The xx at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/19/12)

Setlist - Minneapolis (10/19/12) Tour Dates 10/20/12 Chicago, IL - Congress Theater* 10/21/12 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater* 10/23/12 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall 10/24/12 Quebec City - Imperial Du Quebec 10/25/12 Boston, MA - House Of Blues Boston 10/26/12 Bronx, NY - Paradise Theatre 10/28/12 Bronx, NY - Paradise Theatre 10/29/12 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory 10/30/12 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live! 11/13/12 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera * with 2:54 Read More xx Undoubtedly one of the hottest bands is London's The xx. With their sophomore album, Coexist, just released last month, the band proved that they're not some sort of one-hit/one-trick pony. …

London's The xx played to a sold out show at First Avenue in Minneapolis last night, October 19th. The band was last here in Minneapolis in 2010 at the Varsity Theater, but the way they reminisce on stage, it sounded like twenty years ago.

2:54

I'm gutted that this is the second time I missed 2:54. I tried seeing them on June 18th after my Jonathan Coulton show, but they ended their set early (11pm), but thankfully the show was covered by Amy.

I tried seeing them last night again, showing up extra early and standing in line for thirty minutes, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up missing the sisters, Hannah and Colette Thurlow, again. I did technically "see" them in the audience for Widowspeak, who previously toured with 2:54 in June. It was purely coincidental that the two band's paths met in the same building on two very different tours.

The report I got from Erik T who saw 2:54 both times said that, "they've gotten a lot more assured since their Triple Rock show."

2:54 is currently on tour in support of their debut self-titled album, out now on Fat Possum. Check out their cover of Seal's "Killer":

The xx show was a little somber, with flashing lights at the appropriate beats. I was expecting more dancing from the audience, but for the most part, they kept very still. Which is cool, as someone pointed out that it was nice to see people actually listening and watching the show on stage.

I was expecting xx to do more songs from their latest album, Coexist, but if you look over their setlist, less than half (38%) were from the new album. The rest were made up from their debut album.

Before "Reunion," singer/bassist Oliver Sim dedicated their entire set to someone called Sophia, who I can only speculate is a massive xx fan and responsible for much of their success.

Singer/guitarist Romy Madley Croft had some issues with the feedback from her mic, but otherwise, the band sounded great. You can really hear them sing, although I wasn't a big fan of the massive trembling bass (but this probably has much to do with me standing next to the speakers.)

Encore songs were "Tides" and "Stars."

The xx are currently on tour in America in support of their Coexist album, out now via Young Turks/XL Recordings.

The xx at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/19/12)

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