W♥M (Archive)

Ben Folds Five at the Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis (09/29/12)

Tour Dates 09/30/12 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre 10/02/12 Detroit, MI Fillmore Detroit 10/03/12 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre 10/05/12 Buffalo, NY Kleinhans Music Hall 10/06/12 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post 10/07/12 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre 10/09/12 Port Chester, NY Capitol Theatre 10/13/12 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston 10/15/12 Toronto, ON Kool Haus 11/11/12 Werribee, Australia Werribee Park 11/17/12 Sydney, Australia Parramatta Park 11/18/12 Brisbane, Australia Botanic Gardens 11/23/12 Bournemouth, UK O2 Academy 11/24/12 Nottingham, UK Rock City 11/26/12 Dublin, Ireland Vicar Street 11/27/12 Dublin, Ireland Vicar Street 11/29/12 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo 11/30/12 Glasgow, UK O2 Academy Glasgow 12/01/12 Leeds, UK O2 Academy Leeds 12/03/12 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy 12/04/12 London, UK O2 Academy Brixton 12/05/12 London, UK O2 Academy Brixton Read More Ben Folds Five Here’s the big news, Ben Folds Five are officially back in the room! Many people thought this would probably never happen and that when they released their last album “The Unauthorized…

It's been thirteen years since Ben Folds Five set their feet in Minneapolis, and the band was itching to try out songs from their brand new album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, at last night's performance at The Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.

Kate Miller-Heidke

Kate Miller-Heidke, singer/songwriter from Brisbane, Australia, came on stage at exactly 8pm with her husband, Keir Nuttall, who provided acoustic guitars and backing vocals.

The thing about Miller-Heidke is that she has this amazing voice that echos and chirps and vibrates throughout the grand Orpheum Theatre. You don't normally associate this kind of classical sound to pop songs or even rap, yet those were the kind of songs that Miller-Heidke was pulling off on stage.

Of course, judging from the massive positive feedback, the highlight of her set has got to be their cover of Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady." Trust me, you've never heard of a cover like this.

Songs on her set was mostly from her latest album, Nightflight, including "The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child", "Humiliation", and "Beautiful Darling." There was the odd cover, as mentioned above, and the single "Words", from her debut 2007 self-titled album.

My favorite song last night was "Sarah", also from the new album. This song was something that happened to Miller-Heidke, about how she and her best friend, Sarah, going to Livid Festival in 1997 to see Ben Folds Five. Sarah went missing and turned up a few days later with no memory of what happened.

Kate Miller-Heidke is currently on tour with Ben Folds Five, until her Toronto date on October 15th. I am assuming she'll also be playing with Ben Folds when they land in Australia.

Ben Folds Five, as you know, called it quits twelve years ago. Sure, they reformed here and there to do one or two performances, but with this new album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, which just came out September 18th, and this tour, it seems like maybe the band is serious about staying together.

Ben Folds told this great story about their first gig in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry. If you live around here, you know that place is tiny, so I had this vision of their grand piano taking up 90% of the stage. It was the first time the band came to Minneapolis and they had no idea how cold it was. It was snowing, negative 60 degree (at least that's what they said!), and they were moving the piano outside. They had "jackets" on but it was so cold, they ran back inside - leaving the piano in the middle of the street! Lessons learned.

Anyway, I honestly didn't even know about the new album, but it seems like maybe the first half of their setlist last night were from The Sound of the Life of the Mind. My notes said the songs that sounded great live from the new album was "Hold That Thought", "Erase Me", and, of course, the latest single, "Do It Anyway."

Things started to pick up when Ben Folds Five set into their big hit song, "Brick." You would think the crowd would stay standing up for this hit song, but it's really a bummer song and the audience was in complete silence. That's the thing about the Orpheum crowd, sometime they'll stand and sometime they'll sit. It confused Ben Folds, who mentioned it a few times (he didn't know if he should sit or stand at his grand piano!)

All the old songs, which appeared near the end of the set, were clearly crowd favorites, including the sing-along "Song for The Dumped", "Kate", "Best Imitation Of Myself", and the closer, "Army." The former was probably my highlight; Ben Folds even medley in "Eye of the Tiger"!

Encore songs were "Underground" and "One Angry Dwarf & Two Hundred Solemn Faces"

I have to say, I'm not really that knowledgeable with Ben Folds Five, but I was pleasantly surprise that I knew a lot of their songs. I wondered about this, and throughout the years, I must have heard them on the radio, listening to an album once*, hearing other musicians covering Ben Folds, or background music. Whatever the case, they're great songs.

