W♥M (Archive)

Replay America Tour feat. Billy Ocean at Treasure Island, Welch MN (20 Aug 2017)

Setlist Greg Kihn Jeopardy Reunited The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em) Martha Davis Take the L Mission of Mercy Suddenly Last Summer Only the Lonely If Not Now, Then When Mickey Thomas Jane Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now Sara It's Not Over (‘til It's Over) Find Your Way Back We Built This City Taylor Dayne With Every Beat of My Heart / The Best (Bonnie Tyler cover) Don't Rush Me Can't Get Enough of Your Love (Barry White cover)> Prove Your Love Love Will Lead You Back Tell It to My Heart Billy Ocean One of Those Nights Loverboy The Colour of Love No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley and the Wailers cover) Suddenly Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) Billy Ocean Tour Dates 09/09/2017 Worcester, UK Worcestershire County 09/10/2017 Norwich, UK Norfolk Showground Reload 09/22/2017 Maputo, Mozambique Centro Cultural 09/30/2017 Riverside, IA Riverside Casino 10/01/2017 Rosemont, IL Joe's Live 10/25/2017 Lake Buena Vista, FL Disney World 10/26/2017 Lake Buena Vista, FL Disney World 10/28/2017 Gulfport, MS Island View Casino Resort 11/11/2017 Holstebro, Denmark Musikteatret 11/12/2017 Esbjerg, Denmark Musikhuset Esbjerg 11/14/2017 Berlin, Germany Admiralspalast Theater 11/15/2017 Antwerp, Belgium Roma Cultural Center 11/17/2017 Luxembourg, Luxembourg Den Atelier 11/19/2017 Groningen, NL De Oosterpoort 11/20/2017 Utrecht, NL Tivoli Vredenburg 11/21/2017 Tilburg, Netherlands 013 03/17-24/2018 Fort Lauderdale, FL Celebrity Cruises Read More Greg Kihn Band Speaking of 80s, The Greg Kihn Band had two big hits ("The Breakup Song" and "Jeopardy"), which you can probably hear live at one of their show. Oddly enough, he is releasing a novel called Rubber Soul …

Turning back the clock, again—

For the second time in less than a week, the Twin Cities metro played host to an ‘80s throwback music festival, this time the Replay America Tour featuring Billy Ocean made what was to be their final tour stop, at Treasure Island Casino, in nearby Welch, MN. 

In addition to Ocean, the lineup featured the Greg Kihn Band (with Kihn also serving as the night’s MC), Martha Davis (from The Motels), Mickey Thomas and Starship (who were the house band for the first four acts), and Taylor Dayne.  The entertaining tour was a month-long jaunt, supposed to extend a bit longer into minor-league baseball stadiums, but was cut a bit short by summer’s other entertainment competition. 

Like the Retro Futura tour seen earlier in the week, the five acts on this tour played abbreviated sets, mostly playing their best known songs, but occasionally sneaking in something new, if there was a recent record to promote. Things got started with a bang as Greg Kihn emerged for a three-song, seventeen-minute set starting with hit, ‘Jeopardy’ (known as much, or more for Weird Al’s parody version of the song). 

Kihn sounded a bit hoarse compared to his earlier days, but was still within vocal range to pull off the songs, and was still good at inciting the crowd, dressed in his familiar white shirt and dark vest. He and the band are back with the appropriately titled ReKihndled (Riot Records) out in March, and ended his brief set with ‘The Breakup Song’ (written after his second divorce) and the crowd supplying the “Ah-ah-ah’s” after every line.

Next up was another Bay Area native and longtime friend of Kihn, Martha Davis of The Motels, who remains in fine voice and has recently released a band compilation called If Not Now Then When (Sunset Blvd Records) which contains several rare unreleased tracks.  Opening songs ‘Take the L’ and ‘Mission of Mercy’ were relative deep cuts (but great to hear) before the familiar strums of ‘Suddenly Last Summer’ and ‘Only the Lonely’ got people up and swaying , Davis ending with the title cut of the new collection. 

Taylor Dayne made the most of her twenty-five minute set, nicely seguing one song into another, rarely keeping still, and had the venue’s screens showing clips of her vintage music videos up as she sang.  Dressed in a tight black bodysuit, Dayne’s vocal range remains impressive moving effortlessly from the opening of 1989’s ‘With Every Beat of My Heart’ into ‘The Best’, a song originally by Bonnie Tyler, but best known for Tina Turner’s version. 

“We’re gonna go back in time- twenty-eight years!” she exclaimed, launching into ‘Don’t Rush Me’ which led into a Barry White cover, slowing only briefly for the ballad ‘Love Will Lead You Back’ (“this song tells us where we all need to be” she said) before closing with her biggest hit, the 1987 breakthrough ‘Tell It To My Heart’.

“Things are reeeally going to get interesting!” Kihn said, announcing Mickey Thomas and Starship, with the band already gaining respect by backing up all the previous acts (which also made set changes quick and fluid).  Thomas and band started on the rock side, with 1979’s ‘Jane’, with Thomas’ voice slightly down in key from thirty years ago, but still able to hit heights respectable for any sixty-seven year old. 

Guitarist John Roth (Winger, Giant) was especially impressive during their thirty-five minute set, cutting loose several times on the harder songs played, with co-vocalist Stephanie Calvert ably filling in the Grace Slick parts.  Songs like 1981’s ‘Find Your Way Back’ seemed to have more impact, though the crowd was mostly there to hear the pop sheen of tracks from 1985’s Knee Deep in the Hoopla like the ballad ‘Sara’ and the chart-topping (though not critically acclaimed) ‘We Built This City’, which closed their performance.

After the longest set change of the night (which involved a whole new band and staging), Billy Ocean entered for an hour-long headlining set; dressed in a dapper white suit, smiling often, and starting fittingly with ‘One of Those Nights’.  The UK singer (originally from Trinidad) put out a hits compilation of his own last year, Here You Are: The Best of Billy Ocean (Sony UK), and sounded near-identical to how he did some thirty years ago.

With his own band in tow (which included a daughter on background vocals), Ocean seemed genuinely pleased to be playing locally again, something he hasn’t done in decades, and stretched out several songs into more soulful jams or to take advantage of the audience’s willingness to sing along or complete the choruses.  “You gonna sing with me? …Dance with me? (…Mis-behave with me?)” he implored, and the crowd (especially females) shrieked in response. 

‘The Colour of Love’ was extended with sax solo and the crowd singing the chorus back before Ocean went into his Caribbean roots for a Bob Marley cover, then resuming the hits for the remainder of his set.  After someone shouted “I love you!”, he responded back in kind …and asked them to get into his car revving up the hit, ‘Get Outta My Dreams…’

“I want to take you to… the Caribbean!” Ocean said, closing with his biggest hit, 1984’s ‘Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)’ which he slowed down mid-song to thank all the other bands on the tour, and to have the crowd sing and clap along one last time, before ramping things back up for a satisfying conclusion. 

Though the tour was brief, Replay America fulfilled its purpose of taking fans back to seemingly more simple times, with the hit songs they grew up with, and a party-like atmosphere. The chance to see some of these acts might be few and far between, so the opportunity to see them all on the same bill, made for a fun and playful evening.

