W♥M (Archive)

Owl City at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (07/13/12)

Tour Dates 07.15.12 Bluebird Theatre in Denver, CO 07.18.12 Greek Theatre in Los Angeles 07.20.12 Power Balance in Sacramento 07.21.12 Slims in San Francisco, CA 07.23.12 Triple Door in Seattle, WA 09.05.12 Nashville, TN @ Cannery 09.06.12 Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage 09.07.12 Orlando, FL @ Beacham Theatre 09.08.12 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution 09.10.12 Washington DC @ 9:30 Club 09.11.12 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza 09.13.12 Boston, MA @ Paradise 09.14.12 Philadelphia @ Theatre of Living 09.15.12 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert 09.16.12 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music 09.18.12 Houston, TX @ House of Blues 09.19.12 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues 09.20.12 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa 09.22.12 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues 09.26.12 San Francisco, CA @ Regency 09.28.12 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore 09.29.12 Seattle, WA @ Neptune 10.01.12 Salt Lake City, UT @ Depot 10.02.12 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre 10.04.12 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue 10.05.12 Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont 10.06.12 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre 10.07.12 Detroit, MI @ Crofoot 10.18.12 Paris, France @ Trabendo 10.19.12 Zurich, Switzerland @ Mascotte 10.21.12 Munich, Germany @ Hansa 39 10.22.12 Frankfurt, Ger @ Batschkapp 10.23.12 Hamburg, Germany @ Knust 10.25.12 London, UK @ Forum 10.26.12 Birmingham, UK @ Library/HMV 10.27.12 Dublin, Ireland @ Whelans 10.28.12 Glasgow, UK @ Garage 10.30.12 Manchester, UK @ Academy 3 10.31.12 Oxford, UK @ Academy 2 11.02.12 Gent, Belgium @ Vooruit 11.03.12 Amsterdam, Holland @ Melkweg 11.07.12 Osaka, Japan @ Big Cat 11.08.12 Tokyo, Japan @ Shibuya Ax 11.12.12 Taipei, Taiwan @ Legacy 11.14.12 Jakarta, Indonesia @ Tennis 11.16.12 Auckland, NZ @ Powerstation 11.18.12 Melbourne, Aus @ Corner Hotel 11.20.12 Sydney, Australia @ The Metro Read More Owl City I've seen Owl City easily sell out larger capacity venues, so it was no surprise me that Owl City sold out the Varsity Theater this Friday, July 13th.

Owl City is on a tiny promotional tour before his major Fall (September to November) tour for his new album, The Midsummer Station. Part of the mini-tour includes last night, July 13th, at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. The Varsity is probably going to be the smallest venue that Owl City, in his current popular status, will likely play.

Jayme Dee

Opening up for Owl City was Jayme Dee, who started as a YouTube star. She quickly shot up to fame, with her song "Rules," being featured in "The Hunger Games" soundtrack, alongside other established acts like Arcade Fire, Neko Case, and Taylor Swift.

She's always writing music, so she unveiled a new songs that she wrote a few days ago called "Keep Away," which she ended her set. Highlight of her show for me was her cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic."

Before we get to Owl City's performance, I have to say that it was really nice to see such a devoted fanbase. The mostly teen girls (some as young as 10 years old, so their parents were acting as chaperone) stood for hours in the pouring rain with homemade T-Shirts and signs with messages like "you inspired me". Also every time the Varsity Theater showed "Owl City at the Varsity, Sold-Out" slideshow, it caused a huge reaction with the crowd. Clearly every single person in the venue was there to see Owl City.

It was also nice to see Breanne Düren, on keys and backup vocals. I didn't know the other band members, but they all seemed seasoned enough, playing and dancing with confidence.

One of the louder rock songs they did on their set was "Dementia," which Adam Young started with him fist-pumping into the air (which caused the entire audience to mimic). It shouldn't be a surprise that it was more upbeat because the song was co-written with Blink-182's Mark Hoppus.

Highlight of his set for me was, of course, his big hit single, "Fireflies." You haven't heard the song until you hear it live, with his ten million fans singing "I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay."

Owl City is currently on tour to promote The Midsummer Station, to be released on August 21st on Universal Republic. If you are kicking yourself for missing Owl City this time around, he's coming back to Minneapolis in October at First Avenue. Although the venue has a larger capacity, I predict it will sell out - so get your tickets now as they just went on sale last night.

