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The Joy Formidable at Turf Club, St Paul (02 Nov 2018)

The Joy Formidable at Turf Club Joy Formidable Setlist This Ladder Is Ours Cradle The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade Y Bluen Eira (The Snowflake) Passerby Ostrich Cicada (Land on Your Back) A Heavy Abacus Buoy The Wrong Side The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie The Leopard and the Lung The Better Me Whirring Tancred Setlist Song One Joey Queen of New York Hot Star Poise Clipping Underwear Not Likely Something Else Pens Pretty Girls Read More The Joy Formidable Wale’s The Joy Formidable (vocalist/guitarist Ritzy Bryan, bassist Rhydian Dafydd, drummer Matt Thomas) is back in town, after their recent Foo Fighters North American tour. The group’s fourth album AAARTH is out now. … Tancred As for Tancred, we saw her n March 2016 and said, “A little backstory on Jess Abbott, who mentioned on stage that she lived in Minneapolis for five years and does not miss the snow/cold …

London-based, Welsh band The Joy Formidable (guitarist/vocalist Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan, bassist Rhydian Dafydd, and drummer Matthew James Thomas) sold out the Turf Club in St Paul on Friday, November 2nd.

Tancred (aka Jess Abbott) opened the show. We’ve been writing about Abbott since her days in Now, Now Every Children (later shortened to just Now, Now), but left the band in late 2013. Her first national tour, she said she travelled by herself in Oct 2014, but admitted that it was too awkward playing music by herself. By March 2016, we got to see her with a full band: bassist Terrence Vitali and drummer Kevin Medina. It’s that same lineup that we see Tancred at the Turf Club on Friday night.

Before “Underwear” (taken from her latest album Nightstand), Abbott mentioned that she used to live in Minneapolis, “It’s still cold here. There’s still good food and polite people.”

Near the end of their 40-min set, as they were tuning their guitars for the finale song “Pretty Girls”, Abbot mentioned how her black turtleneck made her look like Steve Jobs. Then Vitali interrupted about how he overheard her saying how she was sweating through her turtleneck.

“Why would you say that?!?” Abbot clarified that she was just nervous (sweating) about playing, but admitted that it sounded pretty funny hearing “sweating through my turtleneck”. She closed out the banter with her Steve Jobs joke: “Did you hear about the iPhone 69? It still sucks.”

Tancred’s Nightstand is out now on Polyvinyl.

As previously mentioned, The Joy Formidable was one of the first bands we covered a decade ago. The Wales/London band were brand new at the time in July 2008, but we wrote that “a band that I see a lot of potential in.” Our prediction came true, and over the years, we’ve seen the band on and off, whenever they came to town.

In April 2016, while on tour for Hitch, they played their biggest stage in Minneapolis - the 1,500-capacity First Avenue. We’ve only seen the band at smaller “club” gigs prior, so it felt like everyone was on their best behavior: “the First Avenue performance was more of a proper rock show, with bigger stage, full light rigs, and the band seemingly very focused.”

After a two year-absent, the band returned to the Twin Cities, headlining and selling out the Turf Club in St Paul on Friday night. It was nice to see the band at a small “pub gig” again. Bassist Rhydian Dafydd and singer “Ritzy” seemed really loose and making faces as they launched into “This Ladder Is Ours”. Even the drummer would occasionally rise from his seat to whip the audience into a deserving frenzy. Seeing the band this animated vs their button-down-proper gig in 2016, was a much better experience.

Even though St Paul was not their first show in this 2018 tour, it sure felt fresh and fun, as if they were just starting out. Maybe it’s also because it felt like the band really loved playing new songs from the band’s fourth album AAARTH (which means “Bear”), but it all sounded like everyone was having a good time.

Some of the stand-out AAARTH songs, like “Y Bluen Eira” (which means “The Snowflake”) and “Cicada (Land on Your Back)” went over well with the audience. However, of course, older songs like “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie” and “Whirring” from their debut The Big Roar had the loudest and best response from the audience.

After ten years of covering The Joy Formidable, they still sound as fresh and amazing as they did a decade ago. Here’s looking for another ten years.

Remaining tour dates:

Nov 4 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
Nov 6 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
Nov 7 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
Nov 8 – Buffalo, NY – Rec Room
Nov 9 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Nov 10 – Washington, DC – Black Cat

Tancred

Tancred

Tancred

Tancred

The Joy Formidable

The Joy Formidable

The Joy Formidable at Turf Club, St Paul (02 Nov 2018)

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

Tall Heights at Turf Club, St Paul (22 Oct 2018)

Tall Heights at Turf Club Tall Heights Setlist Not Like It Was Back to Autumn Midnight Oil Cross My Mind Only White Frost Fire Escape Two Blue Eyes River Wider The Running of the Bulls (acoustic) Gold Horse to Water No Man Alive The Deep End Spirit Cold -- Encore -- House on Fire Read More Tall Heights Tall Heights will headline the 7th Street Entry on Sunday. Show up early to check out rising Vermont singer/songwriter Henry Jamison in support of his critically-acclaimed EP The Rains (Akira Records). 7pm, $13. … Old Sea Brigade Tall Heights + Old Sea Brigade, Frances Cone Turf Club Mon 10/22/2018 (7pm/$13) turfclub.net Boston duo Tall Heights (Paul Wright and Tim Harrington) … Frances Cone Original Release Date: February 26, 2013 Release Date: February 26, 2013 Label: Frances Cone Copyright: 2013 Frances Cone Total Length: 31:57 …

Boston’s Tall Heights headlined the Turf Club in St Paul on Monday, October 22nd.

Starting the show was Brooklyn’s Frances Cone. We first came across the trio (singer/keyboardist Christina Cone, guitarist Jeff Malinowski, and bassist Andrew Doherty) in 2014, when we read that they were a cross between Neko Case and Cat Power.

Singer Christina Cone talked about the last time they were in the area, they had spent their day off being drunk and then ordering $50 worth of hotel food (meatball pizza). Most of their songs from a forthcoming album in January 2019, including “Easy Love”.

Although the Cone said that she would love to hang out, she said they had to basically hit the road as soon as possible as they had an eight-hour drive to the next venue.

They ended their 35-min set with “Leave Without You.”

