W♥M (Archive)

Minneapolis: September 25, 2015

Read More The Fratellis After a five year absent from the music scene, The Fratellis are back with a brand new album We Need Medicine. The Scottish band is currently in the middle of a tiny, tiny U.S. tour in support of it, and basically selling out every …

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on September 25, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

THE FRATELLIS
at Varsity Theater
Friday, 09/25/2015, 7pm ($20)
varsitytheater.org

You may remember that we went down to Chicago to see The Fratellis at their sold out show at the Metro in 2013.

At the time, they were absent from the music scene... so it is good to see that the Scottish band is back - this time with a fourth album, Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied (which came out August 21, 2015, on Cooking Vinyl).

Critically acclaimed Los Angeles-based Grizfolk to open. The alternative rock released their single "Troublemaker" earlier this Summer, taken from their forthcoming full-length debut for Virgin Records.

Tour Dates:

09/21 - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
09/22 - TLA, Philadelphia, PA
09/24 - Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
09/25 - Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
09/27 - Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
09/28 - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
09/30 - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
10/01 - Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
10/03 - Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
10/04 - Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
10/06 - House of Blues, San Diego, CA
10/08 - The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA

Read More On An On Minneapolis' On An On recently held a special album launch show for their latest album And The Wave Has Two Sides at the Icehouse in Minneapolis on Saturday, July 25th (technically Sunday …

ON AN ON
at Turf Club
Friday, 09/25/2015, 8pm ($12)
turfclub.net

We previously caught local On An On album release party for And The Wave Has Two Sides last July 2015. I wrote that despite starting their set at midnight, the Icehouse had a strong turnout in support of the band. I also mentioned that after their 2015, that the last date was their homecoming show - which is coming up this Friday, September 25th. It'll be good to have them back in the city.

Supporting them on this tour is London-born artist Eliot Sumner (also known as Coco Sumner or I Blame Coco), singing and playing tracks from her debut album Information (set for release in January 2016!). Her talents as a songwriter and instrumentalist have gained praise for her four new songs - "Dead Arms & Dead Legs", "After Dark", "Firewood" and "Species" (all from the forthcoming album).

Also on the bill is local Aaron & The Sea, now known simply as AATS.

Tour Dates:

9/20 Allston, MA @ Great Scott *
9/22 Toronto, ONT @ The Drake Hotel *
9/23 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
9/24 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
9/25 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club*

* with Eliot Sumner

Read More ABBA I will confess to liking, no, loving ABBA. As you may have suspected, I actually love eurodisco and especially Swedish music. …

ABBACADABRA
at Mystic Lake Showroom
Friday, 09/25/2015, 8pm ($23)
mysticlake.com

"You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life!"

You know we love ABBA, but unfortunately the band broke up in 1982. Don't let that stop you from experiencing the magic of cover lover band Abbacadabra as they play all of their hits.

Here is how they describe the band:

With the new resurgence of the ‘70s, portrayed in part by the hugely popular live musical production and now the world wide release of “Mamma Mia” - The Movie, the music of ABBA is finding its way back into the hearts of those who lived it then and taking over the hearts of those who are experiencing it for the first time now.

adbacadabra promises to continue the momentum by performing 20 of the group’s greatest hits in full ABBA fashion and flair. You won’t be able to sit still in your seats as songs like S.O.S., Super Trooper and Dancing Queen are re-created with such precision you’ll swear you were listening to the originals themselves. The melodies of Fernando and Chiquitita will rekindle those feelings of first loves. Take a Chance on Me and Voulez Vous will lift you out of your seats to dance!

The show is authentic in music and dress and is performed to live music that will leave you excited and melancholy... at the same time.

Tour Dates:

09/25/15 Prior Lake, MN Mystic Lake Casino
09/29/15 Norsk Hostfest

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

Luminato presents Broadway's Night Out

Cast from Jesus Christ Superstar Cast from My Fair Lady Sharron Matthews and Shawn Hitchins

What a nice surprise, but I ended up seeing some of Canada's finest stage performers at the Luminato presents "Broadway's Night Out" on June 13, 2011, at David Pecaut Square, in Toronto, Canada. It was a free show, all shows at the Square are free (until June 19th). It's really too bad that I just missed They Might Be Giants, who appeared on Saturday, June 11. If I had known, I would've flown in a day earlier to catch them for free.

Anyway, the cast from Jesus Christ Superstar started off the night with a great set of songs from the musical. Vocals are wonderful, very loud and commanding. Sometime even a little gospel. They ended their set with the title song, "Jesus Christ Superstar".

Shawn Hitchins and Sharron Matthews were the co-hosts for the event, and they kept us entertained as stagehands were busy setting up set for the next performer.

Hitchins and Matthews performed a medley of famous broadway hits, including "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story. I get the impression that they've been doing comedy improv or standup for a while.

Hitchins would later on give out prizes to the best singers, as we all sing along to Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain", The Sound of Music's "Do Re Mi", The Rocky Horror Picture Show's "Let's Do the Time Warp Again", and ABBA's "Dancing Queen".

There were also three main cast members from My Fair lady doing some selected songs from their musical, starting with the very British-y song, "Why Can't the English".

My favorite of the night was clearly Meow Meow and her crazy comedy cabaret. I think she's quite famous in Australia, and I can see why, she's absolutely mesmerizing to watch. The highlight of her show was when she asked for three volunteers to help her do "the greatest love song".

The Luminato series of free movies and outdoor concert event is happening all this week. See more details at luminato.com.

Meow Meow with three "volunteers"

 

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

Teenage girls

AMANDA MAIR www.labrador.se Labrador Records, out in Sweden, was very, very excited to let us know that they've signed Amanda Mair, a girl who was then 15 (now 16), who sounded like a mix between Dusty Springfield and Kate Bush. She's not online at all (no myspace/bandcamp) and she's never played live or sent out demos. Her debut single, House, produced by Philip Ekström (The Mary Onettes / Det Vackra Livet), is coming out June 8th. Download the free track here.		SKY FERREIRA skyferreira.com I first heard of Sky Ferreira last year, with her debut single, "One". Christopher said it was criminal that she's only made it on the charts at #60. At the time, she was 17, I think she's legal now. That might explained her "Sex Rules" title ? It's actually not what you'd think, it's the rules of nature, not that "it's totally awesome". Capitol Records was kind enough to send me a review copy of her EP, As If!, which I have to say, I actually really like it. I've always liked pop music, so it probably shouldn't be a surprise. I think if things works out, Sky Ferreira could be the next Katy Perry or Ke$ha, although Sky's probably too clever.

MICHAELA WALLACE michaelawallacemusic.com Michaela Wallace is a 14-year-old girl from Missouri, her song, "Justin Bieber's Girlfriend" got a lot of youtube attention. I did download the acoustic track (free at michaelawallace.bandcamp.com), and I have to say: can't relate. I know Lara has Bieber fever, and I guess, I never understood why he's so popular. Besides, doesn't he already have a girlfriend (Selena Gomez)?		REBECCA BLACK rebeccablackonline.com If you haven't heard Rebecca Black's "Friday" song, then clearly you've been living under a rock. This 13-year-old girl got over 135 million views for her youtube song. Everyone loved the song, even Conan O'Brien made a parody video for his song "Thursday". Not really much to add this this, except that we wonder what's next for her? Is this a one-hit wonder deal ?

BONUS: Did you know that every week, I get about five or six songs from Glee, that popular Fox television show, courtesy of Columbia Records. As much as I am a cover lover, it's hard for me to keep up. I don't watch the television show, however, a fan pointed to me that on the May 10^th episode, "Prom Queen", they covered Rebecca Black's "Friday" song. This is pretty interesting, considering that most of the Glee's standard cover is for more established bands (Beatles, Zeppelin, etc).

I looked into finding out why they covered this really recent song, apparently Mark Salling (who plays Puck) is a fan of the song and suggested they cover it for this episode. Hearing Salling sings the song from a male perspective is pretty interesting. It sounded pretty faithful to the original song, complete with the rap bits.

I gave the rest of this week's music a listen, while I was at it. They did ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You", which are fitting for a promenade dance. The ABBA cover is fantastic, the other stand-out cover is Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely". I didn't know which Glee cast member sung it, so I looked it up. Apparently it was a proposal song from Artie. The recorded version had Artie sounding very, very similar to Stevie Wonder's vocal styling.

You can always buy ever week's music via iTunes, read more of our Glee coverage here.

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

Mamma Mia!

Meryl Streep-Mamma Mia Meryl Streep Read More ABBA http://weheartmus... Camera Obscura and ABBA both have songs called "Happy New Year", but they are unrelated. Or are ...

I will confess to liking, no, loving ABBA. As you may have suspected, I actually love eurodisco and especially Swedish music.

When I saw that Mamma Mia! The Movie opened earlier this year, I was hesitant to see it because I didn't think the original ABBA members was involved in the movie (although I think Björn Ulvaeus shows up in a cameo playing piano in one of the scene). When I saw the DVD for sale last Tuesday, I decided to take a chance on it. There was a few deciding factors involved, pricing and for a limited time at Target, it comes with the movie soundtrack. It also comes with a digital version of the movie for your computer and/or iPod, which tipped the scale for me.

After viewing the "2008 Golden Globe-nominated film", I can see why it would work for the stage... but not in motion picture format. There just seem to be something lacking for me. Mostly because I didn't really like literal translation of the songs, especially when I have my own interpretation of the original ABBA songs. And, really, do I need to see Dominic Cooper holding a cigar when he sings, "you used to say that smoking was my only vice" on "Lay All Your Love On Me"? Really? Really?!!?

Songs like "Does Your Mother Know?" is re-interpreted as an older lady and a younger boy, going as far as changing the lyrics to fit the scenario. Maybe the film works as a family film (although there are some pretty saucy/suggestive scenes...) or a good-old fashion musical.

Dancing Queen

ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

I love most of the songs, and the soundtrack (these are studio takes, not lifted from the film) is awesome. I especially love hearing "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia!". I felt "Gimme" was underused in the movie.

So, I suppose I really liked some of the songs, but not all, but overall didn't like the "feel-good" movie. I'll tell you what though, I don't really like comedy or family-type films, so don't read too much in my criticism. The type of movie I do enjoy is, recently, Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie.

Incidentally, ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" popped up recently in a mashup that Jaklumen previously mentioned.

Links: mammamiamovie.com abbasite.com