Ben Folds Five is currently on tour in support of his PledgeMusic album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind.

Ben Folds Five at the Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis (09/29/12)

* I often buy albums to try it out and listen (or never listen) to them once and put it away.

vu () ♥ benfolds.com ♥ katemillerheidke.com

Team Genius – Pop Songs, Loud Songs, Whiskey Songs, New York Songs

Team Genius: Seven Years Discography New York Songs (Nov 2012) Whiskey Songs EP (Oct 2012) Loud Songs EP (Oct 2012) Pop Songs EP (Aug 2011) Team Genius (Oct 2008) Hooray EP (Mar 2008) Read More Team Genius I’ve been following this band since their inception more than three years ago, but since they rarely tour and never respond to invitations for chili night at my house…

Brooklyn’s Team Genius have been very busy since our coverage of last year’s CMJ Music Marathon . The band is gearing to release three EPs on Paper Garden Records as well as a full-length LP that drops Nov. 6. Pop Songs, Loud Songs, Whiskey Songs, New York Songs (in that order) chronicles Team Genius’s evolution as both a team and as individuals creating music in arguably the most inspiring—and often emotionally devastating—city in the country. It’s an ambitious feat, but succeeds, largely due to the band’s ease at preserving their trademark infectious hooks and refusal to succumb to emoting for emoting’s sake.

The journey starts with Pop Songs, which we’ll refer to as the “adolescent” stage. Just like young, stupid love, Pop Songs feels nice, if not a bit ephemeral. Drew Hermiller sings about an “eyes closed” kind of amour on “Love and Love Songs,” which anyone over the age of 25 is likely to associate with notebooks filled with terrifying attempts at poetry. Pop Songs is out to have a good time, heart emphatically on display and spirits high (as evidenced by the party anthem “Ronald Reagan’s Cousin”), consequences be damned.

Wooo! You’re in college! Keg stand! Loud Songs starts where Pop Songs ended and amplifies the shit out of it. Reality hasn’t yet made an appearance, last night’s pizza hasn’t yet congealed, it’s not yet physically impossible to party for 24-hours straight and still show up for an 8am class. These are the sweet years. Loud Songs throws your senses into overdrive because that’s generally what happens when you crank up the volume. Consequences be damned. Loud Songs also includes a cover of Plastic Bertrand’s 70s hit “Ça Plane Pour Moi,” which basically translates as “things are going great for me,” an apt theme for a record hell bent on destruction of both scruples and of eardrums.

Remember when you graduated from your liberal arts college with a degree in American Studies and immediately became unemployable? Whiskey Songs opens with the soul-crushing “Seven Years,” a critical semi-rant about getting older and not necessarily wiser: “Seven years in this city, all I learned was how to sound witty / And now I’m tired and I’m old / I’m a cynic, or so I’ve been told.” These are the heavy-drinking years. Whiskey Songs is still a pop album, make no mistake. It’s certainly more unsympathetic than the other EPs; however, as I mentioned earlier, the band has this great flair for never, ever lapsing into paralyzing self-loathing (even when they tackle those uncomfortably familiar topics like when friends start to find you annoying). Also, the album ends on a somewhat optimistic note with “I Wouldn’t Change a Thing,” a simple repetition of that hard-earned, judicious mantra…

…Which brings us to the present: New York Songs. Expect a full review closer to the November release date, but here’s a teaser from the band’s website:

The End Game: This is the story […] The search for something to connect you to everything. […] This about what it takes to get there. The euphoric wins, the colossal failures and all the plodding moments in between. [Team Genius] lived it, and then they made a full length album about it.

