway. Katrina Leskanich Katrina Leskanich kicks off her North American tour next week in support of her latest solo album entitled Blisland (Listen to Blisland streaming via Popmatters.) The album is her first collection ....

The amazing Retro Futura tour just stopped by the State Theatre last week (August 17th).

If you’re a fan of 80s pop/rock bands, you love all of these bands. Sure, some people consider them one-hit wonders, but who cares, they’re still great songs. Nothing can change that.

Unfortunately, with six bands on the bill and a limited time, all of the bands had about a 15-20 minute set, with the exception of headliner Howard Jones having about a 55-min set. With a very short set, that meant that every opening band had about three or four songs. That’s just fine with the audience, as they wanted to hear the big hit songs and weren’t interested in hearing the obscure songs.

According to the original schedule, Katrina Leskanich formerly of Katrina and the Waves was supposed to start her set slightly earlier than 7pm. Since she started late, all the other bands had to cut their set short as well to meet their curfew of 10pm.

A couple of Katrina and the Waves’ hits were played, including 1984 song ‘Going Down to Liverpool’, which was covered by the Bangles, and ending with their biggest chart-topping song ‘Walking on Sunshine’.

It didn’t take long before Paul Young and his band came on stage, reusing some of the instruments. Young said that this was only his second time in Minneapolis, and had a hard time remembering the first time, “It was 1985... ’86 or something.”

This was a truly rare appearance by the 80s teen idol, so there were a lot of people in the audience that waited so long to finally see him. Of course, his biggest hit (at least in America), ‘Everytime You Go Away’ was played, sandwiched between ‘I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’ and ‘Come Back and Stay’. The latter is technically a Jack Lee song, but Young made it famous with his 1983 recording.

Next up was Modern English, the new wave/post-punk band from Colchester, England. If you grew up in the 80s, you would have heard their signature song ‘I Melt With You’. The song was so popular that a lot of fast food restaurant licensed the song for their commercials.

Dressed in all white, the band looked in great shape. In fact, singer Robbie Grey, after taking off his white jacket, said that they have a new album and that they were returning to the Turf Club in St Paul later this year.

The new album they were referring to is called Take Me To The Trees, which came out last year. They played ‘Moonbeam’ from that new record, in between their two hit singles ‘Ink and Paper’ and ‘I Melt With You’. For the latter song, Paul Young joined them on stage midsong.

British band The Beat (known as The English Beat in America and The British Beat in Australia), stood out the most, because of their large band lineup (singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling, hype man King Schascha, drummer Nucci Cantrell, saxophonist Matt Morrish, keys Kevin Lum, additional keyboardist Minh Quan, and bassist Brad Engstrom) and unique ska, reggae, soul, pop music fusion. On top of that, they have King Schascha, replacing Ranking Roger’s role as hype man, and he truly seems to enjoy being on stage.

For their biggest hit song ‘Save It for Later’ (a song used in various commercials, such as taffy candy Now and Later), King Schascha came on stage in a Spider-Man costume, recording the entire event with a fan’s phone. That fan will never, ever forget this moment in time.

The lone Canadian band Men Without Hats was next. Although the band were big in the U.S. in the 80s, the band broke up in the 90s and didn’t reformed until 2011. In fact, we were so excited, we flew to Canada to catch them on their tour at NXNE 2011.

‘Where Do the Boys Go?’ was dedicated to former Men Without Hats member Allan McCarthy, who died in 1995. The song was between their two well-known songs ‘Pop Goes the World’ and ‘The Safety Dance’. For the latter, it goes without saying, that everyone in the audience was dancing: “We can dance if we want to we can leave your friends behind, 'cause your friends don't dance and if they don’t dance, well, they're no friends of mine.”

Headliner Howard Jones needed that extra time on his set, because he had multiple top 40 hits. His set included almost all of his known hit singles, including his first single ‘New Song’ from September 1983. Referencing that his music video for the song opened with him at a food processing plant (and then started to sound like he was humming to the tune of The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ when he said “I was working as a caretaker at a food processing center”).

His set was a regular sing along, especially during ‘No One Is to Blame’, ‘What Is Love?’ and set closer ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. The last song ended and restarted as a techno version, playing to the loud cheering crowd.

This is an incredible lineup for your favorite 80s bands. My only gripe, as shared with most fans in the audience, if they had made this an all-day event on Saturday (like Rock the Garden), they can start the show earlier at 3pm and give each band their proper spotlight with a longer set.

