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Turf Club Setlist
Flow Northside Arts Crawl Setlist
Tour Dates
8/04/2017 New York City Bowery Electric
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The year 1969 was one of revolution, political divisiveness, racial tensions, discovery, and near unparalleled musical creativity, as idealistic dreams and the harshness of reality collided—
Some of those themes still echo very much today, and so, it makes sense that André Cymone has titled his new album after that year (on Blindtango Records), his second release after a self-imposed twenty-seven-year hiatus. Cymone celebrated the new record with two special hometown solo shows- at a packed and sold-out Turf Club in St. Paul, and an abbreviated appearance the next day at the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl in North Minneapolis.
Cymone re-emerged on the scene with 2014’s The Stone and a crunchier rock sound, echoing more Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone than his Minneapolis Sound roots and returned to town for his first show since participating in last year’s Prince Tribute concert, for a club show in support of the follow up record.
Opening the sold-out evening was local sextet, ZULUZULUU, a collective of musicians/producers: MMYYKK, Proper-T, Greg Grease, DJ Just Nine, ∆RT P∆RTÉ & Trelly Mo, who released the seven song album, What’s the Price? last year. The group plays a meld of Afro-futurism, funk, jazz, and soul on songs like their own ‘Fades’ and even covered Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’ mid-set.
“Hometown! I love the love!” Cymone said, looking out into the capacity crowd before beginning his sixty-five minute set with the new album’s opening track, ‘We All Need Something’. The night also served as a tribute to “a few soldiers” lost over the past year, starting with an upbeat and funky Leonard Cohen cover.
Part of the old Grand Central lineup then joined Cymone on stage (William “Hollywood” Doughty and Chazz Smith) for the remainder of the show, beginning with the Philando Castile-inspired, socially-charged ‘Black Man in America’ as local notables like Pepé Willie (94 East), Matt Fink and Bobby Z (The Revolution) and members of the Nelson family, looked on.
The second tribute was a faithful David Bowie cover of ‘Heroes’ with Cymone next working through a quick series of very familiar classic guitar riffs and a tribute to “a soldier very near and dear to my heart- I think about him every day” before launching into Prince’s ‘When You Were Mine’ from 1980, saying a simple “rest in peace, my brother” following.
‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ was one of the songs that inspired Cymone’s 1969, so he did his chugging, gospel-tinged version of the song, getting the crowd to chant “it’s all right” at several points. Before the Prince-penned ‘Dance Electric’, Cymone told the brief story of Prince giving the song to him to record, a feel good departure from much of the socio-political material Cymone was outputting himself.
The new ‘Money’ would end the set, with a reprise of the first song played as an end bumper, with Cymone and band then posing for a hometown group photo before leaving the stage, with no encore played.
The next day found Cymone and band on the other side of the Mississippi River, on a small stage located on the field at North High School as part of the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl for a brief outdoor set. The tone was more laid back and relaxed, with Cymone returning to play in the same general neighborhood that he, Prince, and the other architects of the Minneapolis Sound, grew up in.
‘Black Man in America’ touched pressure points on this side of the river as well; even though the Castile and police incident happened on the St. Paul side, the entire metro remains still affected by its tragic outcome, and Cymone would end up breaking a guitar string during, a result of his furious playing.
‘Dance Electric’ was an impromptu add-on to the setlist (bumping ‘Black Lives Matter’), with Cymone and band performing it in more of a loose, freestyle method, than even the night before. “There’s another group…” Cymone teased, that came from similar neighborhood roots, and he paid homage to The Time by faithfully covering their own (and Prince-penned) ‘Cool’ as the causal crowd danced on the lawn.
Before ending as he did the previous night (with ‘Money’ and the ‘Something reprise’), Cymone recalled sitting in the very same bleachers across from the stage as a high school student, never dreaming he would actually tour the world several times over, as a successful working musician.
1969 was undoubtedly a time of change in 20th Century American history, and André Cymone looks back at that, reflected through the shards of present-day events, to make a pertinent music statement that was welcomed and well received in the two side-by-side cities, where he first began.