Greg Kihn

Greg Kihn

Martha Davis

Martha Davis

Mickey Thomas

Mickey Thomas

Taylor Dayne

Taylor Dayne

Taylor Dayne

Billy Ocean Setlist

Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean at Treasure Island, Welch (20 Aug 2017)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minneapolis: September 12 to September 14

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from September 12 to September 14, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Oh Wonder London-based alt-pop Oh Wonder is headlining First Avenue’s mainroom next Friday, June 3rd. The duo (Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West) has already sold out .... Jaymes Young Jaymes Young at Varsity Theater Monday 11/10/14, 7pm $17 Australian Vance Joy (not to be confused with Irishman Foy Vance) is back in ....

OH WONDER
at First Avenue
Tuesday 09/12/2017 (6pm/$27.50)
first-avenue.com

Oh Wonder is kicking off their Ultralife tour at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

We caught the British duo at their first Minneapolis show in June 2016 and noted, “This was Oh Wonder’s first time in Minneapolis, and they were incredibly pleased at the turn out and also the historic nature of the venue (it is often associated with Prince as the venue was used often in the film Purple Rain). Of course, with only one album under their belt, the band basically played their entire album live. Hits like ‘Lose It’ were done early in the set, Unforgotten theme song ‘All We Do’ played mid-set, and saving new single ‘Plans’ for the encore.”

Jaymes Young to open.

Tour dates:

09/12 - First Avenue - Minneapolis
09/13 - Turner Hall Ballroom - Milwaukee
09/15 - The Vic Theatre - Chicago
09/18 - Danforth Music Hall – Toronto
09/19 - Danforth Music Hall – Toronto
09/20 - Danforth Music Hall – Toronto
09/21 - Metropolis - Montreal
09/22 - House of Blues - Boston
09/23 - College Street Music Hall - New Haven
09/26 - Brooklyn Steel - New York
09/27 - Brooklyn Steel - New York
09/29 - The Fillmore - Philadelphia
09/30 - Mr. Small’s Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA
10/02 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
10/04 - The National - Richmond, VA
10/06 - Neighbourhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC
10/07 - Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN
10/08 - Iron City - Birmingham, AL
10/10 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
10/11 - Stubb’s BBQ - Austin, TX
10/13 - Tricky Falls - El Paso, TX
10/14 - The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ
10/15 - Soma - San Diego, CA
10/18 - Shrine Expo Hall - Los Angeles, CA
10/19 - The Fox Theatre - Oakland, CA
10/21 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
10/22 - Moore Theatre - Seattle, WA

Read More X Legendary Los Angeles punk band X (not to be confused with Australian band X or Japanese band X or London band The xx) recently made a semi-rare Minneapolis appearance last night at Mill City Nights. … Skating Polly Grrrl rockers Skating Polly will be in town next Wednesday, March 30th. The duo (Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse) was previously in town in in 2014 with White Fang. … DJ Jake Rudh This is billed as a Transmission (aka DJ Jake Rudh) / BNLX release show, but music fans may want to take note that at nearly midnight, The Ocean Blue is scheduled to appear. …

X
at First Avenue
Wednesday 09/13/2017 (7pm/$25)
first-avenue.com

Los Angeles’ X is on their 40th Anniversary tour. They are proud to mention that all the original band members are on this anniversary tour, including singer Exene Cervenka, bassist/singer John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake.

We previously caught the band in a rare appearance in 2015 and Exene and John earlier this July 2017. Noted, “Another iconic front woman, Exene Cervenka and musical partner from X, John Doe opened the first leg and this show with a short twenty-three minute acoustic set. Half of the iconic punk band came off more like Johnny and June than say, Sid and Nancy, playing a folk-tinged, stripped set that included X classics, and a couple covers.”

Rising punk band Skating Polly is the special guests for all of X’s tour, as we’ve previously mentioned. We caught the sibling band when they headlined the 7th Street Entry in May 2017 and said, “The history of Skating Polly actually started in 2009, when the two step-siblings, Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse were just 9 and 14, respectively. While we were curious about the duo, having written about them last year, the band made a big change in their DIY band in 2017: they added their brother Kurtis Mayo to the lineup.”

DJ Jake Rudh (of Transmission) to play music before and between sets.

Tour dates:

09/06/17 @ Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, NV
09/08/17 @ Complex in Salt Lake City, UT
09/09/17 @ The Summit in Denver, CO
09/11/17 @ The Waiting Room in Omaha, NE
09/13/17 @ First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN
09/14/17 @ Turner Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI
09/16/17 @ El Club in Detroit, MI
09/17/17 @ Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY
09/19/17 @ Port City Music Hall in Portland, ME
09/20/17 @ Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA
09/21/17@ Stage48 in New York, NY
09/22/17@ Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA
09/23/17 @ State Theater in Falls Church, VA
09/25/17 @ Rex Theater in Pittsburgh, PA
09/26/17 @ Kent Stage in Kent, OH
09/27/17 @ Skully’s Music Diner in Columbus, OH

All dates with Skating Polly

Read More The Cribs Wakefield's The Cribs (consisting of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman) are big Smiths fan... so much that they recruited Johnny Marr in their group in 2008 ... Paws The co-headliner is Paws, a Glasgow-based punk band signed to FatCat Records. The trio's latest album is Youth Culture Forever, which came out earlier this year. ...

THE CRIBS
at 7th Street Entry
Thursday 09/14/2017 (7pm/$15)
first-avenue.com

The Cribs has a brand new album called 24-7 Rock Star Sh**, and their first promotional tour date in the U.S.A. starts in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry on Thursday!

We last saw the trio in September 2015 and wrote, “I think it's best summed up by The Cribs' guitarist/vocalist Ryan Jarman as he exclaimed, "Let's rock like it's 2007!" referring to their first St Paul show. The trio, featuring twins Ryan & Gary, and younger brother Ross Jarman, are currently touring in support of their sixth studio album For All My Sisters, which came out last March 2015 via Sonic Blew / Sony RED UK.”

Glasgow’s Paws to open.

Tour dates:

09/07/2017 Festival Number 6 Festival Grounds
09/09/2017 Festival Number 6 Festival Grounds
09/14/2017 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN
09/15/2017 Riot Fest & Carnival (Chicago)
09/16/2017 Third Man Records Detroit, MI
09/18/2017 Lee's Palace Toronto, ON
09/19/2017 Théâtre Fairmount Montreal, QC
09/20/2017 Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, MA
09/21/2017 Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
09/23/2017 U Street Music Hall Washington, DC
09/25/2017 Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC
09/26/2017 The EARL Atlanta, GA
09/29/2017 White Oak Music Hall Houston, TX
09/30/2017 Antone's Austin, TX
10/01/2017 Dada Dallas Dallas, TX
10/03/2017 Lowbrow Palace El Paso, TX
10/05/2017 Valley Bar Phoenix, AZ
10/06/2017 Teragram Ballroom Los Angeles, CA
10/07/2017 Independent San Francisco, CA
10/10/2017 The Cobalt Vancouver, BC
10/11/2017 Chop Suey Seattle, WA
10/12/2017 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR
10/19/2017 Sala Corona Cuauhtémoc, Mexico
10/21/2017 Parque Fundidora @ "Live Out"

