W♥M (Archive)

Ada Jane on Tour

Discography [2006] Never Been Better [2009] Again... Again Read More Ada Jane Matt Marka is one of those semi-elusive musicians—the kind whose name strikes a familiar chord even if you’re not quite sure why…you…know…him. Ninety percent of the Minneapolis music scene is covered in this amnesiac fog.

Minneapolis rockers Ada Jane return to the stage this spring with a West Coast tour that kicks off in Omaha, NE (henceforth referred to as the “Wet Coast” for its intoxicating historical significance).  With multiple stops in California, one can only imagine that these boys of noise have a single objective: show those groovy surfers that Minnesota GETS IT DONE, hardcore*.

Ada Jane West Coast Tour(more dates TBA)

• Apr 16 2011 - 9:00PM
  The Pizza Shoppe Collective- Omaha “Wet Coast” NE
• Apr 17 2011 - 9:00PM
  Lion's Lair- Denver, CO
• Apr 20 2011 - 9:00PM
  Redwood Bar- Los Angeles, CA
• Apr 21 2011 - 9:00PM
  Alex's Bar- Long Beach, CA
• Apr 22 2011 - 7:00PM
  Jose's Undrground Lounge- Monterey, CA
• Apr 24 2011 - 7:00PM
  Kimo's- San Francisco, CA
• Apr 26 2011 - 8:00PM
  Kern River Brewing Co.- Kernville, CA
• Apr 27 2011 - 12:00PM
  Fresno St. University- Fresno, CA
• May 05 2011 - 8:00PM
  UW Stout memorial student union- Menomonie, WI
• May 06 2011 - 9:00PM
  400 Bar- Minneapolis, MN
• May 07 2011 - 9:00PM
  What's Up Lounge- Mankato, MN

For the official scoop, visit the band’s Website / Myspace / Facebook (you know how it works, kids).  Stay tuned for a review of the 400 Bar show in May!

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_KkAN7tTSo

lara () ♥ www.adajane.com

Poison Control Center and Brass Bed at Honey, Minneapolis (03/29/11)

Tour Dates 03-31 Rock Island, IL – DAYTROTTER* 03-31 Dubuque, IA - The Busted Lift * 04-01 Iowa City, IA – KRUI (Acoustic In-Studio) 04-01 Iowa City, IA - Mission Creek Music Festival 04-02 Iowa City, IA – Catherine’s (Acoustic 1pm MCMF) 04-02 Des Moines, IA – Gross Domestic Product Fest 04-03 Madison, WI - The Frequency * 04-04 Chicago, IL - Pancho's * 04-05 Bloomington, IN - The Bishop * 04-06 Charleston, IL – Friends and Company * 04-07 Champaign, IL – Cowboy Monkey * 04-08 Memphis, TN - Young Ave. Deli * 04-09 Nashville, TN – The Basement 04-10 Knoxville, TN – Longbranch Saloon 04-11 Louisville, KY - Ear X-tacy 04-13 Columbus, OH - Bernie's 04-14 Cincinnati, OH - Comet Bar 04-15 Ft. Wayne, IN - The Brass Rail 04-16 St. Paul, MN – Macalester College 05-07 Iowa City, IA – Gabes ^ 05-14 Des Moines, IA House of Bricks # * w/ Brass Bed ^ w/Ted Leo # Iowa Transgender Benefit (Patrick Solo)

Attending Poison Control Center and Brass Bed's show last night at the Honey venue was not too dissimilar to seeing a house concert – only with a full bar and a sound system.

I've never been to Honey before, so I arrived a little early just to give breathing room for parking and getting lost. It's in the North-ish area of Minneapolis, in a pretty hipster area with loads of eateries all around. In fact, the actual venue is in the basement, beneath the Ginger Hop restaurant. The stage? There was no actual stage, just rug on cemented flooring. The lighting was also one of the poorest I've seen at any venue, it was very dark and red (red is not a great color to photograph in the dark, it just screams of murder and morbid-ness, if that's a word).

This was my first time seeing Brass Bed live, so this was a nice surprise. Lots of chaos and jumping about and a bit of a keyboard craziness (I didn't know they had keys in the band). I didn't know all the songs, but the few that stood out for me was the new ones, in particular: "People Want To Be Happy (Summertime)" and "Pop Mission" (both from Melt White).