Old Sea Brigade was up next. The stagename is for Nashville-based, Atlanta-born singer, songwriter Ben Cramer, who is releasing his debut LP Ode To A Friend on January 4, 2019, via Nettwerk Records. The album title was inspired by Cramer’s sudden loss of a best friend to suicide.

With a typical one album, Old Sea Brigade played those upcoming song, including “Seen a Ghost” (the leading single). Sometime Cramer had a Bob Dylan-esque style to his vocals and music.

Cramer also apologized in advance, because they had a long drive ahead of them and couldn’t stay after the show.

Normally Tall Heights is duo cellist/vocals Paul Wright and guitarist/vocals Tim Harrington, but for their live shows, they’re joined on stage by percussionist Paul Dumas, a keyboard player, and a bassist/additional guitarist.

Perhaps it’s because their new album is Pretty Colors For Your Actions (Sony Music Masterworks), they did “paint” the Turf Club with a variety of fog and mixed color lights throughout their set.

Most of Tall Heights’ early work were simple cello and guitar sound, but since 2015, the duo have expanded their music with additional drums, electric guitar, and keyboards.... which perfectly fit in with their live sound.

The most interesting part of their show had to do with using feedback from two cellphones and incorporating it into their song “Cross My Mind”. The sound is somewhat of a chirping nature, and is unique to each live performance of that song.

They ended their set with “Spirit Cold” and a quick encore of “House on Fire”.

Remaining tour dates:

10/27 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
10/29 Vancouver, BC Roxy Cabaret
10/30 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
10/31 Portland, OR Douglas Fir Lounge
11/2 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
11/3 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy
11/4 San Diego, CA Voodoo Room
11/6 Phoenix, AZ The Rebel Lounge
11/8 Austin, TX Stubb’s Jr.
11/9 Dallas, TX Curtain Club
11/10 Oklahoma City, OK VZD’s
11/12 Nashville, TN The High Watt
11/13 Birmingham, AL Saturn
11/14 Athens, GA 40 Watt
11/15 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
11/16 West Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
11/17 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
11/18 Richmond, VA Capital Ale House
11/28 Washington, DC U Street Music Hall
11/29 Philadelphia, PA Foundry
11/30 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall
12/1 Boston, MA Royale

Frances Cone

Frances Cone

Old Sea Brigade

Old Sea Brigade

Old Sea Brigade

Tall Heights Setlist

Tall Heights

Tall Heights

Tall Heights

Tall Heights

Tall Heights at Turf Club, St Paul (22 Oct 2018)

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

The Church at Turf Club, St Paul (15 Oct 2018)

The Church at Turf Club The Church Setlist Starfish Set Destination Under the Milky Way Blood Money Lost North, South, East and West Spark Antenna Reptile A New Season Hotel Womb Set Two Anaesthesia Metropolis Another Century Undersea Sealine Constant in Opal Day 5 Ripple Louisiana Tantalized -- Encore --            Almost With You The Unguarded Moment Miami Tour Dates Oct. 20 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern Oct. 21 - Montreal, QC - Cafe Campus Oct. 23 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair Oct. 24 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live Oct. 25 - New York, NY - City Winery Oct. 26 - New York, NY - City Winery Read More The Church Australia’s The Church is back in the city. The last time we saw them at the Cedar in 2015 we noted, “The show was performed as one long set, versus the two separate sets done …

Australia’s longtime 80s band The Church recently played the sold-out Turf Club show in St Paul, as part of their 30th Anniversary of Starfish tour. Undoubtable, this is the Sydney band’s most well-known album, at least to an international audience, thanks to their top 40 hit single, “Under the Milky Way”.

Thirty years later, we find only original members singer/guitarist Steve Kilbey and bass guitar Peter Koppes, and by our definition, it’s still the same The Church, as we know and love. The new members are drummer Tim Powles and lead guitarist Ian Haug, both officially joined The Church for touring post-2014 (when Marty Willson-Piper left the group in 2013), although they’ve previously worked with The Church in one form or another (Powles worked with the Church since 1996). Also, for live shows, Jeffrey Cain joined the group since 2017, as extra guitarist and keyboards/production work.

As a unit, the band looked and sounded great, playing songs after songs without any problems. There was a guitar tech, who made sure each guitar was tuned correctly for the next song. There were very minutes wasted on tuning, or finding the right instrument, but it also meant very few banters between songs. It was all business, with an occasional “This is song number six” joke, which is good, because The Church had about two hours of music they had to play before curfew.

As expected with the Anniversary tour, their first set was dedicated to playing Starfish, from start to finish. For fans who knew the album well, they were aware that “Under the Milky Way” was the second song, so many of them turned up to the show very early and waited in the front to hear the band’s signature song. Understandably, it was a work night (Monday), and a few fans left after the first set was played in its entirety.

For those who stayed for the second set, which, personally speaking, was a far superior set, we were treated to some rarely heard songs (with the usual hit songs from the past: “Metropolis” and “Tantalized”).

Personally, for me, hearing “Ripple” live was a rare treat. According to setlist.fm, and I don’t know how accurate it is, but they said that “Ripple” was last played in Minneapolis at First Avenue in 1999. In the past ten years of seeing the band on and off, I can verify that I’ve never heard the group had never played “Ripple”. I’ve even previously complained about it. The band re-introduced the song into their set in 2016, but managed to skipped out the Twin Cities. They did eventually return to Minneapolis in Oct 2017, but did not include the song on their 2017 set.

Another highlight of the second set was for “Undersea”, which featured a special guest bassist, introduced as Rob (or Ross?).

If you love The Church, chances are that Starfish was your first album you own. So seeing them on this Anniversary tour is a must. Plus, with a double set of pure The Church, this is a great tour for any diehard fan.

Can’t wait for the 30th Anniversary Priest=Aura Tour in 2022!

