W♥M (Archive)

Momus at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/99)

Read More 400 Bar We are always made welcomed whenever we stop by the 400 Bar, so here are some upcoming shows. .....

If you live in Minneapolis, you might have already heard that the 400 Bar is closing its doors after seventeen years of operation. They are currently auctioning off memorabilia from the venue via ebay.com. Round one started today (12/29).

Anyway, I moved here in the summer of 1999, and one of the first shows I saw in Minneapolis was Nick Currie, aka Momus, at the 400 Bar. I can remember clearly, I had printed Yahoo Maps direction and memorized the cross streets. Then I also looked up photo references. When I drove there, I saw a man with an eye patch walking down Cedar, and I knew I had found the right place.

Momus was on tour with Kahimi Karie with Toog, and they stopped by the 400 Bar on November 18th, 1999. All three "bands" setups were pretty minimalistic, as I believe they played all their own instruments with the help of electronic devices.

I took my friend Carrie along, and I don't think she liked Momus at all. Anyway, I didn't regret that my very first 400 Bar show was for Momus. Since then, I've seen a ton of shows at the 400 Bar. I'm going to miss them. I hope they re-open soon… and if they do, you know I'll be there opening day, rain or snow.

PS, I don't have any photos or setlist from Momus' show, but I am assuming they were from Stars Forever, which is one of my favorite Momus album. Here is a photograph of Momus at the Walker Art in Minneapolis on the day of the show… obviously impersonating David Byrne. Photo courtesy of imomus.com.

Momus at Walker Art, Minneapolis (11/18/99)

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Kelly Hogan

Tour Dates 01/24/13 St. Paul, MN Turf Club 01/25/13 Evanston, IL Space 01/26/13 Milwaukee, WI Cactus Club 01/27/13 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon 02/01/13 Chicago, IL Green Mill

The gorgeous, versatile pipes of alt-country singer/songwriter Kelly Hogan will be heating up the Turf Club on Thursday, January 24th. She is best known as Neko Case’s vocal soultwin, having supplied backup vocals on several of Case’s solo records (the first being a 2001 EP entitled Canadian Amp) and on joining Case on tour (if you haven’t seen them together live, make it a priority! The two of them are like a modern-day Abbott and Costello only a little more vulgar and with better voices, of course.)

But Hogan has a fairly extensive musical background dabbling in jazz and rock as well as country. She started with a stint in an early 90s jazzy Atlanta band called the Jody Grind that was cut short following the tragic death of two members and moved on to art-rock quartet Rock*A*Teens in 1996. Hogan has released four solo albums since that time, collaborating with Andrew Bird and Edith Frost on her own records and lending her talents to bands like Drive-By-Truckers, The Mekon’s Jon Langford, The Waco Brothers and, more recently, Jakob Dylan’s solo 2010 effort Women and Country and Mavis Staples’ You Are Not Alone.

In June, Hogan released I Like to Keep Myself in Pain, a fantastic collection of bittersweet songs written by friends and collaborators (M. Ward, Vic Chestnutt and Robyn Hitchcock, to name a few) and a sole Hogan tune called “Golden” which she wrote for Case, when her friend was struggling to become a successful singer. The album has made quite a splash in the music world, showing up on a number of critics’ top ten lists for the year (including my two favorite critics Jim Derogatis and Greg Kott of WBEZ’s Sound Opinions.) Hogan has been touring off and on since November hitting various cities in the midwest and east coast in support of the album. The killer combination of heavenly voice and sharp and playful stage presence should make for a wildly wonderful and engaging show at one of my favorite St. Paul venues, the cozy Turf Club.

emily () ♥ kellyhogan.com

Minneapolis: Prissy Clerks, Night Moves, Lucy Michelle, and Duck Duck Punch

Read More Prissy Clerks Support band was Prissy Clerks. You might remember that they were previously called Total Babe. .....

PRISSY CLERKS
facebook.com/prissyclerks

I'm pretty certain if you went to see a local Minneapolis concert this year, chances are you probably saw Prissy Clerks. I've previously mentioned them before, particularly when they were known as Total Babe (a band that featured Howler Jordan Gatesmith).