Team Genius' three EPs, Pop Songs, Loud Songs, and Whiskey Songs will be available October 2nd. The full length, New York Songs, will be available November 6th, 2012, from Paper Garden Records. For more information on the band, visit their Facebook page. You can stream all four EPs on Bandcamp .

lara () ♥ www.teamgeniusmusic.com

Dirty Three at the Cedar Cultural Center 9/28/2012

Tour Dates 10/01 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret 10/02 Seattle, WA @ Neumos 10/03 Portland, OR @ The Mission Theater 10/04 Portland, OR @ The Mission Theater 10/06 San Francisco, CA @ Hardly Strictly Fest 10/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater Read More Dirty Three An upcoming performance by Australia’s renowned instrumental rock band Dirty Three should have music fans frothing at the mouth with excitement. The band will be touring behind Toward the Low Sun, their first album since 2005…

Violinist Warren Ellis of Dirty Three would like to buy the world a small cup of Starbucks coffee. But it’s not what you think. Really. Ellis took a moment at the beginning of a few songs during the Dirty Three set Friday night to sort of set the tone. But it more or less became an bizarre yet entertaining stream-of-conscious rambling session where polar bears tap-danced in the arctic while you flip through vinyl copies of somebody’s Bon Jovi collection. And the audience was always welcome to participate (and often did) during Ellis’ playful barbs.

Flamboyant and energetic Ellis, along with somber-faced Jim White on drums and stoic Mick Turner on guitar, gave the crowd the sonic feast, songs that stretched and swelled with emotion and with every kick of Ellis’ pointed shoe. Ellis indeed provided humor and dramatics to the show; dressed in what one audience member concluded was an LSD-inspired shirt (Ellis insists the tie-dyed purple and turquoise shirt, buttoned down Tom Jones-style, was the result of throwing up Kool-Aid), the violinist drilled the bow into his instrument, causing stringy bits to rub off and into his considerable salt-and-pepper beard. Sometimes he turned completely facing White, grooving and shaking with the rhythm and other times he crowed and stomped and plucked on his violin toward the crowd so violently you expected the thing to burst into flames. White held his own, deftly creating a unique percussive backdrop all while gazing calmly straight ahead. Turner seemed content off to the side, a fluid stream of guitar adding warmth and color to a canvas already vibrating with intensity.

The band covered a wide range of songs going all the way back to 1996’s Horse Stories (“Hope” and show closer “Sue’s Last Ride”) through my favorite 1998’s Ocean Songs (“Sea Above, Sky Below”) and newer ventures like this year’s Toward the Low Sun (“Rain Song,” “The Pier” and “Sometimes I Forget You’ve Gone”). Coupled with weird touches like Ellis eating two bananas at different parts during the evening and wonderful moments like the band playing the Greek cover “I Remember A Time When Once You Used To Love Me" (also from Horse Stories) for an enthusiastic fan (who yelled for it in Greek!), the evening with Dirty Three turned out to be two things Starbucks is simply not: thrilling and memorable.

Dirty Three at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (09/28/12)

Special thanks to Sheena Dean.

emily () ♥ anchorandhope.com

Imani Coppola: The Glass Wall

Imani Coppola has a unique sound which blends dub-step, electronica/techno, auto-tuney syth-pop, and R&B. This mash up of sounds can be jarring with deep layers of computer loops with beautiful vocals. I can sense the talent behind the vocals but the production covers it with auto-tune that makes it sound like Apple's SIRI is singing.

Her The Glass Wall album sounds great when the atmosphere works like on tracks "Good for You" and "The Kids Are Dangerous." "Alive" is another good track that seems focused with an alternative rock sound. The album's production fails on tracks like "Breaking You In" that uses a loop of a bad 80's guitar riffs that totally feel out of place.

The Glass Wall is in need for someone to edit out the weaker elements of this album. The albums gamut of sounds is another thing that hurts it. There is no cohesion, but there are some great single tracks.

It's really interesting for me as a listener to see great talent with sub-par production. It needs to be tightened up, songs feel almost unfinished. There are bits that pause too long between vocals and some songs either take to long to fade out, or just drop completely with no warning. The album jumps to one sound to another, which means there is something here for everyone.

I will keep an eye out for Imani, because I feel that there is something good here underneath the layers. She just needs better art direction and different production; she can be a great pop act. I had a great time listening to The Glass Wall, uneven at times with it's over-reliance of computer. I feel that I am overly negative about this album, but there is something here, it just need to be redefined.

Imani Coppola's The Glass Wall album is available now at Amazon.com.

jimi ♥ imanicoppola.net

Michael Kiwanuka at the Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (09/28/12)

Read More Michael Kiwanuka Since releasing Michael Kiwanuka's debut album, Home Again, in the US on May 1st, the title track was iTunes Single Of The Week…

If Michael Kiwanuka's concert at the Fine Line Café last night, September 28th, wasn't sold out, it sure felt like it as the place was packed shoulder to shoulder.

