W♥M (Archive)

R.I.P. Ranking Roger (The Beat)

The Beat: Keep The Beat: The Very Best Of The Beat Read More English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. .....

The Beat (known as English Beat to the USA to avoid confusion with the American band The Beat) singer, Ranking Roger (Roger Charlery) is dead at the age of 56. Roger also performed with members of the Specials and Dexys Midnight Runners.

His name was synominous with The English Beat, and when we saw them in Aug 2017, we had to look up the meaning behind the word "Ranking". It's basically a term used in UK sports to mean a hype man, trying to raise the band's rank.

For the full death list head over to Musicians who died in 2019.

March (55)

[26 Mar 2019] Ranking Roger (British singer for The Beat), 56, cancer

[23 Mar 2019] Victor Hochhauser (Slovak-born British music promoter), 95

[23 Mar 2019] Shahnaz Rahmatullah (Bangladeshi singer), 67, heart attack

[22 Mar 2019] Scott Walker (American-born British singer-songwriter for The Walker Brothers), 76

[22 Mar 2019] Valentina Dvoryaninova (Russian singer), 91

[21 Mar 2019] Arkadiy Aladyin (Russian drummer for Alexander Rosenbaum), 61

[21 Mar 2019] Nicola Sgrò (Italian composer and conductor), 81

[20 Mar 2019] Terje Nilsen (Norwegian singer-songwriter), 67

[19 Mar 2019] Gal Keidan (Israel singer), 19, terror attack

[18 Mar 2019] JD Sinclair (American musician for Mind Spin), 43, traffic accident

[17 Mar 2019] Wolfgang Meyer (German clarinetist), 64

[17 Mar 2019] Bernie Tormé (Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne, Gillan), 66, pneumonia

[17 Mar 2019] Yuya Uchida (Japanese singer for Flower Travellin' Band), 79, pneumonia

[17 Mar 2019] David White (American singer-songwriter for Danny & the Juniors), 79

[17 Mar 2019] Andre Williams (American R&B musician), 82, colon cancer

[17 Mar 2019] Dick Dale (American guitarist and surf music pioneer), 81

[17 Mar 2019] Enrico Riccardi (Italian composer and lyricist), 84

[16 Mar 2019] Justin Carter (American country singer), 35, accidental shooting

[16 Mar 2019] Yann-Fañch Kemener (French singer), 61

[16 Mar 2019] Yulia Nachalova (Russian singer, actress and television presenter), 38, cerebral edema

[13 Mar 2019] Areg Nazaryan (Armenian musician, composer and film director), 54

[13 Mar 2019] Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia (Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer), 97

[12 Mar 2019] Mirek Hoffmann (Czech country singer, composer and lyricist), 83

[12 Mar 2019] Leopold Kozłowski (Polish composer and pianist), 100

[12 Mar 2019] Věra Bílá (Czech singer), 64, diabetes

[12 Mar 2019] John Kilzer (American singer and songwriter), 62

[11 Mar 2019] Victor McElhaney (American Jazz music student), 21, robbery

[11 Mar 2019] Hal Blaine (American Hall of Fame drummer for The Wrecking Crew), 90

[11 Mar 2019] Demétrius (Brazilian singer), 76

[10 Mar 2019] Charlie Karp (American musician, songwriter), 65

[10 Mar 2019] Asa Brebner (American guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Modern Lovers), 65

[09 Mar 2019] Aťka Janoušková (Czech actress, voice actress and singer for Amadeus), 88

[08 Mar 2019] George Neikrug (American cellist), 100

[08 Mar 2019] Eddie Taylor Jr. (American blues singer and guitarist), 46, heart failure

[08 Mar 2019] Michael Gielen (Austrian conductor), 91

[06 Mar 2019] Carlitos Rolán (Argentine singer and band leader), 78, kidney failure

[06 Mar 2019] James Dapogny (American jazz musicologist and pianist), 78

[06 Mar 2019] Mike Grose (British bassist for Queen)

[06 Mar 2019] Oleg Kudryavtzev (Russian drummer), 42

[06 Mar 2019] Kayoko Moriyama (Japanese singer and actress), 78

[06 Mar 2019] Charlie Panigoniak (Canadian Inuktitut singer and guitarist), 72

[05 Mar 2019] Annie Brazil (Filipino jazz singer), 85, pneumonia

[05 Mar 2019] Jacques Loussier (French pianist and composer), 84

[05 Mar 2019] Doru Popovici (Romanian composer, musicologist, writer and concert manager), 87

