W♥M (Archive)

Lizz Wright at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (23 September 2015)

Setlist Walk With Me Old Man (Neil Young cover) Somewhere Down the Mystic Real Life Painting Freedom The New Game Stop River Man (Nick Drake cover) The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger cover) Coming Home -- Encore -- Amazing Grace / Song for Mia (medley) Salt Read More Lizz Wright American jazz/R&B singer Lizz Wright is back with her latest album Freedom & Surrender, which according to all the critics, including Mojo Magazine and NPR, they think this is her strongest and best album yet. …

Blues/Jazz singer Lizz Wright recently made a rare double appearance at the Dakota Jazz Club on September 22 and 23rd, touring in promotion of her latest album Freedom & Surrender. Her last Dakota appearance was on February 23, 2011.

The house's introduction to Wright was pretty great, describing her voice as smoky and truly unique. Her voice carried the concert, but in typical jazz shows, the music also played a huge part, often improvising and extending the music beyond its original frame. In fact, the band had a full five minutes to warm up the stage for Wright to appear on stage.

The guitar and bass solos, which were done midway and near the end of her set, served as a nice intermission to let Wright take a break from lead vocals.

Of course, the majority of the set consisted of songs from her new album Freedom & Surrender, which critics have noticed was less jazz and more blues and R&B. Wright jokingly said that was because she paused too much during her songs.

Wright was also very particular about how the music sound, and always a perfectionist when it came to her voice. At the start of "Real Life Painting", there was a low sound that she was hearing that was throwing her off. She stopped the song and after a brief fix, they restarted the song.

Setlist

Filling out the rest of their set were a couple of cover songs, including Neil Young's "Old Man", Nick Drake's "River Man" and Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (made popular by Roberta Flack). The latter song, Wright noted that it will appear as a bonus song on Freedom & Surrender, but she loved it so much that she said she'll make sure it will be available on her next wide release.

For the encore, Wright started with a traditional song "Amazing Grace", medley into "Song for Mia", before ending the whole thing with the title track from her debut album: "Salt".

Lizz Wright's remaining tour dates:

10/16/15 Stockholm Jazz Festival Stockholm
10/17/15 Lillehammer kirke (5PM) Lillehammer
10/18/15 Cosmopolite Oslo
10/19/15 Stenhammarsalen Goteborg
10/22/15 Flagey Brussels
10/23/15 Paradiso Amsterdam
10/26/15 Heimathafen Berlin
10/27/15 Laeiszhalle Hamburg
10/29/15 Theaterhaus Gessnerallee Zurich
11/5/15 Arscht Center Miami, FL
11/6/15 Arscht Center Miami, FL

Lizz Wright at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (23 September 2015)

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

Freedy Johnston at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (12 May 2015)

Freedy Johnston Setlist Tearing Down This Place Don't Fall in Love With A Lonely Girl I Can Hear The Laughs Can You Fly Emily TV in My Arms With Kevin Bowe The Lucky One This Perfect World Bad Reputation Rain on the City Venus Is Her Name Summer Clothes Trying To Tell You I Don't Know California Thing Wichita Lineman Western Sky The Mortician's Daughter We Will Shine Tucumcari Seventies Girl Evie's Tears Until the Sun Comes Back Again Responsible Gone Like The Water A Little Bit of Somethin' Wrong Kevin Bowe Setlist Waiting on the Wheel to Turn Riverside In Too Deep Leaving To Stay Fallen Satellites Pigeons In The City LMNOP (Leave My Name Off Please) Whatever Help You Sleep at Night (new song) No Riders Read More Freedy Johnston New York's Freedy Johnston is back with his latest Neon Repairman. The "songwriter's songwriter" will stop by the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis next Tuesday. ... Kevin Bowe Kevin Bowe with help from Andy Dee did a good job warming up the crowd, considering that it was freezing and snowing outside. Bowe had a lot to say, before "In Too Deep" ...

Watching Freedy Johnston at the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant in Minneapolis last night, May 12th, was like getting a front seat at the dinner table at the Johnston household, complete with a great meal and listening to Freedy and his girlfriend talk/argue from the stage to the dining table.

Prior to the Dakota Jazz Club show, Johnston was at the Minneapolis Uptown Goorin Brothers hat store, for an in-store signing and acoustic set. Why a hat store, you may ask? Apparently the Goorin Bros made a very limited run of "Freedy Johnston" hats ... which Johnston said was "the highest honor I've ever been given."

Kevin Bowe

Opener Kevin Bowe started his acoustic 30-minute set with "Waiting on the Wheel to Turn". As soon as the first song finished and people were clapping, Bowe joked, "You have to clap, I know half the people here!"

The first half of Bowe's set were harmonica-heavy, because he said "let's get all the harmonica songs out of the way."