I've previously seen Poison Control Center in Iowa, so I knew what to expect: a lot of time spent playing upside-down and leg-splits, which I'll go ahead and call it PCC gymnastics.

Besides from the high energy, the highlight of the show is for "Magic Circle Symphony", aka "The Cancer Song". Friend of the band, Sara, came on stage to sing the chorus. This was a lot of fun.

They only played four new songs. I am assuming the four songs are from their yet-to-be-released album, Stranger Ballet to be out in June. I didn't know the trumpet song, but this was a good/fun song with everyone doing bad cheesy dance moves. I'm pretty sure they ended their set with "When The World Sleeps", which was really dramatic, followed by an explosion of music.

PCC is probably known for their lively shows, so if you get a chance to see them live, you should definitely check them out. I think Brass Bed's music complement PCC, so having the two go on tour together is a positive thing.

Poison Control Center is returning to Minnesota on April 16th at at Maclester in St Paul.

BRASS BED		POISON CONTROL CENTER (with help from Sara)

vu () ♥ thepoisoncontrolcenter.tumblr.com ♥ myspace.com/brassbed

Wynton and Willie – Here We Go Again

Think of the oddest musical pairing and see if you can top Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis.  Jazz + Country?  Somehow they got together and released Two Men with the Blues in 2008.  The album was so well received the duo decided to collaborate again.  Here We Go Again on Blue Note is a live album that pays homage to the music of Ray Charles, another musician who was no stranger to playing multiple musical idioms.

In February of 2009, Nelson showed up with his harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, at the Rose Theater.  Marsalis and his band were waiting with newly arranged interpretations of Charles’ classics like “Busted” “Making Whoopie” and “Unchain My Heart.” The redux songs cover all the musical bases: gospel, boogaloo, rhythm and blues, swing and hard bop.  “I Love You So” is framed within the structure of a waltz.  “Losing Hard” plays like a chain gang dirge.

My favorite is “Cryin’ Time,” a straight-ahead country duet, featuring Nelson and musical guest, Norah Jones.  I also like “Hit the Road Jack,” which starts in a gospel vein; then blends nicely into a swing jam session.

The hodgepodge could have splayed into a musical mess, but the experience and inventiveness of the performers keeps the songs tight and swinging.  It’s fun to see a diverse collection of musicians having so much fun.  Maybe the fundamentals of jazz and country are closer then they appear.  Maybe what they share is the blues of losing a gal, truck or favorite guitar.  When it comes to misery, we can all relate.

Dave

Going for Gold III

Golden Dogs: As Long As You Like

I know you're thinking: What? There's two other articles with 'gold' in its theme? Why, YES: Going for Gold II and Going for Gold.

THE GOLDEN DOGS
www.thegoldendogs.com

Golden Dogs and State Radio are coming by to play my favorite venue: The Varsity Theater.

This band out of Toronto is known for their energetic live shows, so I'm definitely interested in checking them out to see what all the fuss is about.

Their latest record is called Coat Of Arms, to be released on April 26^th on Dine Alone Records.

You can download "Long As You Like" On My Old Kentucky Blog.

Tour Dates
Mar 29: Ames, IA @ The Maintenance Shop**
Mar 30: Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room**
Mar 31: Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre**
Apr 1: Madison, WI @ The Majestic**
Apr 2: Chicago, IL @ The Vic**
Apr 3: Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls**

** w/ State Radio

Ryat - Superficial Friction

RYAT
www.ryat.info

You know, I thought this band is called "rat", but I just read that it's actually "riot".

Of course, you know me, I do like boy/girl bands (consisting of Christina and Tim) and cheesy dance moves - and this band seems to have both. Their forthcoming album, Avant Gold Remixed (to be released on April 12^th). You can preview the album on ryat.band camp.com. Tour dates below:

WED MARCH 30 - CHOP SUEY, Seattle, WA
THURS MARCH 31 - Rotture, Portland, OR
FRI APRIL 1 - KBGA Presents @ Badlander, Missoula, MT
SAT APRIL 2 - Bozeman, MT @ The Filler
WED APRIL 6 - Bozeman MT @ Montana State Uni
FRI APRIL 8 - RHINOCEROPOLIS, Denver, CO
SAT APRIL 9 - BOURBON THEATRE, Lincoln, NE w/ Kid B
SUN APRIL 10 - The Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
WED APRIL 13 - 7TH ST ENTRY, Minneapolis, MN
THURS APRIL 14 - Frank's Power Plant, Milwaukee, WI
FRI APRIL 15 - Observatory, Chicago IL
SAT APRIL 16 - Brillo Box, Pittsburgh, PA,
FRI APRIL 29 & SAT APRIL 30 - ATYPICAL @ Painted Bride, Philadelphia PA

KARL BLAU
myspace.com/karlblau

It seems K Records has a new promo person called Kelly and we are in love with her. She writes stuff like "superpumped" and OMG's and possibly LOL's.