Read More Thao & the Get Down Stay Down San Francisco-based band Thao & The Get Down Stay Down got down with us at the Cedar Cultural Center on April 1st and we loved every moment of it. The band is currently …

Other shows in the area:

09/12/2017 Samantha Fish is headlining the Cedar Cultural Center on Tuesday, in support of her new record Chills & Fever. Fish has deep Motown, soul, and R&B influence on her album, as well as edgy rock ‘n roll sound. Ken Valdez to open. 7pm, $15

09/13/2017 Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down is doing a solo show at Cedar Cultural Center on Wednesday. Yowler (also solo) to open. 7pm, $20

09/14/2017 John Mulaney is doing stand-up at the Northrop Auditorium on Thursday. 7pm and 10pm, $25

09/14/2017 Grammy Award winning reggae band Morgan Heritage is headlining the Skyway Theatre on September 14th. 8pm, $20

09/14/2017 Whosah who was previously in town at Cabooze in July 2017 is back, this time headlining the Triple Rock Social Club. Millenium and Halfloves to open. 8pm, $8

09/14/2017 Jake Miller is headlining the Cedar Cultural Center on September 14th. Be sure to show up early to check out New Jersey’s The Stolen. 7pm, $20

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minnesota Fan Fest at Rivercentre, St Paul (19-20 Aug 2017)

Podcast MN Fan Fest 2017 Vu and John recaps MN Fan Fest 2017 at the RiverCentre in St Paul ... MN Fan Fest 2017 Square Egg Entertainment THRILL HALLOWEEN – PHOENIX,AZ Sep 30 – Oct 1st, 2017 Celebrate Halloween with us at Thrill Halloween. Horror, Vintage, Modern, and Fun! thrillhalloween.com PHOENIX FAN FEST Nov 11-12, 2017 Phoenix Fan Fest is a multigenre entertainment and comic book convention held annually in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a two day event (Saturday-Sunday) held during the fall at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix. phoenixfanfest.com PHOENIX COMICON MAY 24-27, 2018 Phoenix Comicon is a multigenre entertainment and comic book convention held annually in Phoenix, Arizona. It was founded as the Phoenix Cactus Comicon in June 2002, and originally consisted of a one-day six-hour event held in Ahwatukee, Arizona. PCC plays host to comic related panels, programming events, art contests, and autograph signings for all ages. It is a four-day event (Thursday-Sunday) held during the summer at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix. On Thursday evening prior to the official opening of the event, there is a preview for professionals, exhibitors, and select guests pre-registered for all four days. phoenixcomicon.com MINNESOTA FAN FEST Aug 25-26, 2018 Minnesota Fan Fest is a convention & expo that celebrates Fandom of all genres. This year’s features include top comic book writers & artists, pop culture actors, programming, exhibitors, costuming, and more. Prepare to Celebrate your Fandom! minnesotafanfest.com Read More Minnesota Fan Fes Vu and John on W♥M Radio, talking about Minnesota Fan Fest (19-20 Aug 2017). The event at Rivercentre in St Paul will feature celebrity guests Jason David Frank from Power ...

A celebration of comics, creators, and collectibles—

The inaugural Minnesota Fan Fest wrapped its first year in the Twin Cities last weekend, with a two-day event held inside the Rivercentre in downtown St. Paul. 

In our previous installments, we gave you a taste of the show, focusing separately on a Photo Gallery, the various panel discussions, and the Saturday evening costume contest, but wanted to wrap up the event with a few of the show’s highlights, as well as mention its challenges and opportunities going forward. 

The show is a production of Arizona-based Square Egg Entertainment, who has put on the similar Phoenix Comicon and Fan Fests on for several years, with each successive year growing in size and scope.  Their next event is at the Phoenix Convention Center happening Nov 11-12^th (relatively cool temps in AZ then), with guest announcements forthcoming starting this Monday. 

Unfortunately, at Square Egg’s Phoenix Comicon held over the Memorial Day weekend, there was a security scare, potentially targeted at guest Jason David Frank (Green Power Ranger) where a person brought in live weapons but the perpetrator was caught before any harm was done. As a result, security measures at Square Egg’s next event, (MN Fan Fest) were understandably on high alert, with Frank being a premier guest here as well. 

Guests (Media):

A good, but maybe slightly thin roster appeared, with Frank having the most popularity and longest lines, of the weekend.

Star Trek was represented by Voyager star Garrett Wang (though no one for the Star Wars fans)

Sean Patrick Flanery from Young Indiana Jones and Boondock Saints was chatty and personable at his panel

Eddie McClintock was there to talk about all things Warehouse 13 and the Shooter TV show

Conclusion: What was missing that could have been a draw, were personalities from Dr. Who, Marvel Studios, Game of Thrones, and other properties that have a strong following locally. 

Guests (Comic Creators):

In addition to the full support and appearance of most of the local luminaries (Dan Jurgens, Pat Gleason, Doug Mahnke, Ben Percy, Gordon Purcell, etc) a few national names appeared as well:

Jae Lee, Bob Layton, Peter Tomasi, Mike McKone, and Francis Manapul were among the out-of-towners appearing, with Tomasi adding to the already strong roster of current Superman book creators (Gleason, Mahnke, Jurgens), Layton and Lee full of stories from their prolific 80s and 90s period, and Manapul currently riding high creating DC’s Trinity after a long stint on The Flash.   

Most were sketching for a nominal fee and signing least a few books for free, with McKone’s policy maybe being the most ideal in these times where it seems like anyone with a name is charging money- any personalized signature- Free; anything CGC or not personalized-$10. 

Conclusion: A couple more notable high-profile names (i.e. McFarlane, Lee), older creators and/or up and comers (Zdarksy, Nick Spencer) would have helped round out a good lineup and made more of a splash for a first area show. 

Operations: Overall, the show seemed well organized and efficiently run, with the Rivercentre space ideal for a show of this size. Easily accessible with plenty of parking (though most on Saturday was at pay meters or a garage)

Panel rooms were unfortunately on an upper level across the other end of the building, the result of a shoe buyer’s summit being held directly above, but expect that not to be an issue going forward. 

Security was a bit extreme and at times annoying (see above for reasons why) with walk through detectors, wanding, and bag searches, occurring every time you left the show floor and/or returned from the panel rooms (which meant multiple times per day).  Cosplayers rules were made more strict as well, though compromises were made to accommodate those fans as best possible.

Conclusion:  In terms of guests and dealers, a well-run show with plenty of potential, with security maybe being too over-the-top, but expected after their previous scare and with recent intl. terrorist events in the news- unfortunately, it’s the world we currently live in.

Attendance/Marketing: This was the most challenging aspect, with the show being unknown or sneaking up on a good many area fans that otherwise maybe would attend. 

In addition to Wizard World Minneapolis and the MCBA’s Fall and Spring Cons, there are a handful of smaller, more local shows that also compete for the comic fan’s dollar and anything held in the summer in MN is a challenge, as many are at lake cabins, or doing other outdoor activities, while the weather is good. 

