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Liz Phair at Palace Theatre (11-17-23)

11/17 Liz Phair with Blondshell at Palace Theatre Liz Phair Setlist 6’1” Help Me Mary Glory Dance of the Seven Veils Never Said Soap Star Joe Explain It to Me Canary Mesmerizing F*** and Run Girls! Girls! Girls! Divorce Song Shatter Flower Johnny Sunshine Gunshy Stratford-on-Guy Strange Loop -- Encore -- Supernova Johnny Feelgood Polyester Bride Why Can’t I? Blondshell Setlist Veronica Mars Cartoon Earthquake Sepsis Joiner Man Deceptacon (Le Tiger cover) Street Rat Olympus Kiss City Salad Tarmac Read More Liz Phair 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. .… Blondshell Starting January 18th, Los Angeles’ Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum), will take over as support. Blondshell is still very new, having only released four singles, her debut “Olympus,” “Cartoon Earthquake” ....

Friday night in downtown St. Paul was a nostalgic trip to eras gone by with a tequila sun setting on the Eagles and their “Long Goodbye Tour” at the Xcel Center and Liz Phair revisiting her debut album that many consider to be one of the all-time greats.

Blondshell aka Sabrina Teitelbaum opened the evening sporting a vintage Rod Stewart concert baseball shirt with the tagline: “Blondes have more fun.”

Blondshell (11 Jul 2023)

We last saw Blondshell at Seventh Street Entry in July and it appears she has been on the road since as she promotes her self-titled debut album with songs like “Veronica Mars,” “Sepsis” and “Street Rat.” And although the crowd skewed older than her Seventh Street Entry performance, she received a favorable roar of applause for her songs “Salad” and “Kiss City.”

It’s easy to see why Liz Phair picked Teitelbaum to open for her tour. Even with the age gap the two singers have a conversational persona in their singing that tends to casually if not coolly remove them from subject material that is not casual or cool.

It has been thirty years since Liz Phair released her 18-track debut double album Exile in Guyville. Guyville is Wicker Park, a northeast neighborhood in Chicago. And it was there, after returning penniless from San Francisco, she sat in the bedroom of her childhood home and recorded the songs that would make up the album, an album that had immediate and long-term critical success with Rolling Stone currently ranking it #56 on Best 500 Albums of All Time.

With the fans her impact is evident. The Palace was sold out and it seemed that every person there was in their twenties when the album was released. And a lot of the fans kept pressing ahead to get a better view of a personal icon that was luminous in her performance. She looked great. The band looked great. The set design was great. And most of all the music sounded great. There was no rust as Phair played the album in order and in its entirety.

“I want to create, for people coming to the show, a much more immersive experience,” Phair told Billboard. “So even if they think they know the album well, they come out with a new take on it.”

Personally, I have a casual reference to Phair and what I found surprising in listening to the whole album was the unabashed frankness in her lyrics. Even though her voice was not filled with operatic arpeggios, the words clearly show her state of mind as a twenty year-old with a wry honesty and yearning to find love and knowing it might not happen as in “Dance of the Seven Veils”:

Johnny, my love, get out of the business
It makes me want to rough you up so badly
Makes me want to roll you up in plastic
Toss you up and pump you full of lead

Remaining tour dates:

11/18 - Chicago Theater - Chicago, IL
11/19 - The Masonic Temple - Detroit, MI
11/21 - Roadrunner - Boston, MA
11/22 - Franklin Music Hall - Philadelphia, PA
11/24 - Kings Theater - Brooklyn, NY
11/25 - Anthem - Washington, DC
11/27 - The Ryman - Nashville, TN
11/28 - Woodruff Arts Center - Atlanta, GA
11/30 - Orpheum Theater - New Orleans, LA
12/01 - Moody Theater - Austin, TX
12/03 - Majestic Theater - Dallas, TX

Blondshell Blondshell Blondshell (Vuart)

Liz Phair at Palace Theatre, St Paul (17 Nov 2023) art by Vu

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Atarashii Gakko! at Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St Paul (16 Nov 2023)

Atarashii Gakko Setlist SEISHUN WO KIRISAKU HADO saisyu jinrui CANDY The Edge Suki Lie Fantastico Pineapple Kryptonite (Yohji Igarashi Remix) Tokyo Calling Otona Blue WOO! GO! NAINAINAI -- Encore -- Free Your Mind Read More Atarashii Gakko! Japanese all-girl group Atarashii Gakko!, the known as the full Japanese name as Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders (新しい学校のリーダーズ), translated to mean “The New School Leaders”. ....