Owl City at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (07/13/12)

vu () ♥ owlcitymusic.com ♥ jaymedee.com

Breanne Düren at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (05/20/11)

Read More Breanne Düren Her songs are introspective, so it's kind of weird to hear such upbeat songs from her debut solo five-track EP called Sparks, out on May 3rd.

Prior to last night's all-ages show at the 7th Street Entry, I got a press release stating that Breanne Düren's debut EP, Sparks, was on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart at #5 (#3 on the iTunes Pop Charts), and she'll be hitting the road with her pal, Owl City, to play some massive stadiums (even as support band on some of the dates). I'm glad I got a chance to catch her at such a small and intimate setting as the 7th Street before she blows up.

HILLARY HOWARD

DUSTIN HATZENBUHLER

Starting off the early evening was Hillary Howard, with her dad on acoustic guitar. She played a few new songs, including "Creep" and a yet-to-be-titled song that she just wrote a few days ago (the lyrics were written on her arm). She ended her set with "Miss World". Apologies for the dark photo, I believe the 7th Street's center lights are broken. It was as dark on stage as it was off the stage.

Dustin Hatzenbuhler spent most of his set behind his keyboard, except for two songs on his ukulele (I believe they were for his ex-band Ferris' song, "I Don't", and Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" - which many folky artists have covered, including Ben Sollee). He ended his set with "Love Me Until Tomorrow".

So, you know the story, I saw Breanne Düren play support for Passenger at the Hollow in 2008, so I was eager to see how far she's come since then. The big change is, of course, the full backing band she has on stage. They played with her until "Lenses" and "Black Cofee", which saw Düren by herself on the keyboard.

Highlight from her show was a cover of Jamie Lidell's "Another Day". As you can see from her cute notes, written on the setlist (see scan), she tried to get people in New York dancing, but all they could muster was the shoulder shuffle.

Basically all five tracks from her Sparks EP, plus a few old songs were played. She didn't have too many songs under her belt, but that's okay, she's still young.

BREANNE DUREN

Now, for some tour announcements - these are dates with Owl City, (*) will indicate that Breanne will open these shows for Owl City. I would like to see them at The Roy Wilkins Auditorium, but since I criticized Owl City for overusing autotune in my review, I don't think they like me very much.

06/13/11 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium 06/14/11 Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle 06/16/11 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues 06/17/11 Charlotte, NC - Fillmore Charlotte 06/18/11 Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Pavilion 06/20/11 Montreal, QUE - Olympia de Montreal 06/21/11 Toronto, ONT - Kool Haus 06/23/11 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom* 06/25/11 Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center 06/26/11 Boston, MA - House of Blues 06/28/11 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room 06/29/11 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit 06/30/11 Milwaukee, WI - Henry Maier Festival 07/01/11 Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities 07/02/11 Shirleysburg, PA - Agape Farm 07/11/11 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre 07/12/11 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit 07/13/11 Orem, UT - UCCU Center 07/15/11 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre 07/16/11 Vancouver, BC - Centre In 07/17/11 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre 07/19/11 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre 07/21/11 Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia* 07/23/11 Pomona, CA - Fox Theatre Pomona 07/25/11 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theatre 07/26/11 Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre 07/27/11 Austin, TX - The Moody Theatre 07/29/11 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom 07/30/11 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium 08/12/11 Auckland, NZ - Auckland Town Hall		08/15/11 Brisbane, AU - The Tivoli 08/16/11 Sydney, AU - Metro Theatre 08/17/11 Melbourne, AU - Billboard The Venue 08/18/11 Melbourne, AU - Billboard The Venue 09/05/11 Dublin, IE - The Academy 09/07/11 Glasgow, UK - ABC 09/08/11 Manchester, UK - Manchester Academy 09/09/11 London, UK - Shepherd's Bush Empire* 09/12/11 Leeds, UK - Leeds Academy 09/13/11 Birmingham, UK - HMV Institute 09/15/11 Tilburg, NL - O13 09/16/11 Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique 09/17/11 Paris, FR - Bataclan* 09/19/11 Madrid, ES - Ramdall 09/20/11 Lisbon, PT - Campo Pequeño 09/22/11 Barcelona, ES - Apolo 2 09/24/11 Milan, IT - Milano Magazzini Generali 09/26/11 Zurich, CH - Abart 09/27/11 Munich, DE - Theatrefabrik 09/28/11 Vienna, AT - Arena Vienna 09/30/11 Berlin, DE - Postbahnhof 10/01/11 Cologne, DE - Gloria 10/02/11 Hamburg, DE - Gruenspan* 10/04/11 - Copenhagen, DK - Vega 10/05/11 Stockholm, SE - Berns 10/21/11 Nagoya, JP - Club Quattro 10/22/11 Tokyo, JP - Stellar Ball* 10/24/11 Seoul, KR - AX Hall 10/26/11 Manila, Philippines - Trinoma Hall 10/28/11 Jakarta, ID - Tennis Indoor Senayan*

vu () ♥ breannedurenmusic.com

Going for Gold IV: The Soundcloud Edition

You know what's funny is that I get a lot of "gold"-related emails since I started my Going for Gold series. So, I reckon if you have a gold-related band/album, just send me a note. Also, please no more Soundcloud!