New song "Whatever Help You Sleep at Night" was written on his way to or from Rochester recently and was only placed once a few weeks ago.

Favorite song on the set was the finale, "No Riders", a song that Bowe wrote for Shannon Curfman's debut album Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions (Arista Records) and later recorded his version of the song on the 2001 album Love Songs and Murder Ballads.

Freedy Johnston said that Minneapolis always had a special place in his heart, because his very first road gig ever was playing the Uptown in 1991. Wearing his proud Goorin Brothers, Johnston stated that he loved hats as a bald American.

The 2 hours and 15 minute set (yes, over two hours) had a misstep with the start of "Tearing Down This Place". As soon as Johnston looked down at the acoustic microphone and realized, "It's not a wireless microphone at all!", he stopped mid-way in the song. After plugging the mic in, Johnston restarted the song with no problems (well, that is until much later in the set, when there were problems that presented itself).

Johnston's affectingly requested a beer from his waitress/girlfriend on crutches. She would later say that a few weeks ago, she couldn't do anything at all, so she was more than happy to go fetch beer and walk around.

Like any singer/songwriter, Johnston had stories for every song he's ever written. If you look at the song lyrics, they actually tell themselves, but sometime tidbits like "Trego, Wisconsin" (a gas station stop that Johnston was accidentally left at for 90 minutes) had nothing to do with any songs... but should be written!

The show had some problems, during "TV in My Arms" there was feedback/sound problems. Johnston said it was his 9-volt battery from his guitar, the sound engineer thought it was the mic wire.

Half-way into Johnston's set, he was joined by opener Kevin Bowe on electric guitar to help play some songs and do backup vocals. The Bowe-set had some well-known songs, including "The Lucky One" and "Bad Reputation".

The third part of Johnston's set was basically a free-for-all, if that was the intention. Fans just started to shout out songs they wanted to hear and Johnston had no issue in playing them, so for a block of "Western Sky", "The Mortician's Daughter" and "We Will Shine" were played.

Johnston's girlfriend shouted out "I Can Hear The Laughs", but that was played earlier. "Where was I???" she asked (probably getting a beer for Johnston.) Instead, she asked for "Seventies Girl", which Johnston was happy to obliged. Not all requests were played, of course, some songs he's forgotten and for covers (Prince's "Little Red Corvette"), which Johnston regrettably said, "I wish I could play that."

I'll be honest, this was one of the longest show I've ever seen (the record holder is still for Badly Drawn Boy's 3 hour show and Paul McCartney's 2hr 45min show). I guess more bang for the dollar, however for the casual fans the two plus hour show may be little discouraging. Still, if you have a favorite Freedy Johnston song, just go to his show and shout it out- he will play it.

Freedy Johnston's latest album Neon Repairman is available now. Johnston is on tour now.

Tour dates:

05/14 - Kansas City, MO Davey's Uptown 05/28 - New York, NY Rockwood Music Hall 06/25 - New York, NY Rockwood Music Hall 07/30 - New York, NY Rockwood Music Hall 08/12 - Seattle, WATractor Tavern

08/14 - San Francisco, CA Brick & Mortar 08/15 - Santa Barbara, CA Lobero Theatre 08/27 - New York, NY Rockwood Music Hall 09/09 - Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater 09/11 - Newton, NJ Newton Theatre 09/12 - Beacon, NY The Towne Crier

Freedy Johnston (with Kevin Bowe) at Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Minneapolis (12 May 2015)

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

Minneapolis: January 26 - January 28, 2015

Read More Johnny Cash There is a hidden Johnny Cash song ("Houston Hash") at the end of the EP. It is a really fun song about a truck driver who does whatever it takes to get home for some Houston Hash. The coolest part is the recipe that's mentioned in the song: ....

Here are some shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul from January 26 to January 28, 2015.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

CHURCH OF CASH
at Dakota Jazz Club
Monday 01/26/15, 7pm (Free)
dakotacooks.com

This Johnny Cash tribute band called Church of Cash is playing January 26th at the Dakota Jazz Club, as part of their Foodie Night series.

Events:

01/22/15 Buffalo, MN Bunkers of Course
01/23/15 Minneapolis, Minnesota Gluek’s
01/30/15 North Mankato, MN Mankato Brewery
01/31/15 Spicer, MN O’Neil’s Bar
02/01/15 Belcourt, ND Horsemen’s Bar
02/05/15 Minneapolis, MN Lee’s Liquor
02/06/15 Howard Lake, MN Troubles
02/07/15 Minneapolis, MN Hell’s Kitchen

Read More MN Express Vocalist Aby Wolf, bassist Nick Gaudette, guitarist Kyle Sobczak, fiddler Sara Pajunen, and saxophonist Nathan Hanson, are the musicians participating in the inaugural MN Express tour. ....

