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Trampled by Turtles at the Armory (11/26/2022)

11/26 Trampled by Turtles with Charlie Parr at Armory Setlist It's So Hard to Hold On Starting Over A Lifetime to Find (Wilco cover) Kelly's Bar The Darkness and the Light Victory Central Hillside Blues On the Highway Sounds Like a Movie The Middle Burn for Free Quitting Is Rough Nothing but Blue Skies Wait So Long Help You All the Good Times Are Gone We're Alright Codeine Annihilate Burlesque Desert Window Happy Birthday to bass player Tim Saxhaug When I Go Deaf (Low cover) with Alan Sparhawk -- Encore -- Alone Old Shoes (Tom Waits cover) New Son/Burnt Iron Whiskey Read More Trampled by Turtles Of course, we love Trampled by Turtles as well, the Northern Minnesota band’s short-lived Palomino Festival(here) was one of our annual favorites to cover. Future Islands, Liberty Hall Lawrence. $26-$30 ... Charlie Parr Last of the Better Days Ahead is the new collection of songs from Minnesotan Charlie Parr. What’s important to note is that the album is being released on Smithsonian Folkways, the non-profit record label …

Trampled by Turtles made a long-anticipated appearance in the Twin Cities, bringing along a few of their friends from Duluth, MN to mark the return.

Charlie Parr opened up with his weathered steel guitar and friend, Mick, playing what Parr called: “The washing machine.” Even with no band Parr had no trouble filling the cavernous space of the Armory with an earthy voice that rose to all three levels and into the rafters of the venue.

Born in Austin, MN and now residing in Duluth, Parr’s musical style of folk and blues seems to be from another era. Still, he instantly connected with the sold out crowd with a generous set of 12 songs ranging from a career that has produced 16 albums. A favorite of the evening was “Cheap Wine” in which a liquor owner fails to see much difference between his customers:

All these old ladies
Comin’ in here buyin’ cheap wine
Ain’t no better than all these bums
Comin’ in here and buy cheap wine

Parr then paid homage to a hero of his, Spider John Koerner, with the rollick-driven “Rocky Raccoon”. He then featured the title song from his latest album “Last of the Better Days Ahead”.

It wasn’t far from the venue where Parr got the feel for the life of a blues musician. It was working down the street at the Minneapolis Salvation Army where he met the lives of individuals that would inspire and find prominent roles in his songs.

Parr ended the set with Charley Patton’s “Oh Death” by setting down his guitar and belting out the lyrics with a lament so forceful he held his arms close to his body as if to keep his rib cage from rattling.

Trampled by Turtles is an interesting band in terms of being a popular musical act. They have a front man in Dave Simonett on lead vocal and guitar, but every member is an intricate part of their bluegrass success: Ryan Young of fiddle, Tim Saxhaug on acoustic bass, Erik Berry on Mandolin, Dave Carroll on banjo and Eamonn McLain on cello.

TBT started off the evening with “It’s So Hard to Hold On” and “Starting Over”. Then they featured a song from their latest album Alpenglow. “A Lifetime to Find” is actually a Wilco cover, but the lead singer of the band, Jeff Tweedy, suggested adding it to the collection while producing the album. Tweedy has always admired TBT and didn’t think twice when they asked for help when looking to expand and refine their sound.

Legend has it the impetus to form a bluegrass band in Duluth, MN came out of necessity when Simonett had all of his musical equipment stolen, leaving him with an acoustic guitar. From there only musicians with acoustic instruments need apply. And over twenty years TBT has stayed within the confines of the bluegrass tradition while exploring ways to merrily push the envelope.

Throughout the evening TBT moved between songs that highlight their fast-paced musical style like “Wait So Long” to more pensive and introspective songs like “Central Hillside Blues”. And being completely acoustic there was plenty of time between songs where they tuned and re-tuned their instruments, giving respite to a crowd electrified by the highflying solos of Young on the fiddle.

Then there was “Sounds Like a Movie”, written by Carroll, featuring his banjo solo buttressed by the rest of the band and a spectacular light show that could have easily topped any heavy metal act playing across the street at US Bank Stadium.

But the highlight of the evening was TBT inviting Alan Sparhawk and his electric guitar onto the stage to play “When I Go Deaf”. Sparkhawk of Duluth’s Low recently lost his wife and musical partner, Mimi Parker to cancer, and it was a moving experience to see him singing one of his songs, playing his electric guitar, surrounded by friends, a tribute that was brief but will be long remembered.

Charlie Parr Charlie Parr Trampled by Turtles Trampled by Turtles Trampled by Turtles

Trampled by Turtles at Armory, Minneapolis (26 Nov 2022)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

The Head and the Heart at the Armory (10/07/2022)

10/07 The Head and The Heart with Shakey Graves at Armory The Armory Digital Marquee Tour Dates 10/8/22 - St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park # 10/10/22 - Birmingham, AL - Avondale Brewing Company 10/11/22 - North Charleston, SC - Firefly Distillery 10/13/22 - St Augustine, FL - The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre 10/14/22 - Atlanta, GA - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre 10/15/22 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater 10/21/22 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Riverbreeze Friday Read More The Head And The Heart Seattle's The Head and the Heart just stopped by First Avenue, in Minneapolis, as part of their national tour in support of Let's Be Still. The album was released last week, October 15th ... Shakey Graves Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between. …

An autumn chill filled the air last night as fans of The Head and the Heart headed into the cavernous Armory in downtown Minneapolis.  It was a full crowd and they were there early to catch the opening act, Shakey Graves.

What a great stage name for Alejandro Rose-Garcia as if acknowledging those from beyond still might have a few more dance moves.  Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he got his start as a solo act, hustling as a busker with a kick-drum made from a Samsonite suitcase.

He had the piece of luggage in toe as he played a couple of songs before his band - with matching suits - filtered onto stage as he set the scene for his next song, “Century City”,  a song about his time in Los Angeles, a time filled with break-ups, sketchy roommates and the cons of bringing home used couches. 

A special note to “Evergreen” played almost a half-note flat with the band lagging behind the drummers, hoping to catch up, but not quite as Rose-Garcia lyrics summed up the tenor of the song:

Please don't wake me please don't call
Let me rest
Let me be
Ovеrgrown and evergreen

The band quickly changed gears with a guttural blues howl of “Excuses” that brought the crowd to a roar. 

We Heart Music caught Shakey Graves at First Avenue in November of 2015 and Rose-Garcia said it was “bananas” to play in a venue as big as the Armory.  He then rose a plastic glass and proposed a toast for all to keep in touch with family and friends. 

The Head and the Heart kicked off their set with “Every Shade of Blue” from their latest album with the same name.

Josiah Johnson mentioned that it had been a while since they last played Minneapolis.  (We Heart Music caught them last at the Festival Palomino in September of 2014.)  Even though they had outgrown the venue, he said they still missed First Avenue, and he couldn’t believe how quiet the immense crowd was while they played “Another Story”.  (A group of people near me took the opportunity to slow dance as if they and the band were the only ones in the room.)

The backbone of The Head and the Heart’s music - which has drawn fans to fill bigger and bigger venues - is soulful folk with hints of gospel as blocks of piano chords rise and fall with the three-part harmony of Johnson, Jonathon Russell and Charity Rose Thielen. 