Katrina (ex-Katrina and the Waves)

Paul Young

Modern English (with Paul Young)

Modern English

Men Without Hats

The Beat

Men Without Hats

The Beat

The Beat

Men Without Hats

Howard Jones

Howard Jones

Howard Jones at State Theatre, Minneapolis (17 August 2017)

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

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live at State Theatre, Minneapolis (04 Aug 2017)

Tour Dates 08/06 Green Bay, WI Weidner Center 7 PM 08/08 Cleveland, OH Ohio Theatre 8 PM 08/09 Baltimore, MD The Modell Lyric 8 PM 08/10 Richmond, VA Dominion Arts Center 8 PM 08/11 Nashville, TN James K. Polk Theater 7 PM 08/11 Nashville, TN James K. Polk Theater 10 PM 08/12 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Symphony Hall 7 PM 08/12 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Symphony Hall 10 PM Read More MST3K The new MST3K series was a result of overwhelming fan support from their Kickstarter in November 2015. Production ran over a year, and eventually all 14 episodes were sold to Netflix for distribution. Hopefully, like Orange … Har Mar Superstar Har Mar Superstar is a staple in the Minnesota music scene. Even though he moved away for a couple of years, we claimed him as ours. He announced earlier this week that he was moving back …

Jonah Ray, when referring to the rabid fans at Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), said it best, “We have to watch this, you guys paid to be here.”

The fanbase for MST3K is still loyal and feverish strong, even after its cancellation in 1999 on the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as Syfy). A few years ago, interests in MST3K was revitalized, thanks to original creator Joel Hodgson on a successful crowdfunding project create a brand new MST3K series (which is currently airing on Netflix).

If you’re not familiar with MST3K, it originally starred Hodgson as a janitor, who was forced to watch bad B-movies. Hodgson, along with his robot companions, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Gypsy, would make jokes and comments throughout the movie. The 2017 cast now stars Jonah Ray (as Jonah Robinson), with Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt (as Kinga Forrester and Max “TV’s Son of TV’s Frank”, respectively), and follows the original MST3K theme and concept.

The first-ever Mystery Science Theater 3000 live tour stopped in Minneapolis at the State Theatre on Friday night with a double showing: the early show for Eegah and a late show for Secret Surprise Film! Looking over the very dedicated group, you can see that many of them bought the V.I.P. package and/or previously backed the MST3K Kickstarter.

The show started with an introduction and a not-so-Q&A with show creator Joel Hodgson. He joked about he first started doing stand-up comedy, Minnesota was so supported of his routines (doing his best Minnesota emotionless impression).

What made the MST3K show in Minneapolis special was the fact that the show originally started in the area. So in attendance were several people that worked on the original show, including theme song composer Chuck Erickson.

Not surprising (as we previously predicted) Har Mar Superstar sang the (new) theme song ‘Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000’ as the show began.

The production is what you would expect for MST3K, bad robot puppets and cheesy costumes. The movies are typically awful... and although the film was presented in high definition (from the original camera negative), the cast still joked it as “shown in glorious SD”.

The 1962 film Eegah was actually already been featured in Season 5, but with the new cast, new sketches, and live riffing, it’s a very difference experience. For example, seemingly every fifteen minutes there is a 30-second “Watch Out For Snakes!” alert and dancing and shaving a giant head of Eegah bit. Plus, the jokes and wisecracks were updated, like referring to Eegah as Father John Misty and later referencing having a good cry to Belle & Sebastian records.

Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt couldn’t join the live show, but their appearance as Kinga Forrester and Max were done via pre-recorded video display.

Joining Jonah Ray were robot companions Crow (played by Hampton Yount) and Tom Servo (played by Josh Weinstein), plus helpers Synthia (played by Rebecca Hanson, who also doubles as Gypsy robot) and Terry the Bonehead (played by Grant Baciocco). They kept the audience laughing out loud throughout the show.

For the first Mystery Science Theater 3000 tour, it’s actually a great for fans to enjoy the show live with other like-minded fans. It’s fun to see fans building their own custom Tom Servo robot companion to the show. Unfortunately, if you’re not into MST3K, this show won’t turn you around. However, if you are a fan, you absolutely cannot miss this very unique experience.

PS, Sorry for the bad camera phone, cameras were now allowed in the theater. We may be updating the photo at a later time.

