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Belfast Cowboys at Turf Club (17 Mar 2025)

The Belfast Cowboys at Turf Club (17 Mar 2025) From The Belfast Cowboys 400 Bar It was 23 years ago today the Belfast Cowboys played our first show (at the 400 Bar on Saint Patrick’s Day 2002)! After all that time, we’re still getting our rock ‘n’ roll thrills. Mark Lindsay, singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders, as well as “Arizona” the ear worm from about 50 years ago, played a song of ours on his show on Little Steven’s Underground Garage this weekend! Celebration at the Turf Club starts tonight at 7 PM sharp! Happy St Paddy’s Day! Read More Belfast Cowboys This 9-piece The Belfast Cowboys to open. Tour dates: 03/15/16 Saint Paul, MN Turf Club 03/16/16 Iowa City, IA The Mill 03/17/16 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway Nightclub .…

A pretty last-minute decision found me at Turf Club on St. Patrick’s day to see locals The Belfast Cowboys. A brass heavy band that “specializes in the music of Van Morrison”, they were a pretty perfect band for the holiday, at a venue suited for it as well (green being the dominant color).

The nine-piece band has a full brass section, multiple guitars, keys and drums. Lead singer Terry Walsh, asked, “Is it seven yet? We want to be prompt.” The first song, You Make Me Feel So Free had the full brass sound, including a great sax solo. The band was in the spirit, with some adorned in various types of St. Patrick’s Day accoutrements (sparkly green tie, green bowler hat, etc.). Walsh said, “It isn’t summer yet, but it’s coming”, as the band launched into a cover of Chuck Prophet’s Summertime Thing that included a brass riff on Summer in the City.

Turning twenty-three years old as a band today, we got the joke that The Belfast Cowboys are about three times older than The Beatles. Noting that it had just been played on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, we got a goofily serious version of (It’s Not Easy) Bein’ Green. The band got back to Van Morrison with the song Domino that included some coordinated dance moves from the four brass players, as well as a brilliant take on Wet Leg’s Chaise Lounge. Our first bit of harmonica (from Walsh) was an intro to an upbeat Bright Side of the Road. The crowd was in full dance mode, and clearly, many were long time fans of the band. The band gave takes on several genres from rock to some bluesy moments, always supported by those horns. A version of John Henry that was “for the bartender” led into the audience getting to request a song. Into the Mystic had some more coordinated dancing, and the playfulness of the band was infectious. Days Like This continued the Van Morrison numbers and really gave the entire band the chance to shine. Southside was back in more blues rock territory, with an excellent bass line. A few more songs, including Wild Night, led to the end of the first set.

Set two started off with a team drink, but also a pair of guests (Brian and Rodney, in from the west coast) reuniting the original four members of the band playing Fisherman’s Blues and then a cover of the late Slim Dunlap’s Times Like This. They then returned to the night’s original lineup and the brass section was back into the action with That Summer Feeling. The Belfast Cowboys had gotten into a groove and Real Real Gone played into their strengths. We got a few longer numbers alternating solos for brass and the guitars, such as in a rendition of Can’t Hardly Wait. It was a pretty tremendous showing as they hit some of the bigger Van Morrison songs on their way to the end of the evening and for both band and crowd, it was a holiday well spent.

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys

Belfast Cowboys at Turf Club (17 Mar 2025)

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Pert Near Sandstone at Turf Club (01 Mar 2025)

Pert Near Sandstone at Turf Club (28 Feb- 01 Mar 2025) Pert Near Sandstone Setlist Raleigh & Spencer Just One Day Hell I'd Pay Wish This Was New Orleans Bloom Again His Island Feeding Leroy Animal Instinct Solid Gone Water's High and Rising Kings and Clowns Dig a Hole Cheek to Cheek Cashes Bronwyn Keith-Hynes Setlist Virginia Gal Can’t Live Without Love Lee Highway Blues Knocking On Your Door The Ride Me and My Uncle Get No Better Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow (Frank Evans cover) Come Together (The Beatles cover) The Wishing Well How Mountain Girls Loose Lucy Open Water Axilla Read More Pert Near Sandstone Local group Pert Near Sandstone is bringing their “Winter String Band Gathering” shows on February 23 and 24, 2024, at the Turf Club, in St Paul. …

The second, and final, night of Pert Near Sandstone’s Winter Stringband Gathering just concluded last night at the Turf Club, in St Paul, on March 1, 2025.

These annual shows are incredibly popular, as indicated by being sold-out both nights, and there were fans outside the door asking ticket holders if they got an extra ticket.