[05 Mar 2019] Sara Romweber (American rock drummer for Let's Active), 55, brain tumor

[04 Mar 2019] Anthony Ríos (Dominican actor and singer-songwriter), 68

[04 Mar 2019] Keith Flint (English singer for The Prodigy), 49, suicide

[04 Mar 2019] Leo de Castro (New Zealand singer and guitarist), 70

[03 Mar 2019] Ger Cusack (Irish singer), 77

[03 Mar 2019] Peter Hurford (British organist and composer), 88, Alzheimer's disease

[03 Mar 2019] János Koós (Hungarian singer, parodist and actor), 81

[02 Mar 2019] Eduardo Vázquez (Argentine DJ and musician), 37, suicide

[02 Mar 2019] Janice Freeman (American singer for The Voice), 33, blood clot

[01 Mar 2019] Stephan Ellis (American rock bassist for Survivor), 69

[01 Mar 2019] Paul Williams (English singer for Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, Juicy Lucy), 78

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

The English Beat at the Cabooze, Minneapolis (19 Nov 2017)

The English Beat Setlist Rough Rider (Prince Buster cover) The Tears of a Clown (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles cover) Hands Off... She's Mine Twist and Crawl Rude Boy Skank Tenderness (General Public cover) Spar Wid Me Save It For Later Never Die Too Nice to Talk To Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret Best Friend Can't Get Used to Losing You (Andy Williams cover) Never You Done That (General Public cover) Sole Salvation I'll Take You There (The Staple Singers cover) No Warning (snippet) > How Can You Stand There Doors of Your Heart Ranking Full Stop Mirror in the Bathroom Jackpot Tour Dates 11/28/2017 Ketchum, ID Whiskey Jacques 11/30/2017 Seattle, WA The Showbox 12/02/2017 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater 12/08/2017 Big Bear Lake, CA The Cave 12/09/2017 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke 12/15/2017 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley 12/16/2017 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley 12/22/2017 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern 12/23/2017 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern 12/29/2017 Agoura Hills, CA The Canyon 12/30/2017 Pasadena, CA The Rose 12/31/2017 Santa Clarita, CA The Canyon 01/13/2018 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades 03/02/2018 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke Read More English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. .....

After almost forty years, the beat still goes on…

The ageless Dave Wakeling continues to get the ska party going, as evidenced by a packed crowd on a Sunday evening at the Cabooze on Minneapolis’ West Bank, as The English Beat returned to thrill fans old and new.

The evening opened with a local touch, as Umbrella Bed, a Minneapolis ska/2-tone band with full “Horns of Destruction” section, played a full hour set, to help get the crowd worked up for the headliner. 

The band has been around since 1995, with core members Hellrocket (vocals), Mitch Thompson (drums), Al Teagarden (trombone) and French Horn player Eva Washburn still remaining from the original lineup.

Newest album, Rotate (Black Butcher Records) was just released last month, and they were even handing out free CDs of previous album, Go (Mad Butcher Records), to everyone as they exited. 

The English Beat actually featured themselves in a way, as their own intro, as the band played side one of the new record (Here We Go Love, due March 2018 via a PledgeMusic campaign) on the overhead speakers (with side two of the album played as their outro music).

The 115 minute headlining set got off to a brisk start, beginning with their 1980 version of the reggae-flavored ‘Rough Rider’, as Wakeling and hypeman vocalist /toasting King Schascha got the crowd into a celebratory mood right away.  “Sounds fantastic in here!” Wakeling beamed after the opening song.

“It’s never really a party until someone’s ruined a perfectly good Motown song” Wakeling exclaimed as the band, led by keyboardist Kevin Lum, went into their Smokey Robinson and The Miracles cover. Wakeling’s post-Beat band General Public (with Ranking Roger) was represented by a trio of radio hits, ‘Tenderness’, ‘I’ll Take You There’ (from the Threesome soundtrack), and ‘Never You Done That’.

Wakeling’s raspy voice still serves him well, the band is tight and well-rehearsed and ex-Marine Schascha’s animated antics and rapid-fire vocals are the perfect foil, making this current lineup, among its most enjoyable to date. 

“Time to lose some calories, people!” Schascha yelled, taking everyone back to 1982 for hit ‘Save It for Later’ with the crowd bobbing and jumping in time, leading next into the melancholy but touching new song, ‘Never Die’, which we first heard this summer during the band’s slot on Howard Jones’ Retro Futura tour.