She wanted you to know that Karl Blau (from Dub Narcotic Studio Patrol) has a new 7" out TODAY called "Golden Chariot".

If you were signed up for the K Records Zip-Pak, you've already been privy to this song last September. See? It pays to be on the Zip-Pak club.

If you get the 7" for $4, the B-side is a dub version of Golden Chariot.

Here are the lyrics to Golden Chariot:

Oh, I've got to know where you stand
Since you've not said anything
I won't know if I can trust in you
But I'd really like to
You can use your words

You can use your words to quiet these Arms
I'm afraid keeping silent won't feed anyone
And keeps No One from harm

If you don't feel a change
That's either caused by the time you were born
Or that these blinders you've always worn kept you warm

GOLDENBOY
www.goldenboyband.com

Goldenboy is the nickname given to Shon Sullivan by Elliott Smith. The name obviously hold a special place in Sullivan's heart, so he kept it as a stagename.

Sleepwalker is Sullivan's third album, which critics are calling it Radiohead-friendly ("Fans of Radiohead's spiraling and melodic duty-driven shoegaze will enjoy.")

03/30/2011 - The Saint - Durham,NC
03/31/2011 - Millcreek Tavern - Philadelphia, PA
04/01/2011 - Depot Teen Center - Darian
04/02/2011 - Precinct Bar - Somerville, MA
04/03/2011 - Santo's (Downstairs) - New York City, NY
04/04/2011 - The Rock Shop - New York City, NY
04/05/2011 - Garfield Artworks - Pittsburgh
04/06/2011 - Bernie's - Columbus, OH
04/07/2011 - Rudyard Kipling - Louisville
04/10/2011 - Abbey Pub - Chicago, Il
04/12/2011 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN

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

Ghost Towns of the West at the Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

Setlist from Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

I did like the fact that names like Ghost Towns of the West, Chiefs of the North, and Red Daughters, seems to suggest a Cowboys and Indians theme going.

I got in kind of late, but even at that late hours, I was surprised to see a nice large turnout at the Fine Line Cafe. I've been to dead shows at the Fine Line before, and believe me, when it's nearly empty, the place feels like, if you'll pardon the expression, feels like a ghost town. So yeah, it's nice to see the place filled.

Catching only about half of Sexy Delicious' set, I got the impression they were sort of this jam-funk band, with song titles like "Freshy Freshness", it's probably more on the funky side. Highlight was when they did a cover of "Rockin' Robin".

Ghost Towns of the West at the Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

Ghost Towns of the West came on stage shortly after midnight. It seems like they've been planning this self-titled EP and release party for a very long time, and everything was seems to fall into place on that Saturday. They were really grateful at their parents and everyone who supported them. In particular, one of the three singers, Joel Korte, did a sort of dedication to his parents for their acceptance of his brother and himself for "I'll Get By". I got this vibe that the lyrics like "maybe there's nothing wrong with me/maybe this is how I'm supposed to be" was to address Korte's stuttering problem, but obviously you can interpret that to anything.

Highlight for me is their cover of The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", which is always a great song done live.

Best song on the set was "That Cold Wind". For some reason, the crowd went absolutely nuts and started dancing all around. They even demanded an encore!

Having had the chance to listen to their self-titled EP - I was glad to see they busted out the saxophone for "Soulweaver" live. The song wouldn't be the same without the sax.

Ghost Towns of the West EP is available now at Chase Bliss Records.

vu () ♥ myspace.com/ghosttownsofthewest

Trash Can Sinatras at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

Setlist from Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

Before we get started, I'd like to point out that I've been going to the Cedar Cultural Center for shows for a long time, well, at least when it was re-opened for music. It was mainly a World Music venue, and even when you look at the name, there was a sense of class and direction. It's good that the Cedar started booking more indie bands, which I'm started to see more and more play at the venue. Almost every artists I've talked to mentioned how amazing the place is, mostly because they are not used to playing in such a nice (and clean) room. If you think about it, most traditional music venues are basically dive bars converted to have a stage for bands.