So ... it's that time again, when I present to you some golden nuggets:

GOLDEN GLOW
myspace.com/goldenglowmusic

Golden Glow is the stage name for one singer/songwriter Pierre Hall.

According to his biography, he fronted "a short-lived but much-loved Brit-Pop band" called Lead Balloons. I'm a massive Britpop fan, and I've never heard of them, but admittedly I should specify that I'm into 90s Britpop era. I guess it's already too late since the band called it quits back in 2009.

Anyway, Golden Glow is named after Felt's "Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow" and is supposed to be a bit of Britpop and shoegaze. I was curious enough to check out his "Adore Me" song, which does have a great raw energy sound, but the vocals sounds... I don't know how to put it, I guess it sounds Asian. You can listen for yourself at soundcloud.com (free download).

The debut album is called, Tender Is The Night, which invokes F Scott Fitzgerald and Blur. It is coming out on June 21^st via Bleeding Gold (limited edition vinyl pressing) and Mush Records (digital/CD).

NEON GOLD RECORDS
neongoldrecords.com

Neon Gold Records, based out of New York and London, have signed Australia's Strange Talk. Their Neon Gold release is a debut self-titled EP, out on May 2^nd, 2011. However, you can take a listen to their record on soundcloud.com

What makes this a special release is that they are releasing the EP in both vinyl and CD (previously they only pressed vinyl).

Strange Talk is doing some shows around Australia in the next few months:

4/27/11 Wollongong, AUS @ The Harp
4/28/11 Sydney, AUS @ Good God
4/29/11 Newcastle, AUS @ CBD Hotel
4/30/11 Toukley, AUS @ Beachcomber Hotel
5/01/11 Canberra, AUS @ Trinity Bar
5/06/11 Melbourne, AUS @ Northcote Social Club
5/07/11 Ballarat, AUS @ Karova Lounge
5/13/11 Adelaide, AUS @ Houndstooth at Rocket Bar
5/14/11 Brisbane, AUS @ The Bowler Bar

Neon Gold also released Penguin Prison's Golden Train on 7", but since I've received absolutely nothing on this band, I don't really know much about them. If they're on Neon Gold, it's got to be, er, golden, right ?

BREANNE DÜREN
www.breannedurenmusic.com

I remember Breanne Duren. I saw her a few years ago and as I recalled, she was the "quiet girl with her Casio keyboard". Her songs are introspective, so it's kind of weird to hear such upbeat songs from her debut solo five-track EP called Sparks, out on May 3^rd.

I guess the dancey beats shouldn't surprise me because she's been friends and vocals on Owl City (she appears on "The Saltwater Room" and was one of the better songs from my review). Owl City also lend a hand in and recently remixed one of Duren's track, "Daydreams". The track is an exclusive if you pre-order the EP, you're automatically sent the song.

It's also noted that Perez Hilton loved her and called her the "American Lykke Li".

You can hear the lead track off the EP called "Gold Mine" on, guess what?, Soundcloud.

She is doing a few selective dates, one of which is here in Minneapolis. I'm going to put in a request to see this show, it should be good to see how things have changed from the quiet girl to pop star.

May 2 - New York, NY @ Soho House - 8pm
May 3 - Apple Store Soho 7pm
May 4 - The Living Room 9pm
May 12 - Los, Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
May 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
June 23 - New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
July 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia

THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR
theasteroidsgalaxytour.com

I actually really love these guys. They made it on my top five songs of 2008 and I predicted that they were going to massive. And they are. People love this band, and on weird occassions, at clubs, I sometime hear "Around the Bend" (not one of my favorite Asteroids Galaxy Tour song, but it's awesome that they play it).