Thielen gave a special shout out to Minnesota, saying she is from here and has quite a bit a family still in the area.  She said her eighty-three-year-old aunt was in attendance and got the crew to shine a spotlight on the relative waving from the upper deck.  Even Kenny Hensley got in the act by announcing that he is working on a song about Minneapolis, playing a little ditty of the song from his upright piano.

There was quite a bit of love for the band and they thanked everyone for the positive energy for it had been a long tour after a long pandemic and they were grateful as they ended the evening with “River and Roads”, an uplifting song about leaving in hopes of returning again. 

Shakey Grave

Shakey Grave

Shakey Grave

The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart at the Armory, Minneapolis (07 Oct 2022)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Hippo Campus at The Armory – Minneapolis (23 April, 2022)

Hippo Campus at Armory Setlist 2 Young 2 Die Ashtray Bad Dream Baby Blew Its Semi Pro Bang Bang Sex Tape Honestly Suicide Saturday Scorpio Listerine Monsoon Vacation Ride or Die Way It Goes Deepfake Baseball Where to Now? South Boys Understand -- Encore -- Bambi Buttercup Tour Dates 05/06 - Manchester - Academy 3 05/08 - Glasgow - G2 05/09 - London - The Garage 05/10 - Antwerp, BE - Trix Bar 05/11 - Cologne, DE - Jaki 05/13 - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet Read More Hippo Campus The crowd at the music stage began swelling very early on, as local favorites Hippo Campus played first, with a spirited 40 min. set that included new single, ‘South’ (EP out Oct 2 on Grand Jury Records) .…

“We’re Hippo Campus and we’re from here.”

And so they were, the hometown band, making a stop, midway through their tour to promote their aptly named studio album, LP3.

Quite a spot to land, The Armory, a venue that can hold close to 8,000.  A pretty big jump from the concert We Heart Music covered at First Ave in 2017. But this band of schoolmates (Jake Luppen (lead vocals/guitar), Nathan Stocker (lead guitar/vocals), Zach Sutton (bass/keyboard), and Whistler Isaiah Allen (drums/vocals) has been on a steady ascent since graduating from the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts and releasing a self-assured single/music video Little Grace in 2014.

Right from the start there were those bright, warm, interlocking chords, seeming to overcome the cold and snow.  Breezy, ethereal, it was the kind of pop music to propel you, as you drive, windows down, through a frozen landscape.

Opening act, Ginger Root, making their 19^th and final appearance with Hippo Campus, share the same creative spirit as their lead, even accepting the request from Hippo Campus’ guitar tech to join them on stage for the song Loretta, a song Kai had learned over the first leg of the tour. 

Then Hippo Campus took the stage with a brash, auto-tune-anthem, 2 Young 2 Die, and then proceeded to enliven the hometown crowd. 

Nathan remarked that they have been a band for eight years, which maybe forty in pop years.  And even with the two-year pandemic layoff, there was no rust as they played through an extensive and impressive catalogue. 

For being in a space the size of an airport hanger, the band’s sound was lush, tight and popping.  The crowd was with them from the beginning, joining in on Suicide Saturday, even taking over the refrain at the end of the song. 

DeCarlo Jackson, who joined the group in 2017, was a fan favorite with his laidback flugelhorn solos, especially on Sex Tape, as he sailed above the rollicking skip of the guitars like a cool ocean breeze.  

For a time The Armory was the home court for the Minneapolis Lakers before they moved onto Los Angeles.  Opposing players would often complain of getting shin splints from the rock-hard floors.  That’s why I was surprised when the floor seemed to have some bounce when the crowd started jumping up and down to the jubilant South.

Earlier, when slipping my belt back on, after passing thorough security, I noticed a headline from a 1964 Minneapolis Sunday Tribune newspaper in a display case:  THE BEATLES BOMBED IN MINNEAPOLIS.  The article stated that only 400 fans showed up to The Armory concert.  No such nosedive would happen to Hippo Campus with their sold out show. 

“So good to be back home,” said Jake to the crowd. “The best day of my life!”   It wasn’t hyperbole.  There was a feeling that this concert was a celebration of a venture that started at Seventh Street Entry and culminated earlier that day with the highest form of recognition bestowed on a local band:  Their name on the fabled First Avenue wall. 

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Modest Mouse at Armory, Minneapolis (2021-08-22)

Modest Mouse Setlist Dramamine I Came as a Rat F**k Your Acid Trip Lampshades on Fire Fire It Up Bury Me With It The Sun Hasn’t Left The Tortoise and the Tourist Bukowski King Rat Never F**k a Spider on the Fly 3rd Planet Float On We Are Between We're Lucky Doin' the Cockroach -- Encore -- The World at Large Dashboard Back to the Middle The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box Breakthrough Read More Modest Mouse With concerts slowing coming back to America, Modest Mouse announced their 2021 tour dates, all in support of their new album The Golden Casket (available June 25th via Epic Records). … The Districts The Districts will be headlining the Triple Rock Social Club this Wednesday. The band will release their debut album this Summer on Fat Possum...

Portland’s rock band Modest Mouse just headlined the Armory in Minneapolis on Sunday, August 22nd, in support of their seventh album The Golden Casket.

Opening the show was Pennsylvania’s The Districts. The band was formed while all the members were still in high school.

We saw the band in Oct 2015 when they were touring for their album A Flourish and a Spoil (Fat Possum). At the time, the band was hot, as we wrote, “Their sophomore record has been getting a lot of buzz with indie fans, especially after peaking at #7 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #28 on the Top Independent Albums chart.”

After over a year or so not being able to play live, because of the pandemic, The Districts are just simply happy to be back live concerts. Singer Rob Grote, quickly commented after their first song, “Man, it’s been a while. Have you guys been to a show since… this (indicating the virus) went down?” The someone in the audience took the opportunity to reply with, “Freebird!”

The Districts ended their brief 30-min set with “Cheap Regrets”.

This was possibly Modest Mouse headlining their biggest venue yet, the Armory. The Armory was originally built for the Minnesota National Guard in 1935. Things changed over time, and eventually it was converted to a concert venue, at the end of January 2018. You can read more about the 8,400-person capacity venue in our Super Bowl 2018 coverage, “This historic venue built originally in the 1930s and that was once home to Minneapolis Lakers and site of Prince’s ‘1999’ music video, has been recently refurbished into a modern entertainment complex, and located nearby the stadium, will be the concert epicenter, hosting the most high-profile shows.” (And yes, we covered the very first Armory show on Feb 1, 2018).

Audience

So, yes, the venue is massive. Even Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock had to admit, “It’s bigger inside than it is outside!”. While the majority of diehard Modest Moust fans were packed on the dancefloor and close the stage, but there were plenty of premium options, like upper floor booths, etc.

As previously mentioned, we’ve been big fans of Modest Mouse since they hired The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to write some of their songs… which they were happy to play the well-received hit song “Dashboard” as one of their songs on their encore.

If you follow Modest Mouse, you’ll know that they play a completely different set list night after night. This showcase the band’s talent and ability to change songs on the fly.