The Church at Turf Club, St Paul (15 Oct 2018)

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

We Were Promised Jetpacks at Turf Club, St. Paul (28 Sep 2018)

We Were Promised Jetpacks 2018 Tour WWPJ Setlist Impossible Human Error Someone Else’s Problem Keeping Warm The More I Sleep, the Less I Dream Safety In Numbers Ships With Holes Will Sink Make it Easier In Light Sore Thumb Not Wanted It's Thunder and It's Lightning Hanging In Short Bursts Repeating Patterns Jenn Champion Setlist You Knew No One Holding On Coming For You Bleed Never Giving In Going Nowhere Mainline O.M.G. (I'm All Over It) Time to Regulate Tour Dates 10.11 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre 10.12 - San Diego, CA @ Irenic 10.13 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom 10.15 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada 10.16 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk 10.17 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 10.18 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues 10.19 - Chattanooga, TN @ Songbirds 10.20 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West 10.22 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle 10.23 - Washington, DC @ 930 Club 10.24 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes 10.26 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall 10.27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Foundry 10.28 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club 10.29 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel 11.14 - Aberdeen, UK @ The Lemon Tree 11.15 - Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke's 11.16 - Kilmarnock, UK @ Kilmarnock Grand 11.17 - Edinburgh, UK @ Old Citadel 11.18 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club 11.19 - Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute 11.21 - London, UK @ Bush Hall 11.22 - Luxembourg City, LU @ Rotondes 11.24 - Berlin, DE @ Lido 11.26 - Vienna, AT @ Chelsea 11.27 - Graz, AT @ Postgarage Read More We Were Promised Jetpacks Scottish rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks is back in town with their fourth full-length album, The More I Sleep The Less I Dream. … Jenn Champion Jenn Champion (formerly known as S and Jenn Ghetto and band member of Carissa's Wierd) will open the show. …

We live in an age of electric cars, robot dogs, and artificially intelligent computer assistants... but where are the jet packs?!

While the actual jet packs for common folks are still years away, Scotland’s own We Were Promised Jetpacks have returned with a new album and tour, making a recent stop in St. Paul at the Turf Club.

The evening was opened up with a chill electro-pop set by Jenn Champion, a singer-songwriter originally from Arizona who was formally a member of Carissa’s Wierd and went previously under the names of Jenn Ghetto and (the un-Googleable) “S”.

With two other musicians (who rotated playing various instruments), the Champion trio played mostly songs from her new album, Single Rider (Hardly Art Records), a collection of honest lyrics against technically solid beats and rhythms, that easily won over the audience. There is often an underlying sadness to the heavily tattooed Champion’s songs, but tempered against an irresistible beat, most couldn’t help but to swing and dance any blues away.

After over three years away, the Scottish quartet cleverly named We Were Promised Jetpacks has reset themselves with a self-released album out last month called The More I Sleep The Less I Dream (Big Scary Monsters Records) and a re-dedication to shredding faces with their incendiary live shows.

Now in their more mature thirties, the band (Adam Thompson -vocals/guitar; Michael Palmer-guitar; Sean Smith-bass, Darren Lackie- drums) begins their second decade together much like they left their first- with songs that feature somewhat dreary lyrics that reflect their Scottish environment, sung impeccably by the howling Thompson, against a building sonic wall of guitar fuzz, reverb, and echo (seen similarly in fellow bands like The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit).

Taking a well-deserved short break after their last touring cycle, the quartet’s new songs show a return to the basics that first put them on the map, whilst still sounding as urgent and contemporary as their other work. Their eighty-minute set opened with the opening track of the new record, ‘Impossible’ before going straight ahead next into 2011’s ‘Human Error’ then returning to the new and ‘Someone Else’s Problem’, with Thompson vocally pleading “I told you not to listen” (though we all were).

The band is not one to waste time or even talk much between songs (maybe because the Scottish accent makes our American ears strain to understand everything) but more so, to set their sonic mood and play the set as almost one long musical movement. Thompson and band encouraged us to all ‘Keep Warm’ during this chilled autumn night before the menacing title track of the new album was played, a song that starts slowly and droning before building upon itself, as things progress.

“Thank you very much- you guys are very nice!” Thompson said, speaking briefly after over a half-hour into the set, before quickly resuming with a blazing version of 2009’s ‘Ships With Holes Will Sink’. 2011’s ‘Sore Thumb’ was sung partially off-mic, with Thompson’s carrying voice more than enough to fill the room without the need of amplification as guitarist Palmer ferociously stroking up the riffs.

2009’s ‘It’’s Thunder and It’s Lightning’ was as powerfully emotive as ever, with Thompson’s aching voice repeating “your body was black and blue” as drummer Lackie pounded the skins and the volume rose.

The slow burning ‘Hanging In’ and set-ending sharp and swirling jabs of ‘Repeating Patterns’ found 2009’s howling ‘Short Bursts’ between those two new songs, with Thompson singing, “Your silence is bearable... but only in short bursts”. Not believing in the traditional encore walk off/walk back-on process, it was truly to be their last song of the evening, but met with the loudest applause and crowd cheering.

While we may still not be flying around just yet in actual jet packs, the sonic swell of Scotland’s We Were Promised Jetpacks is a welcome return to record bins and live stages and enough to propel one virtually and musically against their formidable g-force.

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

WWPJ Setlist

Jenn Champion Setlist

Jenn Champion

Jenn Champion

Jenn Champion

We Were Promised Jetpacks

We Were Promised Jetpacks

We Were Promised Jetpacks

We Were Promised Jetpacks

We Were Promised Jetpacks

We Were Promised Jetpacks at Turf Club, St. Paul (28 Sep 2018)

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The Presets at the Turf Club, St Paul (03 Oct 2018)

The Presets at Turf Club The Presets Setlist Talk Like That Eucalyptus Martini Ghosts Do What You Want Downtown Shutdown Tools Down Feel Alone Girl and the Sea This Boy's In Love I Go Hard, I Go Home Youth in Trouble My People Are You The One? Together Are You Here? 14U+14ME Until the Dark -- Encore --            Anywhere Blood Red Shoes Setlist The Perfect Mess Cold An Animal Black Distractions Light It Up God Complex This Is Not for You Lost Kids Red River Je Me Perds I Wish I Was Someone Better Read More The Presets Australia’s dance duo The Presets is headlining the Turf Club in St Paul on Wednesday, October 3rd. The duo (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) won a few Australian awards, including APRA for Songwriters of the Year and ARIA for Best Dance release in 2009. .… Blood Red Shoes Brighton’s Blood Red Shoes to open. The last time we saw the duo (guitarist Laura-Mary Carter and drummer Steven Ansell), they blew us away with their anthemic song “Light It Up”. .…

Australia’s dance duo The Presets (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) is touring North America in support of their new album Hi Viz (Modular Records); stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul on Wednesday, October 3rd.