Like last night’s show, the first band on the bill, Duluth’s Feeding Leroy, actually started in the Clown Lounge (downstairs of the Turf Club), where there is a tiny, tiny stage at the end of the restaurant area. Singing duties were mostly handled by Sonja Bjordal, with Lee Martin mixing between keys and guitar. The two of them have been writing songs together since they met in 2008, but didn’t actually officially form as Feeding Leroy until 2014.

IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year and Grammy winner Bronwyn Keith-Hynes started her one-hour set on the main stage at the Turf Club, right on schedule. Even before she took the stage, there were a few diehard fans in the front of the stage that hyped her up to us. They said that she’s been named Top Five fiddler of all time… and she certainly didn’t disappoint.

She mentioned that they’ve been including a lot more songs from her latest album I Built a World (such as “Can’t Live Without Love”) and they were experimenting with playing some unrecorded songs.

They did an incredible cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together”, which had the whole audience anticipating the next line: “RIGHT NOW! Over me!”

As soon as Bronwyn Keith-Hynes ended her set, some fans went back down to the Clown Lounge to see Feeding Leroy’s second set. The nice thing about this downstairs/upstairs setup is that there was always live music playing starting at 8pm until end of show. While Feeding Leroy plays their 30-min set, it allows the crew upstairs to setup and change sets. The only complaint is that there just isn’t enough room downstairs to accommodate everyone. Also, speaking with fans, most were unaware that there was actually a band playing downstairs…

Pert Near Sandstone closed out the second night with a brand new setlist, much more different than the previous night. This was done to for the band to keep it interesting, playing some more obscure songs. This was also done for the diehard fans who purchased tickets to both nights, so that they get their money’s worth.

I’ve previously mentioned it when I first saw Trampled by Turtles in April 2010, “So, I will tell you one thing: bluegrass is huge here. One look at the very packed First Ave's main dance floor and there's no doubt. There was quite a mix of people too, from young to old folks and everything inbetween. The girls were hippies, the boys were bearded. All good.”

Not much have changed, bluegrass is still massive in Minnesota, thanks to such bands as Trampled by Turtles, Pert Near Sandstone, Cactus Blossoms, and Charlie Parr! It is so big that Trampled by Turtles curated their Festival Palomino and Pert Near Sandstone curates the Blue Ox Music Festival. Both are very well attended.

Pert Near Sandstone (02 Dec 2023)

We previously saw Pert Near Sandstone in December 2023 and wrote, “The members of Pert Near Sandstone are also from the Twin Cities suburbs, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove. They first got into music by playing in heavy metal and ska bands. But as their music lessons progressed they too were caught by infectious music of bluegrass. And for almost twenty years they have been playing music that is impossible not to dance to, mainly because their percussionist, Andy Lambert, wears a pair of clogs. He was joined on stage with Nate Sipe on fiddle and mandolin, Kevin Knibel on banjo, J Lenz on guitar, Chris Forsberg on fiddle and Justin Bruhn on bass.”

Based on strong turnout and great enthusiasm from their fans, you bet that they are already thinking about next year’s Winter String Band Gathering shows.

Further reading: Pert Near Sandstone at Turf Club (28 Feb 2025).

Feeding Leroy Feeding Leroy

Feeding Leroy

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Pert Near Sandstone Pert Near Sandstone

Pert Near Sandstone

Pert Near Sandstone at Turf Club (01 Mar 2025)

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Flashback: Greg Laswell at Turf Club (04 Nov 2009)

Greg Setlist courtesy of brasilpop The One I Love What a Day The Killing Moon (Echo & the Bunnymen cover) Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Robert Hazard cover) High and Low In Spite of Me (Mark Sandman cover) Your Ghost (Kristin Hersh cover) That It Moves This Woman's Work (Kate Bush cover) Sweet Dream How the Day Sounds Read More Greg Laswell I wasn't there to cover Greg Laswell, but I'll quickly mention that he does a sad and depressing version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", possibly closer to the original Robert Hazard song ... Kim Taylor I'm glad I made an effort to catch Kim Taylor at the Turf Club in Saint Paul on November 4th. I don't need to tell you that crossing the Mississippi from Minneapolis is a bit tough for me…

This Greg Laswell headlining show at the Turf Club, in November 2009, came at the last minute, so I couldn’t get permission to shoot Laswell (as I was being sent in by the opening act Kim Taylor). I also didn’t take notes, which meant that I’m using a setlist and a photograph within the last few weeks, as I think he plays the same set night after night.

In 2009, Laswell released his Covers EP, and his previous album, from 2008 was Three Flights From Alto Nido, so the setlist comprised of either cover songs or from Three Flights….

Greg Laswell at the Cedar (26 Sep 2019)

I eventually did catch Laswell and had full permission to take photos in September 2019, a decade later!