“Dis ting is contagious dis evenin’- I hope everybody got their flu shot!” Schascha said, jumping about before 1980’s ‘Best Friend’ with Wakeling teasing drummer Nucci Cantrell for supposedly being nominated as New Orleans’ first female mayor.  Their Andy Williams cover was punctuated by an end Wakeling whistle, continuing it into the upbeat pop of ‘Never You Done That’.

“Two presidents used this song in their campaigns… and they both won”, Wakeling said, not naming any names, but proclaiming it perhaps a good luck charm before launching into their rub-a-dub style version of The Staples Singers classic, ‘I’ll Take You There’.

The party then mixed with some politics for the new ‘How Can You Stand There’ (played for one of the first times live)and the group next  went all the way back to 1979’s ‘Ranking Full Stop’ to keep the party vibe alive, with ‘Mirror in the Bathroom’ then sending things into complete overdrive.  

With people still breathing heavy, the band ended the evening with the mid-tempo ‘Jackpot’, as each band member was introduced then exited to applause, the reward for a highly danceable and entertaining set. 

Forty years on and with brand new music forthcoming, The English Beat can still take us there, with their still-addictive blend of ska, pop, reggae, and post punk 2-tone, the band’s mantra seemingly taken from the lyrics of new song ‘Never Die’- “Just get the best out of life;  I'll do it for me, I'll do it for you”.

Umbrella Bed

Umbrella Bed

Umbrella Bed

The English Beat

The English Beat

The English Beat

The English Beat at the Cabooze, Minneapolis (19 Nov 2017)

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

Minneapolis: November 19 to November 24, 2017

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from November 19 to November 24, 2017.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Liam Gallagher I just heard Liam Gallagher’s ‘Wall of Glass’ single and felt compel to write about it. If you didn’t know, Liam is the former singer of Beady Eye and Oasis. ...

LIAM GALLAGHER
+ Warbly Jets
First Avenue
Mon 11/20/2017 (7pm/$30/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Liam Gallagher, the former frontman of one of the greatest rock n’ roll band Oasis, is playing First Avenue in support of his debut solo record As You Were.

Show up early to check out Los Angeles quartet Warbly Jets, who is supporting Liam Gallagher on his entire North American tour. Warbly Jets’ self-titled debut album came out last month on Rebel Union Recordings.

The upcoming show is sold out.

Tour dates:

11/16 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/18 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater
11/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/21 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera
11/23 – Toronto, ON @ Rebel
11/25 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/27 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/29 – Washington DC @ Lincoln Theater
11/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

* all dates with Liam Gallagher

Read More English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. ..... The Blow The Blow is back, this time, sharing their second single called "From The Future" from their new self-titled LP (coming out October 1st on Kanine Records). Listen to the track via Soundcloud.… EMA South Dakota's EMA is the acronym of Erika M. Anderson. Anderson was originally the lead singer of Gowns, but by 2010 she released her debut album called .....

Other shows in the area:

CLAPS
Kitty Cat Klub
Sun 11/19/2017 (9pm/FREE)
kittycatklub.net

Claps, along with Gel Set, Reverance, Zina, and Spa Moans to play the Kitty Cat Klub on Sunday for free. Chicago’s Gel Set recently released Body Copy.

NONAME
+ Arima Ederra
First Avenue
Sun 11/19/2017 (7pm/$20)
first-avenue.com

Today, Chicago's Noname will be ending her The Everything Is Everything Tour at First Avenue in Minneapolis on November 19th.

Tour dates:

11/15 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
11/17 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
11/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave

THE BLOW, EMA
Turf Club
Sun 11/19/2017 (7pm/$14)
turfclub.net

The Blow and EMA co-headlining tour will be making a stop at the Turf Club in St Paul on Sunday, November 19th.

Tour dates:

11/14 Montreal: Le Belmont
11/15 Toronto: The Garrison
11/17 Detroit : Assemble Sound
11.18 Chicago: Empty Bottle
11/19 Minneapolis: Turf Club
11/21 Saint Louis: Blueberry Hill Duck Room

THE ENGLISH BEAT
The Cabooze
Sun 11/19/2017 (7pm/$20)
cabooze.com

UK’s The English Beat is returning to Minneapolis at the Cabooze on Sunday.