Well, it looks like they've just released an EP called The Golden Age and doing some tour for 2011:

5/26 – London, UK @ ULU
5/28 – London, UK @ London Heineken Champions League Final
6/15 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Melkweg
6/16 – Groningen, The Netherlands @ Vera
6/18 – Germany, Southside Festival
6/19 – Germany, Hurricane Festival
6/23 – Greece, Heineken Festival
7/01 – Poland, Open’er Festival
7/10 – Hungary, Balaton Sound Festival
9/23 – Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Rock in Rio

DIRTY GOLD
www.dirtygoldmusic.com

Released a few weeks ago, on April 12^th, was Dirty Gold's Roar EP out on Autumn Tone Records. You can listen to the whole set on Soundcloud (do you see a trend here???).

I did listen briefly to a bit of it, it sounds very Carribean and, "Beachy". In fact, you can hear the sound of the beach and seagulls on the background to "California Sunrise".

I don't know much about the band, other than that Dirty Gold basically is lead by singer/guitarist Lincoln. You know, like Bono or Sting. The rest of the band includes keys/rhythm guitarist John Ballif & drummer Grant Nassif. They're a brand new band, only having formed late last year, but they quickly signed to Autumn Tone (who incidentally also signed Travel By Sea, a band that would've been perfect for Lost at Sea).

Roar track listing:

1. North
2. California Sunrise
3. Sea Hare
4. The Quiet Life
5. Overboard

MURRAY GOLD
twitter.com/murraygold

You know who's not on Soundcloud ? Murray Gold. He's on Twitter though.

Murray Gold is a British composer, living in New York, famous for his work on the soundtrack to Doctor Who. Looking over his biography, he been doing television and movie soundtrack for a while and was nominated for four BAFTAS for his trouble.

Well, his latest release is for the soundtrack to Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, out digitally last Tuesday (April 26^th) and a compact disc version in stores on May 17^th, courtesy of Lakeshore Records.

Director/co-writer Mike Disa gave his approval of the soundtrack, stating: "When I was visualizing my approach to this film, I knew it had to be a tongue-in-cheek action comedy. Something as smart and exciting as any big budget action film, but funny and accessible to kids. That made me instantly think of Murray [Gold]'s work; dramatic and bold but still playful and surprising."

The movie, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil is out in theaters on April 29, 2011.

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

/Passenger. at The Hollow in Minneapolis 08/07/08

/Passenger. ♥ photo by vu Tour Dates 08/09/08 Meadowlark Bar Denver, CO 08/11/08 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, CA 08/12/08 House Of Blues San Diego, CA 08/13/08 Swedish American Hall SF CA 08/16/08 V-Festival, Weston Park, Staffordshire 08/17/08 V-Festival, Chelmsford 08/30/08 Hydro Connect Festival Scotland   /Passenger. - Night Vision Binoculars Passenger /Passenger. - Wicked Man's Rest http://weheartmus... Long before I received Wicked Man's Rest album for review, people were already asking me about th...

Set List ♥ Hollow at the Local, Minneapolis (08/07/08) Discography [Sep 2007] Wicked Man's Rest (UK) [Aug 2008] Wicked Man's Rest (US)

I had a little trouble finding The Hollow venue. First of all, I've never heard of this venue, but apparently it's a tiny little place inside an Irish bar called The Local. Once inside, you noticed that the venue is an elongated dining room - quite small and intimate.

Warming up for /Passenger. is miss Breanne Düren, a quiet girl with her Casio keyboard. Her songs sounds really introspective and very calming.

After a solo Mike Rosenberg on the first two songs, Andrew Phillips and Alon Cohen joins him on stage. They are normally a five-piece band (complete with bass and keys), but for these stripped down shows it's all-acoustic-all-the-way.

It works well, especially for this tiny venue (I was told it was only 70 persons capacity), because the smallest sound can be carried across the room. Songs like "Do What You Like" and "Playstation" were especially effective as the songs are fast and frantic.

They had a nice break with their love song, "For You", once again, solo-Mike, singing his heart out: "For you, dear, I would lose my legs to walk, dear.". Kind of creepy and weird, if you ask me.

Although it's listed "Stupid" as the encore, there were no encore given. It's not a surprise because "Night Vision Binoculars" was such a powerful song that they couldn't follow up on that song.

It looks like they'll be hitting California's coast for a week, so be sure to check them out if you're on the West coast. I was very glad to have caught them this early in their career in such an intimate setting.

Update: Additional photographs at BRATT:

/Passenger. ♥ photograph by Brody

/Passenger. ♥ photograph by Brody

/Passenger. ♥ photograph by Brody

/Passenger. ♥ photograph by Brody

 

Links: passengerofficial.com myspace.com/passengerofficial myspace.com/breanneduren