Opening up was Yuna, who grew up in Malaysia. I would've love to have seen her, as her influence of Fiona Apple and Cranberries sounded like it would be up my alley - but unfortunately, finding (free) parking in downtown Minneapolis on a party Friday night was a bit of a nightmare.

Bahamas

I did manage to catch Bahamas. Bahamas is basically the stage name for Afie Jurvanen, who may be most famous for being Feist's guitarist and piano player. I really liked them; they had this weird 50s sound to them, complete with two women backup singers. It wasn't all serious (based on his fancy jacket and glamorous ladies), they sometime sing silly songs like "Hockey Teeth."

As you can probably guess, Michael Kiwanuka basically played his entire debut alum Home Again live. At least the songs that translated well live: "I'll Get Along", "Tell Me A Tale", "Worry Walks Beside Me", "Bones", "I'm Getting Ready", "Rest", and "Home Again." He did throw in a Jimi Hendrix cover, "May This Be Love" aka the "Waterfall" song, and a couple of B-Sides and new (or old?) materials.

His touring band included his guitarist (which I thought I heard was named Miles Davis?), keyboardist, bassist, drummer, and percussionist (congos).

Encore was "I Need Your Company," a great song that is only available as a b-side to Tell Me A Tale EP Isle Of Wight Sessions.

Michael Kiwanuka is currently wrapping up his tour in support of the Mercury Prize-nominated album, Home Again. His last stop will be at Boulder, Colorado at the Fox Theatre on Sunday, September 30th.

Michael Kiwanuka at the Fine Line Café, Minneapolis (09/28/12)

vu () ♥ michaelkiwanuka.com ♥ bahamasmusic.net ♥ yunamusic.com

At Mill City Nights: Cat Power, English Beat, and A Fine Frenzy

Read More Cat Power I've recently added a few cover songs to the cover collection, including this one by Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, doing a Hank Williams...

Here are some upcoming shows at the Mill City Nights. This venue originally was called The Brick, which opened up earlier this year to notorious bad press. They quickly changed their name to Mill City Nights to distant their associations to The Brick. Anyway, I went to a recent show there and I'm here to report that securities are still pretty awful - it's like airport security: they pat you down and kick you out of the line if you have what they deemed are liquids, weapons, or lens cameras.

CAT POWER
catpowermusic.com

I love Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power). I saw her about six or seven years ago for her "Greatest" tour, but she seemed to have disappeared since then.

Well Cat Power is back with a brand new studio album called SUN. Comparing and contrasting the new album to her 1998's Moon Pix, Marshall explained that the 1998 album was about "extreme isolation and survival in the crazy struggle", but SUN is the opposite, "confidently into your own future, to personal power and fulfillment."

It sounds like Marshall is no longer the shy, quiet girl and her piano, but more happier and optimistic with her current album. It should be interesting to see how she performs when you see her on tour.

Cat Power is stopping by Minneapolis at Mill City Nights on October 30th. Interestingly enough, the show is co-sponsored by the 400 Bar and The Current 89.3.

10/11/12 Miami, FL Grand Central 10/13/12 Mexico City, Mexico Autodromo 10/18/12 Ithaca, NY State Theatre 10/19/12 Montreal, QC Metropolis 10/20/12 Toronto, ON Kool Haus 10/22/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 10/23/12 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom 10/24/12 Boston, MA House Of Blues 10/25/12 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory 10/27/12 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre 10/28/12 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre 10/29/12 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater 10/30/12 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights 11/02/12 Vancouver, BC The Vogue Theatre

11/03/12 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo 11/04/12 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal 11/06/12 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 11/08/12 Hollywood, CA Hollywood Palladium 11/26/12 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso 11/28/12 Cologne, Germany E-Werk 11/29/12 Berlin, Germany Huxleys Neue Welt 12/01/12 Hamburg, Germany Grosse Freiheit 36 12/02/12 Munich, Germany Theatre Fabrik 12/03/12 Milan, Italy Alcatraz 12/04/12 Bologna, Italy Estragon 12/06/12 Zurich, Switzerland Volkshaus 12/10/12 Paris, France Trianon 12/12/12 London, United Kingdom Roundhouse 12/14/12 Brussels, Belgium AB Club

Read More The Beat Trying to figure out some of the covers on Hamburger, I found The Beat, a band that debut with The Beat in 1979. The band was lead by Paul Collins…

ENGLISH BEAT
facebook.com/theenglishbeat

Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri.