Tour dates:

Nov 15 El Club Detroit, MI
Nov 16 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH
Nov 17 Space Evanston, IL
Nov 18 Space Evanston, IL
Nov 19 Cabooze Minneapolis, MN
Nov 21 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
Nov 22 Duck Room At Blueberry Hill St Louis, MO
Nov 24 The Waiting Room Omaha, NE
Nov 25 Gothic Theatre Denver, CO
Nov 26 The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 28 Whiskey Jacques Ketchum, ID
Nov 30 Showbox At The Market Seattle, WA
Dec 02 Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
Dec 08 The Cave Big Bear Lake, CA
Dec 15 Moe's Alley Santa Cruz, CA
Dec 16 Moe's Alley Santa Cruz, CA
Dec 22 The Belly Up Solana Beach, CA
Dec 23 The Belly Up Solana Beach, CA
Dec 29 Canyon Agoura Hills, CA
Dec 30 Rose Pasadena, CA
Dec 31 Canyon Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, CA

DILLINGER FOUR
Triple Rock Social Club
Tue 11/21/2017 (6pm/$25/Sold Out )
triplerocksocialclub.com

Sad, but November 21st is the The Final Show at The Triple Rock! Of course, it’s sold out. Bands on the bill: Dillinger Four, Negative Approach, Kitten Forever, Victory, The Slow Death

JOYWAVE
+ Maybird, The Aces (Utah)
7th Street Entry
Wed 11/22/2017 (7pm/$16/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Joywave has sold out their 7th Street Entry appearance as part of their “Thanks for Coming” tour.

Joywave live:

11.15 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at Fillmore
11.16 - Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
11.18 - Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick
11.19 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi
11.21 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
11.22 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
11.24 - St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird
11.25 - Kansas City, MO @ Truman
11.26 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
11.28 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11.29 - Washington, DC @ DC101 Office Party
12.02 - Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Riptide Festival
12.03 - Tampa, FL @ 97x Next Big Thing
12.11 - Las Vegas, NV @ X107.5 Holiday Havoc '17
02.10 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse
02.11 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
02.13 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre
02.15 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
02.16 - San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
02.18 - TBD
02.20 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
02.22 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
02.24 - Austin, TX @ The Parish
02.25 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
02.27 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
02.28 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East
03.02 - Carborro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
03.03 - Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
03.06 - Toronto, ON @ Drake
03.07 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom

THANKSGIVING
Thu 11/23/2017

BLACK FRIDAY
Fri 11/24/2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Katrina (ex-Katrina and the Waves)

Paul Young

Modern English (with Paul Young)

Modern English

Men Without Hats

The Beat

Men Without Hats

The Beat

The Beat

Men Without Hats

Howard Jones

Howard Jones

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

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

Minneapolis: August 14 to August 18, 2017

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from August 14 to August 18, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Belle & Sebastian Our favorite Scottish band Belle & Sebastian is releasing Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance tomorrow, January 20th, via Matador Records, their first new record since 2010's Write About Love. ...

BELLE & SEBASTIAN
at Palace Theatre
Tuesday 08/15/17 (7pm/$40)
palacestpaul.com

Our favorite Scottish band Belle and Sebastian will be returning to Minnesota this Tuesday, August 15th, at the new Palace Theatre. The last time we saw B&S, they played Rock the Garden 2015... and it was a sight to behold! See our photograph of the stage near the end of their set: photo

The band recently released a new single called ‘We Were Beautiful’, written in 2016, but finally officially released on digital format only. I won’t buy digital, and full confession: I own everything B&S released on Jeepster and Matador Records. I prefer seeing them sit on my book shelf.

Memphis’ Julien Baker will open.

Tour Dates:

08/10 San Francisco – Outside Lands, Independent
08/11 San Francisco, – Outside Lands
08/13 Missoula, Red Sky Brewing Festival
08/15 St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
08/16 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
08/17 Louisville, KY – Iroquois Amphitheater
08/19 Omaha, NE. Maha Festival
09/01 Netherlands, Utrecht, Vrendenburg
09/02 Netherlands, Vileland, Into The Great Wide Open
10/04 Tokyo, Zepp University
10/05 Osaka, Big Cat
10/07 Asagiri, Asagiri Jam, Rainbow Stage

Read More Howard Jones You know, we've already mentioned how much we love Howard Jones. He'll be stopping by the Fine Line Music Café as part of his "The Songs, The Piano & The Stories'" tour. ..... English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. ..... Men Without Hats After forty years, Men Without Hats, are still an excellent band. Known in America as a one-hit-wonder band for "Safety Dance", but I have to say, I love them anyway. Katrina Leskanich Katrina Leskanich kicks off her North American tour next week in support of her latest solo album entitled Blisland (Listen to Blisland streaming via Popmatters.) The album is her first collection ....