J-Pop all-girls group Atarashii Gakko! (新しい学校のリーダーズ and stylized as ATARASHII GAKKO!) just wrapped up their first-ever North American tour… stopping by the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, in St Paul, on Thursday night (November 16).

This was a sold-out show, meaning that when you first arrive to the venue, you had to get in line. The line goes up a flight of stairs in the building… so we were directed to take the elevator to the sixth floor and then find the line on the stairs. It’s an awkward way waiting to get in the door… but it beats standing outside in the winter.

There was also no opening band, so there was a long wait time until the show begins. The dance floor quickly filled up with eager young fans who rush to the front of the stage for a good viewing spot. Many of them brought idol lights or were dressed up with the Atarashii Gakko’s official socks.

Since there was such a long wait time, some fans brough balloons with LED micro blinking lights and had some fun bouncing it around. When it ultimate pop, there was a huge gasp from the audience. Fear not, another balloon would soon go.

Atarashii Gakko finally came on stage and the crowd went wild. The “New School Leaders” are four girls: Mizyu, the cute but fierce one, Rin, the funky one, Suzuka, the glass-wearing wildcard, and Kanon, the graceful one.

As with these K-Pop/J-Pop/T-Pop bands, it’s not so much the catchy pop songs, but it’s all about the dance choregraph. It’s really a visual show with some crazy dance moves and sometime it’s acrobatic!

The fans are passionate and enthusiastic, often singing along or participating whenever the band would take a moment to ask the crowd questions… such as “Do you know Japan?”

If you are not familiar with Korean Pop or Japanese Pop groups, you should do yourself a favor and attend a show (if it’s not sold out yet). You’ll have as much fun watching the show as it is to experience it with their fanbase.

Update 11/21: Photos were finally approved.

Atarashii Gakko!

Atarashii Gakko! Atarashii Gakko! Atarashii Gakko! (Vuart)

Atarashii Gakko! at Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St Paul (16 Nov 2023)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Talking Volumes, with Viet Thanh Nguyen, at the Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul (24 Oct 2023)

10/24 Talking Volumes with Viet Thanh Nguyen hosted by Kerri Miller at The Fitzgerald Theater Highlights Saigon Moi Viet Thanh sitting in the woods Excerpt from A Man of Two Faces D'Lourdes: “Now and Then” Cancelled 92NY event Viet Thanh and his brother Parents in America Mother in Ao Dai Excerpt from A Man of Two Faces D'Lourdes: “Brings Me To Tears” Questions and Answers Book Signing Read More Viet Thanh Nguyen Talking Volumes is hosted by award-winning journalist Kerri Miller, who will be interview/talking to Vietnamese/American author Viet Thanh Nguyen at the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul, on October 24th. …

Professor and novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen was the special guest for Talking Volumes, hosted by award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller.

The show is recorded live at the Fitzgerald Theater, and will air on MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) and online at a later date. You can tune in on October 27 to hear the hour-long conversation with Nguyen and his unconventional memoir A Man of Two Faces.

Miller would bring up a couple of photos from Nguyen’s past to get the conversation going. For example, showing a photo of his parents’ store Saigon Moi, we got to hear how they were the first Vietnamese grocery store in San Jose. He said he never worked in the store, but would count the money as the “family accountant”.

There were two excerpt readings from his book, and immediately after the excerpt, we were treated with a song, sung by Filipina-American, singer-songwriter D’Lourdes. She played two demos, “Now and Then” and “Brings Me To Tears”. Miller had a brief chat with the singer, who was apparently experiencing “cold season.”

After the interview/conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen ended, they opened the floor for questions and answers. It seems there were a lot of Vietnamese/American fans in the audience, some waiting to ask their questions.

The most interesting one was about the upcoming HBO Max television show, The Sympathizer, based on Nguyen’s debut novel of the same name. The book had won numerous awards, including the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

According to Nguyen, they are filming in Thailand (since they weren’t allowed to film in Vietnam). The show will feature star Robert Downey Jr., but he promised that everyone else cast in the show are Vietnamese or Asian actors (Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, and Sandra Oh).