416 CLUB COMMISSIONS
at Cedar Cultural Center
Tuesday 01/27/15, 7pm ($5)
thecedar.org

The first of 2015's 416 Club Commissions is taking place January 27th, 2015, with Israel Vega and Toby Ramaswamy.

Not familiar with this program? Read about them below:

416 Club Commissions is an annual program of The Cedar, working in conjunction with The Jerome Foundation, that commissions emerging, Minnesota-based artists to create new work that is debuted in a public concert series at The Cedar. The 2015 recipients were chosen by a panel of Twin Cities music industry professionals including record label owners, music educators, local musicians, and Cedar staff.

416 Club Commissions shows:

01/27/15 Israel Vega and Toby Ramaswamy
01/28/15 Joey Phillips and Ahmed Gaashaanle
01/29/15 Gao Hong and Crystal Myslajek

Read More Affiance The Campaign is the second full-length album by American metalcore band Affiance. The album features guest vocals from August Burns Red's bassist Dustin Davidson, Memphis May Fire's Matty Mullins and Century's Ricky Armellino. …

AFFIANCE
at Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Wednesday 01/28/15, 5pm ($10)
amsterdambarandhall.com

Metal band Affiance will be in Minnesota at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall this Wednesday, January 28th, as part of their CD release tour for their latest album Blackout (out now on Bullet Tooth).

Phinehas and Kingdom Of Giants to open the show.

Please note time (5pm).

Tour dates:

01/13/15 Tucson, AZ The Rock
01/14/15 San Diego, CA Woody's Breakfast
01/16/15 Van Nuys, CA White Oak Music And Arts
01/18/15 Portland, OR Alhambra Theatre
01/20/15 Seattle, WA Studio Seven
01/22/15 Spokane, WA The Hop
01/23/15 Edmonton, AB Mercury Room Yeg
01/24/15 Calgary, AB National Music Centre
01/25/15 Saskatoon, SK Rock Bottom
01/27/15 Fargo, ND New Direction
01/28/15 Saint Paul, MN Amsterdam Bar and Hall
01/30/15 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews
01/31/15 Toledo, OH Frankie's Inner-City

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

Sonny Knight and the Lakers at Dakota Jazz Club (18 Dec 2014)

Setlist Juicy Lucy Get Up and Dance Through With You Sonny's Boogaloo In the Pines Day Tripper Baby, Baby, Baby It’s You For Me Sock It to Me When You're Gone G Thing Cave Man -- Encore -- Instrumental I’m Still Here Hey Girl Tour Dates 01/03/15 Madison, WI Majestic Theater 06/24/15 Rochester International Jazz Festival 06/25/15 Rochester International Jazz Festival 06/28/15 Saratoga Performing Arts Center 08/31/15 Saint Paul, MN MN State Fairgrounds 09/01/15 Saint Paul, MN MN State Fairgrounds Read More Sonny Knight & The Lakers You may recall that we covered Sonny Knight & The Lakers at the Red Stag Block Party earlier in August 2014. John described the show as a dancing and religious experience .…

James Brown said, “Santa’s got a brand new bag…”

Sonny Knight at Dakota Jazz Club (Sign)

…and Minneapolis was left an early, funky Christmas present in the form of Sonny Knight and The Lakers playing four shows over two nights at the Dakota Jazz Club, to record an upcoming live album.

The band was back in town after touring almost non-stop since the April debut of I’m Still Here (Secret Stash Records) and made plans to mix and record the shows live to tape, to capture the “lighting in a bottle” that has come to be quickly associated with Knight and The Lakers’ in-concert performances.

The story goes, if you need a refresher, is that the 66 yr. old Knight recorded his first single with band The Cymbals, in 1965 on New Teenage Records when he was just 17.  A stint in the Army, some time spent in the Bay Area, a brief outing with local funk band Haze, and miscellaneous jobs followed, before local group The Valdons were resurrected in 2012 for the initial Secret Stash compilation album, then followed by The Lakers – an overnight success that only took 50 years.

The Lakers

Knight’s seven piece backing band are no musical slouches either, as The Lakers (Guitar: Blair Krivanek; Bass: Casey O'Brien; Drums: Eric Foss; Organ: Sam Harvey-Carson; Tenor Sax: Cole Pulice; Trumpet: Bryan Highhill; Trombone: Tony Beaderstadt) keep a tight but loose lid on the funk and soul as Knight does his thing on stage.

Drummer Foss is the backbone of the band, as well as a co-founder of the label, and from what we saw at the first night’s late show, guitarist Krivanek was the unassuming secret weapon; standing almost stationery in the near shadows, but moving deftly from funky rhythm guitar to wailing blues riffs.

The group’s 75 min. late show set was well received by a mostly older crowd, that was most receptive to the band’s Dap Kings-like tip of the hat to the classic Stax and Atlantic Soul records of the 60’s and 70’s.