While the show name has local recognition in the Phoenix area, the term Fan Fest could relate to anything (and is similar to things like Twins Fest), so maybe adding Comicon or similar to the name, might help the show’s awareness.

Conclusion:  Marketing and awareness for next year’s show (already scheduled for Aug 25-26^th) should begin now, as that weekend will again pose its challenges (opening weekend of MN State Fair; potentially the same weekend as Wizard World- Chicago which will potentially hurt media guest bookings; and the late summer timing, which has back-to-school looming and is aforementioned difficult to succeed in MN).

==

All in all, we loved Minnesota Fan Fest and know that it has great potential as an area pop culture show—we’re glad to see it return in 2018, and hope it has a long run after that, though we know there are challenges. 

This show seems to have the full support of local dealers and stores, area comic creators, and the non-profit Midwest Comic Book Association which is a huge advantage; it just needs to broaden its reach to be made more aware of and appeal to the masses that just know of the big San Diego show, are fans of related movies and TV, and want to be an active part of area pop culture.

Minnesota Superheroes United: The Defenders

Jason

Nova	Star Wars	Elektra & Daredevil
Star Wars fencing	Superman & Wonder Woman	Francis Manapul
Jae Lee	Mike McKone	Power Rangers

Scooby Doo Gang at Minnesota Fan Fest (19 August 2017)

Batman & Superman

Peter J. Tomasi	Sales Floor	Your Geek Show
Bob Layton	Constantine, Catwoman, and Flash	Batman
Pat Gleason	Cobra Commander	Panels & Pizza

Princesses: Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, Leia, and BB-8 at Minnesota Fan Fest (20 August 2017)

vu + john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Scummer Slam 2017 at Chicago, Illinois (26 August 2017)

Read More Monica LaPlante Local musician Monica LaPlante opened up the show, fifteen minutes fashionably late. The band was in the Halloween spirit, dressing up as a reverse Robert Palmer and his voluptuous band. . ....

Jimi went to the Scummer Slam 2017 show in Chicago, Illinois.

The free (donation) show created by Bric A Brac Records and East Room, and brings together 9 bands from all over the USA (Monica LaPlante represented Minneapolis) ... and one South African band (Make-Overs). Unfortunately, due to Visa issues, KO could not make it to the show.

Food trucks and vendors included Altos Tequila, Corona, Modelo, Red Bull, Topo Chico, and Jameson.

Shortly after the Make-Overs’ set, the weather forced the remainder of the show to move indoors.

Lineup:

Gentleman John Battles DJ 12:00

Spodee Boy 1:15

Geezers Senior 2:00

DRAG 2:45

Monica LaPlante 3:30

Erik Nervous 4:15

DANA 5:00

No Men 5:45

Make-Overs 6:30

Aquarian Blood 7:15

Okmoniks 8:00

Note: Gentleman John Battles DJ played songs between bands

Monica LaPlante

Drag

No Men

Okmoniks

Make-Overs at Scummer Slam 2017, Chicago, Illinois (26 August 2017)

jimi ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minneapolis: September 8 to September 11, 2017

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from September 8 to September 11, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Yes Yes to cancel summer tour... The tour, celebrating the band's 40th anniversary, had been scheduled to come to the Susquehanna ... …

YES (feat Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman)
at Treasure Island Resort & Casino
Friday 09/08/2017 (7pm/$47)
ticasino.com

One of the most successful, influential progressive rock band in the world is Yes. In 1983, the band changed lineup (with Trevor Rabin) and concentrated mostly on more commercial and pop-oriented music. A second Yes band called Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman (with original singer Jon Anderson) was formed this year.

Expect Yes feat ARW to play pre-90125 album, meaning Yes’ biggest hit song ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ and other classic songs.

We previously caught Jon Anderson’s project Anderson Ponty Band in May 2016 and noted that the vocalist was still singing Yes songs.

Tour dates:

08/26/2017 Bob Hope Theatre
08/28/2017 The Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA
08/29/2017 Table Mountain Casino Friant, CA
08/31/2017 The Smith Center Las Vegas, NV
09/02/2017 Kenley Amphitheatre Layton, UT
09/03/2017 Hudson Gardens Littleton, CO
09/05/2017 Kauffman Center Kansas City, MO
09/08/2017 Treasure Island Welch, MN
09/09/2017 Riverside Theatre Milwaukee, WI
09/12/2017 Fraze Pavilion Kettering, OH
09/13/2017 Filene Center Vienna, VA
09/15/2017 Goodyear Theater Akron, OH
09/16/2017 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
09/18/2017 Grand Theatre Quebec City, QC
09/19/2017 St. Denis Theatre 1 Montreal, QC
09/21/2017 Capitol Theatre Port Chester, NY
09/23/2017 Toyota Oakdale Theatre Wallingford, CT
09/24/2017 Tilles Center Brookville, NY
09/27/2017 Prudential Hall Newark, NJ
09/29/2017 Santander Performing Arts Center Reading, PA
09/30/2017 Patriots Theater Trenton, NJ
10/01/2017 Verizon Hall Philadelphia, PA
10/04/2017 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
10/05/2017 Palace Theatre Albany, NY
10/07/2017 Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Niagara Falls, NY
10/08/2017 Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ
10/10/2017 King Center Melbourne, FL
10/11/2017 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
10/13/2017 Kravis Center West Palm Beach, FL
10/14/2017 Knight Concert Hall Miami, FL

Read More Royal Canoe There is a complexity to their music, such as in the album’s title track or the single, ‘Bathtubs’ that still comes off as easy and palatable to the ear, despite the “everything including … Little Scream Montreal's Little Scream to open the show, she is currently finishing up her eagerly-anticipated second album, Dance in a Void. …

ROYAL CANOE / LITTLE SCREAM
at 7th Street Entry
Monday 09/11/2017 (7:30pm/$10)
first-avenue.com

We caught the Canadian band Royal Canoe in 2014 and wrote, “Opening the show to a strong crowd reception was Manitoba-based six-piece, Royal Canoe, in support of their debut U.S. release, Today We’re Believers (Roll Call Records). The Canadian ensemble can truly be described as unique and eclectic, with its hybrid of sounds, musical time changes, dual drummers, and singer Matt Peters, who often uses two microphones and manipulates his voice, electronically and otherwise.”

The last time we saw co-headliner Little Scream, she surprised us with two dancers on stage for the song ‘Dark Dance’. We also noted, “According to singer Laurel Sprengelmeyer, she said she was born in Iowa and went to shows like this one and actually dreamed of one day playing shows. The Montreal-based band was actually supposed to headlined the Turf Club in St Paul, as you can see from the original poster listing, but smartly the organizers decided to consolidate the two shows.”

Mariah Mercedes will open.