The best part is that it’s co-showrun by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) and Don McKellar, and production is by my new favorite distributor/studio A24 (as I previously mentioned in 2022).

After the Q&A, fans lined up to get their books autographed.

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s new memoir A Man of Two Faces is out now on Grove Press.

D’Lourdes with Viet Thanh Nguyen and Kerri Miller

Viet Thanh Nguyen and his older brother Viet Thanh Nguyen and Kerri Miller

D’Lourdes

Make Art (Vuart) Viet Thanh Nguyen and Kerri Miller

Talking Volumes, with Viet Thanh Nguyen at The Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Music to Draw to with Kid Koala at Clutch Brewery, St Paul (30 July 2023)

07/30 Music to Draw To with Kid Koala and Lealani at Clutch Brewery Tour Dates 07/31 Hamilton, ON @ Bridgeworks Read More Kid Koala This current Kid Koala tour is to promote his new album Creatures of the Late Afternoon, an album that was created during the pandemic. The album also doubles as a board game, which his family helped created. …

Kid Koala’s Music to Draw To show was a casual experience on the lawn of the Clutch Brewing Company in St Paul.

Fans would bring their sketchbook and draw, while Kid Koala would provide the live soundtrack, handpicked from his collection of records. It’s actually a great idea to get creative, as, personally speaking, I have not had the time to doodle random Vuart. Being with a crowd, with all the same purpose, will help motivate you to draw. What a great idea, right?

Anyway, lots of laid-back, chill songs were played. I think my favorite was a cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “Only Shallow”, except it was mellower with clear vocals (the original song is distorted with lots of guitar noise).

Lealani was also there, drawing on a table in a pink hoodie. She would come on stage to perform one of her songs, “The Mountain” or freestyling.

Kid Koala did the “fake Gorillaz song” … the song is not officially titled, nor is it officially released yet. He’s still working out the way it spins. This song was absent from the Chase Bliss show, so I’m glad to hear it again. The song features Damon Albarn on vocals, based on Dan the Automator’s production / composition.

As with all these recent shows, Kid Koala closed out his set with “Moon River”. Even though it’s the same song, every song was played differently. For example, the Chase Bliss performance had more shooting star sounds… while this Clutch show had more warping effects. It never sounds boring.

Kid Koala and Lealani (30 Jul 2023)

Lealani would join Koala on stage, for the song finale. They thanked us for coming out and wished Chase Bliss a happy birthday (Chase Bliss sponsored all three Kid Koala’s Minneapolis / St Paul events as part of their celebration). Being here for three days, I asked them if they visited The Mall of America, in which they had no idea what that is. I guess they didn’t do the tourist thing.

With fans lining up for autographs and conversations, they were more than gracious to sign everything presented to them. They were in no hurry to leave, even though it will be a very, very long drive back to Hamilton, Ontario for their final show in this 2023 tour.

P.S. If I can remember, I will try and set about two hours every Sunday at noon to listen to a record and produce new art. If it happens, I will post new art every Sunday… but we will see if I forget or just can’t make the time for it.

Music to Draw to with Kid Koala at Clutch Brewery, St Paul (30 July 2023) art by Vu

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Flashback: Hole at EdgeFest, Wisconsin (29 May 1999)

photo courtesy of deflepparduk.com Hole Setlist Violet Awful Pretty on the Inside Heaven Tonight Miss World Reasons to Be Beautiful Malibu Dying Celebrity Skin Read More Hole The main story that I'll be talking about is the Courtney Love vs the former Nirvana band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. I remember really hating Love (haha) after reading this article. …

I’ve told this story before, but I went to see Hole at EdgeFest 6 in Somerset, Wisconsin on May 29, 1999. This was a two-day event, with a price of $30 for both days. I’m almost certain I did not attend the second night, simply because of a disagreement between my friends that went to his music festival. I won’t go into details, but we spent money to rent a camp ground, but did not actually utilize it.

Anyway, as I previously mentioned in Nov 2015, the only thing I can remember from this show 23 years ago, was that singer Courtney Love kept flashing us her underwear. I know it’s intentional, but it’s funny what I do remember. I’ve drawn her from my memory below. What’s funny is that it looks nothing like her appearance at EdgeFest. Someone posted the entire 30-min set on YouTube - I’d forgotten she had butterfly wings on!