RETRO FUTURA TOUR
at State Theatre
Thursday 08/17/17 (7pm/$53)
hennepintheatretrust.org

What a great lineup for this so-called “Retro Futura Tour”! We love all these bands, having seen many of them throughout the years.

However, if you’re not familiar with these guys, I’ll summarize them:

We previously saw Katrina (from Katrina and the Waves) in April 2015 and wrote, “For her set, which just ran over an hour, Leskanich and band played many of her 80s favorites as well as introduced most of the mostly baby boomer-aged crowd, to some of her newer solo material. The NYC backing threesome brought a rough and gritty feel to the music, though thankfully most of the older Katrina and the Waves favorites were done as authentically as possible, instead of re-interpreted.”

English songwriter Paul Young is famous for his single ‘Love of the Common People’ and ‘Everything Must Change’.

New wave Modern English had a huge hit with ‘I Melt With You’ (you may have heard it on a Burger King commercial, sadly).

Most people will know Men Without Hats as the band that sang ‘The Safety Dance’. We love them so much, we flew to Canada to see them play at SXSW 2011.

Co-headliner is the legendary ska/punk band The English Beat... They actually have a new album (in over three decades!) called Here We Go Love. Rolling Stone called the new record “savagely witty as Elvis Costello”.

Closing the show will be Howard Jones. I may have mentioned that he’s known for ‘What Is Love?’, but was quickly reminded that he’s known for ‘Things Can Only Get Better’.

Retro Futura Tour

Aug 09 State Theater- New Brunswick, NJ
Aug 10 Dunkin Donuts Center- Providence, RI
Aug 11 Borgata Casino- Atlantic City, NJ
Aug 12 Oakdale- Wallingford, CT
Aug 13 Times Union Center- Albany, NY
Aug 14 Lynn Auditorium- Lynn, MA
Aug 17 State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
Aug 18 Star Plaza Theater (Chicago)- Merrillville, IN*
Aug 19 Family Arena (St. Louis)- St. Charles, MO*

Howard Jones, The English Beat, Men Without Hats, Modern English, Paul Young, Katrina (* signifies no Paul Young. Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow on line-up)

Read More Shakey Graves Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between. … Beck So you like Beck and was thinking about picking up Odelay (1996). Well don't! Wait until January 29, 2008, because there's a Deluxe 2-disc version coming out. More details on our press page …

Other shows in the area:

08/14/2017 Nashville’s Blank Range will be stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul to promote their debut album Marooned With The Treasure (Sturdy Girls Records/Thirty Tigers). Co-headlining will be Nick Eagon and Stone Arch Isles. 8pm, $8.

08/15/2017 Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires will be playing the 7th Street Entry this Tuesday. The band recently released their album Youth Detention, a double LP spanning 17 songs. Eleganza! and The Bad Man to open. 8pm, $10.

08/15/2017 Shakey Graves returns to First Avenue on Tuesday... bringing with them David Ramirez. The show is sold out. 7pm, $22/Sold Out.

08/16/2017 Scottish Celtic rock band Skerryvore will be stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center for a rare appearance. The band’s last release Decade came out in 2015. Andy Cook to open. 7pm, $18.

08/17/2017 Beck sold out the Palace Theatre. He hasn’t been to MN in a long time, but we saw him at Coachella, so all is good. No opening band announced. If you couldn’t get tickets to this show, he’ll be back with U2 in September. 6:30pm, $50/Sold Out.

08/17/2017 Chicago indie-rockers The Kickback will be playing the 7th Street Entry in support of their PledgeMusic sophomore record. The Usual Things and Candid Kid to open. door 7pm, $12.

08/17/2017 When not playing with Bruce Springsteen or as bandleader for Conan O’Brien, Max Weinberg is billing himself as Max Weinberg's Jukebox on tour. He’ll play the Dakota Jazz Club this Thursday. 7pm, $45.

08/18/2017 Michael Franti is back at the Cabooze Plaza, with Satsang. 5:30pm, $40.

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

Minneapolis: May 14, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on May 14, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre we nearly at the top of my list of bands for the weekend and quite a fitting choice to end the Friday evening line-up. .… Magic Castles I actually thought Magic Castles was very good. It's certainly the only band the featured a flutist on an explosive jam at their set closer. … …

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE
at First Avenue
Saturday, 05/14/16, 8pm ($20)
first-avenue.com

American psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre was named after the original band leader of The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, and the Jonestown mass murder of over 900 people in a remote religious commune. Both topics were subjects of death and conspiracies.