Well, Prissy Clerks just released their debut album, Bruised or Be Bruised, which Prefix Magazine described them as sounding like "Pavement and Sebadoh" while NME said they sounded like Smashing Pumpkins (circa Siamese Dream-era). So certainly, if you're into 90's alt-rock, Prissy Clerks should be on your radar.

I am told the band will likely tour in support of their album, in the meantime, you can listen to the title track on Soundcloud.com:

NIGHT MOVES
nightmovesmpls.com

Ellie wrote that when she saw Night Moves, she was amazed by their performance.

Night Moves is still on tour (in January) in support of their Colored Emotions album. Check them out and find out why Minneapolis City Pages named Night Moves "Best New Band."

Jan 16 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
Jan 17 Cleveland, OH - Happy Dog
Jan 18 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
Jan 19 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
Jan 20 Allston, MA - Great Scott
Jan 22 Pittsburgh, PA - Shadow Lounge
Jan 23 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick Lounge
Jan 24 Madison, WI - FRZN Fest
Jan 26 Minneapolis, MN - Icehouse

LUCY MICHELLE & THE VELVET LAPELLES
lapelles.com

Minneapolis-based Lucy Michelle & The Velvet Lapelles recently performed a session for Daytrotter. Personally, when Daytrotter switched to a "you have to sign in" to download, I haven't used them since.

Sean Moeller of Daytrotter writes, "These songs, while strong and backboned, come off sometimes as delicious whimpers, the people singing them willing to take any scraps that might come their ways…."

Four of the five songs played live were taken from their latest album, Heat, which was released earlier this year.

DUCK DUCK PUNCH
duckduckpunch.com

Technically these guys are based out of Duluth… it's close enough. Duck Duck Punch described themselves as How to Destroy Angels and A-Ha.

Look for their debut album, Human Chemistry, on January 15th, 2013. Check out their song, "RGB", on Soundcloud:



CD release parties at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (01/16) and Red Star Lounge, Duluth (01/25).

BRIEFLY:

THE ERICKSONS wordpress.com The Ericksons' second single is called "Where Do You Dwell" and you can download it for free at Bandcamp. I think the song is taken from their forthcoming album The Wild. The band is having a CD-release party this January 17th, 2013, at the Cedar Cultural Center.

LIVE LETTERS liveletters.net This isn't a band, but a company that books "private loft" concerts in the Whittier neighborhood in Minneapolis. In other words, it's a private resident. I reckon the shows has to be acoustic otherwise the neighbors would complain. Their upcoming shows: 01/10/13 - John Mark Nelson 01/24/13 - Various: hosted by Jonathan Sunde

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Ash

Read More Ash Of course, being a fan of of all-things-Britpop, I do love Ash. They were a little band out of Northern Ireland, who were big Star Wars nerds and wrote power rock/pop songs about Kung Fu movies and cute love songs like "Girl From Mars". .....

To this day, I think Ash's 1977 is one of the best album I've ever listened to. It's like every song on the album is a standalone single. I think they tried that formula with their A-Z singles/compilation album that was released officially in the U.S. last November 6th, 2012, on Noyes Records. I have listened to A-Z, and as much as I love Ash, circa 1996, I found A-Z's 26-song epic album a little too much to absorb. If you haven't heard A-Z, check out the free song "Return of the White Rabbit" at Rollingstone.com.

Ticketstub to Saves the Day and Ash at The Quest, Minneapolis (10/27/02)

I've seen Ash a few times, but definitely my favorite was seeing the band support Saves the Day. I spent the majority of Saves the Day's set actually hanging out with Ash. They were signing for Free All Angels, which I already own the UK release. I bought the album again (although it was the U.S. version with a bonus DVD) to have something for them to sign. See scan below of all the autographs, including Charlotte Hatherley!