Original report:

>>>

I'm glad I made an effort to catch Kim Taylor at the Turf Club in Saint Paul on November 4^th. I don't need to tell you that crossing the Mississippi from Minneapolis is a bit tough for me, however lately I'm alright with it because I always have really awesome parking spots at the Turf.

I wasn't there to cover Greg Laswell, but I'll quicky mention that he does a sad and depressing version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", possibly closer to the original Robert Hazard song (I only found out this little detail when I saw Wakey! Wakey! a few nights later and Mike Grubbs does the same sad version, but explained it in details). Laswell's backup band was Harper Blynn (who also played a set prior to Laswell's appearance).

Speaking of girls, Kim Taylor opened up the show. From my notes, I think she started the set with a song from her first album, followed by "Anchor Down", which is from her latest album, Little Miracle.

Her set was pretty short, I think only six or seven songs were played. She also seems really shy, hardly talking (and if she is, she's mumbling to herself).

The one moment where I thought she seemed most talkative was when she mentioned that her song, "Baby I Need You" was played on the final scene of the 200^th episode of Smallville (which actually just aired quite recently on October 22, 2010). She seemed really proud of it, and it's easy to see why, I mean it's not everyday you find your song on a television show. The only downside is that the song is an older song, from I Feel Like a Fading Light.

My favorite of the night was "Fruit of My Labor", which was a song written for her immigrant uncle. I don't think I need to tell you that it's about hard labor and picking fruits and dreaming that American dream of opportunity. You can find that song on her new album, Little Miracle, which I did get a chance to briefly listen to. It's acoustic folk and like most folk songs, they tell wonderful little stories. You can pick up the album digitally at the usual location, but I like bandcamp.

Read more Flashback.

Greg Laswell at Magic Bag (22 Oct 2009) photo courtesy of just_riaz

Kim Taylor at Turf Club (04 Nov 2009)

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Terrapin Flyer at Turf Club (25 Jan 2025)

25 Jan 2025 Terrapin Flyer at Turf Club Read More Terrapin Flyer In 1999, Terrapin Flyer participated in a Grateful Dead jam night… and sound found themselves playing and touring with the legendary band. Throughout the years, they’ve supported various members …

The cover band sub-genre is a serious one, with some extremely talented musicians working in that space. Within cover bands, there are several that have spawned multiple cover artists: Johnny Cash and Led Zepplin come to mind. But perhaps no band has inspired more cover artists than The Grateful Dead. On a Saturday evening in St. Paul, the Dead cover band Terrapin Flyer took over for an evening at the Turf Club.

With no need for an opener, Terrapin Flyer started right off. This band has been at it for over 25 years, which is closing in on how long the Grateful Dead were a band (30 years). That history showed the deep familiarity with the music and Terrapin Flyer knows how to fall into the musical riffs and solos that made the Grateful Dead have such a tremendous live following. That musicianship was obvious by the second song, with an extended keyboard solo that was excellent. We also got several lead singers (both guitarist and the bassist took lead vocals at various points) by the third or fourth song, showing the versatility across the band. The crowd was singing along at several points, and it was clear the band built off the audience’s energy. A drink spill by the drummer slowed things down for a minute, but the band jumped back in quickly, playing a crowd favorite of Althea. The first set ended at 1 hour and 15 minutes in, which seemed exactly the right amount of time for this kind of jam band. The first song played over the PA being a Tom Petty song (a cover band target themselves) was a brilliant choice.

The second set brought some more of the recognizable Dead hits. It started with the much funkier Shakedown Street, which gave a different sound. Looks Like Rain was a good change of pace, making for a softer sound. He’s Gone kept the mood going, with the crowd fully involved, with a verrry long outro, including an extended drum solo (with the rest of the band leaving the stage!). That extremely long drum solo led to the band coming back for a far too long re-tuning. Finally getting going again, the next song just started to get the crowd back into the swing of things, just as we hit the 2 & 1/2 hour mark. The Wheel got a strong crowd reaction and gave the band some good solo opportunities. A cover by the cover band of Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower was well received, which ultimately transitioned into Throwing Stones. This quickly transitioned to Not Fade Away, with yet more of the expected extended instrumental solos. An unbelievable 3 hours plus, the Terrapin Flyer had blown past expectations and sent a happy crowd out into the streets.

Terrapin Flyer at Turf Club (25 Jan 2025)

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Flashback: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at Turf Club (13 Nov 2009)

Read More Miles Benjamin Miles Benjamin at the Turf Club, St Paul (11/13/09) Mr. Miles does it all. Even in the worst situation when his van breaks down and the rest of his band heads back to Brooklyn with all the gear …

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, the man with four names, released his debut album in 2008, and the following year, he signed to Saddle Creek Records for his sophomore album Summer Of Fear. Following his appearance at CMJ in 2009, Robinson stopped by the Turf Club, in St Paul, where Brody got to meet the singer.