As has become tradition with soul revues, The Lakers began the evening with an introductory instrumental to get the party started, followed by Knight’s entrance for local hit, ‘Juicy Lucy’ followed by ‘Get Up and Dance’  with Knight announcing, “I need a lot of noise!”

Sonny Knight & the Lakers

The three piece horn section was clearly having a good time up front, with trumpeter Highhill often engaging Knight in call-and-response and the brass instruments moving up-and-down and side-to-side in unison.  Tempo only slowed momentarily with the bluesy ‘In the Pines’, before being recharged with a driving and sped up organ-anchored cover of The Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’.

“This is my ‘have-some-fun’ song”, Knight announced, getting loose again as guitarist Krivanek laid down a speedily strummed rhythm, accented by Harvey-Carson’s nimble organ playing.  Not only socking it to the audience, Knight directing The Lakers had them “hit it” as many as 20 times, making people jump out of their seats in time to the beat as the Dakota was slowly transformed by the funk emanating into a backwoods juke joint.

Setlist

After the upbeat boogaloo of ‘Caveman’, complete with Knight grunting and shambling in character, the band left briefly before re-emerging for an instrumental number which then segued into Knight’s anthem of resilience and album’s title track, ‘I’m Still Here’ (instead of ‘Sugar Man’ as on the setlist).

‘Hey Girl’ ended the night triumphantly, with Knight pointing to females all over the club during the chorus and sax player Pulice getting a funky solo mid-song.

“Thank you for coming out—you made a big difference in our lives”, Knight said just before leaving the stage.  As a funky early Christmas wish being granted, most in the club thought the feeling was mutual.

Sonny Knight and The Lakers at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (18 Dec 2014 late show)

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

Agnes Obel at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Oct 2014)

Agnes Obel Setlist Louretta Philharmonics Beast Dorian Fuel to Fire On Powdered Ground Aventine Run Cried the Crawling Spinet Song (New Song) Between the Bars (Elliott Smith cover) Riverside Words Are Dead The Curse -- Encore -- Katie Cruel Close Watch (John Cale cover) Smoke & Mirrors Jennifer Castle Setlist Walkin' Down the Line (Bob Dylan) Truth Is the Freshest Fruit You Don't Have To Be Working For The Man Sailing Away Neverride Bring Me My Friends Pink City Sailor's Blessing (Traditional song) Read More Agnes Obel With the recent release of the deluxe edition of Agnes Obel's hit second album Aventine and double LP of 2010's Philharmonics, both via Play It Again Sam/PIAS, Obel will be back in America to support the re-issues …

Danish singer/pianist Agnes Obel just kicked off her North American tour in Minneapolis at the Dakota Jazz Club.

Jennifer Castle

Toronto's Jennifer Castle decorated the stage with flowers that she found along the long road to Minneapolis. She joking offered to sell the flowers too, along with her entire discography for sale at the merch table.

She started and ended her set with covers, starting with Bob Dylan's "Walkin' Down the Line" and ending with a traditional song "Sailor's Blessing", which she sang a cappella. Sandwiched between were mostly selections from her latest album Pink City, which came out last month on Idée Fixe Records.

For the first night of the North American tour, things seemed to get off to a good start. Agnes Obel affectionately called her landing in the US on a very late flight, "fresh off the boat".

If you are not familiar with Obel, her debut album Philharmonics (PIAS Recordings) sold so well it was certified platinum. The album took home several Danish Music Awards: Best Album Of The Year, Best Pop Release Of The Year, Best Debut Artist Of The Year, Best Female Artist Of The Year and Best Songwriter Of The Year.

So there was a lot of anticipation for her follow-up, Aventine, which actually beat or met chart positions in the UK, and, even landed #1 in Denmark. Aventine, as Obel explained on stage, was a much more personal record for Obel.

We previously wrote that her music is dark, but I should point out that she enjoys playing literally in the dark. This probably has something to do with staging and the lack of available proper lighting... but both Obel and her violinist, Mika Posen, were in darkness. Poor cellist Anne Müller, who sat right in the center of the spotlight...

Setlist

As you can see from the setlist, the majority of the live songs were taken from the sophomore album Aventine, including the title track and "Run Cried the Crawling". Between her two albums (and currently writing new songs), she certainly had enough material to fill a set... but her love and affection for other artists had her covering Elliot Smith's "Between the Bars" and John Cale's "Close Watch" (which actually appeared on her debut Philharmonics album).

Also, according to Obel, she's from Denmark, but living in Germany. Obel noted that when she moved to another country, she realized how alien and different other cultures are... and that's what "Dorian" was about.

Obel's been busy writing new songs, and she previewed "Spinet Song" for us. This song was a result of her working with other type of keyboards, like the spinet, which is a smaller piano.