Brighton’s Blood Red Shoes opened the show, the stage completely lit in a deep green (which remained unchanged throughout their entire set), possibly due to the fact that the artwork for their forthcoming 2019 album Get Tragic is also in the same green tone. They didn’t play any of those 2019 songs, it’s really not the time to start promoting those singles, but instead concentrated on their various hit singles.

You may recall that when we caught the duo (guitarist Laura-Mary Carter and drummer Steven Ansell) opened for the Fatellis, they really won our hearts with their catchy, anthemic songs. Our favorite is still the great singalong “Light It Up”, which Ansell introduced as, “You guys may know this one.”

They commented on the weather (a miserable, rainy night) as “feels like being in England… raining and cold!” Although the band has been in Minneapolis twice (once at the 7th Street in 2014 and once at First Ave with the Fatellis), they admitted that this was their first time in St Paul.

Up in the front were perhaps some of their biggest fans, including a guy with a tattoo of the band on his arm. With these diehard, dedicated fans in the area, you can bet that it won’t be long until Blood Red Shoes returns to the Twin Cities.

If you love hard alternative guitar/drum combo rock, Blood Red Shoes is a band worth watching out for. Hopefully with their 2019 album coming out in January, that would only mean the duo will be back headlining their own shows next year.

As for The Presets, we’ve heard about the duo since their 2005 debut album Beams. When they went straight to #1 on the ARIA charts with Apocalypso in 2008, we knew they were special. In fact, after numerous tour (including support for the incredible popular Daft Punk), The Presets earned “Best Live Act” from inthemix Awards.

The Australian band only comes to American once in a while, the last time we saw them, it was at First Avenue in May 2013 and said, “ The Australian duo broke into the mainstream with their #1 album, Apocalypso, spawning six hit singles: "My People", "This Boy's in Love", "Talk Like That", "Yippiyo-Ay", "If I Know You" and "Kicking and Screaming".”

Back in town, and again, of course the Presets brought the strobe lights. If you have photosensitive epilepsy, you should probably not go to a Presets show. To be fair, the strobe effects were used to sync with the music, and create a pumping sound. A video screen was used against their music, sometime to very cool effects.

If you love dance music, like Chemical Brothers or Daft Punk (but with live vocal mix), you should go to a Presets show. Their brief North American tour will end in Brooklyn on October 9th.

The Presets’ Hi Viz is out now on Modular Recordings.

US / Canada Tour Dates:

10/04/18 - Chicago, Illinois @ Metro
10/05/18 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
10/06/18 - Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
10/08/18 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
10/09/18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

Blood Red Shoes

Blood Red Shoes

Blood Red Shoes

BRS Setlist

The Presets

The Presets

The Presets at the Turf Club, St Paul (03 Oct 2018)

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

Still Corners at Turf Club, St Paul (25 Sep 2018)

Still Corners at Turf Club Poster Still Corners Setlist Black Lagoon Fireflies Lost Boys Dreamlands The Cavalry Cross Don’t Fall in Love Cuckoo Beginning to Blue The Message The Photograph Endless Summer Berlin Lovers Horses at Night The Trip -- Encore -- Wish Slow Down Tour Dates 10/25/2018 - Austin, TX - Barracuda 10/28/2018 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress 10/29/2018 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge 10/30/2018 - San Diego, CA - Casbah 10/31/2018 - Tustin, CA - Marty's On Newport 11/1/2018 - Los Angeles, CA - Resident 11/2/2018 - San Francisco, CA - Neck of the Woods 11/4/2018 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge 11/5/2018 - Seattle, WA - Sunset 11/6/2018 - Vancouver, BC - Fox Cabaret 11/19/2018 - Sofia, Bulgaria – Central Military Club 11/20/2018 - Bucharest, Romania - Control Club 11/22/2018 - Athens, Greece – Gagarin 205 11/23/2018 - Zürich, Switzerland – Bogen F 11/25/2018 - Madrid, Spain – Costello Club 11/26/2018 - Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz 3 11/27/2018 - Paris, France – Espace B 11/28/2018 - Amiens, France – La Lune Des Pirates 11/29/2018 - London, UK – Pickle Factory 11/30/2018 - Bristol, UK – The Louisiana 12/1/2018 - Newcastle Upon Tyne - Star & Shadow 12/2/2018 - Glasgow, UK – Broadcast 12/3/2018 - Manchester, UK – YES 12/4/2018 - Oxford, UK – O2 Academy2 Oxford 12/6/2018 - Groningen, The Netherlands – Vera 12/7/2018 - The Hague, The Netherlands – PAARD 12/8/2018 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Q-Factory Read More Still Corners Austin’s Still Corners is back with a fourth studio album Slow Air (released August 17 via Wrecking Light). The promo tour will stop by the Turf Club in St Paul on Tuesday. We haven’t seen the band since 2013, …

Dreampop Still Corners stopped by the Turf Club, in St Paul, last night, September 25... their third time in the area.

Transmission’s DJ Jake Rudh played music videos before and between sets. Normally, Rudh’s set would include plenty of 80’s British music, but for last night, it would appear that he’s playing more modern/contemporary (some dreampop songs like Blonde Redhead) music. It’s a little different from what we’re used to, but still a nice change of pace.

Rudh ended his first set with Chromatics’ “Shadows”, which lead nicely to Foxes in Fiction. The music of Foxes in Fiction (aka Warren Hildebrand) is very similar with Chromatics, but often more depressing, as he mentioned in an early interview, “Personal loss and dealing with anxiety and depressive issues that I've struggled with my most of my life have played into my music and the way I work for as long as I can remember.”

Currently based in New York, Hildebrand originally started in project in Toronto, Canada, in 2005, during his sophomore high school year. His music did speak to a small audience, who were more than happy to see him at the Turf Club’s stage. Some of them could hardly contain how excited they were to see Foxes in Fiction, as they fumbled with their phone to take the best picture of the producer in a backlit/dimmed lighting environment.

Foxes in Fiction’s Virgos To Waste, a collection of rare songs recorded from 2010-2016, was released last year, to benefit the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Normally, Still Corners is a duo, featuring songwriter/producer Greg Hughes and vocalist/synth Tessa Murray. For this tour, the band is joined by drummer Leon Dufficy.