Perhaps The Brian Jonestown Massacre was best known for appearing in the film Dig! with their rival The Dandy Warhols.

We caught the band in Playground Weekender 2010 and wrote, “The Brian Jonestown Massacre we nearly at the top of my list of bands for the weekend and quite a fitting choice to end the Friday evening line-up. Not too raucous for those of us who were looking forward to a nice nap (*ahem*), but by no means boring. Psychedelic-shoe gaze rock, with tambourine included. Sure many of their songs sounded quite alike to me, but the upside is that even though they sounded quite similar, they were all equally as good. The set even saw a guest appearance from Aimee Nash from The Black Ryder.”

Opening up the MN show will be locals Magic Castles, who we caught in 2013 and loved them: “I actually thought Magic Castles was very good. It's certainly the only band the featured a flutist on an explosive jam at their set closer.”

US tour dates:

5th May 2016 US Washington DC- 9:30 Club
6th May 2016 US Philadelphia PA- Union Transfer
7th May 2016 US Boston MA- Paradise Rock Club
9th May 2016 US New York NY- Webster Hall
10th May 2016 CA Montreal Canada- Le Tulipe
12th May 2016 CA Toronto Canada- Danforth Music Hall
13th May 2016 US Chicago IL- The Metro
14th May 2016 US Minneapolis MN- First Avenue
15th May 2016 US Omaha NE- The Waiting Room
17th May 2016 US Denver CO- Bluebird Theatre
18th May 2016 US Salt Lake City UT- The Depot
19th May 2016 US Missoula MT- Top Hat Lounge
20th May 2016 CA Edmonton Canada- The Starlite Room
21st May 2016 CA Calgary Canada- Marquee Beer
23nd May 2016 CA Vancouver Canada- Commodore Ballroom
24th May 2016 US Seattle WA- Neumo’s
25th May 2016 US Portland OR- Wonder Ballroom
27th May 2016 US San Francisco CA- The Independent
28th May 2016 US San Francisco CA- The Independent
29th May 2016 US Los Angeles CA- Teregram Ballroom
30th May 2016 US Los Angeles CA- Teregram Ballroom
31st May 2016 US Los Angeles CA- Teragram Ballroom
1st June 2016 US Phoenix AZ- Crescent Ballroom
2nd June 2016 US San Diego CA- Belly Up

Photo by Jon Beasley / Isabelle Albuquerque Read More Liquid Music The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series, now in its third season, offers performances by artists who bend the distinctions between classical music and other genres, and take their music in new and unique ..... Devendra Banhart Back in 2004, Acid-folk god Devendra Banhart compiled a collection of folk music for some magazine. Much like Nostradamus before him, he managed to predict some of the leading lights of modern folk music … Lucky Dragons At first, I thought their name was Luck Dragon (a reference to The Neverending Story), but I guess they're just Lucky Dragons. Once again, they're based out of Brooklyn … Jessica Pratt California songbird Jessica Pratt will be in town at the Cedar Cultural Center next Tuesday, in support of her latest Drag City album On Your Own Love Again. ... Helado Negro Helado Negro's "Island Universe Story" show at the Ordway Concert Hall for March 21st, 2015, in St Paul. We've already mentioned the show earlier in January, so just a reminder ... Rodrigo Amarante Opening up the show will be Los Angeles, by the way of Rio de Janeiro, Rodrigo Amarante (who was previously in town two weeks ago at Bryant Lake Bowl ...

DEVENDRA BANHART & FRIENDS
at Walker Art Center
Friday, 05/13/16, 8pm ($28)
Saturday, 05/14/16, 8pm ($28)
walkerart.org

We’re big fans of Liquid Music, this weekend they’re bringing in Devendra Banhart for his “Wind Grove Mind Alone” shows.

For the first night (Friday, May 13th): Lucky Dragons, Jessica Pratt, Helado Negro (who previously also headlined his own Liquid Music show), and William Basinski.

For the second night (Saturday, May 14th): Rodrigo Amarante, Michael Gira, and Harold Budd.

Additional details below:

Join us for a two-evening exploration of the musical worlds of singer/songwriter/painter Devendra Banhart. The acid-folk/indie-rock leader is revered for his idiosyncratic career of defying expectations and inspiring musical trends. The program title is borrowed from Dom Sylvester Houédard’s 1974 poem “Wind Grove Mind Alone.”

Copresented with the SPCO’s Liquid Music Series.