A few years ago, I guess Ash went back to basic and kicked out Hatherley, but she's actually continued on as part of Bat for Lashes's touring band. She's currently on tour with them:

01/26/13 Singapore, Singapore Gardens By The Bay
01/28/13 Auckland, New Zealand Silo Park
01/30/13 Newtown, Australia Enmore Theatre
02/01/13 Brisbane, Australia Alexandria Street
02/02/13 Sydney, Australia St. Jerome's Laneway Festival Grounds
02/03/13 Melbourne, Australia St. Jerome's Laneway Festival Grounds
02/05/13 St. Kilda, Australia Palais Theatre
02/08/13 Adelaide, Australia St. Jerome's Laneway Festival Grounds
02/09/13 Perth, Australia Cultural Centre

Something Big

Also, Hatherley is part of the collective, Sylver Tongue (with Al Spx of Cold Specks), which I previously mentioned. Her EP, Something Big came out on Dancing Coins on November 6.

Check out the title song on Soundcloud:

Ash autographs at The Quest, Minneapolis (10/27/02)

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Art Brut: Moving to L.A.

Art Brut: Moving to L.A. Read More Art Brut Having already seen Art Brut last year, I already knew what to expect from the rambling Eddie. What I had forgotten was how incredible entertaining and funny Art Brut are. .....

There's no doubt about it. Moving sucks. It sucks even harder for me because I'm such a packrat with my million of DVDs and CDs and various collections.

I probably won't have internet until I sort out things with Comcast (but seriously considering other options if they're available).

Here's a song about moving: "Moving to L.A." by Art Brut. It's a pretty funny song about Eddie wanting to move to Los Angeles. Lyrics are quite simple with the "I'm considering moving to L.A." repeated over and over. At the end, he mentioned drinking a "Henessey with Morrissey". I had a bit of a laugh at that. If you didn't know, Morrissey moved to Los Angeles a long time ago (although he may have moved to Italy by now?)

When I get off the plane
The first thing I'm gonna do is
Strip naked to the waist
And ride my Harley Davidson
Up and down Sunset Street
I may even get a tattoo
My problems are never gonna find me
I'm not sending one letter
or even a postcard back
I'm drinking Henessey
With Morrissey
On a beach
Out of reach
Somewhere very far away

I'm considering a move to LA

Anyway, I really love Art Brut. I saw them twice, Triple Rock Social, Minneapolis (11/09/09) and Mod Club, Toronto (06/17/11). The two shows are like night and day - clearly the better of the show was at NXNE.

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Paloma Faith: Fall to Grace

Read More Amy Winehouse Police issued this statement, but does not name Winehouse: "On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene. . .....

PALOMA FAITH
palomafaith.com

I got a chance to listen to Paloma Faith's sophomore album, Fall to Grace, today. I really like it, her voice reminds me of Taylor Dayne or Duffy. She has a soulful voice that people can't get enough of (see Adele, Amy Winehouse, or Emeli Sande for example). As of this writing, Fall to Grace was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

I thought the title was pretty clever/funny. It's in reference to Lucifer falling from grace, but also a line taken from her song "Agony."

Generally the album is quite pop with some soul. My personal favorite is "Blood, Sweat & Tears", which has a bit of a pop song intro. The two singles ("Picking Up the Pieces" and "30 Minute Love Affair") have similar love/lost themes that comes across in many of her songs.

The review copy I received did not include the bonus INXS cover "Never Tear Us Apart", which kind of annoyed me because that song is also included on the US and reissue of Fall To Grace. You can watch the official music video for "Never Tear Us Apart" on YouTube.

As far as I know, she only did a tiny promotional tour in September with a David Letterman and a few local New York dates in December. This is what her tour itinerary looks like in 2013:

01/21/13 Dublin, Ireland Vicar Street 01/23/13 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo Manchester 01/24/13 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo Manchester 01/25/13 Nottingham, UK Royal Concert Hall 01/27/13 Leeds, UK O2 Academy Leeds 01/28/13 Glasgow, UK O2 Academy Glasgow 01/31/13 Newcastle, UK O2 Academy Newcastle 02/01/13 York, UK York Barbican 02/02/13 Wolverhampton, UK Civic Hall 02/04/13 Brighton, UK The Brighton Centre