First off, Murray apologized for several things: “We want to apologize for advertising this show as ‘Minneapolis’, Saint Paul. And it’s Tuesday, I know, I would be at home watching TV too.” Near the end of their set, Murray mentioned that this was their third time in the general area. Their first time was as headliner at the 7th Street Entry with Ganglians and Dada Trash Collage on 28 October 2011, and their second was opening for CHVRCHES at the Fine Line Music Café on 08 June 2013. Technically, as we noted , they were supposed to be headlining, but a last-minute call, they ended up opening for CHVRCHES.

The duo is touring for their fifth studio album Slow Air (Wrecking Light Records), so they were obligated to play a few tracks from their new album (three songs).

Since the band is now based in Woodstock, New York, it would make sense that the new record, Slow Air, was written and recorded in Austin, Texas. They’re still very British, describing the hot air of Texas as “slow air”, and, of course, their music is still very much emphasizing on guitars and beautiful vocals.

They played their signature song, “Fireflies”, early in their set to get fans pumped up, and played some of their favorite Sub Pop-era songs throughout their set. Each song had a custom background video to accompanied the song, so we think they play the same set every night (since it may be hard to change the playlist night after night).

For their encore, it was simply Murray and Hughes coming back on stage to play “Wish” (they would be joined by Dufficy for the second song). Murray, again, apologizing that she may or may not remember all the lyrics for an older song and a newer song. If she did messed up, no one noticed, or cared, as they were too busy getting lost in the music.

Still Corners will be taking a brief break after this, but they’ll be resuming their tour in late October 2018.

Foxes in Fiction

Foxes in Fiction

Still Corners Setlist

Still Corners

Still Corners

Still Corners

Still Corners at Turf Club, St Paul (25 Sep 2018)

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

Rolling Blackouts C.F. at Turf Club, St. Paul (07 Sept 2018)

Rolling Blackouts CF at Turf Club Rolling Blackouts C.F. Setlist The Hammer Clean Slate Mainland Wither With You Sick Bug An Air Conditioned Man Exclusive Grave Time in Common Bellarine Sister's Jeans Talking Straight Julie's Place Wide Eyes French Press Fountain of Good Fortune -- Encore -- Colours Run Read More Rolling Blackouts CF Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever is headlining the 7th Street Entry on Monday, April 30th. Their upcoming debut album Hope Downs will be out June 15 via Sub Pop. …

No outtages, instead an hour-long power surge--

Melbourne, Australia quintet Rolling Blackouts C.F. returned to the area, this time on the St. Paul side on the Mississippi River for a headlining show at The Turf Club. The Sub Pop-signed alternative rock band is back in the U.S., headlining clubs as part of their Hope Downs Tour, after first coming here in the spring and spending the summer in other parts of the world, and at festivals.

The band’s intro music was a deceptive bit of easy listening music, but amps were soon turned up and the bass drum throbbed as the band began their sixty-five minute set with ‘The Hammer’, playing most of the current record as the set progressed. ‘Clean Slate’ was next, another guitar-driven track with an increased tempo, and no less than three of the five members (all but the bassist and drummer) would step to the mic to sing lead vocals on at least one song, during the evening.

Guitars were often jangly in an appealing way, with the rhythm section propelling the songs on a musical walkabout, and a slightly rough and raw edge about them, not unlike early Midnight Oil albums or the first two INXS records, yet untouched by any glossy, hit-making producers (which is a good thing).

‘Exclusive Grave’ from the new record, musically bobbed and weaved, visibly catching the crowd’s ear while ‘Time in Common’ sounded like a throwback to early 80’s post-punk, with a “get in/get out” brevity to the song itself. The band remembered their previous time in the area, mentioning spending some time at the C.C. Club in Uptown, and eating at Al’s Breakfast in Dinkytown, which the crowd appreciated hearing.

The set seemed to gain even more momentum towards its end, as the mid-tempo’d ‘French Press’ seems ideal for radio airplay and the set-closing ‘Fountain of Good Fortune’ took its time to build things, starting with simple acoustic guitar and building its sound layers following, in a journeyman way.

The band returned to the stage for a single-song encore, ‘Colours Run’ which again showcased a post-punk sound against a quick beat, with guitar riffs cutting through and across the anchoring rhythm.

Where they’re from, its already tomorrow (according to the international date line anyway), and the sound of Rolling Blackouts C.F. may be a sound of the future of alternative rock’ n roll. The Melbourne band shows a lot of promise with a refreshing sound that at times, tips its hat at what came before, but sounds completely modern and is worth keeping an eye (and both ears) out for.

Remaining tour dates:

09/14/2018 Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, PA
09/15/2018 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
09/17/2018 Black Cat Washington, DC
09/27/2018 Brisbane Brisbane Festival
09/28/2018 Sydney Factory Theatre
09/29/2018 Yours & Owls Festival Stuart Park
10/05/2018 Perth Rosemount Hotel
10/06/2018 Adelaide Jive
10/12/2018 Geelong Worker's Club
10/13/2018 Melbourne Corner Hotel
10/14/2018 Melbourne Corner Hotel
10/18/2018 Cardiff swm Festival
10/19/2018 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
10/20/2018 Bristol, UK Simple Things Festival
10/21/2018 Leeds Stylus
10/23/2018 Brighton Concorde 2
10/24/2018 Portsmouth, UK Wedgewood Rooms
10/25/2018 Oxford O2 Academy
10/26/2018 Bilbao, Spain BIME Live
10/27/2018 Bilbao, Spain BIME Live
10/29/2018 London, UK KOKO
10/31/2018 Nantes, France Festival Soy
11/01/2018 Paris, France Pitchfork Festival
11/02/2018 Antwerp, Belgium Trix
11/03/2018 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso Noord
11/04/2018 Nijmegen Doornroosje
11/07/2018 Oslo, Norway John Dee
11/08/2018 Stockholm, Sweden Nalen
11/09/2018 Lund, Sweden Mejeriet
11/12/2018 Hamburg, Germany Molotow
11/13/2018 Cologne, Germany MTC
11/17/2018 Canberra Spilt Milk Festival
11/30/2018 Berry Showgrounds Fairgrounds Festival
12/31/2018 Langley Park, Perth Origin Fields

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

Rolling Blackouts C.F. at Turf Club, St. Paul (07 Sept 2018)

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

The Posies at Turf Club, St. Paul (26 June 2018)