Since the tour is for their new album, The Golden Casket, they sprinkled some of the new songs (“F**k Your Acid Trip”, “The Sun Hasn’t Left”, “Never F**k a Spider on the Fly”, “We Are Between”, “We’re Lucky”, “Back to the Middle”) throughout their set.

The Golden Casket is available now on Epic Records.

Remaining Modest Mouse 2021 Tour Dates:

08/24 - Missoula, MT - KettleHouse Amph 08/27 - Portland, OR - McMenamins - Edgefield 08/28 - Portland, OR - McMenamins - Edgefield 08/29 - Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater 09/11 - Seattle, WA - Marymoor Park * 09/12 - Seattle, WA - Marymoor Park* 09/16 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic 09/18 - Las Vegas, NV - Life Is Beautiful Festival 09/19 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Federal Theatre 09/20 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre - Tucson 09/22 - San Diego, CA - Cal Coast Credit Union 09/24 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy and Harriet's 09/25 - Los Angeles, CA - The Theatre at Ace Hotel 09/27 - Sandy, UT - Sandy City Amphitheater 09/28 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre *

09/30 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom * 10/01-10/03 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits 10/04 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater * 10/05 - Cincinnati, OH - Andrew J Brady ICON * 10/08-10/10 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits 10/11 - Huntsville, AL - Mars Music Hall 10/12 - New Orleans, LA - Fillmore New Orleans 10/14 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live 10/15 - Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach 10/16 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live 10/17 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amph 10/19 - Richmond, VA - The National 10/21 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater 10/22 - Asheville, NC - Rabbit Rabbit 10/24 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival

* - with Future Islands

The Districts

The Districts	The Districts	The Districts	Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse	Modest Mouse	Modest Mouse	Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse at Armory, Minneapolis (2021-08-22)

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

Laserface Halloween, feat. Gareth Emery, at Armory, Minneapolis (26 Oct 2019)

Laserface Halloween 2019 Read More Gareth Emery Gareth Emery will be a special guest at the Laserface Halloween show at the Armory in Minneapolis on October 26th. Minneapolis is only one of five cities to get the special …. Tritonal Austin-based Tritonal is stopping by the Rev Ultra Lounge in Minneapolis on the strength of their 2.5 plus million streams of feel-good track “Out My Mind”, featuring Riley Clemmons. The show is sold out. ….

British trance producer and DJ Gareth Emery’s Laserface: Halloween show just took place last Saturday, October 26th, at the Armory in Minneapolis. This is the last Laserface show for the year.

When we first saw a show at the re-opened Armory in Feb 2018 (as part of the Super Bowl celebration), we were rather impressed by its impressive 8,400 capacity venue… which is perfect place to host the special Laserface show.

Opening up the event was SIMshows contest winner Dylan Bernhardt, who produced a special 30-min playlist exclusively for Laserface. You can listen to his winning set via Soundcloud, and hear how he medleys in songs like “If You Were” (Danny Howard ft. Eli & Fur) with “Marisa” (Yotto).

Next up was local DJ group Euphoric Nation. This was the trance project from Don Ortega, but over time, he enlisted Justin Zanish, to help produce some memorable electronic mixes, such as “Edge of Tomorrow” and set closer “Sonic”. Check out their full setlist at Soundcloud.

Occasionally, Loch Stimpson, from Dimibo, would pop in and out to setup or help them out with their set. He would take over spinning right on the 10 O’Clock hour and kept the music pumping nonstop for the next hour.

Normally, Seattle’s Dimibo is a DJ duo, featuring Filip Pankovcin and Loch Stimpson, but as you can see in these photos, only Loch can be seen center stage. Either Filip was doing stuff behind the scenes, or he was just absent from this Halloween show.

There was a brief pause as they set up the stage for Austin-based Tritonal. The last time we heard about this Astrawerks group was when they were celebrating their 10-year anniversary of Tritonal’s Enhanced Music imprint in 2018 (read all about it here). The duo (Chad Cisneros and David Reed) had massive Spotify hits (over 200 million streams), across top tracks like “Hung Up” and “Until You Were Gone” (with The Chainsmokers).

Not happy with just playing their hits, the two insists on playing new collaborations, such as “Never Be the Same”, featuring Rosie Darling. They also played quite a few new 2019 tunes, taken from their third studio album U & Me (Enhanced Music).

Closing out the show at exactly midnight was Gareth Emery, the mastermind behind Laserface: Halloween. What made this show great is the amazing lasers light show from show designer Anthony Garcia, via Nice Lasers.

We’ve seen a few laser shows, and we’ve heard the equipment and setup can cost up to a million dollars, so it’s quite rare to see these laser shows used at a concert or DJ show.

While the set may be slightly different, I do recognize many of these songs, including Dirty Vegas’ “Days Goes By”, on his Ibiza 2019 set (on YouTube). So, if you were interested in hearing what the show sounded like, the two-hour mix can be found online and features some original and some re-mixes of older songs.

Emery recently released his third “Laserface” single, called “Laserface 03 (Leaving You)”, which follows “Laserface 01 (Aperture)” and “Laserface 02 (Thoughts In Pieces)”.

Dimibo

Euphoric Nation

Euphoric Nation

Dimibo

Dimibo

Tritonal

Dimibo

Tritonal

Gareth Emery

Gareth Emery

Gareth Emery at Armory, Minneapolis (26 Oct 2019)

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

Katy Perry / Zedd at Armory, Minneapolis for NCAA Final Four (07 April 2019)

Katy Perry Setlist Hey Hey Hey Roulette Dark Horse Chained To The Rhythm This Is How We Do It (Montell Jordan cover) Teenage Dream Hot N Cold Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) California Gurls I Kissed a Girl E.T. Peacock Bon Appétit The One That Got Away (acoustic) 365 (Zedd & Katy Perry song) Part of Me Swish Swish Roar Pendulum Firework Zedd Setlist Beautiful Now (Zedd w/Jon Bellion song) Animals (Martin Garrix song) Everybody Jump This is America (Childish Gambino song) Thunderstruck (AC/DC song) Rude (Magic! Song) Starving (Hailee Steinfeld w/Zedd song) The Time (Black Eyed Peas song) Mi Gente (J Balvin w/Willy William song) One Kiss (Calvin Harris w/Dua Lipa song) I Want You to Know (Zedd w/Selena Gomez song) Save the World (Swedish House Mafia song) I Wanna Dance Dance with Somebody (Whitney Houston song) Happy Now (Zedd w Elley Duhe song) Cotton-Eyed Joe (Rednex song) 365 (w/ Katy Perry appearance) Stay (Zedd w/Alessia Cara song) Break Free (Ariana Grande w/Zedd song) The Middle (Zedd w/ Maren Morris song) Stay the Night (Zedd w/Hayley Williams song) Clarity (Zedd w/Foxes song) Zedd Tour Dates Apr 14 Indio, CA Coachella Apr 16 Avila Beach Apr 17 San Jose, CA Apr 19 Santa Barbara, CA Apr 19 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Apr 21 Indio, CA Coachella Apr 27 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Apr 30 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub May 4 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool May 5 Scottsdale, AZ Talking Stick Resort May 17 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool May 18 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub May 24 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub May 25 Tampa, FL Sunset Music Festival May 26 Atlantic City, NJ DAER Nightclub Jun 1 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Jun 7 Hoffman Estates, IL Spring Awakening Music Festival Jun 7 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Jun 8 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool Jun 19 Morrison, CO Zedd On The Rocks Jun 21 Dover, DE Firefly Music Festival Jun 22 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Jun 28 Lansing, MI Common Ground Music Festival Jun 29 Toronto, Canada Dreams Music Festival Jul 4 Las Vegas, NV Hakkasan Las Vegas Nightclub Jul 6 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Jul 16 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Jul 20 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool Jul 20 Las Vegas, NV Hakkasan Las Vegas Nightclub Jul 26 Cincinnati, OH Great American Ball Park Jul 27 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Aug 2 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Aug 3 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool Aug 8 Las Vegas, NV Hakkasan Las Vegas Nightclub Aug 10 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Aug 17 Osaka-shi, Japan Summer Sonic 2019 Aug 18 Chiba-shi, Japan Summer Sonic 2019 Aug 24 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Aug 25 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool Aug 30 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic Ultra Pool Aug 30 New York, NY Electric Zoo Aug 31 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Sep 14 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Sep 21 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Sep 27 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub Read More NCAA After successfully hosting last year’s Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four Basketball Finals come to town for an exciting weekend, whether a fan of college hoops or not. The Final Four is expected to bring 94,000-out-of town visitors … Katy Perry Yes, Katy Perry is one of my guilty pleasure. While I wasn't that into her singles from Teenage Dream (including "California Gurls" and the repetitive "Firework"), her new single, "The One That Got Away", was a hit for me.… Zedd Popstar Kesha is now free to work on (new) music (Zedd and Kesha's recent single ‘True Colors’ is out now on Interscope / Kemosabe / RCA Records). It should be noted that ‘True Colors’ …