02/05/13 Portsmouth, UK Portsmouth Guildhall 02/07/13 London, UK HMV Hammersmith Apollo 02/08/13 Southend-On-Sea, UK Cliffs Pavilion 02/09/13 Cardiff, UK Motorpoint Arena Cardiff 02/11/13 Sheffield, UK O2 Academy Sheffield 02/12/13 Leicester, UK De Montfort Hall 02/13/13 Blackpool, UK Opera House 02/15/13 Plymouth, UK Plymouth Pavilions 02/16/13 Reading, UK The Hexagon 02/17/13 Cambridge, UK Cambridge Corn Exchange

BRIEFLY, IN OTHER ANGEL/SAINTS/HEAVENLY NEWS:

HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS howtodestroyangels.com Have you heard of How to Destroy Angels? This is the new Trent Reznor project, teaming up with Mariqueen Maandig, Atticus Ross, and Rob Sheridan. Their debut EP is called An Omen and was released November 13th on Columbia Records. You can watch "Keep It Together" on vimeo.com.

FIRES firesmusic.com Angels in the Dark is the debut EP from the Fires, consisting of brothers Danny and Ryan Nicoletto. Their biography lists a 90s influence (Butthole Surfers, Urge Overkill), so if you're into that alt-rock sound, you definitely need to check out this Chicago duo.

POPSTRANGERS facebook.com Popstrangers' debut full-length, Antipodes, comes out February 26th on Carpark Records. The New Zealand band recently unveiled their music video for "Heaven", directed by Luke McPake, at YouTube (via Spin.com). You can listen to the audio at Soundcloud. Antipodes Track Listing: 1. Jane 2. In Some Ways 3. Witches Hand 4. What Else Could They Do 5. Cat's Eyes 6. Full Fat 7. Heaven 8. Roy Brown 9. 404 10. Occasion

HOTEL CAROLINA welcometothehotelcarolina.com Hotel Carolina is a singer/songwriter weekend music festival, taking place on February 1-2, 2013, at the Postcard Inn in St Pete Beach, Florida (note: not in North or South Carolina). The lineup looks really good, we've covered a few of these artists before: Brendan James Matt Duke Griffin House Michael Tolcher Ari Hest Garrison Starr Sarah Miles Bracher Brown Ken Yates Jacob Jeffries

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

Lianne La Havas

Tour Dates 01/19/13 Sydney, Australia Sydney Festival Grounds 01/22/13 Sydney, Australia Sydney Festival Grounds 01/23/13 Sydney, Australia Sydney Festival Grounds 01/24/13 Brisbane, Australia The Zoo 01/25/13 Richmond, Australia Corner Hotel 02/28/13 Cambridge, UK The Junction 03/01/13 Liverpool, UK O2 Academy 03/03/13 Dublin, Ireland Olympia Theatre 03/07/13 Leeds, UK Stylus 03/08/13 Birmingham, UK The Institute 03/10/13 Manchester, UK The Ritz 03/11/13 London, UK O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 03/12/13 London, UK O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 03/17/13 Dallas, TX House Of Blues 03/20/13 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre 03/22/13 San Francisco, CA Great American Music 03/24/13 Seattle, WA The Crocodile 03/25/13 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge 03/26/13 Vancouver, BC Rio Theatre 03/29/13 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre 03/31/13 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater 04/01/13 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall 04/02/13 Ferndale, MI The Magic Bag 04/04/13 Toronto, ON Opera House Concert Venue 04/05/13 Montreal, QC Corona Theatre 04/06/13 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair 04/07/13 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live 04/09/13 New York, NY Webster Hall 04/12/13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 04/13/13 Atlanta, GA The Loft At Center Stage

This is a follow-up to W♥M #166: Winter Shows.

As I have said time and time again: I just don't go out in the winter because of the snow. There are some exceptions (especially if the band is from the UK).

Craig is making my decision to stay indoors even harder by offering his insight on British bands coming to Minneapolis:

Bunch of great upcoming shows announced last week here for Minneapolis - the sleeper of the bunch for my taste is Lianne La Havas at The Varsity Theater on March 31st (Easter). She is from London, 23 years old and is going to be huge. Check her out, hopefully that is past your winter hibernation so you can make it.