Tour dates:

09/11 First Avenue & 7th Street Entry · Minneapolis, MN
09/12 Subterranean · Chicago, IL
09/14 Mercury Lounge · New York, NY
09/15 Theatre Rialto A Montreal · Montreal, QC, Canada
09/16 Ottawa · City Folk Festival
09/17 The Great Hall Toronto · Toronto, ON, Canada

Read More U2 With yesterday's announcement of Apple Watch and iPhone 6, Irish band U2 made a surprise concert appearance to close out Apple's event. They also made it known that U2's latest album Songs of Innocence … Beck So you like Beck and was thinking about picking up Odelay (1996). Well don't! Wait until January 29, 2008, because there's a Deluxe 2-disc version coming out. More details on our press page …

Other shows in the area:

09/08-09/09/2017 The annual St. Croix Valley Chili Feed is this Friday and Saturday, with Autograph, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, 80HD and more. Free beer, soda, and chili included with the $45 pre-sale price ($60 at the door). 12pm, $45

09/08/2017 Two time Grammy-award winner John Prine is headlining the Northrop Auditorium. Prince’s latest book, Beyond Words is available now on Oh Boy Records. Beyond Words includes over 100 photographs from Prine's personal collection, copies of handwritten lyrics showing the creative process with select commentary, and lyrics with guitar chords for 60+ classic Prine songs. Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams to open. 7pm, $62.50

09/08/2017 Arkansas’ Justin Moore will be headlining Mystic Lake Casino, hot off his seventh #1 song ‘Somebody Else Will’, from his fourth album Kinda Don’t Care (The Valory Music Co). 7pm, $40

09/08/2017 Legendary Irish band U2 will be headlining the U.S. Bank Stadium this Friday. Beck to open. 5:30pm, $93

09/09/2017 AJJ is formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad. They had to change their name because some Muslims thought they were disrespectful to use “Jihad”. With the recent terrorist threat with the Allah-Las concert in Rotterdam, it’s probably best Andrew Jackson Jihad changed their name to AJJ. Anyway, they’ve sold out the 7th Street Entry this Saturday. The Homeless Gospel Choir will be offending the homeless as opener. 8pm, $15/Sold Out

09/10/2017 Local rappers/hip hop artists J Flight to play the 7th Street Entry, with help from Tha Rift Of Freewifi, Destiny Roberts, Lyric Marid, Student 1, DJ D.Mil and DJLow. 7pm, $10

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Site Update: August 2017

Read More Acer I have recently gave myself a Christmas gift with a $199 Acer - 27" LED HD Monitor (S271HL DBID). This is a slight upgrade over my old 23" HANNspree, which I paid about $140. …

I spend a lot of my time staring at my computer monitor, so I’m always looking to get the best and largest monitor. I don’t mind upgrading my monitor every so often. Although it would be nice to have a 4k monitor, I just couldn’t justify the current prices (ranges from $500 to $1000 for the 27” or larger), so I’m happy to pay less for FHD (Full High Definition, 1080p) vs QHD (Quad High Definition, 1440p ) or UHD (Ultra High Definition, 2160p). I figure by the time 8k becomes the new standard, the 4k (UHD) monitors will be affordable.

Anyway, I actually went to Micro Center, hoping to pick up a used Samsung curved monitor, but the person working there couldn’t locate it. So I wandered around and spotted another monitor in my price range: Acer’s 32" ER Widescreen LED Monitor for $199. I was already quite happy with the cheap 27” Acer monitor from December 2014 (also for $199)... so getting the same brand made a lot of sense to me. According to the details, the new 32” monitor is faster at 4ms vs the old 27” monitor, which lists 6ms. For video gaming, you want a lower response time.

Once again, setting up monitor and stand was quite easy. Everything you need to hook up your monitor is in the box, sans a Philips screwdriver, which you’ll need for four small screws for the stand.

What can I say, it’s not the fastest monitor, it’s not 3D or 4k, lack of speakers, and I’m pretty sure the ER series is an obsolete product, but for the price, I think it’s a great deal.

I played a little bit of Obduction and noticed some ghosting, but this could possibly be fixed with some settings. I’ll test out some more games to see how the display keep up with the images. I have Diablo III with the new Necromancer character and Starcraft with the HD skin, I will test out soon.

Details:

Acer 32”

Acer ER320HQ 32" Widescreen LED Monitor

The Acer ER320HQ widx 31.5" Widescreen LCD display combines stylish ultra-thin functionality with amazing 1920 x 1080 resolution, allowing you to enjoy High-Definition entertainment in the comfort of your home. Incredible 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio and rapid 4ms response time highlight the advanced technology, but this display is earth-friendly as well. The ER320HQ widx LCD also features multiple inputs with VGA, DVI and HDMI for greater compatibility, a Kensington lock slot to protect your investment, and Energy Star compliance to help you save money and energy

SKU: 274431
Mfr Part#: UM.JE0AA.001
UPC: 191114113752
Features: LED Backlight
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Color: White
Viewable Size: 31.5" Viewable Diagonal Size
Screen Coating: Anti-Glare
Screen Size: 32"
Widescreen: Yes
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
In Plane Switching (IPS) Support: IPS
Viewing Angles: 178 horizontal / 178 vertical viewing angles
Maximum Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Color Support: 16.7 million color support
Pixel Pitch: 0.3637mm
Response Time: 4ms
Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 100,000,000:1
HDCP Support: Yes
Stand Adjustment: Tilt
VGA 15-pin: 1
HDMI: 1
DVI: 1
Voltage Required: AC 100-240V (50/60Hz)
Power Consumption Operational (Standby): 32 Watts (<1 Watt)
VESA Mount Compatibility 100 mm x 100 mm
Width 28.7"
Depth 9.1"
Height 19.2"
Weight 12.3 lbs.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Costume Contest at Minnesota Fan Fest (19 August 2017)

Read More Minnesota Fan Fest Vu and John on W♥M Radio, talking about Minnesota Fan Fest (19-20 Aug 2017). The event at Rivercentre in St Paul will feature celebrity guests Jason David Frank from Power ...

The first annual Minnesota Fan Fest Costume Contest at the RiverCentre in St Paul, closed out the Saturday show (August 19th).

The best cosplayers were the ones that stood still and pose or did some routine. For example, Rufio (the eldest Lost Boys from Hook) gave a loud “hoo hooo” to please the Rufio chants. Ignis Scientia, from Final Fantasy, did a clumsy walk and tumble on stage. Ariel (The Little Mermaid) singing a song using her phone. These are the ones that stood out to us... and even though Ariel didn’t win, but it was at least a good effort.

Also, maybe some of the cosplayers could team up for a themed award. The Jedi Knight and Obi-Wan Kenobi or Kate Biship and Hawkeye could have easily entered as one entry vs individual entries.

The one complaint we had was the judges took too long to give out the award. We had to watch/endure the trailer to the forthcoming remake of Flatliners, The Little Mermaid’s ‘Under the Sea’, Frozen’s ‘In Summer, Lion King’s ‘Hakuna Matata’, Hercules’s ‘Zero to Hero’, and Mulan’s ‘I'll Make A Man Out Of You’.

There were about 20 registered contestants, all of which came home with a prize for participating. All the main winners received coupons for free pizzas and tickets for next year’s Minnesota Fan Fest (August 25-26, 2018).

In addition to winner’s awards, the Best In Show winner also got a Dynamic Forces Alex Ross’s X-Men (based on Dave Cockrum) Lithograph and the Judge’s Choice Award winner got an additional pouch.