As fun as rainbow cotton candy at a carnival, and more colorful than an exploding Skittles factory--

The March Madness Music Festival saved the best for last as Katy Perry and Zedd played to a capacity Armory in downtown Minneapolis, on the last night of the three-day indoor music festivities.

As part of the weekend entertainment activities based around the city hosting the NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship for the first time since 2001, this would be the third of three consecutive nights of free concerts (after The Chainsmokers/Judah and the Lion and Jonas Brothers/Elle King) held this year at a much smaller indoor venue (rather than a typical outdoor open field or parking lot), from fear of Minnesota’s early April ever-changing weather, so tickets as a whole, were scarce.

Zedd is the musical nom de plume of Russian-German DJ, producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Anton Zaslavski, (who stylized the first letter of his last name to get his alter-ego) and who proved to be an ideal choice to rev the sold-out crowd up during his hour-long opening DJ set. Drawing on tracks from his two albums, multiple singles, and numerous collaborations, the mix ebbed and flowed continuously beginning with 2015’s ‘Beautiful Now’.

Perched atop a DJ platform, lights flashed and on-screen visuals (patterns, shapes, colors and his own logo) swirled and moved with the rhythm and BPM of the tracks. The first half of his set leaned heavier on collaborations, with some covers and influences mixed in, jumping from present day to a 1990 sampled riff from AC/DC, then even back to 1987 and Whitney Houston.

Just over halfway through, the crowd got a very pleasant surprise as Katy Perry strutted on stage and up and down the extended catwalk in high white boots and an orange studded dress with matching beret, for the first live public performance of the duo’s recent collaboration, ‘365’.

With the crowd still loud, Zedd resumed his set, ending with a quintet of the most well-known songs he has appeared on- from his collaboration with Alessia Cara, to an Ariana Grande remix, to his chart-topping ‘The Middle’ with Maren Morris. To end things, Zedd took it back to the beginning, to 2012’s ‘Clarity’, the Grammy-winning song that topped the US Dance charts and became his breakthrough song.

Celebrities were easily seen in the second-level VIP section, including Josh Duhamel (who graciously came down to shake hands and take selfies), Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, former TV Bachelor Ben Higgins, former athletes, and broadcast personalities from CBS, ABC, and ESPN.

With a colorful stage set that was part-Willy Wonka, part-Patrick Nagel, Katy Perry was picture-perfect and musically precise for her ninety-minute headlining set. Springing out of her Witness Tour (which ended last August) and perhaps a precursor to a rumored Las Vegas residency, this one-off show was exactly the kind of pop-filled confection the crowd had come to see and hear.

Similar to her previous tour, the set started with two songs from her most recent album, with Perry in a multi-colored short dress and high red-latex boots. Her band members spread out on various platforms in matching black and white wardrobes, with six costumed-changing dancers hovering around her. 

“Everybody knows that I like balls… big, orange basketballs” she teased, “this is a very special show, just for you, Minni!”

“Shall we take it all the way to the eighties?” she asked as her dancers surrounded her for a bubbly ‘Teenage Dream’. “This is rock and roll...actually, I call it pop and roll”, Perry said correcting herself and thanking the crowd for staying up, playing a later show than normal for her.

Two enterprising local gentlemen (Dave from Shakopee and Colin from Eden Prairie) dressed as the blue sharks made famous from her Super Bowl appearance, and were allowed on stage during ‘California Gurls’ to dance with Perry- “every time I invite sharks on stage, they steal the show”. Perry and her six dancers even elevated over the stage at one point, sitting and singing on a long yellow beam as it rose to near the top of the large set.

“Do any of you believe in aliens?” she asked leading into ‘E.T.’ followed by the suggestive hip-hop thump of ‘Peacock’, and things would then slow down nicely as Perry picked up an acoustic guitar for ‘The One That Got Away’. So nice they played it twice, Zedd returned to the stage for another performance of the new ‘365’.

Her makeup crew did a quick touch up as Perry mentioned the cameras would roll to show a couple of performances on television the following night during the championship game (though I didn’t see anything) as ‘Part of Me’ was sped up in tempo and the basketball-themed ‘Swish Swish’ seemed like the theme song of the weekend.

The throb of ‘Pendulum’ and bombast of ‘Firework’ would end the evening, complete with multi-colored confetti blasts, streamers, and a balloon drop, filling the arena with a swath of primaries, pastels, and brights. 

Swish, swish- Katy Perry shoots, she scores.