Lineup:

Hole Cake Staind Might Mighty Bostones Flipp Marvelous 3 Buckherry Local H My Friend Steve Econoline Crush The Offspring Mason Jennings Dropkick Murphys

Motörhead Def Leppard Nothingface The Flys Supercell Sponge Hatebreed Second Coming American Head Charge Grinspoon Bare Jr. Coup de Grace SoulMotor Moby

Update:

Andrew O adds, "This show was very memorable for Courtney Love complaining that she had an early time slot when she was supposed to be the headliner. She stopped many times while playing and was upset about how hot it was. The thing I remember most was when she climbed up the side scaffolding on the sides of the stage. She went way up, about 40-60 feet, and then climbed down in her short dress. She quit playing and blamed the heat. The Offspring were a highlight in the evening and the campgrounds kept going all night long."

Vuart: Hole

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

TV: Devs and Star Trek: Picard

Still under relatively lockdown, and now with the George Floyd riots, I’ve been staying mostly indoors and watching long-form television shows.

With Scott Pilgrim vs the World returning to theaters for its 10 year anniversary in August 2020… Here are two recent Sex Bob-omb’s drummer Alison Pill’s Sci-Fi shows you can watch now… although I don’t recommend one of them.

Read More Movies The British horror film 28 Days Later came out at a time (2002) that there was a dry-spell in the Zombie movie genre. This film may have inspired the term “fast zombies” (all George Romero’s zombie films have always been slow-moving zombies)… …

DEVS
fxnetworks.com

I think the show’s title, Devs, is a bad one. I didn’t know what that title would imply, and it took a lot of recommendations from friends and family, before I begrudgingly decided to check it out. Spoiler alert, I really love Devs.

Going beyond the fantastic science fiction of a computer that can map the past (and therefore apply it to see the future)… the show is really about a love story. You don’t realize it’s a love story, until it hits you, and you noticed that all the clues were there.

All the actors were amazing, particularly Sonoya Mizuno as Lily Chan and Jin Ha as Jamie. Two Asian leads and they really carry the show.

I don’t think there will be a Devs Season 2, nor do I want one, as the ending to Season 1 is so good and wraps up the show nicely. Some shows shouldn’t go on more than one season, like Watchmen.

If you don’t take my word for it, take the writer/director/show runner Alex Garland’s body of work. He wrote: The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine , Never Let Me Go, and Dredd. For the most part, I have enjoyed most of his films (particularly Dredd and 28 Days Later). I also own his directorial debut for Ex Machina.

P.S. Scott Pilgrim Sex Bob-omb’s drummer Alison Pill stars in Dev.

About:

In Devs, an FX limited series, a young software engineer, Lily Chan, investigates the secret development division of her employer, a cutting-edge tech company based in Silicon Valley, which she believes is behind the murder of her boyfriend.

Devs stars Sonoya Mizuno as “Lily Chan;” Nick Offerman as “Forest,” the CEO of Amaya; Jin Ha as “Jamie,” Lily’s former boyfriend; Karl Glusman as “Sergei,” Lily’s boyfriend; Zach Grenier as “Kenton,” Amaya’s Head of Security; Stephen McKinley Henderson as “Stewart,” one of the top minds working in Amaya’s secret development division; Cailee Spaeny as the young, brilliant “Lyndon;” and Alison Pill as “Katie,” the gifted quantum physicist and second in command at Amaya.

Alex Garland writes, directs and serves as executive producer of Devs along with Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich of DNA TV, Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Garrett Basch. The series is produced by FX Productions.

Read More Star Trek You know I love Star Trek, so it is a sad day when I saw that original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy is dead. Live long and prosper. ....

STAR TREK: PICARD
cbs.com

As many of you already know, I’m a longtime Trekker, and so, originally, I was excited about Star Trek: Discovery, you quickly realize this new Star Trek by Alex Kurtzman, is definitely not the Star Trek I wanted. It’s like whoever is making new Star Trek don’t understand the franchise creator Gene Roddenberry’s idea of a bright future.