A suggestion for next year’s contest: keep all the winners on stage. In total, all five winners could easily fit on stage for a great photo finish.

Winners

Third Place: Ignis Scientia (Final Fantasy)

Second Place: Sole Survivor (Fallout)

First Place: Destiny Hunter (Destiny)

Best in Show: Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy)

Judge’s Choice: Rufio (Lost Boys from Hook)

Harley Quinn

Obi-Wan Kenobi	Kingpin	Wolverine
Jedi Knight	Napstablook (Undertale)	Rufio (Hook)
Power Ranger	Kate Bishop (Hawkeye)	Hawkeye

Ignis Scientia (Final Fantasy)

Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy)

Penny Proud

Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

Destiny Hunter

Sole Survivor (Fallout)

Costume Contest at Minnesota Fan Fest (19 August 2017)

john + vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Retro Futura, feat. Howard Jones, Men Without Hats, English Beat at State Theatre, Minneapolis (17 Aug 2017) (Updated)

Setlist Katrina Rock 'n' Roll Girl Going Down to Liverpool Walking on Sunshine Paul Young I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down Everytime You Go Away Come Back and Stay (Jack Lee cover) Modern English Ink and Paper Moonbeam I Melt With You with Paul Young The Beat Mirror in the Bathroom Tenderness (General Public song) Save It for Later Never Die Men Without Hats Pop Goes the World Where Do the Boys Go? The Safety Dance Howard Jones Like to Get to Know You Well You Know I Love You, Don't You? The Human Touch No One Is to Blame Everlasting Love Life in One Day What Is Love? New Song Things Can Only Get Better Things Can Only Get Better - techno reprise Read More Howard Jones You know, we've already mentioned how much we love Howard Jones. He'll be stopping by the Fine Line Music Café as part of his "The Songs, The Piano & The Stories'" tour. ..... English Beat 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. ..... Men Without Hats After forty years, Men Without Hats, are still an excellent band. Known in America as a one-hit-wonder band for "Safety Dance", but I have to say, I love them anyway. Katrina Leskanich Katrina Leskanich kicks off her North American tour next week in support of her latest solo album entitled Blisland (Listen to Blisland streaming via Popmatters.) The album is her first collection ....

The amazing Retro Futura tour just stopped by the State Theatre last week (August 17th).

If you’re a fan of 80s pop/rock bands, you love all of these bands. Sure, some people consider them one-hit wonders, but who cares, they’re still great songs. Nothing can change that.

Unfortunately, with six bands on the bill and a limited time, all of the bands had about a 15-20 minute set, with the exception of headliner Howard Jones having about a 55-min set. With a very short set, that meant that every opening band had about three or four songs. That’s just fine with the audience, as they wanted to hear the big hit songs and weren’t interested in hearing the obscure songs.

According to the original schedule, Katrina Leskanich formerly of Katrina and the Waves was supposed to start her set slightly earlier than 7pm. Since she started late, all the other bands had to cut their set short as well to meet their curfew of 10pm.

A couple of Katrina and the Waves’ hits were played, including 1984 song ‘Going Down to Liverpool’, which was covered by the Bangles, and ending with their biggest chart-topping song ‘Walking on Sunshine’.

It didn’t take long before Paul Young and his band came on stage, reusing some of the instruments. Young said that this was only his second time in Minneapolis, and had a hard time remembering the first time, “It was 1985... ’86 or something.”

This was a truly rare appearance by the 80s teen idol, so there were a lot of people in the audience that waited so long to finally see him. Of course, his biggest hit (at least in America), ‘Everytime You Go Away’ was played, sandwiched between ‘I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’ and ‘Come Back and Stay’. The latter is technically a Jack Lee song, but Young made it famous with his 1983 recording.

Next up was Modern English, the new wave/post-punk band from Colchester, England. If you grew up in the 80s, you would have heard their signature song ‘I Melt With You’. The song was so popular that a lot of fast food restaurant licensed the song for their commercials.

Dressed in all white, the band looked in great shape. In fact, singer Robbie Grey, after taking off his white jacket, said that they have a new album and that they were returning to the Turf Club in St Paul later this year.

The new album they were referring to is called Take Me To The Trees, which came out last year. They played ‘Moonbeam’ from that new record, in between their two hit singles ‘Ink and Paper’ and ‘I Melt With You’. For the latter song, Paul Young joined them on stage midsong.

British band The Beat (known as The English Beat in America and The British Beat in Australia), stood out the most, because of their large band lineup (singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling, hype man King Schascha, drummer Nucci Cantrell, saxophonist Matt Morrish, keys Kevin Lum, additional keyboardist Minh Quan, and bassist Brad Engstrom) and unique ska, reggae, soul, pop music fusion. On top of that, they have King Schascha, replacing Ranking Roger’s role as hype man, and he truly seems to enjoy being on stage.

For their biggest hit song ‘Save It for Later’ (a song used in various commercials, such as taffy candy Now and Later), King Schascha came on stage in a Spider-Man costume, recording the entire event with a fan’s phone. That fan will never, ever forget this moment in time.

The lone Canadian band Men Without Hats was next. Although the band were big in the U.S. in the 80s, the band broke up in the 90s and didn’t reformed until 2011. In fact, we were so excited, we flew to Canada to catch them on their tour at NXNE 2011.

‘Where Do the Boys Go?’ was dedicated to former Men Without Hats member Allan McCarthy, who died in 1995. The song was between their two well-known songs ‘Pop Goes the World’ and ‘The Safety Dance’. For the latter, it goes without saying, that everyone in the audience was dancing: “We can dance if we want to we can leave your friends behind, 'cause your friends don't dance and if they don’t dance, well, they're no friends of mine.”

Headliner Howard Jones needed that extra time on his set, because he had multiple top 40 hits. His set included almost all of his known hit singles, including his first single ‘New Song’ from September 1983. Referencing that his music video for the song opened with him at a food processing plant (and then started to sound like he was humming to the tune of The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ when he said “I was working as a caretaker at a food processing center”).

His set was a regular sing along, especially during ‘No One Is to Blame’, ‘What Is Love?’ and set closer ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. The last song ended and restarted as a techno version, playing to the loud cheering crowd.

This is an incredible lineup for your favorite 80s bands. My only gripe, as shared with most fans in the audience, if they had made this an all-day event on Saturday (like Rock the Garden), they can start the show earlier at 3pm and give each band their proper spotlight with a longer set.

Katrina (ex-Katrina and the Waves)

Paul Young

Modern English (with Paul Young)

Modern English

Men Without Hats

The Beat

Men Without Hats

The Beat

The Beat

Men Without Hats

Howard Jones

Howard Jones

Howard Jones at State Theatre, Minneapolis (17 August 2017)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Programming Panels at Minnesota Fan Fest (19-20 August 2017)

Read More Minnesota Fan Fest Vu and John on W♥M Radio, talking about Minnesota Fan Fest (19-20 Aug 2017). The event at Rivercentre in St Paul will feature celebrity guests Jason David Frank from Power ...