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

Zedd

Charles Barkley and Josh Duhamel

Zedd

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry at Armory, Minneapolis for NCAA Final Four (07 April 2019)

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

The Chainsmokers / Judah and the Lion at Armory, Minneapolis (05 April 2019) Photo Gallery

Chainsmokers 2019 Fall Tour poster The Chainsmokers Setlist Sick Boy Everybody Hates Me Don't Let Me Down Closer Can't Get Enough (Lookas cover) Who Do You Love What Is Love (Haddaway cover) Everybody Hates Me Hope Game Over (Martin Garrix cover) Kernkraft 400 (Zombie Nation cover) Paris Ride (twenty one pilots cover) Work REMIX (A$AP Ferg cover) Old Town Road (Lil Nas X cover) Side Effects Diamonds (Allure cover) Burner (Kayzo cover) Losing It (FISHER cover) Lose My Mind (Chris Lake cover) Hard (Swen Weber & Jewelz cover) Something Just Like This (The Chainsmokers & Coldplay song) Levels (Avicii cover) Siren Pop That (French Montana cover) Take Away Everytime We Touch (Cascada cover) This Feeling Somebody Roses Closer (reprise) Judah And The Lion Setlist Quarter-Life Crisis Kickin' Da Leaves Conversations ? ? Take It All Back Read More NCAA After successfully hosting last year’s Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four Basketball Finals come to town for an exciting weekend, whether a fan of college hoops or not. The Final Four is expected to bring 94,000-out-of town visitors … The Chainsmokers Inventive DJ/producer duo The Chainsmokers recently launched their fan-sourced, #TiltTour.... going to cities where they are in demand (with the first 6 cities to pre-sell at least 800 tickets). … Judah & the Lion Nashville’s Judah & The Lion is back in town, supporting their sophomore album Folk Hop N Roll. The record entered the Billboard’s Heatseekers Album Chart at an impressive #2 and #1 on the Heatseekers South Central! … Lenka Paris Little Dragon new song “Best Friends” (available on limited 12”) is out now. DJ Lenka Paris to open. Tour dates: 06/01 Upstream Music Festival 2018…

The madness extends to music--

Minneapolis is starting to get spoiled with all of the A-List talent coming through as, after hosting the Super Bowl and all its associated festivities last year, The NCAA Final Four Basketball Finals took place at U.S. Bank Stadium for a memorable series of two semi-final games and a championship game that would go into overtime.

The March Madness Music Series headlined by the March Madness Music Festival took place inside at The Armory beginning on Friday night, with a concert from The Chainsmokers and Judah and The Lion.

Usually held outdoors in an outdoor area that holds 30-40,000 people, the organizers were unsure about the Minnesota weather, so instead booked into the much smaller 8,400 capacity Armory, making for a more intimate show, if you were lucky enough to reserve a free ticket.

We were fortunate enough to secure a Photo Pass to show you scenes from the first several minutes of each act (though sadly, weren’t allowed to stay past that).

Local DJ Lenka Paris was obviously having fun spinning before and between sets and Nashville's Judah and the Lion has grown leaps and bounds since we saw them less than five years ago at the 7^th Street Entry .The Chainsmokers (who flew out immediately following, for a late night gig in Las Vegas the same night) are arguably the most popular EDM act currently in the world.

Tour dates:

Apr 12, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Apr 19, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Apr 26, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Apr 28, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
May 3, 2019 XS Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
May 5, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
May 10, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
May 20, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
May 24, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
May 25, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
May 31, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Jun 2, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
Jun 8, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
Jun 9, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Jun 14, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Jun 22, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
Jun 23, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Jun 27, 2019 Tinderbox Odense
Jun 28, 2019 XS Nightclub Las Vegas, NV
Jun 30, 2019 Encore Beach Club Las Vegas, NV
Jul 4, 2019 Eurockeennes Festival Belfort, France
Jul 5, 2019 Balaton Sound Festival Balaton
Jul 6, 2019 Palmesus Kristiansand, Norway
Jul 11, 2019 Atlas Weekend Festival Kyiv, Kyiv City
Jul 13, 2019 Airbeat One Festival Neustadt, Germany
Jul 18, 2019 Les Vieilles Charrues Carhaix-Plouguer, France
Jul 19, 2019 Tommorowland Boom, Flanders
Jul 20, 2019 Parookaville Weeze, Germany
Jul 26, 2019 Tommorowland Boom, Flanders
Aug 2, 2019 Sands Steel Stage Bethlehem, PA
Aug 9, 2019 Iowa State Fair Des Moines, IA
Aug 17, 2019 Summer Sonic Osaka, Japan
Aug 18, 2019 Summer Sonic Tokyo, Japan
Sep 25, 2019 U.S. Bank Arena Cincinnati, OH
Sep 27, 2019 TD Garden Boston, MA
Sep 28, 2019 Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT
Sep 29, 2019 Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA
Oct 3, 2019 Little Caesars Arena Detroit, MI
Oct 4, 2019 United Center Chicago, IL
Oct 5, 2019 Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, MN
Oct 8, 2019 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, ON
Oct 9, 2019 Bell Centre Montreal, QC
Oct 11, 2019 PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 12, 2019 KeyBank Center Buffalo, NY
Oct 13, 2019 Schottenstein Center Columbus, OH
Oct 15, 2019 Capital One Arena Washington, D.C.
Oct 17, 2019 Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
Oct 20, 2019 Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
Oct 22, 2019 State Farm Arena Atlanta, GA
Oct 24, 2019 AmericanAirlines Arena Miami, FL
Oct 25, 2019 Amalie Arena Tampa, FL
Oct 26, 2019 Amway Center Orlando, FL
Oct 29, 2019 Smoothie King Center New Orleans, LA
Oct 31, 2019 American Airlines Center Dallas, TX
Nov 1, 2019 Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX
Nov 2, 2019 Toyota Center Houston, TX
Nov 6, 2019 KFC! Yum Center Louisville, KY
Nov 7, 2019 Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
Nov 8, 2019 Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
Nov 9, 2019 Coliseum at Alliant Energy Center Madison, WI
Nov 12, 2019 Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI
Nov 14, 2019 Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK
Nov 15, 2019 Sprint Center Kansas City, MO
Nov 16, 2019 INTRUST Bank Arena Wichita, KS
Nov 19, 2019 Pepsi Center Denver, CO
Nov 21, 2019 Vivint Smart Home Arena Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 23, 2019 Talking Stick Resort Arena Phoenix, AZ
Nov 24, 2019 Viejas Arena San Diego, CA
Nov 26, 2019 The Forum Los Angeles, CA
Nov 29, 2019 Chase Center San Francisco, CA
Dec 1, 2019 Golden 1 Center Sacramento, CA
Dec 3, 2019 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, WA
Dec 5, 2019 Moda Center Portland, OR
Dec 6, 2019 Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena Vancouver, BC

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Judah and the Lion

Lenka Paris

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The Chainsmokers at Armory, Minneapolis (05 April 2019)

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

Greta Van Fleet w/ CLOVES at Armory, Minneapolis (03 July 2018)