Since 2017, Robinson has been releasing music under Drug Couple, with his partner Becca. Their latest album Stoned Weekend came out in Feb 2022.

Original report from Brody:

>>>

Below are late entries from The Turf Club! The first entry is written and from Brody (original entry here). Miles sounds like such a friendly guy, he even dropped over to Brody’s house to play something.

Mr. Miles does it all. Even in the worst situation when his van breaks down and the rest of his band heads back to Brooklyn with all the gear, Miles manages to continue the tour. Performing solo for the last two weeks on his tour, he is impressing a lot of fans playing by himself.

He even came over to our house to celebrate with me and some other diehard fans.

Chatting with him after with threw his gear in my trunk, he talked about playing guitar since he was about 13. Now 27, Miles born in Pasadena spent a lot of time in L.A. early on his life. I didn't ask him about any of his past experiences or musical changes. From what I've read he had some early drug addictions and some friends from TV on the Radio picked him up and got him back on his feet.

Lately MBAR has been on a tear with his sophomore release "Summer of Fear". He's played plenty of shows with TV on the Radio and Grizzly Bear, but now he's doing it on his own. Daytrotter sessions, a full headlining national tour, and even a mini solo leg.

The folk scene is growing and the competition is extremely tough, but Miles may be the new Bob Dylan. I certainly found out he's a huge Dylan fan. After his show we jammed the night away to Dylan, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and plenty more. Unfortunately, he broke a string when he was starting to play some of his newer tracks.

In his actually set he played an Otis Redding cover. Keep and eye on this extremely talented artist. The sky is the limit for Miles.

Read more Flashback.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at the Turf Club (13 Nov 2009) photo courtesy of Brody

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Flashback: Wye Oak at Turf Club (05 Apr 2011)

Wye Oak Setlist The Alter Holy Holy Plains Hot as Day My Creator Dogs Eyes Civilian That I Do Mother (Danzig cover) Take It In We Were Wealth I Hope You Die -- Encore -- Doubt For Prayer Callers Setlist Fortune 5/6 Glow Arms Dressed Lung Life Of Love Heartbeat (Wire cover) You Are An Arc AWRY More Than Right Read More Wye Oak Wye Oak will be returning in 2014 with a brand new yet-untitled album from Merge Records, the follow-up to their 2011's Civilian. Singer Jenn Wasner talked to Spin Magazine about the new album… Zoo Animal Next was Zoo Animal, a band that I've seen a few times. Mostly with just Holly Newsom by herself, so it's always nice to see her backed up with a full functioning band. …

Around this time singing waitress Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack from Wye Oak stopped by the Turf Club in April 2011, as part of a promotional tour for Civilian (Merge Records).

In 2023, they released Every Day Like the Last, which the title may suggest this was their last album.

It’s been a long time since I heard from Zoo Animal. I think the last time I saw the band, it was just Holly Hansen by her lonesome, so it could be that if she’s still active, it’s just solo performances. Update: the last time the band played was in 2022, per First Avenue’s website.

As for Callers, the band that I was most impressed with at this show - this was their first and only Minneapolis appearance (according to First Avenue). The details about the band is that they are a trio (Ryan and Sara and Don) and met at Melvin's, a bar on St. Claude in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. They moved to Providence, then settled in Brooklyn.

Their Wikipedia said that after they released Reviver on Partisan in 2012, singer Sara Lucas joined the Latin alternative group LADAMA. Ryan Seaton joined Open House. Lucas left Ladama in 2023… currently she is working on some solo music.

Original report:

>>>

Wye Oak, with Callers and Zoo Animal played a late show in Saint Paul on April 5^th to a pretty packed Turf Club venue.

We've previously covered both Zoo Animal and Wye Oak before, so I won't spend too much talking about them.

The thing to note about Zoo Animal is that I think Holly Newsom has a pretty interesting way of singing. It reminds me of Thao Nguyen, the way words fade in and out. A Big Takeover writer once told me that she thought Newsom is so handsome, but she doesn't exploit it at all, which I'll agree with.

Of course, I've seen Wye Oak a few times now and it's funny to see their growth throughout the years. They mentioned that this was their seventh time playing in Minneapolis/St Paul.

I used to think they were really shy, but seeing Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack on Tuesday, they seem a lot more comfortable on stage. Also new, this time around, they had help from a Callers' horn player. I thought that was cool.

The highlight of their show is their cover of Danzig's "Mother". The story that Wasner told was that this song was fairly new and they specifically asked people in the audience to not put it on the internet - and then they found out that it's on youtube already. She seemed really crossed about the whole thing. Hearing the song live, I can mentally see Glenn Danzig's disapproval: it's just too sissy.