In contrast to the Dodos' audience a few nights ago, this was a much older crowd. The Twilight Hours were the support act, a full band, but it seems mostly two main guys, John Munson and Matt Wilson*. When not playing songs about telephones ("Telephones") and, er, more telephones ("Call Me"), the two guys does amateur standup (Matt Wilson plays the straightman). Highlight of the night seems to be during "Sound Waves", Munson, the one "with the 'stache", started doing an interpretive dance and saying how we should feel the waves.

Going on stage fairly early, about close to ten, Trash Can Sinatras came on stage, a little nervous, but quite pleased just the same. They pretty much stuck to the setlist (see photo), with two notably great performances for "I Hung my Harp Upon the Willows" and "People" - both actually from the album, In the Music. Sure, we got huge cheers for "Weightlifting" and "Hayfever", but I thought the new songs sounded better live.

The highlight of the night was when lead singer Francis Reader brought out the iPad, leading John Douglas to joke about checking his emails. It's interesting, it's the first time I've seen a band utilizing the iPad as a music instrument, usually I see laptops used to play back loops and sounds that can't be produced by traditional instruments - but never playing the actual notes from a device. Speaking of different, there was a point when they asked for a trombone player to come on stage. That seemed really random (they basically sent out an email earlier asking for help).

Not on the setlist were the three songs for the encore, they were "How Can I Apply", "Howling" and "The Therapist".

Trash Can Sinatras at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

* Trivia: Matt Wilson is Dan Wilson's brother. If you don't know who Dan Wilson is, he's the singer/songwriter of "Closing Time", a major hit for the band Semisonic, in the late 90s. Wilson also penned, in my opinion, the best song that Carrie Rodriguez ever sang.

vu () ♥ trashcansinatras.com ♥ thetwilighthours.com

W♥M106: Trash Can Sinatras

W♥M106 (17min: archive )

Part of the Cover Lover series: this week is Dan's choice: Trash Can Sinatras' "Senses Working Overtime".

Originally released in 1982 by XTC, this number was a staple on US Alternative Radio for a time. The Trash Can Sinatras recorded a cover version, and, I suppose, someone at Go! Discs thought it was a good idea to release it as an A-Side single. So a white-label 12" promo of this single (backed by "For the Meantime") was released in 1990. The 12" is quite rare, but you can find the song on their On A B Road compilation, released in 2004 by Bobame Recordings.

Off topic, but did you know Mandy Moore also covered "Senses Working Overtime"?

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on mypodcast.com

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

Soundcheck: Trash Can Sinatras at Cedar Cultural Center

Mobile update:

Trash Can Sinatras at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (03/26/11)

dan ♥ trashcansinatras.com

Chapel Club at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (03/24/11)

Setlist from 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (03/24/11) Chapel Club: The Shore

I've already prepped you on Chapel Club's last night in the USA before heading back to the UK. And they went out with a bang, quite happy to see a huge audience attendance*.

Opening up for them were two local bands, The Sextons, who jokingly should've been called Sextons Club, on account that the other band on the bill was Hunting Club. The later band, I could have sworn I have seen them play elsewhere, but with a different lead singer.

Anyway, I didn't know much about Chapel Club, but seeing as it was an essentially free show, I thought I'd check them out. They did remind me of Joy Division, but to be fair, I'm not the only one that noticed this (although drummer Rich Mitchell said that they were going for a Mercury Rev-sort of sound).

Singer Lewis Bowman has a shaved head and it sort of remind me of the guy from Coldplay a bit. He also looked like he's been on the road for a long time, you know that worn/tired look - but despite all that, he was absolutely delighted to be on stage. He seems in really good spirit last night, drinking his gigantic bottle of Corona.

I wasn't too familiar with their songs, but I did thought that the third song, "Fine Light", was the best one. Also, as you can see from the setlist, they ended their show with "The Shore", a song that's available as a free download on their website.

Lewis Bowman from Chapel Club, at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (03/24/11)

* The show was only $2, so I reckon a lot of people came out last night when they would've have otherwise.

vu () ♥ www.chapelclub.com ♥ myspace.com/chapelclub

This week's cheap shows

If you keep running into me at shows, it's because I've officially started going out at night (yes, the last of the snow went away yesterday!). Been having a blast running into other fellow concert-goers, so that's always a delight.