A little information about each band, as you know The Beat was a ska band that started in 1978, but had to change their name in America as The English Beat because of Paul Collin's band The Beat (who pre-dated the English Beat by a year.) You can read about Paul Collin's band here on W♥M.

Anyway, it sounds like the two bands aren't rivals at all, but old friends, as Dave Wakeling, from the English Beat, explained, "Paul and I originally met back in '83 and have been in touch occasionally over the years, but recently we've been in closer FB [Facebook] contact, which led to this idea becoming a reality....Two beats, hearting as one!"

The tour kicks off October 11th. Dates with (*) indicates with support from The Paul Collins Beat.

Sep 28 Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA Sep 29 Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA Oct 05 Romano’s Concert Lounge Riverside, CA Oct 06 The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA Oct 11 The Orange Peel Asheville, NC * Oct 12 The State Theatre Falls Church, VA * Oct 13 The Center for Arts Natick, MA * Oct 14 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA * Oct 16 BB King’s New York, NY * Oct 18 Rapids Theatre Niagara Falls, NY * Oct 19 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON * Oct 20 Hard Rock Café Detroit, MI * Oct 23 SPACE Evanston, IL * Oct 24 Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA * Oct 25 Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA Oct 26 Turner Hall Milwaukee, WI * Oct 27 Mill City Nights Minneapolis, MN *

Oct 30 Knucklehead Tavern Kansas City, MO Oct 31 The Blue Note Columbia, MO Nov 02 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA Nov 03 Vinyl Music Hall Pensacola, FL Nov 09 Hard Rock Café Las Vegas, NV Nov 16 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT Nov 23 Bimbo’s 365 Club San Francisco, CA Nov 24 B Ryder’s Bakersfield, CA Nov 30 SoHo Santa Barbara, CA Dec 01 SLO Brewing Company San Luis Obispo, CA Dec 07 T. Boyle Tavern Pasadena, CA Dec 08 T. Boyle Tavern Pasadena, CA Dec 14 Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA Dec 15 Mystic Theatre Petaluma, CA Dec 22 House of Blues Anaheim, CA Dec 29 Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA Dec 31 The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA

Read More A Fine Frenzy Alison Sudol, the lead singer of A Fine Frenzy, has a voice. She fills the album with a warm and sultry voice. She reminds me of Brandi Carlile.

A FINE FRENZY
afinefrenzy.com

Alison Sudol, aka A Fine Frenzy, will be heading out on a five-week tour, co-headlining with Joshua Radin. The new tour is in support of her forthcoming album, PINES, which I've previously mentioned. The third A Fine Frenzy album hits store on October 16th via Virgin Records, according to Amazon.

It seems that PINES goes beyond just music, as in addition to the album, there's also a companion book and short film.

10/11 Santa Rosa, CA Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
10/12 San Francisco Warfield Theatre
10/13 Newport Beach, Balboa Beach Fest
10/16 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
10/17 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre
10/18 Seattle, WA City Arts Festival
10/20 Edmonton, AB McDougall Church
10/21 Calgary, AB Knox United Church
10/23 Winnipeg, MB Garrick Center
10/25 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
10/26 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
10/27 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre
10/29 New York, NY Best Buy Theater
10/30 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
11/01 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Fall
11/02 Montreal, QC Corona Theatre
11/03 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
11/05 Charlottesville, VA Paramount Theatre
11/07 Durham, NC Carolina Theatre
11/08 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre
11/09 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
11/10 Birmingham, AL Workplay Soundstage
11/12 Houston, TX House of Blues
11/13 Austin, TX Paramount Theatre
11/14 Dallas, TX House of Blues
11/16 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Mission of Burma at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (09/27/12)

Read More Mission of Burma Mission of Burma is post-punk band from Boston. They took their name from a plaque on the New York City diplomatic building…

Boston's Mission of Burma stopped by the 400 Bar in Minneapolis last night, September 27, as part of their North American tour.

For a 21+ show on a Thursday, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people making out to the show. I talked to a fan in the audience and he had this to say regarding the 400 Bar shows, "It's either surprisingly empty or unexpectedly full!" Thankfully, it was the latter last night.

So, here's the thing about Mission of Burma that you should know: they are loud. I don't think I'll offend anyone, but these guys are old, but they're still playing this powerpunk/post-punk and dancing on stage as if they were in their twenties! That's amazing.