I mentioned how packed The Turf Club got, and surprisingly a ton of people got up close to the stage when Callers came on. This is a good indication that a lot of people were here for this opening band.

The band's sound is hard to explain, it's what you would think of jazz vocals (very smooth style by singer Sara Lucas) with art-rock math music, provided by Don Godwin and Ryan Seaton. The whole thing sounds very New York.

As you can see from their setlist, they had a little trouble deciding on which songs belong where. The titles are also codes for other songs, for instance, "LOL" is meant for their title track of their latest album, Life of Love, and "WIRE" seems obvious for their Wire cover song, "Heartbeat". It also looks like they did mostly new songs, with the exception of the intro song, "Fortune" from their Fortune album.

I did end up picking up their latest album on vinyl, mostly because I wanted to support the band and, also, I was rather impressed by the die-cut custom sleeve (you can see a picture of this cover at Western Vinyl). You often see gimmick color vinyls, but die-cut covers are still pretty rare.

Read more Flashback.

Wye Oak at Turf Club (05 May 2011)

Zoo Animal Holly Hansen (vuart) Callers

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HELL YEAH 2!! - A Rock & Roll Dance Party

Peter Johns and Chris Strouth present HELL YEAH 2!! - A Rock & Roll Dance Party ft. DJ Mary Lucia with DJ Shane Kramer (of Transmission), DJ Johnnie Johnson and Monica LaPlante HELL YEAH! A Rock & Roll Dance Party (03 May 2024) Previously Friday May 3, 2024 Turf Club Peter Johns & Container Arts presents HELL YEAH! A Rock & Roll Dance Party ft. DJ Mary Lucia with DJ ESP Woody McBride and DJ Johnnie Johnson Read More Monica LaPlante Local musician Monica LaPlante opened up the show, fifteen minutes fashionably late. The band was in the Halloween spirit, dressing up as a reverse Robert Palmer and his voluptuous band. ... The Current Local radio station The Current is celebrating their 20th Anniversary on air. They’re asking to celebrate with them with Frank Black (singer and songwriter of The Pixies) to celebrate his 30th Anniversary of . .... Radio K This is the fourth, and final, Radio K’s Short Circuit Residency show at the 7th Street Entry. The kickoff event is this January 9th. The radio station wrote: Happy New Year from your friends at Radio K!! …

      In May 2024, there was “Hell Yeah - A Rock & Roll Dance Party”, featuring a group of local DJ’s at the Turf Club. Here in the depths of winter in January 2025, was Part 2 (also at Turf), this time with a band interspersed between the DJ sets. It was a clever physical arrangement, as the DJ “booth” (a table, really), was set up in the middle of the venue, which made the transitions between DJ and band an easy one. Though a schedule was printed, it was blown from the start. That didn’t seem to matter too much to anyone, as it was a happy set of performers and audience, who mostly seemed to know one another. The DJs slowly got going, but before they got too far, Monica Laplante and band took the stage.

     Laplante has been a staple of the local music scene since the release of her first album, Noir, in 2016. Like many artists, she had a major creative burst during the pandemic, releasing the aptly named Quarantine in 2020. As they took the stage for the first of their three sets, the quartet was raring to go. They rocked through their four songs, with the last one, Friday, a particular banger. This was high energy rock & roll.

     Mary Lucia was the next DJ to take over. Lucia is well known to Twin Cities music fans, particularly for her presence on the radio. She started at Rev 105, spent many years at The Current, and is currently program advisor at Radio K, as well as hosting the Thursday afternoon 3-5 session.

     DJ Lucia took over the booth, starting with a version of Fantastic Voyage. She spent as much time looking at the photos on the Turf wall and interacting or dancing with audience members as she did DJ’ing, as she had a well prepared set ready long before this evening arrived. She transitioned into What You Need INXS, and as she moved the set along, you could see the radio jockey’s professionalism; seamless transitions, songs you know or songs you ought to know, and a great danceable beat underneath l. Moving from Spoon’s I Turn My Camera On to a later set entry of Jesse’s Girl, kept the audience dancing the entire time.

     Laplante and band were back on stage, playing a quick three songs, before handing it back off to the DJs. I had the opportunity to talk with Laplante between the band’s second and third set downstairs in the Clown Lounge. When I asked her thoughts on the arrangement of shifting between DJs and her band, she said they had been intrigued and excited to do something a bit different. Laplante said it was weird in a positive way, but that she had made herself a little nervous (32 ounces of coffee that evening!), and felt a little like being in a middle school play. The band has felt like they have played a lot of shows in the last few years that it was time to focus on the next steps. But this opportunity was too interesting and unique to pass up.