MST3K at State Theatre, Minneapolis (04 Aug 2017)

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

Tim and Eric Awesome Show 10th Anniversary at State Theatre, Minneapolis (26 July 2017)

Tim and Eric Tour Dates Aug 01 2017 Denver CO Paramount Theatre Aug 02 2017 San Francisco CA Warfield Theater Aug 04 2017 Vancouver, B.C. Orpheum Theatre Aug 05 2017 Seattle WA The Moore Theatre Aug 06 2017 Portland OR Revolution Hall Aug 06 2017 Portland OR Revolution Hall Aug 08 2017 Los Angeles CA Theatre at the Ace Hotel Aug 09 2017 Los Angeles CA Theatre at the Ace Hotel Sep 29 2017 TIFF Bell Lightbox JFL42 Festival Sep 29 2017 Toronto, ON Sony Centre Sep 30 2017 Montreal, QC Metropolis Read More Tim & Eric Comedy duo Tim & Eric (Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim) is currently on a “Tim & Eric 10 Year Anniversary Awesome Tour!” We previously caught Tim’s sold out comedy show at the Cedar in 2015 …

After ten successful years of the odd but wonderful sketch comedy Tim and Eric Awesome Show and a tour to celebrate it, what else can be said… except “Great Job!”

The duo of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim started their Adult Swim show in 2007, as a quirky mix of surreal, experimental sketches that quickly gained a cult following; running five seasons, fifty episodes and two specials.  From there, a feature film called Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie was released in 2012 and the Bedtime Stories series began in 2013, with new episodes coming later this year.

For two hours, the pair had the loyal capacity crowd laughing and we’ll try to describe the proceedings, in the most non-spoilerish way possible.  The opening set came in the form of a mini-set by familiar cohort Doug Lussenhop a.k.a. DJ Douggpound who used his mixing skills and often absurd cringe humor to drop one-liners in, between snippets of songs.  The audience of mostly hardcore viewing fans loved it and roared for more.

A series of pre-show disclaimers on the large video screen began the headlining set, notably from Dr. Brule (John C. Reilly) which had the crowd in stitches even before the duo appeared, but then Tim and Eric emerged in a way only could, dancing in top hat, tails, and the skimpiest of bodysuits.

Tim was promising the debut of his new character, Troi, as well as his venture into a (self-serve) sandwich business, potentially retiring from comedy with the pair realizing this might be their last hurrah and they could have made more money billing it as a farewell tour.  But, would that actually happen…?

Clips of an upcoming episode of Bedtime Stories were interspersed between sketches, along with a special video, due to air soon, which was an unexpected surprise.  The low-fi/public access TV feel (think Wayne’s World) of their show had a definite and relatable charm and the most devoted fans were thrilled to have routines acted out in front of them.  Familiar supporting characters from the show’s run appeared in video breaks, with the fans cheering each known face.

One funny routine came early on, as the duo assumed the identities of a German hair-era band called Zwei Dunkel Jungen (Two Dark Boys)singing awkward songs to each other like ‘I Wanna Be Touched by You’ and speaking in hilarious (but accurate) accents.

Audience interaction came into play as the duo became enthusiastic coaches of a business seminar, getting volunteers from the audience to try and graduate from their fictional Dobis University.

Business candidates were dressed in the proper attire (the pair even shaved one contestant on stage for the “proper” look), were schooled on their acumen, and coached on what to say in certain situations, via long vocal “Cinco business tubes”.

After that special video was shown, the pair made the crowd hold up their right hands and collectively swear not to divulge its contents to anyone, on the internet or otherwise.

The end of the show turned into a clapping celebration of the pair’s classic routines and sketches, with everyone on their feet, smiling and happy to be celebrating the ten years together.  For the faithful, the Tim and Eric Awesome Show 10^th Anniversary Tour is a must; and for the un-initiated, a fine intro to the duo’s off the wall brand of humor- Great Job!