Program A: Friday, May 13
Banhart performs a solo set of songs, followed with music by interactive experimenters Lucky Dragons; impressionistic folk-pop from Jessica Pratt, electronic music producer/singer Helado Negro; and sound artist/composer William Basinski.

Program B: Saturday, May 14
Banhart’s full touring band opens, followed by Brazilian singer-songwriter Rodrigo Amarante; LA art-pop duo Hecuba; and iconic ambient/minimal music pioneer Harold Budd. Save with a Ticket Package

Save when you see both evenings of Devendra Banhart & Friends: $50 ($40 Walker members). Purchase a ticket package online, visit the Walker box office, or call 612.375.7600.

About Liquid Music Liquid Music is a concert series presented by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra that expands the world of classical music through innovative new projects, boundary defying artists, and unique presentation formats. Liquid Music performances invite adventurous audiences of all ages to discover the new and the fascinating among the colorful landscape of classical music today.

Read More English Beat Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. .....

THE ENGLISH BEAT
at Dakota Jazz Club
Friday, 05/13/16, 7:30pm ($40-$45)
Saturday, 05/14/16, 7:30pm ($40-$45)
dakotacooks.com

Although they are known as The English Beat in the USA market and The British Beat in Australia... they’ll always be known as The Beat to fans of two tone ska fans.

The story behind the US name change is because the US already had and established powerpop band The Beat (later known as The Paul Collins Beat). Collins and the UK Beat eventually made-up and actually went on tour together in 2012.

The Beat will be doing a two night residency at the Dakota Jazz Club this Friday and Saturday.

Tour dates:

05/05/16 Scituate, MA The River Club
05/06/16 New York, NY City Winery NYC
05/07/16 Albany, NY Swyer Theatre
05/10/16 Evanston, IL SPACE
05/11/16 Evanston, IL SPACE
05/12/16 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
05/13/16 Minneapolis, MN Dakota Jazz
05/14/16 Minneapolis, MN Dakota Jazz
05/27/16 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley
05/28/16 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley
06/03/16 Agoura Hills, CA The Canyon
06/11/16 KKLZ Junefest
06/18/16 Apple Valley, MN Minnesota Zoo
06/19/16 Boulevardia
06/22/16 Warrendale, PA Jergels Rhythm Grille
06/23/16 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage
06/25/16 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
07/01/16 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
07/02/16 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
07/05/16 Kent, OH The Kent Stage
07/09/16 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
07/23/16 Portland, OR Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
07/24/16 Seattle, WA Woodland Park Zoo
07/31/16 OC Fair
08/06/16 Murphys, CA Ironstone Amphitheatre
08/14/16 San Diego, CA Embarcadero Marina Park

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

At Mill City Nights: Cat Power, English Beat, and A Fine Frenzy

Read More Cat Power I've recently added a few cover songs to the cover collection, including this one by Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, doing a Hank Williams...

Here are some upcoming shows at the Mill City Nights. This venue originally was called The Brick, which opened up earlier this year to notorious bad press. They quickly changed their name to Mill City Nights to distant their associations to The Brick. Anyway, I went to a recent show there and I'm here to report that securities are still pretty awful - it's like airport security: they pat you down and kick you out of the line if you have what they deemed are liquids, weapons, or lens cameras.

CAT POWER
catpowermusic.com

I love Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power). I saw her about six or seven years ago for her "Greatest" tour, but she seemed to have disappeared since then.

Well Cat Power is back with a brand new studio album called SUN. Comparing and contrasting the new album to her 1998's Moon Pix, Marshall explained that the 1998 album was about "extreme isolation and survival in the crazy struggle", but SUN is the opposite, "confidently into your own future, to personal power and fulfillment."

It sounds like Marshall is no longer the shy, quiet girl and her piano, but more happier and optimistic with her current album. It should be interesting to see how she performs when you see her on tour.

Cat Power is stopping by Minneapolis at Mill City Nights on October 30th. Interestingly enough, the show is co-sponsored by the 400 Bar and The Current 89.3.