Minnesota Fan Fest took place over the weekend at the RiverCentre in St Paul. The comic book convention was divided into two areas: the main merchandise floor (where you can buy things, get autographs, or schedule photo sessions) and the programming panels (where creators discuss a number of topics). There were four rooms, three held about 50 seats and one large room that held about 150 seats. The larger room required a bag check and metal wand to get in the door.

Here is a recap of some of the panels we sat in.

AUGUST 19

Saturday is typically the big Comic Con day. Since all the panels took place at the same time, we had to miss some or the speakers had left before their schedule time. A few of the highlights we saw was Superman Through the Ages with speaker Dan Jurgens. Jurgens actually drew in a big crowd, a lot of locals were very supportive of his current (and past) Superman works.

Jurgens, as usual, had a lot of wonderful stories about working for DC Comics, especially working on the Death of Superman. We’ve heard his stories at least three times, but it’s always new and fresh whenever he tells it.

When asked how he works differently with some artist, he said that some newer artist, he has to actually do loose layouts for the artist to follow. For veteran artists, he doesn’t bother, he knows he’ll get a great storytelling art.

The biggest draw was Jason David Frank, who played the Green Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This guy is always mesmerizing to watch, and despite being threatened with death by a crazy fan at the Phoenix Comicon in May, the guy remained positive throughout his appearance at the St Paul show. Still, there were two fully armed police officers/security standing on the left and right of the panel room.

Frank was really excited to mention that he is playing Bloodshot in Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe... however, fans were only asking questions about the Power Rangers.

When asked if he would go back to fighting in MMA events, he said that if he did, he would have to train for three months at least. Which meant that he couldn’t be doing social media or things he loved.

Jason David Frank is always a blast, so be sure to sit in on his panel if he’s appearing at a show in your area.

Panel Room 10	Panel Room 11	Panel Room 12	Panel Room 13/14/15
Comic Book Villains Showdown	Cosplay for Beginners	Marvel Universe on Netflix	Eddie McClintock
Comic Book Trivia	Sci Fi Fantasy Debate	Superman Through the Ages	CW’s New Season
Many Movies of Spider-Man	Cosplay War Stories	Last Jedi and Future Star Wars	Bill Willingham
Marvel vs DC Comics	Affordable Costuming 101	Game of Thrones	Jason David Frank
Marvel v DC TV		Thor: Ragnarok	Saber Legion
Inhumans	New Comic Book Day	Dark Tower	Costume Contest

AUGUST 20

With a shorter show on Sunday (scheduled from 10am to 5pm) we mostly hung out at the panel. We were mostly excited about Garrett Wang (Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager). In the television Star Trek world, there’s only been three Asian lead crew members, Sulu on the original Star Trek, Kim on Voyager, and Hoshi Sato on Enterprise.

The Asian thing is funny, because there was a woman in the audience that claimed her father knew Wang’s aunt. After some back and forth questions, Wang said it must be brother “da” (the word for big) from Michigan. Another Asian in the audience led Wang on a long story about how the Chinese discovered America 70 years before Columbus, referring one of his favorite books 1421: The Year China Discovered America.

He mentioned that he was one of the first Voyager crew to sign a contract with Creation and started working at conventions. One of his first was an appearance in Minneapolis in 1995, where over 2,000 people showed up to his panel. He confessed he honestly had no memory of who else appeared at the Star Trek convention, but a fan in the audience reminded him that George Takei (Sulu) was also there. Takei was such an influence on Wang, as well as many Asian-American at the time. Wang also does a great Takei impression, and would often use that commanding voice whenever he need someone to pay attention. Oh myyy!

When ask if there were any funny stories/pranksters on the Voyager set, he said that Tim Russ (Tuvok) was very different from his Vulcan character. There was a story about how the Voyager crew had to undress for some examination and Russ had stuffed twenty socks in his underwear.

When asked if he was excited about Star Trek: Discovery, he said, “Of course, I’m excited! As with any Science Fiction shows,” but that he was worried about Discovery when head writer/developer Bryan Fuller left the series. Still, he’s optimistic and added that he’s actually more excited about The Orville (which is a Star Trek parody TV series starring Seth MacFarlane).

Before he left, he had two funny stories he wanted to tell. The first was he met a girl who watched Voyager when she was young and always thought Wang’s character was named “Handsome Kim” (instead of Ensign Kim).

The second story is how he met the real Harry Kim at an airport. Harry Kim said that for a time his crew in the Navy would give him a hard time.

Wang surprised, said, “So you’re also an ensign!?”

Kim quickly responded, “No, I got promoted!”

Laughs all around, as Wang left his table. What a delight, let’s hope to see Wang in a cameo on The Orville this September.

Panel Room 10	Panel Room 11	Panel Room 12	Panel Room 13/14/15
Monsters of All Size: All Age Comics	A Beginners Guide to Foam Smithing	Harry Potter & the Panel of Fandom	Garrett Wang
Vital Essence: The Dark Crystal	3D Printing for Costumes	Mythology 101	Preacher Panel
Ummmm... Actually	Comic Book Cosplay	Geek Family Value	Bob Layton
Woman Who Kick Butt	Marvel vs DC Movies	Be Our Guest! A Disney Sing Along	Sean Patrick Flanery
All Monsters Attack	Your Local Costume Groups	Reverend Matt’s Monster	Saber Legion

The Preacher Panel featured Ken F Levin as speaker. He was soft-spoken and told us the long, long (over 1 hour and 20 minutes) of how he got involved working on AMC’s Preacher. It started with his background (as a civil trial lawyer and publisher of First Comics) in 1985, to meeting Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon to option the right for Preacher as a movie. Obviously they couldn’t do it as a feature film, but ended up doing it as a television series. The rights were going to expire, and within days, they got all the right people on board.

There was a long bidding war between FX and AMC, but eventually AMC got the show after five weeks of bids and counter bids.

A lot of interesting bits about Preacher, for example, Ennis wanted Kate Winslet to play Tulip O’Hare, but she would never do something as crass as Preacher. It was agreed that they wanted someone not white in the show, and since they couldn’t change a Texan like Jesse Custer or Irish vampire Cassidy, it had to be Tulip.

Ken F Levin could probably talk for another eight hours, but eventually his time was up ... and Bob Layton took over the room. The former Iron Man co-writer and artist also had a lot to say about his days in the comic book industry. He made it clear that he no longer work in the industry, and pulled no punches on why he left: “It’s a failing business.” He cited that during the hey-day, circulation for a title was 120,000 and that was considered not good. Nowadays, he stated that the average title sells only 15,000 copies.

While it may or may not be true, Layton does paint a bleak picture of the industry. When a fan ask how he can break into the comic book world, Layton said he’s been out of it so long that he really didn’t know how anyone can break in. He told us how he got in, it was just timing. He was over at Marvel Comics trying to show off his portfolio when he overheard John Romita Sr was trying to get someone to ink an entire issue of Iron Man in four days. Layton said he could do it and took the original pages to Neal Adams’ Continuity company and asked all the inkers there to help him finish the book. “Ink everything, except for Iron Man, and the beers are on me!” he said.

In record time, he was able to deliver the Iron Man issue for the deadline. And a week later, he got a book (Champions) sent to him to ink... and a steady job with Marvel Comics after that.