Tim and Eric Awesome Show 10th Anniversary at State Theatre, Minneapolis (26 July 2017)

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

King Crimson at State Theatre, Minneapolis (26 June 2017)

King Crimson Setlist   Set 1 intro music Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One Neurotica Pictures of a City Radical Action III Cirkus Lizard -The Battle of Glass Tears (I) Dawn Song Lizard -The Battle of Glass Tears (II) Last Skirmish Lizard -The Battle of Glass Tears (III) Prince Rupert’s Lament Hell Hounds of Krim with three drummer solo Fallen Angel Islands Set 2 Indiscipline The ConstruKction of Light Easy Money Interlude The Letters Sailor's Tale Meltdown Radical Action II Level Five Starless -- Encore -- Heroes (David Bowie cover) 21st Century Schizoid Man Tour Dates 06/30/2017 Rochester, NY Kodak Hall 07/03/2017 Montreal, QC Festival International De Jazz 07/05/2017 Toronto, ON Massey Hall 07/07/2017 Quebec City, QC Centre Vidéotron 07/09/2017 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre 07/10/2017 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre 07/14/2017 Mexico City, MX Teatro Metropolitan 07/15/2017 Mexico City, MX Teatro Metropolitan 07/16/2017 Mexico City, MX Teatro Metropolitan 07/18/2017 Mexico City, MX Teatro Metropolitan 07/19/2017 Mexico City, MX Teatro Metropolitan Lineup Robert Fripp - Guitar Jakko Jakszyk - Guitar, Vocals Mel Collins – Sax/Flute Tony Levin - Basses, Stick, Backing Vocals Pat Mastelotto – Acoustic/ Electronic Percussion Gavin Harrison – Acoustic/ Electronic Percussion Jeremy Stacey – Acoustic/ Electronic Percussion/ Keys Bill Rieflin – Mellotron/Keyboards/Fairy Dusting Read More Crimson King In the Court of the Crimson King - 30th Anniv. Ed. As I stated earlier in a review of the "Salute to King Crimson"; I've finally found more of the music I listened to in my youth in the late '60's and early '70's. It brings me a warm feeling as …

Some shows attract a slightly different audience—

There are concerts and then there are concerts that other musicians want to attend- to marvel at the dexterity of the performers on stage, maybe learn a thing or two, and the type of show a working musician would happily take a night off, to experience. 

With bassist John (Semisonic, New Standards) Munson seated directly behind me, members of Boiled in Lead to my right, and various other musicians dotting the capacity crowd, the musical court of radical action was in session as King Crimson made a rare appearance in Minneapolis at the State Theatre.

The venerable progressive rock outfit (who last played the State in 1995) has been in existence since forming in London in 1968 and has had a somewhat rotating lineup in its on-again/off-again history, but the current eight-person double quartet formation featuring three drummers at the front of the stage, may be its most formidable and musically complex configuration yet. 

The “evening with…”performance consisted of two sets, the first being just over an hour, and the second (after a twenty-minute intermission) going ninety-minutes, stopped only by the venue’s hard curfew time.  Like an orchestra (and as well dressed as one- in suits, ties and vests of black and white) the octet entered and took a brief bow before beginning work. 

With the three drummers taking up the front, the remaining five members were on an elevated platform behind them; stalwart Tony Levin who deftly moved from Chapman stick, to upright, to his yellow Three of a Perfect Pair bass, was near center and leader/guitarist Robert Fripp huddled in the far right corner, with headphones on, often twiddling the knobs of his machinery. 

The eclectic setlist covered the bands forty plus years, beginning with 1973’s ‘Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One’ earmarked by one of several Mel Collins’ exemplary solos, then jumped a decade later for the fluid ‘Neurotica’ with Fripp’s hyper-kinetic guitar riffs perched alongside a dizzying high tempo jazz beat. 

In classic Crimson form, longer instrumental passages eventually gave way to songs with lyrics and guitarist/vocalist Jakko Jakszyk ably covered tracks originally sung by the likes of Greg Lake, John Wetton, and Adrian Belew.

The band’s latest full opus is Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind (DGM Records), a box set of mostly live material from Japan 2015 with a few new passages (which also gives the current tour its name) and also a live Heroes EP which is, in part, a tribute to the late David Bowie. 

The uniqueness of seeing each of these seasoned musicians working is near indescribable and has to be experienced live, to fully embrace their vision--- think of eight master painters working in their own style, but on a common canvas, and you begin to get the idea of things. 

The drummers (Pat Mastelotto; Gavin Harrison; and Jeremy Stacey) alone were a marvel to behold- playing in synchronicity, finishing each other’s musical sentences, or providing their part to the whole, with precision and grace. 