ST:D Season 2 is one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen. You have characters saying “I like science!” to a bomb that destroys everything except for a “blast door”. It’s just stupid. Red Letter Media did a pretty good job making fun of it on their YouTube. You can tell they’re fans, who thought the new Star Trek so overdramatic and had terrible writing.

I gave Star Trek: Picard a chance, of course. ST:P is simply the worst Star Trek in my ranking… yes, even worst than Star Trek: Enterprise. Even though I didn’t love Enterprise, I still own the Bluray and DVDs, because I love Science Fiction and Star Trek. With new Star Trek, I just refuse to buy the DVDs or Blurays, because I’ve no interest in owning these depressing new Star Trek.

ST:P continues this dark universe, characters like Raffi is living as “white trash” trailer and addicted to drugs. Romulans can just teleport anywhere … why not teleport the characters out to their death prison or something? Plus, the most unforgiving thing about new Star Trek is that they say the F-word. Star Trek has always been all-ages. This new Star Trek is not for children.

Picard is just a bad show, I am not going to recommend it for Sci-Fi fans… and especially if you like Star Trek. If you like Star Trek, there is a show called The Orville, which is a Star Trek knock off… but they have an understanding of classic Star Trek. Or if you just want realistic Sci-Fi, The Expanse is an excellent show.

PS, Sex Ba-bomb’s drummer Alison Pill plays Agnes Jurati, an expert on synthetic life, is part of Picard’s crew.

About:

Star Trek: Picard features Sir Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The new series will follow this iconic character into the next chapter of his life.

The series is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, James Duff, Patrick Stewart, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers and Aaron Baiers (Secret Hideout) serves as co-executive producer and Kirsten Beyer as supervising producer. Hanelle Culpepper will direct the first two episodes of the series.

Vuart: Sheer F*** Hubris (2020)

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News: Childish Gambino Tour Postponement

Childish Gambino 2018 Tour Read More Childish Gambino In need of a ship that can make the journey, Solo meets Lando Calrissian (smartly played by Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino) the suave owner of the perfect vessel for the dangerous mission -- the Millennium Falcon. …

As you may have heard already, Childish Gambino (the stagename for actor Donald Glover), suffered an injury that forced the singer to postpone his remaining “This Is America Tour”.

According to TMZ, they reported that Glover made a bad misstep during a dance move and basically broke his leg at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday night (Sep 23). He walked, or maybe limped, off stage and didn’t return for an encore.

We didn’t go to the show, but inspired by this news, here is Vu’s art of what really happened.

The press release from Live Nation confirmed that Childish Gambino will still appear at Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans on October 27, however, his appearance at Austin City Limits Music Festival is now canceled:

Childish Gambino has been forced to postpone his remaining “This Is America Tour” stops until later this year due to an injury. The rescheduled routing can be found below. Tickets will be honored for the newly scheduled dates. The Seattle show is canceled due to venue renovations and refunds for that date are available at point of purchase.

Childish Gambino’s appearance at the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans on October 27 is moving forward as planned. His appearance at Austin City Limits Music Festival is canceled. Justice will headline on both Saturdays (October 6 and 13) alongside Metallica, and Travis Scott will headline both Sundays (October 7 and 14) alongside Arctic Monkeys. The updated performance schedules can be found at www.aclfestival.com. Fans with a Weekend Two Saturday 1-Day Ticket may exchange at no charge for a Weekend Two Sunday 1-Day Ticket by contacting Front Gate Tickets. Exchanges must be requested by Tuesday, October 2 at 11:59pm CT.

Latest tour information:

12/02/2018 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
12/04/2018 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
12/07/2018 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
12/11/2018 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
12/12/2018 San Jose, CA SAP Center
12/15/2018 Phoenix, AZ Gila River Arena
12/16/2018 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
rescheduled from Sept 26
12/17/2018 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
rescheduled from Oct 3