Posies at Turf Club Poster Setlist Dream All Day Love Letter Boxes Throwaway Any Other Way I Am the Cosmos (Chris Bell cover) Please Return It Golden Blunders Precious Moments You're the Beautiful One Suddenly Mary Licenses to Hide The Glitter Prize with Terra Lightfoot Ontario Flavor of the Month Burn & Shine Solar Sister -- Encore -- These Important Years (Hüsker Dü cover) Green Eyes (Hüsker Dü cover) Makes No Sense at All (Hüsker Dü cover) Sorry Somehow (Hüsker Dü cover) Grant Hart with Greg Norton Flood of Sunshine with Terra Lightfoot Tour Dates 06/29/2018 Kansas City, MO The Riot Room 06/30/2018 Denver, CO Levitt Pavilion 07/01/2018 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room 07/06/2018 Bellingham, WA Wild Buffalo House Of Music 07/07/2018 Seattle, WA The Neptune 08/31/2018 Into The Great Wide Open 09/01/2018 Zomerpop Festiva 09/29/2018 Barcelona, Spain Upload 09/30/2018 Zaragoza, Spain La Lata de Bombillas 10/01/2018 Cordoba, Spain Hangar 10/02/2018 Cadiz, Spain Aulario La Bomba 10/03/2018 Granada, Spain Lemon Rock Bar & Hostel 10/04/2018 Valencia, Spain 16 Toneladas Rock Club 10/05/2018 Madrid, Spain Caracol 10/06/2018 Pontevedra, Spain Teatro Principal 10/07/2018 Gipuzkoa, Spain San Agustin Kultur Gunea 10/09/2018 Paris, France La Maroquinerie 10/10/2018 Utrecht, NL Tivoli De Helling 10/11/2018 Groningen, NL Vera 10/12/2018 Heerlen, NL De Nieuwe Nor 10/13/2018 Alkmaar, NL Victorie 10/14/2018 Hengelo, NL Metropool 10/16/2018 Dusseldorf, Germany Zakk 10/17/2018 Kortrijk, Belgium Wilde Western 10/18/2018 Mechelen, Belgium Cultuurcentrum Mechelen 10/19/2018 London, UK The Garage 10/20/2018 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club 10/21/2018 Glasgow, UK King Tut's Wah Wah Hut 10/23/2018 Manchester, UK The Deaf Institute 10/25/2018 Bremen, Germany Tower Musikclub 10/26/2018 Hamburg, Germany Hakken 10/27/2018 Berlin, Germany Kantine Am Berghain 10/29/2018 Helsinki, Finland Savoy Theatre 10/31/2018 Larvik, Norway Sanden Kafe 11/01/2018 Stavanger, Norway Folken 11/02/2018 Bergen, Norway Club Madam Felle 11/03/2018 Trondheim, Norway Teaterhuset Avant Garden 11/04/2018 Oslo, Norway John Dee 11/06/2018 Goteborg, Sweden Pusterviksbaren 11/07/2018 Stockholm, Sweden Fasching 11/08/2018 Malmo, Sweden Inkonst Read More The Posies You might know Ken Stringfellow from The Posies (we all remember "I Can Dream All Day" song) and the re-formed Big Star. Speaking of moons & stars, his latest album is called Danzig in the Moonlight, and it's … Terra Lightfoot Guitarist-vocalist Terra Lightfoot is ending her North American show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis this Tuesday (she’ll be continuing the rest of her tour in her native Canada). … Porcupine Everybody’s favorite riot punk band Babes in Toyland is headlining First Avenue’s mainroom. Porcupine and Bruise Violet to open. 8pm, $20. … DJ Jake Rudh This is billed as a Transmission (aka DJ Jake Rudh) / BNLX release show, but music fans may want to take note that at nearly midnight, The Ocean Blue is scheduled to appear. …

“By the power of Grayskull, I declare this concert awesome!” – Ken Stringfellow of The Posies at the show’s end. 

A loon-calling contest, Tequila Terra, and a special Hüsker Dü encore were all part of a very memorable 30^th anniversary performance from Bellingham, WA band The Posies, playing to a crowded Turf Club in St. Paul. 

As doors opened, local DJ Jake Rudh played a series of associated power-pop records, both visually on the screen lowered from above the stage, as well as in audio form between acts, to keep the crowd in a power-pop mood. 

Hamilton, ONT singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot was first up, with band and well-traveled SG guitar named “Veronica” in tow, in support of last fall’s New Mistakes (Sonic Unyon / Sony Music).  Lightfoot (no relation to fellow Canuck Gordon) has a rootsy blues sound, and guitar work that is confident and often roaring with swagger. With stomping songs like ‘Paradise’, this is a storm from the great white north worth catching the next time through. 

The word was that MN/WI alternate rock trio Porcupine lobbied to be on the bill, and with good reason as the kind of no-holds-barred, unapologetic rock played by Casey Virock (guitars/vocals), Ian Prince (drums), and Greg Norton (bass) fit ideally into the evening’s playlist. 

Though somewhat new to most, the band has been around (in some form) for over a decade, spinning out of Virock’s former band, Space Bike, and is currently finishing a follow up to 2015’s Carrier Wave EP. The most common description of their sound seems to be Swervedriver meets QOTSA which has some germ of truth, but their forty-minute set, more showed a sound and stage presence, all their own. 

Virock’s skills on guitar are formidable, as is Prince on the drum kit, but the welcome presence was newest member and former Hüsker Dü bassist Norton, still jumping about and stalking the stage, adding extra punch to older songs like 2009’s ‘Dead Mint Club’ and 2011’s ‘Rooftops’ while newer songs like 2015’s ‘Connecting the Dots’ (recorded and mixed by Steve Albini) show the further evolution of the trio’s ‘90’s inspired sound. 

Virock even confessed to his car just getting broken into, with everything stolen except his amp and tucked away guitars, but that the crowd reception helped turn the frown of an otherwise unlucky day, into something positive. 

After a brief break and simple but appropriate set décor added (a tall, cylindrical image of a cake beater, a number 23 table marker) to help set the mood, the 1992-94 lineup of The Posies took to the stage for a two-hour plus headlining set. In addition to mainstay songwriter/guitar/vocalists Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, bassist Dave Fox and drummer Mike Musburger are completing the lineup on this special 30^th Anniversary Tour.

The band has come through locally a few times in the last several years, mostly in the form of pop-up/secret shows held in such local places as a former fire station and a church; but this time, brought the full (and loud) firepower as well as a youthful exuberance, fearlessly starting with their biggest commercial hit, 1993’s ‘Dream All Day’.

