Tour Dates 11/22/10 Valentines* Albany, NY 11/23/10 Paradise Rock Club* Boston, MA 11/24/10 Bowery Ballroom* New York, NY 11/26/10 Music Hall of Williamsburg* NY 11/27/10 Theater of Living Arts* Phila, PA 11/30/10 Chameleon Club* Lancaster, PA 12/01/10 Rock n Roll Hotel* Washington 12/05/10 Blue Note Columbia, MO 12/06/10 Midland Kansas City, MO 12/07/10 Bourbon Theater Lincoln, NE 12/08/10 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, IA 12/09/10 Blue Moose Tap Iowa City, IA 12/14/10 Orpheum Theatre+ Boston, MA 12/15/10 Orpheum Theatre+ Boston, MA 12/17/10 Roseland Ballroom+ New York 12/18/10 Roseland Ballroom+ New York *with Hollerado + with Weezer Read More I felt that they should have ended their set with the easy to follow "Bang Pop" song (their chorus is easy to remember: "bang, bang, pop, pop"). Easily their best song.
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If you haven’t heard of Free Energy by now, you are seriously missing out on life my friends. The five piece band is originally from Red Wing, MN but now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consists of Scott Wells (lead guitar), Paul Sprangers (lead Vocals), Evan Wells (bass), Geoff Bucknam (guitar), and Nick Shuminksy (drums). The latter two members were met in Philly and the rest have a history in Minneapolis as the no longer active band, Hockey Night. And their record “Stuck On Nothing” has received many the ecstatic reviews from places like, Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
Unlike a lot of hype bands these guys aren’t the young guys with the colorful synth tunes. These 5, 30 year old guys, rely on catchy, hook-laden 70’s guitar riffs, sing-a-long anthems, with a dose of good feelings, and “energy” for good measure and a worry “free” feeling. Ironically they are signed to DFA records, which is the child of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and home to Hot Chip , Shit Robot, Holy Ghost!, Hercules and Love Affair, and YACHT. (If you are unfamiliar with these bands, they are all synth-laden indie rock bands.)
I was very privileged with the opportunity to see them in Paul Sprangers’ and the Wells brothers’ home state of Minnesota for the second time. When I got to the venue, I noticed there was only one drum set, which clearly belonged to Free Energy. I asked the bartender what the deal was and he told me that there had been a complication. It seems that both bands had been held back at the Canadian boarder earlier, and they would be playing an hour and a half late. Having seen them open for Titus Andronicus, I knew the kind of party these guys bring to wherever they go. So, I decided to wait, and boy was I not disappointed. At About 10 PM they had a sensational power-pop group from Canada, open for them. The name of this band was, Hollerado, and they got the crowd amped and jumping in glee. The perfect openers to set the stage for the crazy fun that is Free Energy. Scott Wells and Paul Sprangers took stage with Hollerado for a couple songs. It seems they like to do that a lot, since last time they joined Titus Andronicus on stage and they brought Amy of Titus Andronicus on stage with them during their set too.
Free Energy took stage at about 10:50, and opened their set with “All I know.” And proceeded the song with their hit single, “Dream City.” Their set, like always was a sing-a-long rock party that had the crowd jumping, and fist pumping. The happiness and energy they bring on stage is so incredibly contagious. They closed their set with “Hope Child” and then came right back out for a two song on-core, which they closed with “I’m going down” by Bruce Springsteen. Which was probably the highest and most epic part of the show. Paul started to pull people up on-stage with him, which ended with half the floor up on-stage. I took the microphone at the last verse and sung it and the chorus. Then it lead into a spontaneous cover of Neil Young’s “Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World” when lead singer and guitarist of Hollerado, Menno Versteeg picked up Scott Wells guitar. Then the venue erupted into chaos, as members of Free Energy and Hollerado and I sang loud and proud, while the venue sang-a-long and danced.
All in all, if Free Energy is coming to your town. Do not miss out. There are still a few dates left on this tour, and they promised to return real soon on a spring tour. And listen to Free Energy if you are into bands such as Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick and The Cars. Or if you need something to blast on your iPod or stereo while you sit back and try not to worry about the world around you.
For more of Hollerado:
http://www.myspace.com/hollerado
http://www.hollerado.com/
And more of Free Energy:
http://www.myspace.com/freeenergymusic
http://www.freeenergymusic.com/
Unlike a lot of hype bands these guys aren’t the young guys with the colorful synth tunes. These 5, 30 year old guys, rely on catchy, hook-laden 70’s guitar riffs, sing-a-long anthems, with a dose of good feelings, and “energy” for good measure and a worry “free” feeling. Ironically they are signed to DFA records, which is the child of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and home to Hot Chip , Shit Robot, Holy Ghost!, Hercules and Love Affair, and YACHT. (If you are unfamiliar with these bands, they are all synth-laden indie rock bands.)
I was very privileged with the opportunity to see them in Paul Sprangers’ and the Wells brothers’ home state of Minnesota for the second time. When I got to the venue, I noticed there was only one drum set, which clearly belonged to Free Energy. I asked the bartender what the deal was and he told me that there had been a complication. It seems that both bands had been held back at the Canadian boarder earlier, and they would be playing an hour and a half late. Having seen them open for Titus Andronicus, I knew the kind of party these guys bring to wherever they go. So, I decided to wait, and boy was I not disappointed. At About 10 PM they had a sensational power-pop group from Canada, open for them. The name of this band was, Hollerado, and they got the crowd amped and jumping in glee. The perfect openers to set the stage for the crazy fun that is Free Energy. Scott Wells and Paul Sprangers took stage with Hollerado for a couple songs. It seems they like to do that a lot, since last time they joined Titus Andronicus on stage and they brought Amy of Titus Andronicus on stage with them during their set too.
Free Energy took stage at about 10:50, and opened their set with “All I know.” And proceeded the song with their hit single, “Dream City.” Their set, like always was a sing-a-long rock party that had the crowd jumping, and fist pumping. The happiness and energy they bring on stage is so incredibly contagious. They closed their set with “Hope Child” and then came right back out for a two song on-core, which they closed with “I’m going down” by Bruce Springsteen. Which was probably the highest and most epic part of the show. Paul started to pull people up on-stage with him, which ended with half the floor up on-stage. I took the microphone at the last verse and sung it and the chorus. Then it lead into a spontaneous cover of Neil Young’s “Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World” when lead singer and guitarist of Hollerado, Menno Versteeg picked up Scott Wells guitar. Then the venue erupted into chaos, as members of Free Energy and Hollerado and I sang loud and proud, while the venue sang-a-long and danced.
All in all, if Free Energy is coming to your town. Do not miss out. There are still a few dates left on this tour, and they promised to return real soon on a spring tour. And listen to Free Energy if you are into bands such as Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick and The Cars. Or if you need something to blast on your iPod or stereo while you sit back and try not to worry about the world around you.
For more of Hollerado:
http://www.myspace.com/hollerado
http://www.hollerado.com/
And more of Free Energy:
http://www.myspace.com/freeenergymusic
http://www.freeenergymusic.com/
♥ Free Energy at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/10) |