Two more UK Mercury Award nominees announced last week will also be soon playing Minneapolis. - The Maccabees and Django Django (DD sounds like a mix of The Beta Band and the Beach Boys).

January and February are shaping up to be decent concert months; I'm planning on making these shows:

Niki and The Dove (Swe) Jan. 19th
Keanne (UK) Jan. 21st
Emili Sande (UK) Jan 23rd
The Maccabees (UK) Feb 8th
The Vaccines (UK) Feb 9th

Opening up for La Havas in the U.S. is Jamie N Commons, a guy that Lara absolutely is in love with.

Commons just recently played with The Maccabees (November 23rd) at the Mencap Music's Little Noise Session. The live series is curated by Mencap ambassador and BBC Radio 2 DJ, Jo Whiley.

As for most of the UK dates, Josh Kumra is slated for support. Kumra is described as "a gutsy and heartfelt performer and songwriter" with a similar sound to a young Ray LaMontagne or Ben Harper.

Josh Kumra's new single is called Waiting For You and will be out on January 6th, via RCA Victor. Details of his tour dates below:

24/11 Effenaar, Eindhoven 27/11 Bi Nu, Berlin 28/11 Stadtgarten, Cologne 29/11 Zoon, Frankfurt 01/12 Kaufleuten, Zurich 02/12 Ampere, Munich 03/12 Gruenspan, Hamburg 04/12 Vega, Copenhagen 06/12 Den Atelier, Luxembourg 09/12 Vrandenburg, Utrecht

27/2 The Louisiana, Bristol – HEADLINE 28/2 The Junction, Cambridge 01/3 02 Academy, Liverpool 02/3 Queens Hall, Edinburgh 04/3 ABC, Glasgow 05/3 Deaf Institute, Manchester – HEADLINE 06/3 The Borderline, London – HEADLINE All dates are Lianne La Havas support, unless where noted 'headline'

craig + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ liannelahavas.com

The Auteurs

The Auteurs: Lenny Valentino Read More The Auteurs Luke Haines… I met and interview him during The Auteurs' "Now I'm a Cowboy" tour and have been following his career ever since. .....

For some reason, The Auteurs were never really associated with Britpop, at least not in the same ways when you mention Blur or Oasis or Elastica. The Auteurs seemed to not want anything to do with that short-lived movement, maybe it's because singer/songwriter Luke Haines wanted the band to have a serious tone.

I first heard the Auteurs when MTV's 120 Minutes played "Show Girl" in 1993. I loved it, who could forget that opening line, "I took a show girl for a bride/Thought my life would be right/Took her bowling, got her high." At this time, I was working at the KFSR radio station and would play songs from their debut album, New Wave.

Luke Haines would progressively get darker and darker by the third album, After Murder Park. It was such a dark direction, that he even re-formed into a different "terrorist" band called Baader Meinhof. I eventually tracked down their final album, How I Learned to Love the Bootboys, which was harder to come by because it was never officially released in the U.S.

Anyway, Mel and I got to meet & interview Luke Haines on July 15, 1994, at Slim's in San Francisco. It was during soundcheck and we recorded an interview for KFSR. I got Luke and his then-girlfriend, Alice Readman, to sign my New Wave and Now I'm a Cowboy CDs, but I couldn't find the other guys in the band. I probably didn't try too hard because, let's be honest, I didn't know who they were. Haines noted that New Wave on the Caroline Record (this was the domestic release), was quite rare. He reckoned under a 1,000 were pressed for the U.S. market because the label didn't believe the Auteurs had a presence in the States.

The Slim's show was part of the Auteurs' Now I'm a Cowboy U.S. tour (which I'm pretty certain was one of their very few live appearance - apparently Haines hated the stress of touring that he crippled himself to avoid touring for After Murder Park). As far as I know, this was The Auteurs' only U.S. tour.