“Oh, yeah, this is pretty neat!” Stringfellow began, eyeing the anticipatory crowd, saying there was plenty to play, so the band wasted little time getting started.  The humorous back and forth “punny repartee” between the two bandleaders started early on, always keeping things light between selections from their three-decade power-pop library. 

Stringfellow declared the 30^th anniversary to be the tequila one diving into 1990’s ‘Any Other Way’ with a tray of said drinks arriving just after a melodic ‘You’re the Beautiful One’ (written by Ken about Jon and at a point when he thought the band might be over).  Vocal harmonies lifted 1990’s ‘Suddenly Mary’ to higher heights, with Fox and Musburger holding down the rhythm like they hadn’t been away a quarter-century. 

Lightfoot returned to the stage, baring another round of liquid refreshment, prompting Stringfellow to mention a few upper Midwest notable items, including the loon, prevalent in Minnesota as well as in Canada (enough to be on their dollar coin) which resulted in the pair doing their best bird calls, with Lightfoot staying put to help out on 2010’s polka-worthy ‘Licenses to Hide’ and driving ‘The Glitter Prize’. 

Momentum swelled with a frantic ‘Flavor of the Month’, the rhythm-propelled ‘Burn & Shine’ (featuring some blistering guitar), and the main set-ending ‘Solar Sister’ (dedicated to two longtime, locally-based fans in attendance). 

The encore began unceremoniously, with the band returning and taking up positions, then with Porcupine bassist Norton emerging to temporarily take the place of Fox. All tuned up before going into an awe-inspiring mini-set of four Hüsker Dü cover songs starting with 1987’s ‘These Important Years’ and its lyric, “it’s never happening to you”- but this magical collaboration was, in fact, actually happening, right before our eyes, ears, and smiling faces - “Posie Dü - dreams do come true!” Stringfellow exulted after.

“This song was our way to say thank you” Stringfellow explained about their own ‘Grant Hart’, also telling a story how Hart obtained his phone number and would talk to him daily for an hour or two, before suddenly ending things and never being heard from again. “This is so meta!” Stringfellow remarked, looking over at Norton as the song chugged in high gear throughout. 

As Norton waved goodbye, Fox rejoined the lineup with Lightfoot also returning for a savage, show-ending ‘Flood of Sunshine’, (the oldest Posies song that has its origins with Stringfellow’s old high school band) with Stringfellow on keys and Auer and Lightfoot dueling furiously on guitars, enough so that both shed several strings in the process.

The real flood of sunshine for the crowd was to see this seminal ‘90s band return with more enthusiasm and vigor than many bands half their age, and treating the audience to a one-of-a-kind musical journey capped by an unforgettable encore.  Add to that, the band’s three seminal albums will be expanded and re-issued by year’s end, via a PledgeMusic campaign and you have all the ingredients to once again dream all day, along with The Posies.

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

Porcupine

Porcupine

Terra Lightfoot

Terra Lightfoot

Terra Lightfoot

Setlist

Jon Auer

Ken Stringfellow

Posies

The Posies, with Greg Norton

The Posies at Turf Club, St. Paul (26 June 2018)

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

Liz Phair, with Soccer Mommy, at Turf Club, St Paul (04 June 2018)

Liz Phair: Girly Sound to Guyville at Turf Club Poster Liz Phair Setlist F*** or Die with Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” intro/outro 6'1" Explain It to Me Batmobile It's Not That Easy Go West Soap Star Joe Ant in Alaska Girls! Girls! Girls! Help Me Mary Stratford-on-Guy Mesmerizing Polyester Bride Whip Smart Never Said Wild Thing (Chip Taylor cover) F*** and Run Divorce Song Soccer Mommy Setlist Skinned Knees Henry Waiting For Cars Grown I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover) Clean Cool Flaw Read More Liz Phair It’s great to see Liz Phair back in town. To be honest, I haven’t kept up with Phair since I saw her August 28, 2003 at First Avenue (see poster and ticket scan), when she was touring .… Soccer Mommy Nashville’s Soccer Mommy (aka Sophie Allison) opened up the show. She’s joined on stage by “a new band” with Nick Brown on drums, Gabe Wax on Bass, and Julian Powell on guitars. .…

Iconic American singer and songwriter Liz Phair returned to the sold-out Turf Club show in St Paul, on Monday, to bring us her “Girly Sound to Guyville” show.

Opening the show was Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allison, her third time in the Twin Cities (Cedar Cultural Center (01 Nov 2017) and Bryant Lake Bowl Theater (31 Mar 2018)).

Unfortunately, the noisy bar-like atmosphere of the Turf Club for Allison’s quiet, introspective, tender songs wasn’t a good fit for her, in my opinion. Still, Allison was excited to be a special guest on this Liz Phair tour, and mentioned that it felt like a dream, “I can’t believe this is happening, I’m crazy super excited to be part of it.”

The first time we saw Soccer Mommy, before her album release, she played a couple of (yet-to-be-titled) songs for us. I’m happy to report one of those songs we called “Down By the River” has an official title of “Clean” ... which can be found as the title track of her Fat Possom debut record.

The highlight was a very stripped-down version of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire”. There are many covers of this song, but a slow, almost sad interpretation, of the song is always welcomed.

She ended her set with “Flaw”, which Allison mentioned may be her new single (also available on her Clean album).

Nineties feminist iconic (and potty-mouthed) singer Liz Phair came on stage with guitarist Connor Sullivan. Off stage was her guitarist tech Wyatt, who did a great job pre-tuning and getting Phair’s various guitars ready from song to song.

The “Girly Sound to Guyville” show was a little stripped down for my liking, but Phair promised a full band setup on the upcoming tour (incidentally her forthcoming September show at First Avenue is sold out as well). I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the guitars-only show, a “jackass” in the audience yelled, “You need a drummer, Liz!”

Liz is used to this kind of heckling, and immediately responded, “You want to get up here?” In some ways, Liz didn’t mind this kind of interaction. When she realized how talky the audience was after the intro song, “F*** or Die” (a song about AIDS), she mentioned, “I never understood those singers that goes shhhh!, the audience is always right!”

Normally, Phair’s set ends with her biggest hit song “Never Said”, and is followed by the encore, but lately, she said was doing away with the fake walking off and returning. Instead, they played straight through to the intended encore. Oddly enough, guitarist Sullivan decided to start jamming, and as a result, they started playing Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing” (made famous by The Troggs).