     Laplante mentioned there will be a new album coming out, but that they are currently in the trenches with it. You could see the excitement on her face as she talked about the creative process, discussing that the overarching theme of the album is still working its way to the top. There’s an energy that Laplante has as she talked about the band and the music, and it carries through in the on stage performance as well.

     Back upstairs, another DJ was finishing up and then Laplante was back on stage for their third and final set. All in all, they played about ten songs across the evening and handed it off to DJ Shane Kramer to finish off the evening. And it certainly was winding down, as many audience members were starting to head out into the bitter chill. All in all, it was a successful evening of music and cheer as we start 2025.

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Monica LaPlante at Turf Club (03 Jan 2025)

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Flashback: ZZK Records at Turf Club (28 July 2010)

ZZK Records 2010 Tour July 20 - New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge July 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl July 23 – Martha’s Vineyard, MA @ Martha’s V July 24 – Montreal, PQ @ Divan Orange July 25 – Toronto, ON @ Wrongbar July 26 – Detroit, MI @ The Lager House July 27 – Chicago, IL @ Beauty Bar July 28 – St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club July 31 – Denver, CO @ Biennial of the Americas August 1 – Salt Lake City @ Urban Lounge August 3 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile August 4 – Portland, OR @ Rotture August 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop August 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex Read More ZZK Records The crew from ZZK Records, which included El G, Chancha Via Circuito, Tremor, El Remolon, and crew, stopped to play the Twin Cities en route to the West Coast during their Northern Hemisphere Summer Tour. …

ZZK Records recently announced that they are bringing that Ecuadorian duo CRUZLOMA as an official artist for SXSW 2025. They’re likely going to be announcing more artists closer to SXSW start date in March.

In the summer of 2010, ZZK Records took a few of their artists on tour under the Zizek Club Summer Tour banner, featuring Tremor, Chancha via Circuito, El Remolon and El G. The tour stopped by the Turf Club, in St Paul on July 28, 2010.

Original report from Nicole:

>>>
Once on a cold winter night in Minneapolis, a friend of mine threw a small Christmas party. Beside some friends and his band mates, there were few randoms from off the street. By the end of the night, it was a true fiesta; you were either playing the piano, sax, congas, maracas, or dancing in the crowded and toasty warm living room space. Either way, we were friends making music, and the Latin vibe was pulsating down the street, causing snow to melt.

All right, I’m sure you’re wondering where this is going. It’s July – so it’s definitely not Christmas and there’s no snow, and Buenos Aires is in Argentina. I promise I’ll get to that.

Fast forward to last Wednesday. Equip with little more than my small note pad and a pen, my friend and photographer, Dan and I headed out to the Turf Club in St. Paul to experience what we had heard was some of Buenos Aires’ finest upcoming talent. The crew from ZZK Records, which included El G, Chancha Via Circuito, Tremor, El Remolon, and crew, stopped to play the Twin Cities en route to the West Coast during their Northern Hemisphere Summer Tour.

Upon arrival, I found the group of guys chilling out, devouring a couple of hot pizzas, while they reenergized themselves for yet another highly energized performance on their nearly non-stop tour. Grant “El G” Dull, label manager and DJ, and Leonardo of the group Tremor, were kind enough to fill me in on some inside perspectives of their music.

Leonardo described their sound as being inspired by funk rhythms, mixed with electronic. He explained, “The idea behind our music is to combine it with South American folklore, which is part of our legacy. We’re interested in finding new perspective to incorporate new rhythms.”

Each unit of this label has a unique Argentinean sound. Chancha Via Circuito is one of the two producers on the tour. The other producer on tour is El Remolon. El G, as I mentioned before, is the DJ. Tremor is the live band made up of three guys. The tour brings you a showcase of the distinct styles ZZK Records has to offer. Each participant has an expert sense for blending and interpreting their native sounds with danceable, electric beats.

Overall, what I witnessed could be described as Cumbia, mixed with electronic beats, funk, tribal sounds, dancehall, tons of random neon objects, and hallucinogenic substances, boiled in a pot under extreme pressure, causing an awesome, danceable, music explosion known as ZZK.

Clearly Argentineans know about the funk!

Midway through the show, I quickly stepped outside for some fresh air, only to overhear my friend Dan telling the guys from Tremor, “Before I came tonight, I was thinking, ‘What do Argentineans know about the funk?’ Really?! But then I saw you play, and um yeah, you get the funk! Clearly Argentineans know about the funk!” I was relieved to see in their faces that they seemed to take it as a great compliment.