As for the Slim's show, I barely remember it, in fact, I didn't even know that The Rosemarys and Slide opened up (this is according to the flyer that I've saved all this time). Perhaps we only showed up when The Auteurs came on to the very small stage. I know they did "Show Girl" (of course), and "Lenny Valentino." I remembered that the turn out wasn't so good (according to the San Francisco Chronicle, "the band played to half a house"), but it didn't matter because it was such a nice, intimate setting to see The Auteurs.

Now I'm a Cowboy album autographed by Luke Haines and Alice Readman at Slim's, San Francisco (07/15/94)

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Ghosts II

Read More Yellow Ostrich The title of Yellow Ostrich’s just-released album is pretty apt. Alex Schaaf knows a thing or two about trekking through unfamiliar terrain, as a Midwest transplant in New York City and, more importantly .....

YELLOW OSTRICH
yellowostrich.com

Yellow Ostrich just premiered their video for "Ghost" on Stereogum. You can also download the free MP3 of "Ghost" at yellowostrich.com.



"Ghost" is the title track from the band's recent 6-track EP. The video directed by the band and Frank Larson, premiered via Stereogum, who described it as "focus[ing] tight on bandleader Alex Schaaf, alternating between the singer delivering his lament in present-day and fuzzy old VHS footage capturing happier bygone times."

Trivia: The cover artwork of Ghost is an original painting by New York-based artist Graham Parks over 100 blank record sleeves. You can own a piece of the original artwork by purchasing the 100 one-of-a-kind limited edition. That sounds really cool, but I could not find any details about pricing or if it's even available for purchase. It just sounds really expensive, but incredibly awesome to own.

MATT POND
mattpondpa.com

We've written about Matt Pond before, I suppose he's dropped the "PA" part of his name for some reason?

His press release explained the reasoning behind the removal of the "PA" section: With the new album, The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand (out February 5th via BMG), to be Matt Pond's first official "solo" release. I'm glad, I honestly hated that PA part.

Update: I have the cover artwork now. February is a way off... In the meantime, you can listen to the lead single, "Love To Get Used" on Soundcloud:



Matt Pond just announced his massive winter tour dates with Jukebox the Ghost. Full details below.

02.06 - Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall 02.07 - Hartford, CT @ Arch Street Tavern 02.08 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall 02.09 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar 02.10 - Charlottesville, VA @ Southern Cafe 02.12 - Cincinnati, OH @ The Taft Theatre 02.13 - Louisville, KY @ Headliner's 02.14 - Columbus, OH@ Wexner Center* 02.15 - St Louis, MO @ Firebird 02.17 - Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge 02.18 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade* 02.19 - Ybor City, FL @ Crowbar 02.20 - Orlando, FL @ The Social 02.22 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues 02.23 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's Jr.

02.24 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues 02.26 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom 02.28 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo 03.03 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios 03.04 - Eugene, OR @ Cozmic 03.05 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile 03.08 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe 03.09 - Chicago, IL @ Metro 03.10 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop 03.11 - Toronto, ONT @ Horseshoe Tavern 03.13 - Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt 03.14 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall 03.15 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 03.16 - Washington, DC @ 930 Club # All dates with Jukebox the Ghost

BRIEFLY:

CAUGHT A GHOST caughtaghost.com Caught a Ghost is basically L.A.-based songwriter and producer Jesse Nolan. When Nolan takes his project live, they become an eight-piece band (including a three-piece horn section). Jesse explained his band's name, "It's an old expression, musicians used to say you caught a ghost if you gave a good performance. Like you were possessed." Look for his debut EP, Nightworks, on February 12, 2013, via +1 Records.

HEATHERED PEARLS facebook.com We've already covered many of Ghostly International's bands (mostly because we like the label), including recently seeing Beacon randomly. Ghost International's latest release is Loyal by Polish-born, Brooklyn-based Heathered Pearls (the moniker of Jakub Alexander.) Pitchfork seems to love him, having calling his track, "Beach Shelter," as "an intuitive knack for burrowing deep into feelings of caution and anxiety then gets out before outstaying its welcome."