Although this was Obel's very first time in Minneapolis, based on the turnout and dedicated fans, this appearance certainly will not be the last. Agnes Obel and Jennifer Castle continues their North American tour through November:

11/01 Park West, Chicago, IL
11/02 Stoughton Opera House, Madison, WI
11/04 Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto, ON
11/05 Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto, ON
11/06 Higher Ground. Burlington, VT
11/08 Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
11/09 (le) Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
11/10 The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA
11/11 L'Olympia, Montreal, QC
11/13 Le Palais Montcalm, Quebec City, QC

Agnes Obel at the Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Oct 2014)

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

Kat Edmonson at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (16 Oct 2014)

Setlist Rain Day Woman You Said Enough Oh My Love This Was the One Crying You Can't Break My Heart Till We Start to Kiss Champagne I'm Not in Love Long Way Home Hopeless Blue All the Way Avion The Best Dark Cloud Lucky I Don't Know -- Encore -- Who's Counting Nobody Knows That (Solo) Tour Dates 10/19 Vancouver, BC Rio Theatre 10/20 Portland, OR Alberta Rose Theater 10/22 San Francisco, CA Great American 10/23 Los Angeles, CA Masonic Lodge 10/25 Dallas, TX North Oak Cliff Music Festival 10/27 Austin, TX KLRU Studio 6A Read More Kat Edmonson In August, we mentioned that Kat Edmonson will be out on tour in October... wow that was fast, October is here already. That means Edmonson is currently in the middle of her tour in support of her latest The Big .... Lucy Michelle Minneapolis-based Lucy Michelle & The Velvet Lapelles recently performed a session for Daytrotter. Personally, when Daytrotter switched to a "you have to sign in" to download, I haven't used them since. ....

Jazz singer Kat Edmonson is currently on tour in support of The Big Picture, stopping by the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis last night, October 16th.

Lucy Michelle with Chris Koza

Opening up the show was Lucy Michelle, with an unexpected appearance by Chris Koza. Michelle played some tracks from her previous band Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles ("Just a Kid") and one Karen Dalton cover ("Something On Your Mind"), but the majority of her set consisted of her solo material from Attack of the Heart, including the album's finale (and set closer) "Honey Moon".

Lucy Michelle will be back at the Dakota on October 26th, with a full live band. I am assuming the live band will feature some members from her new band, Field Trip.

The first time Kat Edmonson made her way to Minneapolis, it was last year at the Dakota Jazz Club. She got such a great reception and had such a good time, that for this 2014 tour, she had to come back to the Dakota.

As expected with these new album tour, the majority of the set was taken from the new album, The Big Picture (Sony Masterworks), which incidentally landed at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz, as well as #2 on Billboard Total Jazz chart.

I can tell that Edmonson is a natural born storyteller, as she could not wait to tell us all the little stories about her songs. My favorite story was for "Oh My Love", which about halfway into the song, Edmonson started singing in French. She tells us that an Ad Agency in Austin, Texas, wanted her to record an upbeat French song (as they erroneously used a sad/depressing lyrical song). Edmonson agreed to write and sing a new song in French... at first thinking it would be easy-peasy, but then quickly realized what a mistake she's made.

Setlist

Kat stuck to the setlist, except they skipped out "Who's Counting", in favor of playing it for the encore. The actual song intended for the encore, "For Two", was not played.

Caving to demands for another song, Edmonson remained on stage as her band went back stage. She took a deep breath and started singing "Nobody Knows That" a cappella. The entire audience was quiet as a mouse, listening to every note.

Kat Edmonson continues her tour in support of The Big Picture. If you attend her show, she is usually very accessible and you can usually get photos/autographs with the artist after the show.

Kat Edmonson at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (16 Oct 2014)

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

Minneapolis Music Guide: March 9-March 15, 2014

Here is a guide of some Minneapolis (and St Paul!) shows next week: March 9-March 15. Concert-wise, if you're into smaller/indie bands - it will be dead in Minneapolis, because everyone is in Austin, Texas, for SXSW.

Sword/O'Brother/Big Business at Mill City Nights Concert Poster Read More The Sword But the crowd didn't really start going nuts until The Sword went on. The Sword is a much younger band, formed in Austin, Texas in 2003. Their sound is more on the “thrash” end of doom metal, with riffing reminiscent of … O'Brother Songs from their slightly hour-long set consisted of music from Disillusion, including "Ascension" and "Disillusion", which seems to go hand in hand with its theme of darkness and anger. …

MARCH 9: MILL CITY NIGHTS
The Sword w/ O'Brother and Big Business

O Brother, where are thou?

Why, they’re on tour, opening along with Big Business, for The Sword.

An Atlanta-based five-piece, the band O Brother is playing in support of their sophomore full-length, Disillusions (Triple Crown Records), recorded in Long Island along with engineer/producer Mike Sapone (Brand New, Public Enemy, Daytrader). The heavier, more refined sound is a follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed 2012 debut Garden Window.