So just a quickie update, but these are some of the shows I'll be attending this week - along with their full tour schedule if they're on a national tour.

CHAPEL CLUB
www.chapelclub.com

If you have $18, go see Kaki King with Washington (just found put the show is cancelled due to illness). But if you're on the poorer side, for $2, it's a bit of a bargain to see Chapel Club at 7th Street Entry, TONIGHT.

Really such a bargain steal! This British alternative rock band is currently signed to Interscope Records, with a debut album called Palace that was just released in January.

I can't believe that this band sold-out venues in London, but only doing tiny gigs here for pennies. Unbelievable.

03/24/11 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis 04/01/11 Ancienne Belgique Brussels, Belgium 04/02/11 Rotown Rotterdam, GB Netherlands 04/04/11 59:1 Munich, Germany 04/05/11 Flex Vienna, Austria 04/07/11 Magnolia Milan, MI Italy 04/08/11 Moon Club Venice, Italy 04/09/11 Circolo degli Artisti Rome, Italy 04/11/11 Abart Zurich, Switzerland 04/12/11 Wekstatt Cologne, Germany 04/13/11 Lido Berlin, Germany 04/15/11 Strand Club Stockholm, Sweden		04/16/11 Blaa Oslo, Norway 04/18/11 Mejeriet Lund, Sweden 04/19/11 Logo Hamburg, Germany 04/20/11 Paradiso Amsterdam, Netherlands 04/21/11 Point FMR Paris, France 05/04/11 Teatro Lara Madrid, - Spain 05/05/11 Ollerias Cultural Theatre Malaga, - Spain 05/06/11 Festival Du Norte Pontevedra, - Spain 05/19/11 O2 Academy Brixton, London 05/20/11 O2 Academy Brixton, London 05/21/11 O2 Academy Brixton, London 10/18/11 O2 Shepherds Bush, London

GHOST TOWNS OF THE WEST
facebook.com/ghosttownsofthewest

This is on my to-do review pile, their debut self-titled EP, out on Chase Bliss Records. The EP features six songs produced by Ed Ackerson... and I don't need to give you the history lesson of how I saw Ackerson's band, Polara, in 1995 at the Whiskey a Go-Go in Los Angeles. So, yeah, they have a special place in my heart.

Ghost Towns of the West was recorded last December at Flowers Studio, and their CD release party is this Saturday, March 26^th at the Fine Line Cafe. Also on the bill is Sexy Delicious, Chiefs of the North, and Red Daughters. All for $6! Cheap!

03/26/11 Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis, MN

BRASS BED
myspace.com/brassbed

This was a bit of a surprise, because Brass Bed and Poison Control Center are both stopping by Minneapolis at the Honey venue. I've never been there before, but I was told by fellow concert-goers that it used to be called "The Times". I also couldn't find out what the cover charges were, their website is a bit cryptic. I'm assuming it's less than $6, plus their food menu looks cheap too.

What's funny to note is that I've interviewed both bands: W♥M026: Soft Targets, Brass Bed, and France Gall and W♥M079: The Poison Control Center, so I'm looking forward to seeing them.

I am assuming most of Brass Bed's new live material will be off of their new record, Melt White, out now on Park The Van Records.

Upcoming performances:

03.24.11 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar 03.25.11 - Des Moines, IA @ Drake Univeristy 03.26.11 - Omaha, NE @ O'Leaver's Pub 03.27.11 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Phoenix Lounge 03.28.11 - Aberdeen, SD @ Red Rooster 03.29.11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Honey 03.30.11 - Rock Island, IL @ Daytrotter 03.31.11 - Dubuque, IA @ the Lift 04.01.11 - Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival		04.02.11 - Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival 04.03.11 - Madison, WI @ The Frequency 04.04.11 - Chicago, IL @ Pancho's 04.05.11 - Bloomington, IN @ the Bishop 04.06.11 - Champaign, IL @ Mike 'n Molly's 04.07.11 - St. Louis, MO @ Firebird 04.08.11 - Memphis, TN @ Young Ave Deli 04.29.11 - Lafayette, LA @ Festival International 04.29.11 - Lafayette, LA @ Artmosphere

vu () ♥ www.weheartmusic.com