Some of those themes still echo very much today, and so, it makes sense that André Cymone has titled his new album after that year (on Blindtango Records), his second release after a self-imposed twenty-seven-year hiatus. Cymone celebrated the new record with two special hometown solo shows- at a packed and sold-out Turf Club in St. Paul, and an abbreviated appearance the next day at the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl in North Minneapolis.
Cymone re-emerged on the scene with 2014’s The Stone and a crunchier rock sound, echoing more Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone than his Minneapolis Sound roots and returned to town for his first show since participating in last year’s Prince Tribute concert, for a club show in support of the follow up record.
Opening the sold-out evening was local sextet, ZULUZULUU, a collective of musicians/producers: MMYYKK, Proper-T, Greg Grease, DJ Just Nine, ∆RT P∆RTÉ & Trelly Mo, who released the seven song album, What’s the Price? last year. The group plays a meld of Afro-futurism, funk, jazz, and soul on songs like their own ‘Fades’ and even covered Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’ mid-set.
“Hometown! I love the love!” Cymone said, looking out into the capacity crowd before beginning his sixty-five minute set with the new album’s opening track, ‘We All Need Something’. The night also served as a tribute to “a few soldiers” lost over the past year, starting with an upbeat and funky Leonard Cohen cover.
Part of the old Grand Central lineup then joined Cymone on stage (William “Hollywood” Doughty and Chazz Smith) for the remainder of the show, beginning with the Philando Castile-inspired, socially-charged ‘Black Man in America’ as local notables like Pepé Willie (94 East), Matt Fink and Bobby Z (The Revolution) and members of the Nelson family, looked on.
The second tribute was a faithful David Bowie cover of ‘Heroes’ with Cymone next working through a quick series of very familiar classic guitar riffs and a tribute to “a soldier very near and dear to my heart- I think about him every day” before launching into Prince’s ‘When You Were Mine’ from 1980, saying a simple “rest in peace, my brother” following.
‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ was one of the songs that inspired Cymone’s 1969, so he did his chugging, gospel-tinged version of the song, getting the crowd to chant “it’s all right” at several points. Before the Prince-penned ‘Dance Electric’, Cymone told the brief story of Prince giving the song to him to record, a feel good departure from much of the socio-political material Cymone was outputting himself.
The new ‘Money’ would end the set, with a reprise of the first song played as an end bumper, with Cymone and band then posing for a hometown group photo before leaving the stage, with no encore played.
The next day found Cymone and band on the other side of the Mississippi River, on a small stage located on the field at North High School as part of the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl for a brief outdoor set. The tone was more laid back and relaxed, with Cymone returning to play in the same general neighborhood that he, Prince, and the other architects of the Minneapolis Sound, grew up in.
‘Black Man in America’ touched pressure points on this side of the river as well; even though the Castile and police incident happened on the St. Paul side, the entire metro remains still affected by its tragic outcome, and Cymone would end up breaking a guitar string during, a result of his furious playing.
‘Dance Electric’ was an impromptu add-on to the setlist (bumping ‘Black Lives Matter’), with Cymone and band performing it in more of a loose, freestyle method, than even the night before. “There’s another group…” Cymone teased, that came from similar neighborhood roots, and he paid homage to The Time by faithfully covering their own (and Prince-penned) ‘Cool’ as the causal crowd danced on the lawn.
Before ending as he did the previous night (with ‘Money’ and the ‘Something reprise’), Cymone recalled sitting in the very same bleachers across from the stage as a high school student, never dreaming he would actually tour the world several times over, as a successful working musician.
1969 was undoubtedly a time of change in 20th Century American history, and André Cymone looks back at that, reflected through the shards of present-day events, to make a pertinent music statement that was welcomed and well received in the two side-by-side cities, where he first began.
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FLOW Art Crawl Poster |
Andre Cymone at FLOW Art Crawl |
Andre Cymone at FLOW Art Crawl |
FLOW Art Crawl Setlist |
Turf Club Setlist |
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Andre Cymone at FLOW Art Crawl, Minneapolis (29 July 2017) |
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ZULUZULUU |
ZULUZULUU |
Andre Cymone at Turf Club |
Andre Cymone at Turf Club |
Andre Cymone at Turf Club |
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Andre Cymone at Turf Club, St. Paul (28 July 2017) |
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