Regarding their new album, according to their bio, “The sprawling concept albums of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and more provided the grist, but these five intrepid seekers have crafted a complex slab of bejeweled art-rock that shimmers vividly all on its own.” That’s all we need to hear to pique our interest.

O'Brother's U.S. tour dates:

03/06/14 Indianapolis, IN Vogue
03/07/14 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection
03/08/14 Milwaukee, WI Rave Bar
03/09/14 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
03/10/14 Kansas City, MO The Riot Room
03/11/14 Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep
03/13/14 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
03/14/14 Boise, ID Neurolux
03/15/14 Spokane, WA The Hop
03/16/14 Seattle, WA Neumos
03/17/14 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
03/19/14 Sacramento, CA Harlow's Night Club
03/20/14 San Francisco, CA Slim's
03/21/14 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
03/22/14 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom
03/23/14 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
03/24/14 El Paso, TX Lowbrow Palace
03/25/14 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
03/26/14 Jackson, MS Morningbell Records

Bangerz RCA Read More Icona Pop Of course, her biggest hit song, "I Love It", is actually made famous by Icona Pop. I sensed a little bitterness when she announced the song, "You all know this, I wrote this song. This is my song." …

MARCH 10: XCEL ENERGY CENTER
Miley Cyrus w/ Icona Pop

Miley Cyrus' oversexualized Bangerz shows have been getting a lot of attention, criticized in TMZ where they comment how her parents were in the audience at one of her recent show.

Either you love it or hate it, it's hard to ignore all the attention that Cyrus is getting.

03/06/14 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center Omaha
03/07/14 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
03/09/14 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley Center
03/10/14 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
03/12/14 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
03/13/14 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
03/15/14 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
03/16/14 Houston, TX Toyota Center
03/18/14 New Orleans, LA Smoothie King Center
03/20/14 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum
03/22/14 Miami, FL AmericanAirlines Arena
03/24/14 Orlando, FL Amway Center
03/25/14 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
03/29/14 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
03/31/14 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
04/02/14 Boston, MA TD Garden
04/03/14 East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center
04/05/14 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
04/07/14 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
04/08/14 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena
04/10/14 Washington, DC Verizon Center
04/12/14 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace Of Auburn Hills
04/13/14 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
04/15/14 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
04/16/14 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
04/18/14 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena Plaza
04/19/14 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
04/22/14 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
04/24/14 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Weekend re-cap Sunday (part 1): Liam Ó Maonlaí at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (Dec. 1, 2013) concert review

Tour Dates 12/05/13 UM Recital Hal, Missoula 12/06/13 MT Tech Auditorium, Butte 12/07/13 Wanashoe Theater, Anaconda 12/11/13 Highway 99 Blues Club, Seattle 12/29/13 Hothouse Flowers @ Whelan's, Dublin 03/12/14 St. James Theatre, New Zealand 03/13/14 St. James Theatre, New Zealand 03/14/14 St. James Theatre, New Zealand 03/15/14 St. James Theatre, New Zealand Read More Ireland First of all, I think we're definitely going to be doing the Irish Fair this year. I know St Patrick's Day was in March, but who cares when it's free in August! The two main attraction seems to be California's Young Dubliners.…

Fame is so often a fleeting thing –

Sometimes, what you were creating no longer becomes a part of the cultural zeitgeist; other times, the trials and tribulations associated with said fame, become too much of a burden but can also lead to other, perhaps unrealized and more fulfilling avenues. In the case of Irish rock band, Hothouse Flowers, the ‘business’ part of the ‘music business’ eventually became too cumbersome, causing them to step back and re-evaluate their true goals in making music.

For lead singer, Liam Ó Maonlaí, it meant getting closer to his Irish roots, releasing traditional folk music in his native tongue, and occasionally getting back on the road, with a rare and short-notice appearance Sunday night, at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.

The Dubliner had already booked a handful of gigs in Montana and decided to take advantage of his stopover, by playing a two-set solo exploration of both traditional and contemporary Irish music, in an appearance only announced a few days prior.

Ó Maonlaí and mates had formed Hothouse Flowers in the mid-80’s, traveled around the world, were signed to U2’s record label, and had some chart success, before the rigors of the business had caught up with them, resulting in a more sporadic output and Ó Maonlaí also embarking on a solo career. He had learned traditional Irish (Gaelic) through song growing up, and has returned to that tradition in folk solo albums, Rian and To Be Touched (Rian Records).

Sunday’s performance showcased both the traditional side as well as a few Hothouse Flowers hits and choice covers, in a somewhat jet-lagged performance (he’d left Dublin at 4am, landed in Minneapolis at 1pm that day) that was more akin to watching an artist sketch, rather than paint.