The energy and vibe built up through the evening as the music continued. As the night came to an end, the whole ZZK party was on the dance floor playing music. There were drums, percussion galore, a melodica, Argentinean tarkas flute, just to name a few. A grand collaboration was taking place. A guy in the audience started pounding out beats with a barstool. Dan somehow found a cowbell and was going to town. Everybody in their joint was playing something, clapping, stomping, or moving and shaking.

Suddenly, I had a flashback to that Christmas party. These guys just passing through had created such an intimate performance that each person became a part of this fantastic experience. It was as if they invited us all into their home, as friends, to throw an exclusive, invitation only party. Then the music ended – it was time to go. Everyone froze in an awkward moment, because unlike the Christmas party, at 2:00 am you had to go. Chancha broke the silence with a cheer, and everyone laughed, as they knew the night was over and they made their way to the door.

If you’re on the West Coast, you must go see this for yourself. Mexico and Europe, I hear you’re next… same advice to you. Say you missed them – well, you lucked out, but you’re not too terribly unlucky; ZZK TV launched on zzkrecords.com on Thursday. Check it out to see their crazy adventures of life on the road. Listen to more music on the website. Most importantly, catch them live, they will not disappoint.

Read more Flashback.

ZZK Records at Turf Club (28 July 2010)

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Little Fevers at Turf Club (05 Dec 2024)

Little Fevers at Turf Club (05 Dec 2024) Little Fevers Setlist Hunter Muscle, Skin and Bone Baby’s Baby’s Daytime People Cars Lotta Love No More (Neil Young cover) Male Truck Stranger Romance Natural Reaction Apple Tree Waiting Place Gimme Time All Alone Can’t Get Enough Previously Little Fevers at Cloudland Theater (23 May 2024) At the Cloudland show, as you can see from their setlist, they were focused on newer songs from a new, forthcoming album. According to the band, they’ve been working at Pleasure Horse’s Timothy Evenson’s studio and were excited to showcase their new songs. The first single they’ve released is called “Waiting Place” (which was played mid-set). Read More Little Fevers Local new wave indie pop Little Fevers (not to be confused with Philadelphia’s Little Fevers) just headlined the Cloudland Theater, in Minneapolis, on Thursday, May 23, 2024. …

A cold night in St. Paul was the real opener for a local show headlined by Little Fevers at Turf Club.

Echo Parlor was first up. A classic quartet (guitar, bass, keys, and drums) had a solid indie rock sound that edged in different directions depending on the song; more folk rock in the long opening song Different Lanes, more 90’s alternative in the second. Great backing vocals made a lush sound. This was only the fourth show for the Eau Clair band, and their first in the Twin Cities. I’ll give any band credit for calling a song (their second to last) their “dragon-slaying song” (actually titled The Difference). A quick chat after their set was informative. While this was the band’s first show in the Cities, these are more seasoned performers who have been part of other bands. Fun fact, hearing these songs live is the only way that most of them can currently be heard. We’ll be watching for more from this band.

Betty Won’t came out with a very country & western feel from the five piece band. There was a heavy twang in the vocals, with wistful regret showing up in the second song Tomorrow. Guitar instrumentals echoed that western feel in the third song, Muck Around and were solid throughout. As the lead singer laughingly said, “We have another sad one for you”. This was a very consistent set and band, who have largely nailed an ethos. There was a great intro to the song Cash It In, with the lead singer saying “this is a song about being sad AND lonely” which was followed up by a band mate saying “Aren’t they all?”.

The country theme carried through to the next band Pleasure Horse. The stage was full for this sextet, with a slide guitar taking up front stage right. With the lead singer often on harmonica, there was a lot going on musically, but centered within that Americana sound. There was a bit of Jayhawks similarity here, as they edged towards a more rock & roll sound at times, but always came back to a more country feel, particularly with Matt Johnson’s slide guitar work. Aways Away, normally their closer, was pulled to mid-set and is probably a great starting point to their music. After a very straight country number (Still Getting Over You), the band played a country waltz. A cover of NRBQ’s Magnet closed out the set.

Long time band Little Fevers took the stage to finish out the night. A board mishap delayed the start a bit, but was eventually overcome. One surprise was that one of the members had played the entirety of the set with Pleasure Horse. But this is a very different sound, as Little Fevers is an indie pop band. The opening song, Hunter, was straight indie bubble gum and set the tone. Lead singer Lucy Michelle’s strong vocals cut through the guitars and the dual back up vocals make a pleasant contrast.

The song Baby’s Baby’s (from their 2024 release, Singles, Vol. 2), had a quiet start before opening into the full band’s sound. The lead guitar work grew increasingly central in the middle part of the set, with a number of solid solos. In the “first time I’ve seen that department”, we had a shoe cymbal for a song, that somehow wasn’t ridiculous. Little Fevers showed a calm throughout the set while still bringing a lot of energy. A late song, Stranger Romance, was a delight and led to a lot of audience appreciation, as did the song Gimme Time.