VACATIONER vacationermusic.com We've written about randomly seeing Vacationer on tour before. The latest item I have from them is that their song, "Good As New" got a Ghost Beach remix. You can grab the remix for free at Soundcloud: Look for the Good As New Remixes Collection coming soon on Downtown Records.

GROSS GHOST bandcamp.com Gross Ghost is going on tour with their labelmate, Spider Bags. Dates listed: 1.15 Durham, NC - The Pinhook * 1.16 Richmond, VA - Strange Matter * 1.17 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie* 1.18 Brooklyn, NY - Cameo Gallery * 1.19 Baltimore, MD - Golden West 1.30 Raleigh, Nc - King's (without Spider Bags)

TEAM GHOST facebook.com Never heard of Team Ghost? Well, you might have heard of M83, which Nicolas Fromageau was part of, before leaving in 2004 to work on his own project. Team Ghost's album, Rituals will be out March 19th, 2013, in North America. You can check out "Dead Film Star" via Soundcloud.

LONE WOLF iamlonewolf.com Lone Wolf's "Ghosts of Holloway" video recently premiered on Consequence of Sound, describing it as "Leeds artist Lone Wolf is cast as both a disembodied personification of his own conscious and a version of himself up to no good." Lone Wolf (otherwise known as Paul Marshall) just released his album, The Lovers, earlier this November 27th, via It Never Rains.

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

Japandroids at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (12/15/12)

Tour Dates 12/17/12 Winnipeg, MB Pyramid Cabaret 12/18/12 Saskatoon, SK Louis' 12/19/12 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room 12/20/12 Calgary, AB Republik Nightclub 12/22/12 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre 01/26/13 Singapore, Singapore Gardens 01/28/13 Auckland, NZealand Silo Park 02/01/13 Brisbane, Aus Alexandria Street 02/02/13 Sydney, Aus Laneway Festival 02/03/13 Melbourne, Aus Laneway Festival 02/08/13 Adelaide, Aus Laneway Festival 02/09/13 Perth, Aus Cultural Centre 02/18/13 Tokyo, Japan Shibuya WWW 02/19/13 Osaka, Japan Conpass Read More Japandroids Japandroids are still set to play. This Canadian band is incredibly popular in Minneapolis, apparently, selling out both their shows (why not do a 'triple' Triple Rock show?) …

Japandroids returned on their second sold out show at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. They previously sold out the 7th Street Entry earlier this July… so it's a safe bet that Minneapolis loves these Canadians.

BLOODNSTUFF

Opening up was duo Bloodnstuff, who stepped in to replace DIIV. No one is blaming them for skipping out on Minneapolis, especially because they've been a big buzz in the critics' corner and enjoying their national television exposure with their recent David Letterman appearance.

Bloodnstuff was a good replacement, as they previously impressed me with their loud metal sound of guitar and drum.

Like their previous performance, the band was all business and few words, notably singer/guitarist Ed Holmberg would mentioned that they're called Bloodnstuff.

Japandroids started off their set with a big F.U. to Vita.MN, who summed it up in their header, "Japandroids' first night good, not great." I wasn't at Friday's show; all I know is that Saturday's show rocked. HARD. The duo exploded on stage, sweating and bleeding into every epic song as the lights flash and singer/guitarist Brian King bounced all over the stage.

I can understand bursts of high energy for some bands for a few songs, but it seems Japandroids were all high octane throughout their full set. I don't know how they do it, I got tired just watching them!

According to King, they started their "Minneapolis tradition" of stage diving. He repeated the stage dive last night, prior to launching into "Younger Us" (how fitting.)

They mostly did songs from their new album, Celebration Rock, including the opening song, "The Nights of Wine and Roses", but threw in some oldies like "The Boys Are Leaving Town" (which was dedicated to Minneapolis). Yes, the boys are leaving town.

Japandroids are currently on tour in support of Celebration Rock. If you enjoy watching a lively show, you definitely need to catch these guys before they accidentally hurt themselves.

Japandroids at Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (12/15/12)

vu () ♥ japandroids.com ♥ soundcloud.com/bloodnstuff