10/11/12 Miami, FL Grand Central 10/13/12 Mexico City, Mexico Autodromo 10/18/12 Ithaca, NY State Theatre 10/19/12 Montreal, QC Metropolis 10/20/12 Toronto, ON Kool Haus 10/22/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 10/23/12 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom 10/24/12 Boston, MA House Of Blues 10/25/12 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory 10/27/12 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre 10/28/12 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre 10/29/12 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater 10/30/12 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights 11/02/12 Vancouver, BC The Vogue Theatre

11/03/12 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo 11/04/12 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal 11/06/12 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 11/08/12 Hollywood, CA Hollywood Palladium 11/26/12 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso 11/28/12 Cologne, Germany E-Werk 11/29/12 Berlin, Germany Huxleys Neue Welt 12/01/12 Hamburg, Germany Grosse Freiheit 36 12/02/12 Munich, Germany Theatre Fabrik 12/03/12 Milan, Italy Alcatraz 12/04/12 Bologna, Italy Estragon 12/06/12 Zurich, Switzerland Volkshaus 12/10/12 Paris, France Trianon 12/12/12 London, United Kingdom Roundhouse 12/14/12 Brussels, Belgium AB Club

Read More The Beat Trying to figure out some of the covers on Hamburger, I found The Beat, a band that debut with The Beat in 1979. The band was lead by Paul Collins…

ENGLISH BEAT
facebook.com/theenglishbeat

Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri.

A little information about each band, as you know The Beat was a ska band that started in 1978, but had to change their name in America as The English Beat because of Paul Collin's band The Beat (who pre-dated the English Beat by a year.) You can read about Paul Collin's band here on W♥M.

Anyway, it sounds like the two bands aren't rivals at all, but old friends, as Dave Wakeling, from the English Beat, explained, "Paul and I originally met back in '83 and have been in touch occasionally over the years, but recently we've been in closer FB [Facebook] contact, which led to this idea becoming a reality....Two beats, hearting as one!"

The tour kicks off October 11th. Dates with (*) indicates with support from The Paul Collins Beat.

Sep 28 Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA Sep 29 Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA Oct 05 Romano’s Concert Lounge Riverside, CA Oct 06 The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA Oct 11 The Orange Peel Asheville, NC * Oct 12 The State Theatre Falls Church, VA * Oct 13 The Center for Arts Natick, MA * Oct 14 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA * Oct 16 BB King’s New York, NY * Oct 18 Rapids Theatre Niagara Falls, NY * Oct 19 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON * Oct 20 Hard Rock Café Detroit, MI * Oct 23 SPACE Evanston, IL * Oct 24 Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA * Oct 25 Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA Oct 26 Turner Hall Milwaukee, WI * Oct 27 Mill City Nights Minneapolis, MN *

Oct 30 Knucklehead Tavern Kansas City, MO Oct 31 The Blue Note Columbia, MO Nov 02 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA Nov 03 Vinyl Music Hall Pensacola, FL Nov 09 Hard Rock Café Las Vegas, NV Nov 16 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT Nov 23 Bimbo’s 365 Club San Francisco, CA Nov 24 B Ryder’s Bakersfield, CA Nov 30 SoHo Santa Barbara, CA Dec 01 SLO Brewing Company San Luis Obispo, CA Dec 07 T. Boyle Tavern Pasadena, CA Dec 08 T. Boyle Tavern Pasadena, CA Dec 14 Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA Dec 15 Mystic Theatre Petaluma, CA Dec 22 House of Blues Anaheim, CA Dec 29 Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA Dec 31 The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA

Read More A Fine Frenzy Alison Sudol, the lead singer of A Fine Frenzy, has a voice. She fills the album with a warm and sultry voice. She reminds me of Brandi Carlile.

A FINE FRENZY
afinefrenzy.com

Alison Sudol, aka A Fine Frenzy, will be heading out on a five-week tour, co-headlining with Joshua Radin. The new tour is in support of her forthcoming album, PINES, which I've previously mentioned. The third A Fine Frenzy album hits store on October 16th via Virgin Records, according to Amazon.

It seems that PINES goes beyond just music, as in addition to the album, there's also a companion book and short film.

10/11 Santa Rosa, CA Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
10/12 San Francisco Warfield Theatre
10/13 Newport Beach, Balboa Beach Fest
10/16 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
10/17 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre
10/18 Seattle, WA City Arts Festival
10/20 Edmonton, AB McDougall Church
10/21 Calgary, AB Knox United Church
10/23 Winnipeg, MB Garrick Center
10/25 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
10/26 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
10/27 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre
10/29 New York, NY Best Buy Theater
10/30 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
11/01 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Fall
11/02 Montreal, QC Corona Theatre
11/03 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
11/05 Charlottesville, VA Paramount Theatre
11/07 Durham, NC Carolina Theatre
11/08 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre
11/09 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
11/10 Birmingham, AL Workplay Soundstage
11/12 Houston, TX House of Blues
11/13 Austin, TX Paramount Theatre
11/14 Dallas, TX House of Blues
11/16 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M