Harrison (ex-Porcupine Tree) seemed to be doing more of the electronic work and standard drumming, while Stacey (Noel Gallagher, Sheryl Crow) split his time on the keys, and Mastelotto played the mad scientist, tinkering with strange instruments and trash metals to embellish the songs.

Longtime fans were thrilled to hear the back end of 1970’s Lizard, the band’s third album, with ‘Hell Hounds of Krim’ following, which showcased the percussion trio.  Keeping with a setlist mainly focused on songs from 1968-74, ‘Fallen Angel’ (of which Levin wrote a reminder on his setlist to make sure to come in on time) and 1971’s ‘Islands’ brought the first set to a close. 

If you didn’t get the message on the tickets, doors, and announcements about no cell phone use or photography, two signs on stage brought up front during the intermission, were also there to remind you. The band launched into its longer second set with the early ‘80s ‘Indiscipline’, sounding more jazz-based and experimental with this lineup before jumping into this century, with 2000’s ‘The ConstruKction of Light’.

Second-half songs like ‘Easy Money’ and main set closing ‘Starless’ brought to mind who much the prog rock world misses John (Asia, UK) Wetton, the original singer of those songs, so impactful in his couple years with the group, sadly felled by colon cancer this January.

Songs from 1971 would soon give way to much newer pieces, including the new ‘Meltdown’ (co-written by Jakszyk and Fripp) and 2001’s spanning ‘Level Five’.  With a “hard curfew time” for the venue looming, unfortunately two songs (‘Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two" & ‘The Court of the Crimson King’) were trimmed from the encore, but the unmissable wailing drone of Fripp’s guitar on their cover of ‘Heroes’, reprising his work on the Bowie original forty years ago, made everything right in the world. 

A song written in 1969 has become as much or more relevant today (and unfortunately fitting), as ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’ would close the evening, a perfect soundtrack to the upside-down world that was just beyond the venue doors.  The standing crowd roared in approval as the octet bowed, with Fripp and Levin taking crowd pictures, leading many to finally get out their cell phones for that picture they’d been waiting all night to take. 

The musicians around me all stood clapping joyously, a sign that this was one of those musician’s musicians’ concerts and that the performers on stage truly impressed what could have been a more critically judging audience. And with Fripp’s recent radical action to re-invent the group approaching its fiftieth year as a juggernaut double quartet formation, King Crimson continues to successfully re-define the boundaries of progressive rock. 

King Crimson, photo by Spike Mafford, provided by the band

Audience, photo courtesy of Tony Levin

King Crimson setlist and set times courtesy Tony Levin

King Crimson Mpls State 062617 setlist courtesy Tony Levin

King Crimson at State Theatre, Minneapolis (26 June 2017) Photo by Spike Mafford, provided by the band

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

An Evening with Dawes at the State Theatre, Minneapolis (03 Feb 2017)

Dawes Setlist    -- Set 1 -- One of Us Coming Back to a Man Right on Time Picture of a Man Now That It's Too Late, Maria From a Window Seat When the Tequila Runs Out Somewhere Along the Way When My Time Comes A Little Bit of Everything Less Than Five Miles Away -- Set 2 -- Moon in the Water Roll Tide Hey Lover (Blake Mills cover) Things Happen Quitter Time Spent in Los Angeles (verse) > Most People Roll with the Punches That Western Skyline If I Wanted Someone From the Right Angle We're All Gonna Die -- Encore -- Peace in the Valley All Your Favorite Bands Tour Dates 02/11/17 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen 02/12/17 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot 02/21/17 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore 02/22/17 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom 02/24/17 Seattle, WA The Showbox 02/25/17 Missoula, MT The Wilma 02/26/17 Billings, MT The Pub Station 02/28/17 Des Moines, IA Wooly's 03/01/17 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre 03/03/17 Birmingham, AL Iron City 03/04/17 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse 03/05/17 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts 03/07/17 Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House 03/08/17 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre 03/10/17 New York, NY Beacon Theatre 03/11/17 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre 03/12/17 Hartford, CT Infinity Hall Hartford 03/14/17 Northampton, MA Academy Of Music 03/15/17 Ithaca, NY State Theatre 03/17/17 Toronto, ON Opera House 03/18/17 Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo State 03/19/17 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue 03/21/17 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom 03/22/17 Santa Fe, NM Lensic Performing Arts 03/23/17 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theater 04/01/17 Los Angeles, CA The Theatre 04/21/17 Louisville, KY W.L. Lyons Brown 04/22/17 Lynchstock Music Festival 04/23/17 High Water Festival 04/25/17 Asheville, NC Orange Peel 04/26/17 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre 04/28/17 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium 04/29/17 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium 04/30/17 Chattanooga, TN Revelry Room 05/02/17 Wilmington, NC Greenfield Lake Amph 05/03/17 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte 05/07/17 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage 06/11/17 Laurelive Read More Dawes The three-hour evening was opened by Los Angeles-based Dawes, who considers Minneapolis one of their strongest markets, in a solid hour-long set of their own. …