Greta Van Fleet at Armory Poster Greta Van Fleet Setlist Highway Tune Edge of Darkness When the Cold Wind Blows Flower Power You're the One Evil (Is Going On) (Howlin’ Wolf cover) Watching Over Lover Leaver Taker Believer -- Encore -- Black Smoke Rising Safari Song Cloves Tour Dates 07/18/2018 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 07/20/2018 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 07/21/2018 Washington, DC The Anthem 07/23/2018 Boston, MA House Of Blues 07/24/2018 Boston, MA House Of Blues 10/06/2018 Neighbourhood Festival Greta Van Fleet Tour Dates 07/09/2018 Festival D'été de Québec 07/10/2018 RBC Bluesfest 07/18/2018 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 07/20/2018 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 07/21/2018 Washington, DC The Anthem 07/23/2018 House Of Blues Boston, MA 07/24/2018 House Of Blues Boston, MA 07/27/2018 Floyd, VA "Floydfest" 07/29/2018 Panorama Festival 07/31/2018 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre 08/01/2018 St. Louis, MO The Pageant 08/03/2018 Lollapalooza 08/04/2018 Lollapalooza Aftershows 08/10/2018 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre 08/18/2018 Summer Sonic 08/19/2018 Summer Sonic 08/23/2018 Kahului, HI Maui Arts 08/24/2018 Honolulu, HI The Republik 09/07/2018 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre 09/08/2018 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre 09/09/2018 Skookum Festival 09/11/2018 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference 09/12/2018 Calgary, AB BMO Centre 09/14/2018 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer 09/17/2018 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 09/18/2018 San Jose, CA City National Civic 09/19/2018 San Francisco, CA The Masonic 09/22/2018 iHeartRadio Daytime Village 09/23/2018 San Diego, CA Observatory 09/25/2018 Tempe, AZ The Marquee 09/26/2018 Tempe, AZ The Marquee 09/28/2018 Salt Lake City, UT Union Event 09/29/2018 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium 10/01/2018 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium 10/05/2018 San Bernardino, CA Glen Helen 10/05/2018 Austin City Limits Music Festival 10/06/2018 Cal Jam 10/11/2018 Madison, WI The Sylvee 10/26/2018 Paris, France Elysee Montmartre 10/27/2018 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique 10/29/2018 Tilburg, Netherlands 013 10/30/2018 Mehr! Theater Am Grossmarkt 11/01/2018 Cologne, Germany Palladium 11/04/2018 Stockholm, Sweden Berns Salonger 11/05/2018 Copenhagen, Denmark VEGA 11/07/2018 Berlin, Germany Columbiahalle 11/09/2018 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town 11/11/2018 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town 11/12/2018 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town 11/14/2018 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy Birmingham 11/15/2018 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy Read More Cloves Cloves will open. The 20-year-old London-via-Melbourne singer recently released a new song ‘Better Now’ on November 18th. The single will also be available on her upcoming debut record (set for release in 2017 via Interscope). …

The song only partially remains the same—

Frankenmuth, MI blues rock band Greta Van Fleet made their long-overdue first appearance in the Twin Cities, playing the Armory in downtown Minneapolis, which quickly and easily sold out the show.  Though the inevitable comparisons to early Led Zeppelin seem to follow the them, that was only partly the case, as evidenced by their crunching live show. 

Opening the evening was twenty-two year-old Melbourne singer-songwriter Kaity Dunstan, better known as CLOVES, who charmed and quickly won over the audience very early into her thirty-minute opening set.  She started singing young, even appearing on The Voice Australia in 2013, with a full-length debut album, One Big Nothing, due soon (Interscope Records), and having already pre-released four singles from it, including the most recent moody and soulful ‘Wasted Time’. 

CLOVES has a very distinctive voice- sometimes a plaintive howl, sometimes an haunting, aching balladeer, and other times not afraid to rock in the rawest way, and was even informative to let us know that England had just won their World Cup game (she professed to not being a fan, though has lived in the UK).   

“Thanks for having a listen” she humbly said before finishing, to sincere applause and positive comments around me, praising the singer. ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ she sang, a track from 2015’s XIII EP, and judging from the positive reception, this Minneapolis audience will remember her, and make plans to see her next time through. 

Showing little mercy, Great Van Fleet emerged already in sonically high gear to start their ninety-minute set, with singer Josh Kiszka greeting the audience in downplayed form- “how’s everybody doing? I believe this is a rock n’ roll show” before his guttural soaring howl introduced 2017’s ‘Highway Tune’.

The Michigan foursome has been riding an epic wave of building buzz since that opening song went #1 for five weeks on Rock Radio, with two EPs out last year and their debut-full-length due later this year (on Lava/Republic). 

Composed of three Kiszka brothers (Josh- vocals; Jake- guitar; Sam- bass) and Danny Wagner on drums, the band has done what several other recent acts (The Struts, Tyler Bryant) also have- allow themselves to be influenced by classic riffs and songs of the 60’s/70’s while putting their own spin on things… and perhaps making rock n’ roll for this generation relevant once again, in the process.

Though they claim to not even being aware of Led Zeppelin until high school, there is a direct comparison to their sound and that of Zeppelin’s classic 1969 debut (especially in Josh’s singing and Jake’s guitar work), filled with youthful exuberance, roots/blues undertones, and an arena-ready hard rock sound. 

“Do we have any fans of the blues out there?” Josh asked, before their ripping Howlin’ Wolf cover that sounded less Zeppelin and more Chris Cornell fronting early Black Sabbath , while ‘Watching over’ has turned into their own ‘Dazed and Confused’ when played live, stretching out for long segues, solos, and musical turns. 

There’s less on-stage swagger in twenty-one year old singer Josh than a cocksure Robert Plant had at that age, though the vocal chops and range, are undeniably present and Jake’s guitar work is already formidable enough, he may become scarily good, much sooner than later at this pace. 

After a sizzling ‘Lover Leaver Taker Believer’ to end the main set at the seventy-two minute mark, the quartet returned for an encore pair of songs, beginning with the title track of their first EP, ‘Black Smoke Rising’.  “You asked for it!” Josh screamed, “I hope nobody’s standing too close to a window” he yelled as his twin brother unleashed the opening riff. 

‘Safari Song’, their other single that has topped the Mainstream Rock charts, showcased a high-pitched vocal that sounded closer to Bon Scott and vintage Axl Rose, also providing a spotlight for drummer Wagner, whose thundering drum solo would end the extended song, and the evening. 

From the headline of the t-shirts and posters, “A Night of Revelry” was promised by Greta Van Fleet and CLOVES and that’s exactly what was delivered, with one foot planted in the past, and the other, firmly in the future. 

(* note- we were not granted Greta Van Fleet photo access)

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CLOVES at The Armory, Minneapolis (03 July 2018)

 

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

Slayer w/ Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, Testament at Armory, Minneapolis (24 May 2018)