The other thing you should know is that everyone in the band does lead vocals. Yes, that means the drummer Peter Prescott gets to sing on a few songs.

If you look at the setlist, it looks like they played a ton of songs, but since their songs are mostly under two minutes, it went by pretty quickly.

Majority of their set were from their last album, Unsound (including "Dust Devil", "What They Tell Me", "This Is Hi-Fi", "7's", and "Sectionals in Mourning"), but obviously they had a lot of songs to go off of, considering that the band's been around since 1979.

Mission of Burma is wrapping up their tour, stopping at High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wisconsin, today (09/28), and their final stop will be at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday (09/29).

Mission of Burma at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (09/27/12)

vu () ♥ missionofburma.com

Ben Howard at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (09/27/12)

Tour Dates 09/29 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater 09/30 Salt Lake City, UT - Depot 10/02 Seattle, WA - Neptune 10/03 Vancouver, BC - Commodore 10/04 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom 10/06 Hollywood, CA - Fonda Theatre 10/07 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern 10/09 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore 10/12 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits 10/13 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits 10/14 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Read More Ben Howard Ben Howard's album Every Kingdom was recently nominated for a Mercury Prize award. He's currently on tour in the US in support of the album.

Judging from the sing-along fans and Ben Howard's sold-out concert at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis last night, I would watch out for this guy to be the next Marcus Mumford.

Apologies to Gill Landry, I didn't realize this was an all-ages early show, but Brody saw him with his band, Old Crow Medicine Show, at SXSW 2012.

Marcus Foster

I did catch Marcus Foster's full set, who was excited to experience Minneapolis for the first time. Foster certainly had some women fans in the audience, as they kept shouting out how beautiful he was. After his first song, "Shadows of the City", he had Jack Standen play keyboard for the remainder of the set. I felt Foster was a good fit for Ben Howard's music style.

Ben Howard, for some reason, I thought it would be just him, but he had a full touring band. I didn't catch all the names, but it looks like all the band members were multi-instrumentalists, swapping out keys for cello for guitar or bass… I got the impression that they probably have their own side project bands.

As you can see from the setlist, they did almost everything from their debut album Every Kingdom… at "all the feisty ones." He threw in a couple of new songs, including "Oats In The Water" and the encore song, "Depth Over Distance", which I think are available on a new EP. For the unknown songs, the audience was pretty quiet and attentive, however whenever Ben Howard did his hit singles ("Old Pine", "The Wolves", "Keep Your Head Up", "Only Love") there was always a huge reaction with foot-stomping, clap-along and singing.

Ben Howard is currently on tour in support of the Mercury Prize-nominated album, Every Kingdom, out now via Universal Republic. See him on tour with his good friends Marcus Foster and Gill Landry.

Ben Howard at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (09/27/12)

vu () ♥ benhowardmusic.co.uk ♥ marcusfostermusic.co.uk

Demetri Martin: Standup Comedian

Preview

Demetri Martin's second appearance for Comedy Central's one-hour stand-up special, "Standup Comedian", filmed at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, will be premiering on Saturday, September 29th at 10pm ET/PT. Comedy Central is making the DVD and CD of Standup Comedian to be available for purchase on October 2nd.

The DVD and CD are extended and uncensored, and interestingly enough, different from each other. Most of the jokes are the same, but some are extended on the CD (like the "Confidence" joke) or vice versa on the DVD (like the "I'm 43" joke.) I understand why they do this, to fit in the limitations of their respective formats. I think it makes sense to take out the more visual jokes, which Martin is known for his witty jokes and visual drawings.

Like most stand-up comics, you do need to see the person telling the joke. Half of the fun is watching him telling the joke as well as visually illustrating the joke with his hands. For example, the coconut soap joke that appears on the CD and DVD. Hearing it audio only is funny, but it is better when you actually see Martin holding his right hand to his noise with a confuse look on his face.

The other thing about the DVD version is that there are bonus jokes from Martin like the audio commentar(ies) and rejected slideshows. The so-called three minute "audio commentary" is pretty funny, but the bonus "commentary on the audio commentary" took the joke even further.

Not to say there is something horribly wrong with the CD, in fact, there are exclusive jokes on the CD. Plus, you can't drive your car and watch the DVD.

For some reason, it seems the audio jokes on the CD are more improv. Notably when he asks someone in the audience what their two middle names were - then started telling jokes about the two names!