After 15 years (at First Avenue in August 2003) since I last saw Phair, it was good to see the “whip-smart” singer again. She still looked and sounded great, and it was fun to hear some of old forgotten songs. I’m glad to see that she’s doing so well, particularly at the upcoming sold-out tour.

Remaining tour dates:

06/09/2018 Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
09/06/2018 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
09/07/2018 Saturn Birmingham, AL
09/08/2018 "Hopscotch Music Festival"
09/10/2018 Headliners Music Hall Louisville, KY
09/11/2018 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH
09/13/2018 Majestic Theatre Detroit, MI
09/15/2018 Turf Club Minneapolis, MN
09/18/2018 The Showbox Seattle, WA
09/19/2018 McMenamins Crystal Portland, OR
09/20/2018 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
09/21/2018 The Theatre Los Angeles, CA
09/24/2018 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach, CA
09/25/2018 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ
09/27/2018 The Mohawk Austin, TX
09/28/2018 Granada Theater Dallas, TX
09/29/2018 "The Ohana Fest" Dana Point, CA
10/01/2018 Exit / In Nashville, TN
10/02/2018 20th Century Theatre Cincinnati, OH
10/03/2018 9:30 Club Washington, DC
10/05/2018 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
10/06/2018 Brooklyn Steel Brooklyn, NY
10/08/2018 Royale Nightclub Boston Boston, MA
10/09/2018 Corona Theatre Montreal, QC
10/10/2018 Phoenix Concert Toronto, ON
10/12/2018 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI

Soccer Mommy

Soccer Mommy

Soccer Mommy

Liz Phair

Liz Phair

Liz Phair at Turf Club, St Paul (04 June 2018)

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

Matt Costa, with Elizabeth & the Catapult, at Turf Club, St Paul (30 May 2018)

Matt Costa at Turf Club Poster Matt Costa Setlist I Remember It Well Cold December Grudge Phosphorescent Letter Bleeding Hearts Sharon Sweet Thursday Mr. Pitiful Astair Vienna Sweet Rose Time Tricks Pacific Grove Ophelia Santa Rosa Fangs Behind the Moon Wash Away -- Encore -- Coming Around Sunshine Elizabeth & the Catapult Setlist Happy Pop Shoelaces We Can Pretend Taller Children Under Water Mess of Our Love Ballado (New Song) Better Days Go Away My Lover Read More Matt Costa One of my favorite record of 2013 is the self-titled album by Matt Costa. The SoCal singer/songwriter is back on tour in support of his forthcoming album Santa Rosa Fangs (due out May 18th on Dangerbird Records). .… Elizabeth & The Catapult Paste and Rolling Stone loves Brooklyn-based Elizabeth & The Catapult, calling them "fresh confidence against punchy drums and jazzy guitar riffs" and "jazzy chamber-pop sound", respectively. …

Singer/songwriter Matt Costa ended his East Coast tour with a stop at the Turf Club in St Paul on Wednesday, May 30th.

Opening up was Elizabeth & The Catapult, their first time in St Paul. The group, led by singer Elizabeth Ziman, was probably last seen in the Twin Cities in 2011, when they were co-headlining with Australia’s Lenka. Ziman is joined on stage by guitarist Jonno Linden and drummer Dylan Aiello.

It’s been a very long time, but there were still some dedicated fans who made their way out, on a school night, to see the charismatic Elizabeth. She would later call out/dedicate songs to her fans, notably Pete (who made his own Elizabeth & the Catapult T-Shirt) and Jim (who is a big fan, but happened to miss Elizabeth’s previous three appearances in the area). This tells me that being her fan is something she doesn’t take for granted and she seems very approachable.

Her 45-min set started with her locked behind her keyboard (or rather Matt Costa’s borrowed keyboard), playing tracks from her most recent album Keepsake (Compass Records), which was produced by Dan Molad (Lucius) & featuring collaborations with Richard Swift (The Shins).

“Taller Children”, perhaps the oldest song, got the most attention, followed by the equally liked song, “Under Water” (a song that Elizabeth said that she was grateful that NPR played that song on the radio).

A brand new song, freshly written, pending title “Ballado” was played near the end of her set. This song was rather quiet, vs her upbeat pop songs, and did not require Dylan on drums.

For her finale, joining Elizabeth on stage for “Go Away My Lover”, was their tour manager Alana Anderson (I could have misheard the name). This was the end of their tour with Costa, so they wanted a strong ending.

Matt Costa came on stage, sporting a mustache, just started playing, almost eager and happy to end their long East Coast tour. If you didn’t know, Costa is one of the best modern songwriter, as demonstrated on his debut record Songs We Sing. His song, “Mr Pitiful”, singlehandedly rocketed Costa to superstardom, thanks to being featured in I Love You, Man and various films and Apple iPhone commercials.

His last album (and tour) was in 2013, for his self-titled album. This record, in my opinion, was an evolution of Costa’s music and songwriting. After a five-year break, Costa came back with Santa Rosa Fang on Dangerbird Records.

Part of the reason for the break was because Costa felt it was time for a change, “Putting a record out every two to three years is a little unsatisfying for me. I want to put something out more consistently, on a regular basis, because I feel like it forces me to evolve.”

Costa, as usual, did a good job blending in the new songs on Santa Rosa Fang, including opener song “I Remember It Well”, the Mermaid bar in Montana called “Sharon”, and “Coming Around” on the encore.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a setlist without some of Costa’s older, but better-known songs like “Mr Pitiful” and “Astair” (both of the songs got big cheers from the diehard fans).

Costa will be taking this week off and will be returning to the road on Tuesday. Katie Toupin, formerly of Houndmouth, will be joining Costa on the remaining West Coast U.S. tour:

06/05 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour†
06/07 Carmel, CA Live in the Vines
07/07 San Francisco, CA Café du Nord†
07/09 Bellingham, WA Wild Buffalo†
07/10 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern†
07/11 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret†
07/12 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge†
08/16 Dana Point, CA Bluff Park

† with Katie Toupin (ex-Houndmouth)

Elizabeth and the Catapult (with tour manager Alana)

Elizabeth & the Catapult

Elizabeth & Peter (with homemade T-Shirt)

Matt Costa Setlist

Matt Costa

Matt Costa

Matt Costa at Turf Club, St Paul (30 May 2018)

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