It was pretty obvious from the start of the closing song, but I confirmed with Michelle that she is the voice of an iconic and commonly played call for the University of Minnesota’s Radio K (“This is Little Fevers and you’re listening to Radio K”, as well as the opening lyrics of Can’t Get Enough bring played for Radio K’s weekly release spotlight). Although it may have been cold outside, Little Fevers helped the audience forget about it for a while and really, what more can you ask?

Little Fevers at Turf Club (05 Dec 2024) Pleasure House

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Xeno & Oaklander at Turf Club, St. Paul, MN (2024-11-29)

29 Nov 2024 Xeno & Oaklander at Turf Club Tour Dates Xeno & Oaklander 2024 Tour   Dec 1 Salt Lake City, UT - The International Dec 3 Portland, OR - Dante's Dec 4 Seattle, WA - Substation Dec 5 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt Dec 8 Los Angeles, CA - The Paramount Dec 9 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar Dec 10 Landers, CA - Retreat Center Dec 12 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive Dec 14 Kansas City, MO - MiniBar Dec 16 Louisville, KY - Whirling Tiger Dec 17 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 Dec 19 Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery Dec 20 Brooklyn, NY - TV Eye Dec 21 Philadelphia, PA - Milk Boy Feb 8 Den Haag NL, Grauzone Festival Vuart Read More Xeno & Oaklander Xeno & Oaklander and Body Of Light to open. Also, DJ Jake Rudh from Transmission will be playing music before and between sets. …

It was a night of synthpop at Turf Club as Xeno & Oaklander took to the stage. They are currently touring in support of their most recent album, Via Negativa (in the doorway light).

The Quaking Bogge at Turf Club (15 Sep 2024)

Opener Magenta Vice is a local Twin Cities electronic duo, although both John and Erik are involved in many projects. (Side note: I last saw Erik at Turf Club in the gothic folk band Quaking Bogge. As he said prior to the show, “I like very different things”.) Magenta Vice, with their own neon sign, had a very busy set up, with multiple synthesizers, drum pad, and occasional guitar.

It was probably a good thing that this was mostly a lyric free set, as both performers were busy switching instruments throughout and between songs. As you can imagine, this had a “wall of sound” density to it, with the guitar being a striking contrast. That neon theme continued as the sticks for the drum pad lit up and again towards the end of the set as the band mates put on neon visor glasses. That neon vibe was a pretty good distillation of the musical feel for Magenta Vice.

As Xeno & Oaklander (aka Sean McBride and Liz Wendelbo) began their set, they had a digital backdrop that initially showed their name but played a variety of images throughout the show. It was a fine and dark atmosphere for the duo, who were lit up with reds and purples for the majority of the set.

An audience coming for synth heavy sound was not disappointed. Those synthesizers created a layered sound that was then punctuated by the vocals. Wendelbo’s ethereal tone rides on top as the highest layer, while McBride’s yelled/sung vocal style creates the bottom layer.

Wendelbo handled the majority of the lyrics and projected a cool as ice attitude that was really excellent. She often came out from her instrumental set up and roamed the stage, creating a visual focal point. McBride was tethered behind the table but looked comfortable and in the zone throughout.

The songs were very danceable, and the transitions were great, as they moved seamlessly from one to the next with little to no stage banter. It felt very well-choreographed and it’s clear they have been doing this together for quite a while.

Those smooth transitions made it hard to identify many of the individual songs being played, though the title track from the new album was obvious. When I spoke with McBride after the show about that, he laughed and said that what they played was out of order with what they had on their written list anyway.

I talked with McBride about the long collaboration with Wendelbo, asking him what the greatest joy and greatest annoyance there is with that long history. He had a good list for the joys that all centered on the shared experience and trust, saying they can add on top of each other both musically and lyrically. It creates a synergy that they both can capitalize on. For the annoyance, he said that it can sometimes be hard to truly be spontaneous.

We also talked about genre labels and, perhaps unsurprisingly, how those mostly don’t fit as they oversimplify. The cold wave label is one that McBride pointed out as being deficient, as that really should be a more time bound description of 70’s & early 80’s bands. He did say that whatever genre label people have in mind, it’s a thrill for Xeno & Oaklander to be able to tour and perform for the live audiences.

Xeno & Oaklander at Turf Club, St. Paul, MN (2024-11-29)

Xeno & Oaklander at Turf Club, St. Paul, MN (2024-11-29)

Xeno & Oaklander

Xeno & Oaklander

Xeno & Oaklander

Magenta Vice at Turf Club St Paul MN (2024-11-29)

Magenta Vice

Magenta Vice

Magenta Vice

Magenta Vice

thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com