Slayer at Armory Poster Slayer Setlists     Intro: Delusions of Saviour Repentless Blood Red Disciple Mandatory Suicide Hate Worldwide War Ensemble Jihad When the Stillness Comes Postmortem Black Magic Payback Seasons in the Abyss Dittohead Dead Skin Mask Hell Awaits South of Heaven Raining Blood Chemical Warfare Angel of Death Lamb Of God Setlist Omerta Ruin Walk With Me in Hell Now You've Got Something to Die For 512 Engage the Fear Machine Blacken the Cursed Sun Laid to Rest Redneck Anthrax Setlist Caught in a Mosh Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover) I Am the Law Madhouse Evil Twin Antisocial Indians Behemoth Setlist Ov Fire and the Void Demigod Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer Wolves ov Siberia Chant for Eschaton 2000 O Father O Satan O Sun! Testament Setlist Brotherhood of the Snake Rise Up Practice What You Preach The Pale King Into the Pit The New Order Disciples of the Watch Tour Dates 06/01/2018 Mohegan Sun Uncasville, CT 06/02/2018 PNC Bank Arts Center Holmdel, NJ 06/04/2018 Santander Arena Reading, PA 06/06/2018 Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH 06/07/2018 Blossom Music Ctr Cuyahoga Falls, OH 06/09/2018 KeyBank Pavilion Burgettstown, PA 06/10/2018 Jiffy Lube Live Bristow, VA 06/12/2018 Veterans United Virginia Beach, VA 06/14/2018 PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte, NC 06/15/2018 Orlando Amphitheater Orlando, FL 06/17/2018 Smart Financial Centre Sugar Land, TX 06/19/2018 The Bomb Factory Dallas, TX 06/20/2018 Austin360 AmphAustin, TX 06/23/2018 "Secret Solstice Festival" 07/26/2018 Bank of NH Pavilion Gilford, NH 07/27/2018 "Impact Music Festival" 07/29/2018 Northwell Health Wantagh, NY 07/31/2018 Pavilion At Montage Mountain Moosic, PA 08/01/2018 Times Union Center Albany, NY 08/03/2018 Darien Lake Arts Center Darien Center, NY 08/04/2018 Lakeview Amphitheater Syracuse, NY 08/06/2018 Budweiser Gardens London, ON 08/07/2018 Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, MI 08/09/2018 Hollywood Casino Maryland Heights, MO 08/10/2018 Cellairis Amphitheatre Atlanta, GA 08/12/2018 Nashville Municipal Nashville, TN 08/13/2018 Walmart AMP Rogers, AR 08/15/2018 Freeman Coliseum San Antonio, TX 08/16/2018 Oklahoma City Zoo Oklahoma City, OK 08/18/2018 Fiddler's Green Amph Englewood, CO 08/19/2018 Usana Amphitheatre Salt Lake City, UT 08/21/2018 Ford Idaho Center Amph Nampa, ID 08/23/2018 Sunlight Supply Amph Ridgefield, WA 08/24/2018 "KISW Pain In The Grass" 08/26/2018 SAP Center At San Jose San Jose, CA Read More Slayer Metal legends Slayer is headlining the Armory this Thursday, presented by 93x and Live Nation. Slayer are one of the Rushmore of metal, right up there with Metallica, …

If their reign of blood is soon actually to be over… it’s definitely not going out quietly –

Thrash metal kings Slayer have embarked on their Farewell Tour, quickly and easily selling out The Armory in downtown Minneapolis and saying goodbye to the fans, via a festival-like lineup with support acts Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, and Testament (each headliners in their own right), for a six-hour thrash-a-thon that fittingly sends the band out raging. 

TESTAMENT

It was a little surprising to see these thrash legends (part of the so-called Big Five- along with Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer) open the show at an early 5pm, playing a too-short half-hour set. The band’s last release was 2016’s Brotherhood of the Snake (Nuclear Blast Records) but front man Chuck Billy has promised the band will go straight-ahead into the studio for new material, once this current tour ends. 

The band’s core line-up has remained steadfast, and evidence of that showed, beginning the set with the latest album’s title track (playing in front of a large snake head backdrop) and the ease with which guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson traded riffs throughout, ending with three tracks from their classic 1988 album, The New Order. “Tell me something, you guys ready for some thrash metal?” Billy said before ‘Into the Pit’, full well knowing the answer from all the metal horns hand gestures already in the air. 

BEHEMOTH

Though the concert was held indoors, you could almost feel the sky blacken and rumble as the Gdansk, Poland black metal band took to the stage, with new album expected this fall (live DVD Messe Noire was released this April).  With each member in black robes and face paint and a stage set to look like a demonic church, the sound took a much darker turn, though at times, was just as fast as the thrash from the other bands. 

“Behold my brethren!” vocalist Nergal Darski commanded before a pounding ‘Demigod’, though the crowd was already mesmerized by the band’s look and sound.  “It was a privilege to be here with you today” Darski said before a propulsive ‘Chant for Eschaton 2000’, “we are Behemoth from Poland and we shall return”, both introducing the band to the unfamiliar, and also letting fans know they would be back. 

ANTHRAX

“Ok, let’s go!” vocalist Joey Belladonna shouted as Anthrax took the stage for their forty-minute set in front of an Alex Ross-painted backdrop from latest album, For All Kings (Megaforce/ Nuclear Blast Records) “Anybody out there got the time? Belladonna then asked, the band jumping straight-ahead into their version of a Joe Jackson classic that frothed the swirling audience pit into a collective mass of jerking and jumping bodies. 

The band noted their love for the local crowd, remembering they were just here in late February (as part of another sold out show), and were happy to be back so soon- “you guys know how to bring it!” Belladonna shouted.  Fans responded to the new ‘Evil Twin’ as much as the older classics, which speaks well for the veteran NYC band of over thirty-five years, and the crowd reveled in singing back “Antisocial’ and ‘Indians’ to the band as they played those late ‘80s classics.

LAMB OF GOD

The Richmond, VA band represented the next generation of the thrash genre, the “newest” band of the evening… having formed in 1994.  The band’s latest release, Legion:XX (Epic/ Nuclear Blast Records) is actually a covers album credited under their original name, Burn the Priest, though for this shortened fifty-minute festival set, they just kept to more familiar LoG songs, beginning with 2004’s ‘Omerta’. 

Vocalist Randy Blythe stalked the stage, often jumping about with his long dreads in motion as guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler kept riffs heavy and bassist John Campbell and drummer Chris Adler kept beats thumping.  Blythe even gave a local shout-out, dedicating ‘Walk With Me in Hell’ to recently reunited local hardcore band, Disembodied as well as fittingly dedicating 2004’s ‘Laid to Rest’ to the headliner of the evening. 

SLAYER

After four previous bands over four-and-a-half hours, the table was finally set for the main event, a no-holds, unapologetic, crushing ninety-minute set from one of the genre’s originators and main influences.  Anchored by vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and the always imposing Kerry King on guitar, it was clear from the opening riffs of 2015’s ‘Repentless’, the band is determined to bow out on only its own terms. 

Changing backdrops, flashing lights, and an abundant use of pyro couldn’t take the attention away from the real focus- some thirty-seven years of genre-defining music that rolls mercilessly like a Tiger tank, blasting anything in its path, and taking no prisoners.  The band has never said much in-between or even moves around much on stage (somewhat the result of Araya’s 2010 back surgery and King’s laser-focus on his own playing), but it’s never mattered as the songs are plenty moving on their own. 

The pit could hardly catch its collective breath as one banger followed another, 1988’s ‘Mandatory Suicide’ with exemplary King riffs, speeding the swirling of the pit even further, followed immediately by the even faster tempo of 2009’s ‘Hate Worldwide’.    

The back-to-back of ‘War Ensemble’ and ‘Jihad’ seemed to echo themes in modern times and their song about karma, ‘Payback’ led into the dark forest that is 1990’s spanning ‘Seasons in the Abyss’.  The crowd (mostly male, in black t-shirts) easily found additional energy for the closing fourth of the band’s set, with 1985’s ‘Hell Awaits’ beginning their final swing through.  ‘South of Heaven’ and ‘Raining Blood’ were direct body blows with 1983’s ‘Chemical Warfare’ and 1986’s ‘Angel of Death’ landing the final knockout punches.

“Four words and they mean so much- Thank You Very Much” Araya said, against the loud audience chants of “Slayer”, “Hope you guys had fun tonight” he humbly said, waving as they left a Minneapolis stage for likely the final time. 

There may be mere months left in this thirty-seven year season of the abyss, but what a season it has turned out to have been – Slayer has helped define a musical genre, became a main influence to countless bands, crossed generations, and is leaving a legacy sure to be long withstanding.  Long live thrash.