When asked about Jim Shooter (who co-founded Valiant Comics with Bob Layton), he had nothing good to say. The impression I got out of hearing him talk about Shooter, was that Layton didn’t get a square deal out of Valiant... and eventually the company was sold to a video game company, Acclaim (who would also publish the popular Turok video game series).

Although at times, Layton seemed jaded, but after working in the industry for over 30 years, you have to cut him some slack.

Boondock Saints co-star Sean Patrick Flanery was a lot of fun. He came off as a very hard-working blue-collar guy, who also acts. He said he’s worked all his life, anything from digging ditches to retail, but there is no job like acting, “There’s no job in the world that people will walk up to you and say, ‘Great job!’,” adding “I’ve already been overcompensated for my work!”

He had a great story about his only appearance on Criminal Mind as the character Darrin Call. There were, how can I put it, two rednecks at a convenient store in Riverside, California, who spotted Flanery buying a Pay Day. The two were big fans of Darrin Call, as it was the only show they had on their broken VCR for the last four years.

He had a lot to say about his book Jane Two and said that we can read his personal thoughts on his blog shineuntiltomorrow.com.

Garrett Wang at Minnesota Fan Fest (20 August 2017)

john + vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Belle & Sebastian at Palace Theatre, St Paul (15 August 2017) (Update)

Setlist Act of the Apostle I'm a Cuckoo We Were Beautiful A Summer Wasting Seeing Other People The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner We Rule the School Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John Photo Jenny I Can See Your Future Play For Today Expectations The Boy with the Arab Strap The Blues Are Still Blue The State I Am In -- Encore -- The Party Line Judy and the Dream of Horses Tour Dates 09/01 Netherlands, Utrecht, Vrendenburg 09/02 Netherlands, Into The Great Wide Open 10/04 Tokyo, Zepp University 10/05 Osaka, Big Cat 10/07 Asagiri, Asagiri Jam, Rainbow Stage Read More Belle & Sebastian Our favorite Scottish band Belle & Sebastian is releasing Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance tomorrow, January 20th, via Matador Records, their first new record since 2010's Write About Love. ...

Beloved Scottish band Belle & Sebastian headlined the Palace Theatre in St Paul last week (15 August 2017)... but the show almost didn’t happen!

The rather large band (Stuart Murdoch on vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard, and “keytar”, Stevie Jackson on electric guitar, Chris Geddes on keyboards, Richard Colburn on drums, Sarah Martin on keys, guitars, violin, flute and vocals, Bobby Kildea on guitar and bass, Dave McGowan on bass, guitar, and keyboards, plus extra players and staffs) accidentally left their drummer Richard Colburn, in North Dakota, on their way to St Paul. Colburn, armed with only a credit card (no phone), his pajamas, and with help from fans, was able to get on a plane to make it to St Paul just in time to play!

Transmission’s DJ Jake Rudh warmed up Palace Theatre, playing appropriate songs to the indiepop audience (The Cardigans, The Smiths, etc). The DJ hour long set led nicely to Julien Baker’s appearance on stage.

Baker started her music career in 2010 in the band The Star Killers (renamed themselves Forrister), when she was 15 years old, but decided to go solo in 2015.

Unfortunately, the shy singer and guitarist’s songs were often drowned out by the chatty crowd (at least where we were at), who were clearly weren’t there to give the opener a chance. It didn’t help that Baker was seemingly troubled by something with her guitar... and didn’t really get her groove in until ‘Funeral Pyre’... which was a song left off her debut record Sprained Ankle.

It was just the wrong venue for Julien Baker, her quiet, sensitive, reflective songs would go over well over at the Cedar Cultural Center, or a smaller, intimate set at the 7th Street Entry... not a big room like the Palace Theatre.

Baker recently released her new single ‘Appointments’, taken from her forthcoming sophomore album Turn Out The Lights.

I may have criticized Belle & Sebastian’s last appearance in Minneapolis at Rock the Garden in June 2015. You see, we haven’t seen the band since 2006, and instead of playing long, lost songs, the band stuck to playing songs from their then-new album Girls in Peacetime Wants to Dance. Which would normally be fine, since that was the current tour they were on... but because they’ve been absent in the area for so long, it would’ve been nice to hear some more older songs in that nine-year gap. Still, having the band back in town, it was still worth it, especially for the start of their set closing song ‘The Boy with the Arab Strap’.

This time around, since they have a longer set (slightly over an hour and fifteen minutes) and no new album to promote, they gave us some great old songs and some “deep cuts”, particularly the wonderful b-side ‘Photo Jenny’ (only played twice on this 2017 tour). As you can see from the setlist, they had the option of also playing ‘Mayfly’, but instead of offering the vote to the audience, the band all decided they were just going to play ‘Photo Jenny’. “This song is really old. In fact, it has the year ‘1995’ in it,” said Stuart Murdoch.

Of course, the band made a lot of missing drummer jokes at Richard Colburn’s expense, but it was all in good fun. For ‘A Summer Wasting’, Murdoch changed the first few lines to ‘A Drummer Wasting’. Later in the show, the band said they’ve implemented a new system for missing drummers with a slide that read, “Someone Is Off The Bus”. Murdoch jokingly laughed, “We have a system now!” You know Colburn will never, ever live down this embarrassing story.

The new song ‘We Were Beautiful’ (written in 2016) was played early in the set. Another new song ‘Sweet Dew Lee’ made it on their setlist, but ultimately was not played. These tracks would likely appear in a forthcoming ninth album, probably on Matador Records.

‘We Rule the School’ was dedicated to Andy Thomson, a Minnesotan who worked with the band (string arrangements) for Girls in Peacetime Wants to Dance. After the song, Murdoch commented about the kindness of people, “This country, you know it’s a great country... because of people like you. It’s not people on television or Fox News. The people tonight, I know that you know that it’s a tricky time. But it’s a blip, and we will win. Peace will win. Gentleness will win. Compassion will win!”

A couple of duets were included on the setlist. The first ‘Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John’ had live vocals from Sarah Martin (replacing the original recorded Norah Jones vocals), while ‘Play For Today’ had pre-recorded Dee Dee Penny on vocals via video.

The show’s highlight is ‘The Boy with the Arab Strap’, which typically, the band will invite a handful of fans in the front to come on stage to dance. We’ve seen it before, but it’s always fun to see.

The stage lights all turned blue for, ‘The Blues Are Still Blue’, followed by the slow intro to ‘The State I Am In’. Despite a slow start, the song does pick up and had the audience singing along to their first song.

After a brief break, the band came back. Murdoch has a Shepard Fairey’s “Muslim, We The People” t-shirt on. They started their encore with the recent hit ‘Party Line’. Murdoch actually sang most of the song in the audience, which probably wasn’t a good idea for fans in the back of balcony!

They took requests from the audience and settled on ‘Judy and the Dream of Horses’ as the final song. That song was the optional song for ‘The State I Am In’, but I’m glad that both songs were played.

Belle & Sebastian - The Blues are Still Blue

Julien Baker

Someone Is Off The Bus

Setlist

B&S

Stuart Murdoch

Belle & Sebastian at Palace Theatre, St Paul (15 August 2017)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic