W♥M (Archive)

Minneapolis: November 6 to November 10, 2019

Low Cut Connie / Big Freedia at First Ave Read More Low Cut Connie Low Cut Connie (Adam Weiner, James Everhart, Will Donnelly, Larry Scotton, and Lucas Rinz) will be in town in support of their latest Dirty Pictures (Part 1) via Contender Records. … Big Freedia Boyfriend is opening for Big Freedia. Big Freedia is a rapper that knows how to get a crowd going. Frederick Ross (AKA Big Freedia) is not a newcomer to the hip-hop scene by any means…

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from November 6 to November 10, 2019.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

LOW CUT CONNIE and BIG FREEDIA
First Avenue
Thu 11/07/2019 (7pm/$22)
first-avenue.com

The first time we saw Low Cut Connie at Rock the Garden 2018, they really blew us away with their high-octane performance (especially for being first on the bill).

We caught them at their headlining gig at First Avenue Nov 1st and said, “Follow up gigs at increasingly larger rooms have only exponentially increased the local fan base and buzz, culminating in a memorable opening set in the heat and humidity of this past July’s Rock the Garden, a record store appearance just a few weeks later that transformed the retail outlet into the feel of a hot house juke joint, and this stomping eighty-minute good time, inside a crowded Mainroom.”

This time, the piano-driven group is co-headlining with Big Freedia, which should be quite an interesting show.

Tour dates:

11/2: Boston, MA - Royale
11/4: Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
11/5: Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's hall
11/7: Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
11/9: St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall
11/11: Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
11/12: Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
11/13: Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
11/15: Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
11/16: Eugene, OR - Wow Hall
11/17: Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/19: Berkeley, CA - UC Theatre
11/20: Los Angeles, CA - Regent Theater
11/21: Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up

Other shows in the area:

Julia Michaels at First Ave (Sandy) Alex G at Amsterdam Sasha Sloan at Cedar Cultural Center Ra Ra Riot at Fine Line Kindness at 7th Street Joseph Arthur/Jess Malin at 7th Street Read More (Sandy) Alex G Alex G (Alex Giannascoli - not to be confused with singer/songwriter Alex G) just released Beach Music... his seventh full-length album, and his first Domino release. He’s obviously not used to recording in a studio, saying, “I was …

JULIA MICHAELS
+ Rhys Lewis
First Avenue
Wed 11/06/2019 (6pm/$25)
first-avenue.com

Grammy Award-nominated multiplatinum singer / songwriter Julia Michaels will be stopping by First Avenue on November 6th. Michaels was previously in town with Maroon 5 in Sep 2018.

Rhys Lewis to open.

Tour Dates:

11/02/2019 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH
11/04/2019 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
11/05/2019 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
11/06/2019 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
11/08/2019 Gothic Theatre Englewood, CO
11/09/2019 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT
11/11/2019 The Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA
11/13/2019 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
11/15/2019 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR

(SANDY) ALEX G
+ Tomberlin, Indigo De Souza
Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Fri 11/08/2019 (7pm/$18)
amsterdambarandhall.com

Alex G (billed as (Sandy) Alex G) has sold out the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul this November 8th.

Tour dates:

11/01 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/02 - Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial
11/03 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/05 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Greek Station
11/06 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
11/08 - St Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall
11/09 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
11/10 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
11/12 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
11/14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
11/15 - Burlington, VT @ ArtsRiot
11/16 - Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts
11/17 - Boston, MA @ Royale
11/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
4/15 - San Diego, CA @ Soma

SASHA SLOAN
+ Winnetka Bowling League
Cedar Cultural Center
Fri 11/08/2019 (7pm/$31)
thecedar.org

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Sasha Sloan is stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center to play some songs from her new release Self Portrait (RCA Records).

Show up early to check out Winnetka Bowling League, touring in support of Cloudy With A Chance of Sun.

Tour dates:

11/08 – Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
11/09 – Chicago, IL - Chop Shop
11/10 – Detroit, MI - Shelter
11/12 – Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall
11/15 – Montreal, QC - L'Astral
11/16 – Boston, MA - Royale
11/19 – New York, NY- Webster Hall
11/20 – Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Downstairs
11/22 – Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
11/23 – Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11/25 – Nashville, TN - The Basement East
12/05 – Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre

RA RA RIOT
+ Bayonne, Whosah
Fine Line Music Cafe
Fri 11/08/2019 (8pm/$20)
finelinemusic.com

To be honest, I thought Ra Ra Riot broke up … seeing as their previous record, Need Your Light (Barsuk Records) came out in 2016. It appears the band never left, and they’ve released Superbloom on Rob the Rich Recordings/Caroline in August, and set to tour this fall/winter.

We caught RRR in Sep 2016 and wrote, “The band is out in support of Need Your Light (Barsuk Records), released earlier this year as their fourth full-length for the label. With the departure of original cellist Alex Lawn in 2012, the band’s sound has turned more electronic and their near hour-long set didn’t look as much to their past, as much as to their present and future.”

Bayonne and Whosah to open.

Tour dates:

11/01 @ Neptune in Seattle, WA
11/02 @ Biltmore in Vancouver, BC
11/03 @ Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR
11/05 @ Urban in Salt Lake City, UT
11/06 @ Bluebird in Denver, CO
11/08 @ Fine Line in Minneapolis, MN
11/09 @ Thalia Hall in Chicago, IL
11/10 @ Mod Club in Toronto, ON
11/12 @ Sinclair in Boston, MA
11/13 @ 9:30 Club in Washington, DC
11/14 @ Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA
11/16 @ Webster Hall in New York, NY
12/02 @ Paradiso in Amsterdam, NL
12/03 @ Häkken in Hamburg, DE
12/04 @ Musik und Frieden in Berlin, DE
12/05 @ Zehner in Munich, DE
12/07 @ Helios 37 in Cologne, DE
12/08 @ Exil in Zurich, CH
12/10 @ The Thekla in Bristol, UK
12/11 @ King Tuts in Glasgow, UK
12/12 @ The Deaf Institute in Manchester, UK
12/13 @ Oslo in London, UK

KINDNESS
+ Starchild & The New Romantic
7th St Entry
Sat 11/09/2019 (8pm/$20)
first-avenue.com

Kindness is touring in support of their third album Something Like A War (Female Energy)… they’ll be headlining the 7th Street Entry this Saturday, November 9th.

Tour dates:

11/02/2019 Boot & Saddle Philadelphia, PA
11/05/2019 Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
11/08/2019 Sleeping Village Chicago, IL
11/09/2019 7th St Entry Minneapolis, MN
11/12/2019 Barboza Seattle, WA
11/13/2019 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
11/15/2019 The Independent San Francisco, CA
11/16/2019 The Roxy Theatre West Hollywood, CA
12/06/2019 Tropico Festival
12/07/2019 Tropico Festival
12/08/2019 Tropico Festival
01/30/2020 Debaser Strand Stockholm
02/01/2020 Ingensteds Oslo, Norway
02/12/2020 La Maroquinerie Paris, France
02/15/2020 Headrow House Leeds
02/20/2020 YES Manchester
02/22/2020 EartH - Evolutionary Arts Hackney London
02/24/2020 Trinity Centre Bristol
03/19/2020 Fellah Hotel Marrakech, Morocco

JOSEPH ARTHUR / JESSE MALIN
7th St Entry
Sun 11/10/2019 (7pm/$18)
first-avenue.com

Joseph Arthur (of R.E.M. fame) is co-headlining the 7th Street Entry with Jesse Malin.

Tour dates:

11/06/2019 Rec Room, Buffalo, NY
11/07/2019 Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON
11/08/2019 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH
11/09/2019 S.P.A.C.E., Evanston, IL
11/10/2019 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN
11/11/2019 Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI
11/15/2019 Southgate House Revival, Newport, KY

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

The Head Banga Tour, feat. Tank and the Bangas, Big Freedia at First Avenue, Minneapolis (28 Oct 2018)

The Head Banga Tour at First Ave Tank and the Bangas Setlist Intro Quick Rollercoasters Smoke.Netflix.Chill. The Brady's Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover) Big Bad Wolf Rhythm of Life Spaceships I'll Be Seeing You B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad) (OutKast cover) with Big Freedia Big Freedia Setlist Intro: Medley by DJ Juane Jordan Karaoke N.O. Bounce Explode Gin in My System Hello (Adele cover) Azz Everywhere Rent I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston cover) Outro: K Michelle’s Get the F*** Off Of My Porch Read More Tank and the Bangas Over at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell, we saw New Orleans-based funk-soul musical group Tank and the Bangas. The group is fronted by Tarriona Ball (aka Tank), and was the winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest this year for their song ‘Quick’.… Big Freedia Boyfriend is opening for Big Freedia. Big Freedia is a rapper that knows how to get a crowd going. Frederick Ross (AKA Big Freedia) is not a newcomer to the hip-hop scene by any means…

The incredibly entertaining “Head Bangas Tour”, featuring Big Freedia and Tank and the Bangas stopped by First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday night.

New Orleans’ Naughty Professor opened the show. The funk/jam band features guitarist “Wild” Bill Daniel, bassist Noah Young, drummer Sam Shahin, alto sax Nick Ellman, tenor sax Ian Bowman, and trumpeter John Culbreth.

Since it’s too hard to transcribe instrumental-only band, I couldn’t tell you any tracks they played, other than “Brain Storm”, which they announced as third song in their set.

Typical of these type of shows, before Big Freedia’s grand entrance, DJ Juane Jordan played a medley of hit songs, some of which included Snoop Doggy Dogg. This served as an introduction to Big Freedia’s band (Naughty Professor) and her three dancers (Skip, Flash, and Tootie).

They started their set with “Karaoke”, which actually originally feature Minnesota’s Lizzo, but unfortunately she may not be in town to guest cameo.

The crowd absolutely loves Big Freedia, many of them have been to a few of her shows before, so they knew what they were in for. For example, during “Azz Everywhere”, there were already fans lining up to demonstrate their twerking ability. As soon as Big Freedia announced, “I need five volunteers from each side,” there were fans ready to go.

She did a couple of covers, Adele’s “Hello” and Dolly Parton, by the way of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”…. Which ended her fun-filled set.

Even though Big Freedia left the stage, her dancers remained on stage… slowly getting played off the stage to K Michelle’s “Get the F*** Off Of My Porch”.

Big Freedia’s latest Third Ward Bounce EP is out now. The EP is special in many ways, as it’s Big Freedia’s first major record deal with Asylum Records.

Tank and the Bangas closed out the night. It’s weird, but in many ways, seeing the band at Minnesota State Fair 2017, it almost like seeing two completely different bands!

Now Tarriona “Tank” Ball, armed with a large live band, including a Norman Spence on bass, THREE keyboard players (Joe Johnson, Merell Burkett, and unknown band member), guitarist Danny Abel, Joshua Johnson on drums, a two-piece horns section (Albert Allenback on alto saxophone and Etienne Stoufflet on tenor saxophone) and two backup singers (Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph and Kayla Buggage), Tank and the Bangas’ new 2018 show is just wild, upbeat, and dance/party focus, with a little slam poetry thrown in.

Their set consists of mostly newer singles, which this large band is excited to play… No one in the audience was complaining, as they helped sing and dance to their songs.

It’s been five years since their debut album Thinktank, but recently the band released a few new singles, including “Smoke.Netflix.Chill” and “Spaceships” … and it feels like they are due to release a second album soon.

Tour dates:

10/30: Maquoketa, IA at Codfish Hollow
10/31: Kansas City, MO at The Truman
11/2: Denver, CO at The Ogden
11/3: Salt Lake City, UT at The Depot
11/5: Vancouver, BC at The Commodore
11/6: Seattle, WA at The Neptune
11/7: Portland, OR at Roseland
11/9: Berkeley, CA at UC Theatre

Naughty Professor

Naughty Professor

Big Freedia

Big Freedia’s dancer twerking on the stairs

Big Freedia: Azz Everywhere

Big Freedia

Big Freedia

Big Freedia

Big Freedia

Tank Lighting Setlist

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas

Tank and the Bangas at First Avenue, Minneapolis (28 Oct 2018)

 

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

Rocktober: October 27 to October 29, 2018

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from October 27 to October 29, 2018.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

Tank and the Bangas/Big Freedia at First Ave Read More Tank and the Bangas Over at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell, we saw New Orleans-based funk-soul musical group Tank and the Bangas. The group is fronted by Tarriona Ball (aka Tank), and was the winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest this year for their song ‘Quick’.… Big Freedia Boyfriend is opening for Big Freedia. Big Freedia is a rapper that knows how to get a crowd going. Frederick Ross (AKA Big Freedia) is not a newcomer to the hip-hop scene by any means…

TANK AND THE BANGAS / BIG FREEDIA
+ Naughty Professor
First Avenue
Sun 10/28/2018 (7pm/$25)
first-avenue.com

The co-headlining tour of Tank and the Bangas and Big Freedia show is taking place at First Avenue on October 28th.

We saw Tank and the Bangas in Sep 2017 and said that they were the highlight at the Minnesota State Fair.

As for Big Freedia, she is one of the most famous Bounce music pioneer, as well as a reality TV star. We saw her in Nov 2015 and said, “Big Freedia left me speechless the last time I saw her at P.O.S's The F***ng Best Show Ever festival over the summer. She did it again... only last Wednesday at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, I was a bit more prepared for what was going to happen... or at least I thought I was. That's when I realized... you are never ready for a Big Freedia show and that's part of the charm.”


Naughty Professor to open.

Tour dates:

10/20: Philadelphia, PA at Theatre of Living Arts
10/21: Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Steel
10/23: Boston, MA at Royale
10/25: Toronto, ONT at Danforth Music Hall
10/26: Chicago, IL at Concord Music Hall
10/28: Minneapolis, MN at First Avenue
10/30: Maquoketa, IA at Codfish Hollow
10/31: Kansas City, MO at The Truman
11/2: Denver, CO at The Ogden
11/3: Salt Lake City, UT at The Depot
11/5: Vancouver, BC at The Commodore
11/6: Seattle, WA at The Neptune
11/7: Portland, OR at Roseland
11/9: Berkeley, CA at UC Theatre

Other shows in the area:

Mothers 2018 Tour Melodime 2018 Tour Joep Beving at Cedar Maggie Rogers at First Ave Ian Sweet at 7th Street Entry Read More Mega Bog Mega Bog (aka Erin Birgy) opened up the show. I wasn’t sure if this was her last night on tour, but for sure, she confessed that it was the last night that she would play with her live band: James … Maggie Rogers With Maggie Rogers’ ‘Alaska’ song hitting Spotify’s Viral 50 in 40 countries and hit #1 in 23 countries (including the U.S.), it’s not hard to see why this 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist sold out her appearance at the upcoming …

MOTHERS
+ Mega Bog, Sleeping Jesus
Turf Club
Sat 10/27/2018 (8pm/$12)
turfclub.net

Athens’ Mothers (aka Kristine Leschper) is headlining the Turf Club on Saturday, October 27th, in support of her latest   Render Another Ugly Method.

Show up early to check out local Sleeping Jesus and Mega Bog (aka Erin Birgy). We’ve seen Mega Bog a few times, the last with Destroyer in January 2018 and said, “The band played a lot of new songs from their album Happy Together (Nicey Music), which, when played live, sounds a bit like an offbeat jazz album. Vocally, I have described Erin Birgy’s singing voice as a bit like Kate Bush, or now, perhaps Nico.”

Tour dates:

10/21: Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO
10/22: Downtown Artery - Fort Collins, CO
10/23: Slowdown - Omaha, NE
10/24: recordBar - Kansas City, MO
10/25: Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
10/26: Schubas - Chicago, IL
10/27: Turf Club - Minneapolis, MN
10/29: The Bishop - Bloomington, IN
10/30: Ace of Cups - Columbus, OH
10/31: MOTR Pub - Cincinnati, OH

MELODIME / THE BREVET
Studio B
Sun 10/28/2018 (7pm/$12)
skywaytheatre.com

Melodime is co-headlining with SoCal-based band The Brevet on this tour. They are stopping by Studio B at the Skyway Theatre this Sunday, October 28. The Brevet was last seen in Minneapolis on May 1, 2018 but since then, their new album Legs just came out on Oct 12 via Pretend City Records.

Tour dates:

10/23/2018 Soiled Dove Underground Denver, CO
10/24/2018 Knuckleheads Kansas City, MO
10/25/2018 The Mill Iowa City, IA
10/26/2018 Blueberry Hill St. Louis, MO
10/27/2018 Martyrs' Chicago, IL
10/28/2018 Studio B Minneapolis, MN
10/30/2018 Seven Steps Up Spring Lake, MI

JOEP BEVING
+ Iceblink
Cedar Cultural Center
Mon 10/29/2018 (7pm/$22)
thecedar.org

900 ft tall Dutch pianist Joep Beving (just kidding he’s only nearly 7 feet tall), is bringing his music to the Cedar Cultural Center on October 29th on a tiny North American tour. Beving’s forthcoming album Conatus is available October 23rd via Deutsche Grammophon ... but I’m assuming you can preview the new record (or perhaps pick up the album before it’s made available to the public).

Local Iceblink to open.

Tour dates:

10/23—Los Angeles, CA—Lodge Room
10/25—Portland, OR—The Old Church
10/26—Seattle, WA—Nordstrom Recital Hall
10/27—Vancouver, Canada—Biltmore Cabaret
10/29—Minneapolis, MN—The Cedar Cultural Center
10/30—Chicago, IL—Constellation

MAGGIE ROGERS
+ Mallrat
First Avenue
Mon 10/29/2018 (7pm/$29.50/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Was a warmup to opening for Mumford & Sons on their North American arena tour in December, acclaimed producer/songwriter/performer Maggie Rogers will be playing First Avenue on Monday, October 29th. The show is sold out.

Look for Rogers’ Capitol Records debut album, Heard It In A Past Life, on January 18, 2019.

Show up early to check out 19 year old Australian Mallrat. Mallrat’s sophomore EP In the Sky is out now on Nettwerk Records.

Maggie Rogers –2018 Tour Dates

10/21 Phoenix, AZ Van Buren
10/23 Austin, TX Stubb’s
10/24 Dallas, TX House of Blues
10/26 Kansas City, MO Truman
10/27 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
10/29 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
10/30 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
11/1 Toronto, ON Phoenix
11/2 Montreal, QC MTELUS
11/3 Portland, ME State Theatre

IAN SWEET
+ Young Jesus
7th Street Entry
Mon 10/29/2018 (7:30pm/$12)
first-avenue.com

Los Angeles’ Ian Sweet (aka Jilian Medford) will be stopping by the 7th Street Entry in support of her new album Crush Crusher (available October 26th on Hardly Art). She’s bringing Young Jesus with her on this tour.

Tour dates:

10/20 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
10/22 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
10/24 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
10/25 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic
10/26 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/27 - Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
10/28 - Omaha, NE @ O'Leavers
10/29 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
10/30 - Chicago @ Subterranean
11/1 - Toronto, ON @ The Monarch
11/2 - Buffalo @ Mohawk Place
11/3 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott

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

Big Freedia, w/ Boyfriend at the Varsity, Minneapolis (11 Nov 2015)

Tour Dates 11/15 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall Read More Big Freedia Boyfriend is opening for Big Freedia. Big Freedia is a rapper that knows how to get a crowd going. Frederick Ross (AKA Big Freedia) is not a newcomer to the hip-hop scene by any means… Boyfriend Boyfriend will be releasing her new EP Love Your Boyfriend, Pt. 3 at some point later this year. Her two previous EPs Love Your Boyfriend, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 have taken the hip-hop scene by storm. …

Twerk: to dance to popular music with the body bent low and the hips moving forwards and backwards

Big Freedia left me speechless the last time I saw her at P.O.S's The F***ng Best Show Ever festival over the summer. She did it again... only last Wednesday at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, I was a bit more prepared for what was going to happen... or at least I thought I was. That's when I realized... you are never ready for a Big Freedia show and that's part of the charm.

*Spoiler Alert* Before you get confused. Big Freedia is a gay man who wears women's hair and carries around purses. She is not transgender and goes by either he or she (but she does prefer "she", or so I hear). I will call her a she out of respect for her art and because she is nothing short of a queen diva in my mind.

Big Freedia is first and foremost an entertainer. Although she doesn't play music that I frequently listen to or call myself a fan of, I love her live shows and will continue going to see her every time she is in town.

She makes you want to move and you can't help but smile from the first second you lay eyes on her. The crowd erupted as soon as they got a glance of the diva. Freedia, born Frederick Ross, was shuffled through the crowd before her set. Fans were trying to snap any picture they could of the larger than life musician. The hootin' and hollerin' didn't end until Freedia got up on stage with her four dancers and DJ. Then that hootin' and hollerin' turned into a giant dance party full of some extremely happy people.

Big Freedia played song after song while the crowd jumped, danced and sang with smiles all around. You can't help but smile when watching Big Freedia and her dancers on stage. There's constantly something to watch whether you're mesmerized by the dancing skills of the dancers, or watching Freedia command the crowd while flinging her dark, long, shiny hair around.

Freedia's dancers are beasts. Just watching them makes me absolutely exhausted and makes my legs hurt. They twerk like I have never seen twerking done before. Miley Cyrus, hell, any other pop star out there, has nothing on these dancers and Big Freedia. These performers can twerk as if their life depended on it. There was even one point when one of the female dancers found her way up to the balcony and was twerking while hanging off the side of said balcony. It was definitely a sight to see.

Another sight to see was the "twerk off" that Big Freedia hosted up on stage. She brought around 15 audience members onto the stage to show off their twerking talents. It was hard to watch it all because of how many people there were on stage with their different "twerking styles" but through it all, Big Freedia was there, being Big Freedia, and making everyone dance, laugh, and smile whether you were on the stage or in the crowd.

Boyfriend

As if Big Freedia wasn't enough amusement for one night, Boyfriend was opening for her. Boyfriend is a female rapper from New Orleans (also home to Big Freedia), and not to be confused with the Korean pop group also called Boyfriend. Boyfriend was nothing short of entertaining to watch. Boyfriend was joined onstage by two local scantily clad burlesque dancers. Boyfriend's lyrics are vivid and inappropriate but also honest.

Her stage presence, much like that of Big Freedia's, is larger than life. She had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand and I mean more than just eating the candy she kept throwing out into the crowd. She kept the crowd mesmerized but her one woman show. Her outfits kept on changing as did the songs but her energy never changed. You couldn't help but laugh at some of the lyrics and every female in the room instantly wanted to be her. She made it look so effortless and perfect.

Boyfriend's new single "Attention (Boogie T Remix)" is available on her third and final installment of her Love Your Boyfriend project EP (and will available in late 2015).

Last night was a bit out of my realm of shows but it was probably one of the most entertaining shows I've been to in a while.

Big Freedia left me speechless yet again.

Big Freedia at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (11 Nov 2015)

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

Minneapolis: November 11, 2015

Read More Passafire Passafire was formed in 2003 by students attending Savannah College of Art and Design. Throughout the years they have become a perpetually touring band playing hundreds of …

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on November 11, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

PASSAFIRE
at Fine Line Music Cafe
Wednesday, 11/11/2015, 7pm ($13)
finelinemusic.com

Reggae-rock band Passafire is on their "The Getaway" tour, stopping by the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis on November 11th.

For the second leg of tour, they are bringing their Easy Star Records label mates Lionize from Maryland.

Minneapolis/St Paul's reggae band Goulash to open.

Tour dates:

Nov-11 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
Nov-12 - Madison, WI - Frequency Live
Nov-13 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
Nov-14 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
Nov-15 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
Nov-18 - Daytona, FL - Ocean Deck
Nov-19 - St. Pete, FL - Jannus Live
Nov-20 - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live
Nov-21 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft

Read More Big Freedia Big Freedia (pronounced "Freeda") is an absolutely amazing artist. This music is so amazing for dancing, but there's an infectious energy that it has that's unlike just about …

BIG FREEDIA
at Varsity Theater
Wednesday, 11/11/2015, 7:30pm ($20)
finelinemusic.com

Boyfriend will be releasing her new EP Love Your Boyfriend, Pt. 3 at some point later this year. Her two previous EPs Love Your Boyfriend, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 have taken the hip-hop scene by storm. This teacher-by-day and self-proclaimed "raunchy" rapper by night is trying to make room for everyone and everything in the hip-hop scene.

Boyfriend is opening for Big Freedia. Big Freedia is a rapper that knows how to get a crowd going. Frederick Ross (AKA Big Freedia) is not a newcomer to the hip-hop scene by any means. She has released four studio albums since 2003. She also led a crowd of hundreds in New York City to set the Guinness World Record for twerking.

I saw Big Freedia at local rapper POS's "Best F***** Day Ever" fest and she was awesome. The crowd was electric and she was on fire. I can't wait to see her again!

Shannon Blowtorch set to DJ.

Tour dates:

11/05 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
11/06 - Cleveland, OH @ Cambridge Room
11/07 - Detroit, MI @ Shelter
11/10 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
11/11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
11/13 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/15 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall

All dates with Boyfriend

Read More Video There’s no band that can lay claim to being the true best in the business, except VIDEO. Crawling from the musical wasteland that is Texas, their intentions are simple: they want to own …

VIDEO
at Pork Ave House
Wednesday, 11/11/2015
news.weheartmusic.com

We don't typically cover house shows/house parties, because of legal reasons and partly because there are no securities or clearly labeled fire exits.

Also, unless you're in "the know", these shows aren't advertised, so if you're a fan of Texas-based Video (very confusing name), they are playing the Pork Ave House on Wednesday. You have to ask the band or the event organizers for the address if you want to see the show.

Check out their new single "New Immortals" on Soundcloud, taken from their Third Man Records' album The Entertainers.

Tour dates:

11/05/15 Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus
11/06/15 Montreal, QC La Vitrola
11/07/15 Toronto, ON Silver Dollar
11/08/15 Detroit, MI Marble
11/09/15 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
11/10/15 Milwaukee, WI Lucky Cat
11/11/15 Minneapolis, MN House Concert
11/12/15 St. Louis, MO Foam Coffee & Beer
11/13/15 Norman, OK Opolis
11/14/15 Dallas, TX Three Links

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