Call it a home-away-from-homecoming show—

California band Dawes has always had a growing and loyal following in the Twin Cities metro, from its early days forward, as one of the first markets in the nation to embrace their music and both longtime fans and new converts, were treated to over two hours of the band’s catalog, at a recent stop at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. 

In support of last September’s fifth full-length, We’re All Gonna Die (HUB Records), the tone of the evening was neither desperate or panicked as the album title might infer; rather, the best chance yet to see this seasoned band properly stretch their wings for a musically encompassing and satisfying trip through their sonic back pages. 

In many ways, Dawes (Taylor Goldsmith, guitar / vocals; his brother Griffin on drums;  Wylie Gelber, bass; and newest addition Lee Pardini on keys) personifies the archetypal modern West Coast folk/rock band- they are Laurel Canyon-influenced in sound (via producer Jonathan Wilson), can tug gently with a ballad, lay down an extended jam or just heavily rock out, have previously backed up the likes of Conor Oberst and Jackson Browne, have had the son of an Allman Brothers Band member in their touring group, and Goldsmith’s storytelling lyrics paint timeless musical portraits that (like many Eagles songs) will sound fresh thirty years from now.

The “An Evening With…” was split into two full sets, with this show’s first eighty-minute portion starting their nightly-rotating setlist with the new ‘One of Us’, maybe Taylor Goldsmith’s nudge toward the fact that Minnesota embraces the band so.  Staging was relatively simple, with plenty of room to move amongst a draped back curtain illuminated like a chroma key, in varying changing hues of color shades. 

The elder Goldsmith, bassist Gelber, and new touring guitarist Trevor Menear were near the forefront of the stage, while Pardini and drummer (and now-shaggier) Griffin were more in the back shadows and harder to see, which was unfortunate as Griff has some of the greatest facial expressions in rock, to watch as he plays. 

Pardini was properly introduced with an eloquent opening solo on ‘Right on Time’ with Goldsmith saying “we’ve got a long night ahead of ourselves” to the crowd, mid-way into the song. Conversation was minimal until halfway through when Taylor gushed about us being “the first city to ever give us a chance” and “the fact that we’re in this beautiful room together means so much more to us that I can ever be able to articulate”. 

‘Somewhere Along the Way’ purposely wallowed in its mellowness, with Menear being an ideal foil for Goldsmith to trade guitar riffs with, and ‘When My Times Comes’ had the audience collectively singing louder than the band.  Two character-driven songs ended their first set- ‘A Little Bit of Everything’ then ‘Less Than Five Miles Away’, about survival and perspective, which whetted appetites for the second shift. 

After a brief intermission, the second eighty minutes started acoustic and hushed with 2011’s ‘Moon in the Water’ then drummer Griff taking over lead vocals for ‘Roll Tide’ with the sound soon rising for their cover of ex-bandmate and recent producer Blake Mills’ ‘Hey Lover’. 

Drinks were held on high for “all the people you’re not speaking to” on ‘Things Happen’, the benefits of walking away were sounded out on ‘Quitter’, and a snippet of ‘Time Spent in Los Angeles” (kind of wished he’d changed it to Minneapolis) fell into a stretched-out jam on ‘Most People’.

The irresistible one-two melodic punch of ‘If I Wanted Someone’ and ‘From the Right Angle’ led into the half-funny, half-somber title track from the new record.  The encore first reached back to the band’s 2009 debut with the again appropriate in these tumultuous times, ‘Peace in the Valley’, which featured Pardini and an extended organ solo. 

From there a message of hope and a musical toast from the band, wishing the audience the best of the old days and that ‘All Your Favorite Bands’ “stay together”.  And their home-away-from-home crowd responded to Dawes with a final standing ovation, like old friends coming back to town.

PHOX, with Cuddle Magic, at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (02 Feb 2017)

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