CHARMIN AND SHAPIRA

The opener was more of a familiar sound heard at the Dakota—peppy, smooth jazz from locals Charmin and Shapira w/friends, the quintet performing traditional jazz standards from the likes of Cole Porter and Billie Holiday, as well as their own originals.

Ó Maonlaí’s first set, just over half hour long, started with an acapella song about unrequited love sung in traditional Irish. Moving to piano, Ó Maonlaí crooned the title track to ‘Into Your Heart’, from their 2004 album, which then led into ‘The Lakes of Pontchartrain’, a Creole folk classic, often confused as Irish in origin.

Tempo picked up with Hothouse Flowers’ song ‘Movies’ from 1990’s Home, then Ó Maonlai mentioned “Hibbing, Minnesota is the origin of this song”, prefacing a brief rendering of Bob Dylan’s ‘Is Your Love in Vain?’, which ended the too-brief first act.

Ó Maonlai began his hour-long second set with the crowd assisting in holding a constant note (or hum) for a macaronic song (one sung in two different languages), picking up the Irish frame drum, the bodhrán, in mid-song to finish with spirit. Another Dylan cover followed, ‘Forever Young’, with Ó Maonlai on piano and crowd gently singing along with the chorus.

Liam Ó Maonlaí on tin whistle

Hothouse Flowers’ biggest single, ‘Don’t Go’ was stripped to its essence, Ó Maonlai sparely on piano, emphasizing the storytelling in the lyrics and simple melody. A traditional number featuring Ó Maonlai on tin whistle was followed by a cover of Van Morrison’s ‘The Master’s Eye’, which ended the evening.

Sometimes rambling and too introspective, it was nonetheless fascinating at its high points, to hear the juxtaposition of ancient Irish folk songs melding their influence into contemporary songs and Dylan and Morrison covers, to form a spectral arc of the modern Irish music experience, in a mere 90 minutes.

Liam Ó Maonlaí is a man still in further search of his roots, heritage, and musical identity, and on an impromptu night in which he shared that journey with us, the bright spots outshone any lost wandering.

Liam Ó Maonlaí at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (12/01/13)

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ liamomaonlai.ie

Leftover Cuties at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (07/17/13)

Read More Leftover Cuties Los Angeles' Leftover Cuties are touring to promote their upcoming album, The Spark & The Fire, which is coming out July 23rd. Best known for single "Game Called Life" which was chosen as the theme of Showtime's The Big C...… LA's The Leftover Cuties and local act Chris Koza played the Dakota Jazz Club's this Wednesday night. Chris Koza is an acoustic guitar player and singer. He specializes in songs that tell a story. He opened with "Healer." The highlight of the set was "Handful of Glass" a moody ballad about love and uncertainty singing, "You could love just anyone/oh, but maybe just anyone could love you." The Leftover Cuties didn't just grace the stage ... they owned it! Bringing in unlikely and whimsical instruments such as the ukulele, an accordion, a French horn, a trumpet - and even a bird call, the quartet enchanted the audience. Shirli McAllen on vocals sang a sultry, and at times dark, alto. She swayed to each song and requested crowd participation through rhythmic clapping. Her voice is reminiscent of Swedish singer Miss Li. She costars with bassist Austin Nicholsen who plays music with his entire body. He often is pulling faces like a Tex Avery cartoon while strumming and dancing along to the music. Stuart Johnson on drums and miscellaneous percussion (read: bird call, horn, bells etc.) was equally entertaining to watch, while Mike Bolger on piano, trumpet and accordion remained the more serious of the group. He was either engulfed in the moment of the music or serious is just his resting face. They started off in the Dakota Jazz Club with a quiet and attentive audience, bringing up the old cliche "Minnesota Nice." The second song of the night was a retro, toe-tapping "Places To Go" complete with barbershop-like harmonizing. Off their upcoming album The Spark & The Fire, they played "What's the Matter?" "Thick and Thin," "Clarity" and "One Heart." All of which feature the key elements of great music: relatable lyricism, alluring vocals, and well-timed humor. With the random, and expertly coordinated sound effects - it feels like you're in on some sort of inside joke with the band. The Spark & The Fire will be released July 23, 2013 and is well worth a listen. Along with new songs, The Leftover Cuties also played three covers. They played a sad, break-up-song-like ballad of the children's nursery song "You Are My Sunshine," a fantastic Regina Spektor cover of "Fidelity" as well as a less synthesized more nostalgic "Pokerface" ala Lady Gaga. Their more well-known tunes "Smile Baby" from the Samsung Superbowl commercial and the theme to HBO's Big C, "Game Called Life" filled the ears of clubgoers. But, the real standout song of the night was "Sunnyside" which leads you through a rollercoaster of tempo and emotion. Keep an eye on The Leftover Cuties. July 23, 2013 is the release of The Spark & The Fire. Hopefully their tour will wind back through Minneapolis again, because I'd gladly revisit. 07/18/13 Rochester, MN Peace Plaza 07/21/13 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House 07/22/13 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern 07/23/13 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark 07/25/13 Toronto, ON Rivoli 07/26/13 Montreal, QC Quai Des Brumes 07/28/13 Winooski, VT Monkey House 07/31/13 Cambridge, MA Regattabar 08/03/13 New York, NY Rockwood Music Hall 08/04/13 Bethlehem, PA Levitt Pavilion 08/06/13 Arlington, VA IOTA Club & Cafe 08/07/13 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 08/09/13 Tampa, FL David A. Straz Jr 08/10/13 Jacksonville, FL Jax Underbelly 08/12/13 Mandeville, LA Ruby's Roadhouse 08/13/13 Fort Worth, TX Live Oak Music 08/14/13 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q 08/17/13 Phoenix, AZ MIM Music Theater 08/21/13 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theater 09/04/13 Seattle, WA The Triple Door 09/05/13 Portland, OR McMenamins White Eagle 09/07/13 Fresno, CA Painted Table 09/08/13 Larkspur, CA Marin Country Mart 09/13/13 San Diego, CA The Griffin holley ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ leftovercuties.com