If you're a hardcore fan, you'll probably want the big fan package (available direct at $39.99) which comes with DVD, CD, T-Shirt and a signed print. If you only have enough money for one or the other, I would recommend the DVD. But it's really up to you, keep in mind that I personally tend to listen to audio more than sitting down to watch something on television.

Speaking of which, if you have cable, don't miss Demetri Martin's "Standup Comedian" on Comedy Central this Saturday, September 29th. Standup Comedian will be available on DVD and CD on October 2nd.

Demetri Martin

vu () ♥ www.demetrimartin.com

Raveonettes at Triple Rock, Minneapolis (09/26/12)

Tour Dates 09/27/12 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL 09/28/12 The Firebird St Louis, MO 09/29/12 A&R Bar Columbus, OH 09/30/12 Magic Stick Detroit, MI 10/02/12 Phoenix Concert Toronto, ON 10/03/12 Corona Theatre Montreal, QB 10/04/12 Union Transfer Phila, PA 10/05/12 Webster Hall New York, NY 10/06/12 Black Cat Washington, DC 10/07/12 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA 10/08/12 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA 10/11/12 Belly Up Solana Beach, CA 10/12/12 Bimbo's 365 Club San Fran, CA 10/20/12 Aarhus Aarhus, Denmark 10/25/12 Debaser Stockholm, Sweden 10/26/12 Vega Copenhagen, Denmark 10/27/12 Studenterhuset Aalborg 11/28/12 Brudenell Social Club Leeds 11/29/12 Queens Social Club Sheffield 11/30/12 Oran Mor Glasgow 12/01/12 Sound Control Manchester 12/02/12 HMV Institute Birmingham 12/03/12 Village Underground London 12/04/12 Fleece Bristol 12/05/12 Eric's Liverpool 12/07/12 Trabendo Paris, France 12/08/12 Depot Leuven, Belgium 12/09/12 Tivoli De Helling Utrecht 12/11/12 Atomic Café Munich, Ger 12/12/12 Bi Nuu Berlin Ger 12/13/12 Gebaude 9 Cologne, Germany 12/14/12 Am Main Frankfurt, Germany 12/15/12 Salon Iksv Istanbul, Turkey 02/12/12 Arena Vienna Vienna, Austria 02/13/12 A38 Budapest, Hungary 02/14/12 Kino Siska Ljubljana, Slovenia 02/15/12 l'Usine Geneva 02/16/12 Salzhaus Winterhur 02/17/12 Circolo degli Artisti Rome, Italy 02/18/12 Tunnel Sound Station Milan, Italy 02/19/12 Velvet Rimini, Italy 02/21/12 Music Hall Barcelona, Spain 02/22/12 Kafe Antzokia Bilbao, Spain 02/23/12 Sala Arena Madrid, Spain Read More Raveonettes Since we haven't touched on the Raves on W♥M, I'll just quickly talk about their background and sound. The Raveonettes are a rock band from Denmark.

It's been nearly five years since I last saw the Raveonettes. Glad I made it out to see the band in top form at last night's performance at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis.

Melody's Echo Chamber

Opening up was Melody's Echo Chamber, a band from Paris, France. I have to say, I love dreampop and what Melody's Echo Chamber has going for them is singer Melody Prochet's melodic vocals. Sometime the background vocals from their bassist lend themselves to sounding like old-school Lush, so I would throw them in the shoegazing bus as well.

Their brief setlist included everything on their debut self-titled album, which you can hear on NPR.org. Set list in correct order: "Endless Shore", "Mount Hopeless", "You Won't Be Missing That Part of Me", "Bisou Magique", "Some Time Alone, Alone", "Quand Vas Tu Rentrer?", "I Follow You" and ended their set with "Crystallized."

The Raveonettes recently released their new album, Observator (September 11th), on Vice Records, and it's the reason they're on tour.

As you can see from the setlist, most of the songs are from the new album ("Sinking With the Sun", "She Owns the Streets", "The Enemy", "Curse the Night", and "Young and Cold"), but since they did a great job on mixing up the set with previous materials.

Personally the highlight for me was their one-two punch of "Attack of the Ghost Riders" and "Beat City." These songs were my two favorite tracks off of Whip it On, which was the first album I bought from them.

The Danish duo (with touring drummer) is currently on tour in support of Observator.

The Raveonettes at the Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (09/26/12)

vu () ♥ raveonettes.com ♥ facebook.com/MelodysEchoChamber