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Lamb of God Setlist

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Slayer at Armory, Minneapolis (24 May 2018)

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

Steve Aoki - Kolony Tour at Armory, Minneapolis (24 Feb 2018)

SIMshows Presents: Steve Aoki Tour Dates 02/27/2018 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater 02/28/2018 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q 03/01/2018 Dallas, TX The Bomb Factory 03/02/2018 Houston, TX Revention Music Center 03/03/2018 Las Vegas, NV Hakkasan 03/04/2018 El Paso, TX El Paso County Coliseum 03/05/2018 Albuquerque, NM Historic El Rey Theater 03/06/2018 Las Vegas, NV Omnia Nightclub 03/07/2018 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre 03/10/2018 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 03/13/2018 South Padre Island, TX "Beach Bash Music Fest" 03/14/2018 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo 03/16/2018 Edmonton, AB "Soundwave" 03/17/2018 Las Vegas, NV Jewel Nightclub 03/22/2018 Las Vegas, NV Hakkasan 03/26/2018 Las Vegas, NV Jewel Nightclub 07/20/2018 Boom, Belgium "Tomorrowland Festival" 07/21/2018 Kleve, Germany "Parookaville" 07/29/2018 Boom, Belgium "Tomorrowland Festival" Read More Steve Aoki Steve Aoki is currently partying across America with his Aokify America Tour, recently selling out his appearance at Epic in Minneapolis last Saturday, November 9th …

When the Kolony Tour comes to town, only mayhem can ensue, and filmed ‘Mayhem’ was what it was—

Steve Aoki, the renown DJ /EDM musician known for his exceptional live experiences, brought the blissful insanity of his Kolony Tour to a sold-out crowd at the Armory in Minneapolis, heating up the cavernous building inside, as over a half foot of snow outside, was falling. 

The tour is in celebration of last summer’s Kolony (Ultra/Dim Mak Records) and Aoki brought friends Desiigner, Quintino, Bad Royale, Max Styler, and Bok Nero along, to make it into a six-hour live extravaganza. Additionally, a portion of ticket sales were given to the DJ’s own Aoki Foundation, which supports organizations in brain science with specific focus on regenerative medicine , so the party was also partially for a good cause.

After opening DJ sets by Max Styler and trio Bad Royale, things really kicked into overdrive with an hour-long set from Dutch DJ/Producer Quintino, who’s released a bevy of singles and a series of Go Harder EPs (on Spinnin’ Records) over the last several years.

Quintino successfully worked up the capacity crowd into a collective frenzy, many waving a multi-color changing light stick in the air as they danced about the room, as the DJ built tempo up successfully before dropping the beats and watching the crowd go crazy each time, in tandem.  The mix with songs like ‘Good Vibes’, ‘Lights Out’ and of course, ‘Go Harder’ perfectly set the stage for the remainder of the evening.

After a quick set change and a rumbling bass intro, twenty-year old Brooklyn hip-hop artist Desiigner stormed the stage for a relatively short thirty-minute set, but made the most of his time, climbing on his bodyguard’s shoulders, spraying the crowd with huge water guns, and rarely keeping still.

Desiigner ended his set with biggest hit, ‘Panda’, in the middle of the packed general admission floor so he could celebrate the song with a few of his biggest fans, dressed in panda costumes for the occasion.

While the venue’s VIP second level seemed somewhat reserved, the party was clearly on the floor where fans young and old, were determined to forget the bad weather outside and enjoy the festivities and warmth inside, before having to face nature for their journey home.  The venue itself continues to impress with orderly and secure lines to get inside and a well-mixed sound that reached clearly throughout, even to the furthest corners in the back.

Although his two hour-long headlining set featured a lot of recent music including several from the trap/hip-hop leaning new record, Steve Aoki’s performance also seemed a little more back-to-basics and elemental in its nature, the focus more on the mix being spun and connecting directly with the crowd, versus visual distractions that might take the focus away. 

Gone were the inflatable rafts and transforming robot people we saw previously, with the stage hosting a central DJ booth whose lighted front resembled the fanged mouth from the album cover, underneath two lit X’s, which made up the eyes.  Lighted tower columns were moved into place on both sides mid-set, a huge screen backdrop showed videos, montages, and the crowd itself at times, as Aoki had brought his own cameraman to document the event, even taking out his own phone (during ‘Plur Genocide’) to livestream a portion to his online fans. 

Until you hear dozens of them mixed back-to-back, it’s hard to remember truly how many collaborations Aoki has had, in just the last decade with an early set highlight showcasing his collaboration with Linkin Park on ‘A Light that Never Comes’ with the late Chester Bennington shown singing on-screen as Aoki mixed. 

More recent collaborations including those with Migos, Lil Yachty, Gucci Mane, and Lil Uzi Vert from the newest record, and those with One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, Korean group BTS and Fifth Harmony’s Lauren Jauregui all made it into the mix, often with accompanying music videos playing behind him. 

Aoki didn’t shy away from the classics either, working in the riffs and snippets from AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’, Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’, the latter of which showed a digitally-altered movie clip of Aoki holding onto himself at the ship’s bow, in that classic scene from Titanic. 

Light tubes bobbed in the air and the floor quaked from group jumping during the Aoki mix of Macklemore and Lewis’ ‘Can’t Hold Us’ and Latin music fans went wild for ‘Azukita’, a recent collaboration with Daddy Yankee, Play-N-Skillz, and Elvis Crespo. 

On-stage cameras rolled as the crowd sang along to ‘How Else’, Aoki’s collaboration with Rich the Kid and ILoveMakonnen and Quintino returned to the stage to join Aoki on their joint single, ‘Mayhem’, filming a portion of the song’s video as those with homemade ‘Mayhem’ signs were invited on stage to dance along. 

Desiigner re-emerged to help out on ‘Mic Drop’ getting the crowd even more fired up and dessert was saved until almost the end, as staff came out with a dozen full sheet frosted cakes as ‘Cake Face’ was cued up .  The DJ lept out onto the catwalk looking and pointing, as rabid fans held signs on high and pleaded with Aoki to get “caked”, a badge of honor by having cake all over you by the show’s end. 

‘I Love You When You Cry’, Aoki’s 2015 collaboration with Moxie would follow and things circled back to Linkin Park with ‘One More Light’ (Chester Forever remix) to end the main set amidst cheers and shouts as the venue neared its late curfew time, with fans demanding just a little more. 

Steve Aoki shows absolutely no signs of slowing down…

Aoki and the opening acts returned to the stage, taking bows, and cueing up the appropriately-titled,  ‘What We Started’, done originally with Don Diablo, Lush & Simon, and BullySongs with its lyric, “This is what we started, It's everything that we ever wanted, they won't hold us back”.

As North America’s highest grossing dance artist/DJ, Steve Aoki shows absolutely no signs of slowing down and this eclectic dance-driven, party-loving colony (…make that Kolony) that he’s cultivated, is only getting larger and larger. 

Audience

Quintino

Quintino

Desiigner

Desiigner

Desiigner

Desiigner

Desiigner

Steve Aoki with Desiigner

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki at Armory, Minneapolis (24 Feb 2018)

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