Joshua Radin w/ My Name is You - Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (5/14/13) live review

Setlist What If You Closer Old Friend My My Love You Got Growin' Up To Do Cross that Line One of those Days Beautiful Day When We're Together The Rock and the Tide I'd Rather be with You Brand New Day Everything'll Be Alright (Will's Lullaby) Today Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bob Dylan) Winter Tour Dates 05/17 Toronto, ON 05/18 Washington, DC Sold Out 05/20 Boston, MA Sold Out 05/21 Philadelphia, PA 05/22 New York, NY Sold Out 05/30 Paris, France 06/02 Hamburg, Germany 06/04 London, UK 06/05 Dublin, Ireland Read More Ben Rector If Radin's name sound familiar, that's because we semi-recently covered his co-headlining tour with A Fine Frenzy late last year. From seeing him live, he loves Minneapolis....…

“I feel like I’m playing to 12 people”, Joshua Radin exclaimed at the beginning of his intimate performance at the Dakota Jazz Club, a stop on his brief three week Wax Wings VIP Tour, playing to 350 seat or less venues in promotion of his self-released latest, Wax Wings (Glass Bead Music). His 84 min. performance came off as very personable- Radin answering requests and introducing himself to crowd members in a conversational and casual manner between songs that really did make the audience feel like they were witnessing something private and special.

MY NAME IS YOU

Opening the evening was My Name is You, a West Coast-based duo whose EP debuted at the end of 2011. Brandon Walters and Anne Williamson, she from Scotland, came off as a bit of a reverse Swell Season, the keyboards of Williamson more driving the songs than Walters’ guitar, but the delicate 30 min set, which included songs ‘Everything That’ and ‘Come Back’ deliver enough of the goods as a low-key musical appetizer, to set the table for the main course.

Ohio-born Radin stepped on to the stage solo after a short break, and seemed genuinely surprised by his surroundings (“this is weird, man”, he stated)– not used to playing a jazz supper club, feeling the need to cross his legs when playing in true singer-songwriter fashion, and asking several patrons their names and where they were from. Minneapolis always holds a special place for Radin; for it was here that his first sold-out headlining show happened …”and for Kirby Puckett”, he added, drawing applause.

"Closer" to Joshua Radin

Settling in, he opened with the sentimental ‘What if You’ and followed with ‘Closer’ before taking an audience request to play the non-album cut, ‘Old Friend’. His Paul Simon-like vocals shone on a song written in Minneapolis, in a cold bunk on his tour bus after a gig- the moving, ‘One of Those Days’, one of many odes pining for the return of an ex-girlfriend. Openers Walters and Williamson along with a drummer joined him for the majority of the set, Radin even dedicating two songs, ‘When We’re Together’ and ‘Today’ to Minnesota’s passing of the same-sex marriage act, signed earlier that day by the Governor.

Highlight of the show was undoubtedly an off-mike, acoustic spirited performance of Bob Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’, the first song he ever learned on guitar. The fact that Radin knew that Dylan was from Hibbing, MN made the song even cooler for the attending audience. After a short break, the encore was the somehow-appropriate ‘Winter’, a song that many locals have been living until very recently and in contrast he noted, to the 98-degree weather earlier in the day.

In the end, the ‘VIP Tour’ lived up to its expectations—a rare chance to catch an exceptional so-called ‘whispercore' artist playing his well-crafted songs, mixing in conversation and stories, in an exceptional intimate venue – For 84 min, we were all treated to the VIP experience.

Joshua Radin at the Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (05/14/13)

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ joshuaradin.com ♥ hellomynameisyou.com