Vuart: How Childish Gambino broke his leg art by Vu

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Living with the Apple's iPad Pro12.9 and Pencil

iPad Pro 12.9 Specs Model: A1670 (Wi-Fi) CPU: Apple A10X Fusion with Apple M10 2.36 GHz hexa-core Apple Fusion (3× Hurricane + 3× Zephyr) Graphic: 12-core PowerVR Series 7XT Display: 12.9 inches (330 mm) [diagonal] multi-touch display with LED backlighting and an oleophobic and scratch-resistant coating, Wide color display, True Tone display, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating, ProMotion display (120 Hertz refresh rate) 2732-by-2048 pixel resolution at 264 ppi (Retina Display) Read More Apple It's hard to believe that it's only been three years since the iPad was introduced. Despite me thinking what a crap name "ipad" was, I think the name is probably well-accepted with people now. …

I’ve been living with the iPad 12.9 Pro (2017 Model) since March 2018. After using the iPad daily for about two months, here are my thoughts:

COMICS
Since I mainly wanted to read comics on a bigger screen (coming from the smaller 9.7 size), the iPad’s nearly 13 inches is just perfect for comics. The size is nearly one to one, if not slightly larger than the print version.

For comics bought on ComiXology, they upgraded their comics to nearly 4k resolution, so a typical “Epic” collection is about a gigabyte in size! While they look gorgeous on the higher resolution, you really need to make sure you have the disk space for it.

Magazine View

On the other hand, the magazine experience is only okay. I bought a subscription to PC Gamer on Zinio, and was not impressed. While the text is super crisp and readable, the art/images did not look so good on a higher resolution. I suspect on a smaller sized iPad, you wouldn’t notice... but you can clearly see the pixelation on the iPad Pro. See screen print as an example.

Until the magazine industry catches up or offers high quality resolution, I don’t think I’ll be buying it on digital (unless is free as part of a print subscription).

If you want to load your own content, the two iOS apps I’ve used and endorsed are: Chunky and Foxit PDF Reader (or the built in Books reader). Although I’m not a fan of the name “Chunky”, it’s probably the best CBR reader. I’ve even upgraded to the Pro version, even though I didn’t need or want the Pro features - I just wanted to support the Chunky creator.

SMART CONNECTOR
I have several Bluetooth keyboards, but I have never really liked pairing the keyboards. Sometime, particularly with the original Apple bluetooth keyboard because it doesn’t have a reset button, the iPad does not see the keyboard because it was previously paired with another iPad. It’s very frustrating.

With the Smart Connector, the keyboard is instant-on when you connect. You don’t need to charge the keyboard (since it’s powered through the connector).

I’ve read some reviews on Smart Connector keyboards, and they mentioned the magnets, but let me empathize on the magnets: the iPad will automatically align and stick to the keyboard. It’s powerful enough that you can lift it up and the iPad without any worry that the keyboard will drop off.

Although only Apple and Logitech makes Smart Connector keyboards, I think it’s worth it to buy one. I have the first generation Logitech iPad Pro keyboard, which is technically not meant for the iPad Pro second version, but it fits and the price was discounted to $75 (originally $149).

DRAWING
Before the new 2018 “New” iPad was announced last month, only the iPad Pro supported the Apple Pencil. I’ve wanted to draw on digital for a long time and have, in the past, used various instruments and softwares. None of them really worked for me, that is until the iPad and Apple Pencil combination.

Using ProCreate ($10), drawing was is pretty amazing. Trust me, drawing was nearly real time one to one, just like drawing in “real life”. Since it’s digital, there’s no paint mess or cleanup. Plus, producing artwork, from idea to finalized art, can be pretty fast and efficient.

Don’t take my words for it, professional artist Mark Ulriksen went from traditional to digital for The New Yorker with the same setup I have (iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and ProCreate). Read his interview and profile at businessinsider.com

CONCLUSION
Let me get to the point: the iPad is not a laptop replacement. There are many limitations with the iOS system, for example true multitasking and file transfers. If you’re a traditional laptop user, you’re not going to be happy with the iPad, so stay with the tried-and-true laptop experience.

What the iPad is meant for, and excel at, is media consumption and portability. Watching movies and television is a joy (especially on a larger 12.9 screen) and reading is wonderful (at the higher resolution). Apple is known for their gold-standard battery life, and the iPad’s weight is a feather compared to traditional laptops.

If you like what you read, but don’t want to shell out the premium price usually associated with Apple products, the new 2018 9.7 iPad, at $329 (with Apple Pencil support), is the iPad I would recommend for you. Sure, you’re not getting the larger 12.9 screen or Smart Connector, but for most people, they’re not going to care to spend the extra cash to upgrade.

P.S. This article was written on the iPad using the Logitech Smart Connector Keyboard and Google Keep. If this was a collaborative article (requiring other people’s input), then I would use Google Docs with its sharing functionality.

Vuart examples:

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

John Maus at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (05 April 2018)

John Maus at Cedar Poster Tour Dates 04/15/2018 Coachella 04/22/2018 Coachella 05/04/2018 Red Bull Music Academy Festival Read More John Maus In his first show in seven years, John Maus will be headlining the Cedar Cultural Center on Thursday, April 5th. Maus is known for his emotional, passionate live ..… C. Kostra Devata Daun (aka Nikki Pfeifer) and C. Kostra (aka Ryan Olcott) to open. After this warm-up gig, he’ll be travelling to various music festivals from around the world … Devata Daun Two local bands were special guests at the show. Darkwave band Devata Daun (aka Nikki Pfeifer) was first, playing some tracks from her album Look (Pytch Records). …

It was a sold-out show for John Maus’ first show in Minneapolis in seven years, at the Cedar Cultural Center on Thursday night. Sadly, that also meant that there were a few fans without tickets, waiting outside in the cold asking for spare tickets.

Devata Daun (aka Nikki Pfeifer) and c.Kostra (aka Ryan Olcott) opened the show. The first 30 minutes featured Devata Daun’s sweet, atmospheric songs from her album Look (Pytch Records), then, midway, the two swap places as c.Kostra finished out the remaining 30 minutes with his new album now i feel it (Pytch Records). The seamless transition suggests that the two often work together… and it’s probably safe to say that if you see one of them at a show, the other is close behind.

Just to give you a little background, but John Maus is often associated with Ariel Pink, as the two were roomates/classmates at the California Institute of the Arts. Maus would end up as a member of the Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti stage band.

When Maus signed and released his debut record Songs (Upset the Rhythm) in 2006, he toured and built up a good reputation for his passionate performances. Then, in 2012, he just decided to take a four-year break from music. He spent that time finishing his dissertation, and gained a PhD in political science from the University of Hawaii.

Maus’ fourth album (and his latest) is called Screen Memories and came out last year. So, for the first time in four years, he went on tour to promote the record. While fans and critics were already accustomed to his solo one-man-karaoke shows, last year’s tour featured a full live band (featuring his brother Joe Maus on bass, Luke Darger on keyboards, and Jonathan Thompson on drums). After over a year of touring, the band was actually still very tight, which is important as they are set to play Coachella next week.

After a seven-year absent from Minneapolis, the show wasn’t just about Maus, it was also about his diehard fans. It wasn’t uncommon to see friends surprised and happy to see each other at the show. Or when a familiar song started to play, some people would just turn to each other and started hugging (especially hearing the opening chords to “Streetlight”). It’s heartwarming to see so many people happy to celebrate their mutual love for John Maus.

As you would expect, there was a lot of high-energy bopping up and down, fist punching the air, and plenty of sweating.

With an upcoming album Addendum (made of extra songs from Screen Memories), expect to see Maus more active in shows… and hopefully another Minneapolis date next year.

Devata Daun

c.Kostra

Devata Daun

Devata Daun (art by Vu)

John Maus

John Maus

John Maus

John Maus at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (05 April 2018)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark at First Ave, Minneapolis (18 Mar 2018)

OMD First Avenue Poster O.M.D. Setlist     Intro: Art Eats Art/La Mitrailleuse Ghost Star Isotype Messages Tesla Girls History of Modern (Part 1) One More Time (Forever) Live and Die If You Leave Souvenir Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) 📼: Time Zones 2016 Of All the Things We've Made What Have We Done So in Love Locomotion The Punishment of Luxury Sailing on the Seven Seas Enola Gay -- Encore -- Dreaming Secret Electricity Ggoolldd Setlist Without You Secrets City Lights Excelsior Springs The Way That I Feel Undercovers Read More OMD We were actually meant to see Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (or shortened to O.M.D.) in 2013, but due to ..… Ggoolldd Milwaukee’s Ggoolldd (Margaret Butler, Nick Ziemann, Mark Stewart, Thomas Gilbert, and Nick Schubert) was up next. Singer and dramatic dancer Margaret Butler announced the ... 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. …

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (or shortened to O.M.D.) just headlined First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday, March 18th.

Starting the show was DJ Jake Rudh, from Transmission, playing to the crowd with a collection of nostalgic 80s-era British music videos to keep the audience entertained before the first band.

Milwaukee’s Ggoolldd (Margaret Butler, Nick Ziemann, Mark Stewart, and Nick Schubert) was up next. We’ve previously seen the band in October 2016 and knew there was something special about their “singer and dramatic dancer” Margaret Butler. Seeing them with OMD on Sunday night was almost like seeing a completely different band. Butler, now in a bold white unicorn outfit, completely captivated the unsuspecting mostly middle-age audience.

With even more room to dance around, Butler unveiled her light-up swan cape near the end of their brief 30-minute set. They ended their set with “Undercovers”, an upbeat number, but with depressing lyrics: “we are alone, deep under covers.”

You can tell that Ggoolldd is having a great time on this tour with OMD, and, judging from the people surrounding me, that they may have some newfound fans the next time they come back to town.

It’s good to finally get OMD (Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper, and Stuart Kershaw) back in Minneapolis. It’s been a long journey back for this New Wave British band, as the band originally scheduled for July 8, 2013, only to have it pushed back to July 22nd. Then just days before their appearance at the Varsity Theater, their drummer had a heart attack (or as singer Andy McCluskey affectionally puts it, “tried to die”) and the group had to cancel their remaining 2013 tour.

With a new 13th studio album Punishment Of Luxury (White Noise Records), the band promised “some new songs”, but quickly added, “as well as old” to the crowd’s delight.

And indeed, plenty of classic fan-favorite songs were played. Right before “Messages” (from their self-titled debut album in 1980), Andy, breaking out the bass guitar “for the old songs”, asked us, “You did bring your dancing shoes, didn't you? It was on the ticket!”, this was followed by another classic sing-along song “Tesla Girls” from 1984’s Junk Culture.

Of course, who could not love hearing their biggest hit single, “If You Leave”, which many fans probably first heard it on John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink film in 1986. The film soundtrack helped moved OMD’s song to #4 on Billboard Hot 100 that summer. It is the song that many fans came to hear, and as evident, about a hundred cellphones went up in the air to record the moment.

For “Time Zones 2016”/“Of All the Things We’ve Made”, all four band members came to the front of the stage, with simple drum, guitar and handheld electronics. As soon as the song ended, Andy joked, “that’s about as unplugged as we get.”

The band ended their set with their signature song, “Enola Gay”, which Andy graciously thanked their fans, “Thank you SO much- you have been wonderful to play to tonight!... This is your last chance to dance!”

The three-song encore started “Dreaming”. Then afterward, Andy bent forward and pretending to whisper to the crowd before keyboardist Paul Humphreys took the lead vocals for “Secret”.

With the final song, Andy asked the crowd, “Are you tired?” and the crowd screamed back “No!”. Andy continued, “because we do want to play do want to play this song, but it’s so fast- we want to end at the beginning, this is the oldest song we’ve got.” The set-ending song was “Electricity”, which was written in 1979, written when Andy and Paul were both sixteen years old.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark continues their Punishment Of Luxury tour.

3/20 Denver, CO, Ogden Theatre
3/21 Salt Lake City, UT, The Depot
3/23 Vancouver, B.C., Commodore Ballroom
3/24 Seattle, WA, Showbox
3/25 Portland, OR, Wonder Ballroom
3/27 San Francisco, CA, The Regency Ballroom
3/29 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre
3/30 Anaheim, CA, The House Of Blues
3/31 San Diego, CA, The House of Blues
4/2 Phoenix, AZ, The Van Buren
4/5 Dallas, TX, House Of Blues
4/6 Austin, TX, Emos
4/7 Houston, TX, House OF Blues
4/9 New Orleans, LA, Civic Theatre
4/10 Atlanta, GA, Center Stage
4/12 Orlando, FL The Beacham
4/13 St. Petersburg, FL The State Theatre
4/14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution Live

Ggoolldd

Ggoolldd

Ggoolldd

Ggoolldd (art by Vu)

OMD Setlist

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OMD

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark at First Avenue, Minneapolis (18 Mar 2018)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic