W♥M (Archive)

Hollerado, w/Savoy Motel at 7th St Entry, Minneapolis (28 Jan 2017)

Tour Dates 01/31/17 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre 02/01/17 Saskatoon, SK O'Brians Event Centre 02/03/17 Calgary, AB Grey Eagle Event Centre 02/04/17 Edmonton, AB Winspear Centre 02/07/17 Vancouver, BC Orpheum 02/08/17 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern 07/01/17 Vancouver, BC Canada Place 11/10/17 Edmundston, NB Centre Jean-Daigle Read More Hollerado Hollerado definitely tried their best. They talked a lot more than the last time I saw them. Maybe a little too much. They also tried some stage tricks like spitting beer up in the air in unison. . … Savoy Motel Nashville’s Savoy Motel, possibly named after the Savoy Hotel, opened up the show. The band featured bassist Jeffrey Novak, drummer Jessica McFarland, guitarist Mimi Galbierz . .... Sleep Study Locals Sleep Study got the evening started with 35 min. of retro power pop with slight UK influences, including singles ‘Flower Girl’ and ‘Peace & Letting Go’, and even worked in a novel cover of Tears for Fears ...

Normally, Ottawa’s Hollerado is actually on tour with The Sam Roberts Band, however for this Saturday night (January 28th), they’re headlining the 7th Street Entry, while SRB was asked to perform at The Current’s 12th Birthday Party next door at the mainroom.

Sleep Study

Opening up the show was Sleep Study, starting at 9pm. We caught the local band a few years ago, and like last time, they were a trio, led by singer/guitarist Ryan Plewacki, and they covered Buzzcocks’ ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)’.

Savoy Motel

Nashville’s Savoy Motel was up next. The gargey / psychedelica / 70’s inspired band is normally touring with The Lemon Twigs (however, like The Sam Roberts Band, they were asked to play at the sold-out The Current show).

The four-piece features bassist Jeffrey Novak, drummer Jessica McFarland, guitarists Dillon Watson and Mimi Galbierz, all took part in singing (lead or backup) songs from their self-titled debut album (What’s Your Rupture? Records), such as ‘Sorry People’.

Their set was familiarly similar to their first Minneapolis appearance with The Dandy Warhols in September 2016... but they appeared to be more confident and talkative on their appearance last night. They’re still a very young band, so expect more great things from this band.

Canada’s Hollerado took the stage earlier than advertised, starting their set with some of their favorite songs to play live, including their biggest hit song ‘Americanarama’ (which got the crowds pumping and dancing hard). After ‘Americanarama’, singer Menno Versteeg announced that they will be playing unreleased songs from their forthcoming album ... set for release sometime this Spring 2017 (just in time for SXSW, I reckon).

As promised, the band played a lot of new songs, including a track they called ‘Eloise’ and something called ‘I Got You’ (a song about being “rich and an a******”).

Hearing the new songs live for the first time, I can tell you that it is classic Hollerado’s standard sound... that is about fun and not to be taken too seriously.

Midway in their set, Versteeg reminisce the last the band was in town, it was about four years ago at the same venue. They were coming down from Chicago and were trying to make time, as they were running late. In fact, they were speeding the entire way and was eventually pulled over by the police. As the officer was writing them a ticket, they asked the cop, “How fast can we go, without getting caught?”.

The punchline was that on that 25 November 2013 night, the band made a record time of setting up and ready to play on stage in seven minutes.

Hollerado ended their set with ‘So It Goes’, and tomorrow resumes their tour with fellow Canadian band The Sam Roberts Band.

Hollerado at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (28 Jan 2017)

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

Passion Pit/Youngblood Hawke/Hollerado at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/30/12)

SET LIST photograph by Steph Paxton Tour Dates 11/01 Milwaukee, WI – Riverside * 11/02 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music* 11/03 Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion * 11/04 Covington, KY – The Madison House * 11/06 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE * 11/28 Los Angeles, CA – Roxy (KROQ show) Read More Passion Pit Passion Pit took the stage to much acclaim and the occasional fangirl squeal (mostly directed to oh-so-dreamy keyboardist, Ian Hultquist). The first song, “Make …

At First Ave. on the 30th for LA based pop quintet Youngblood Hawke. This was the 2nd sold out day they opened for Passion Pit in Minneapolis.

HOLLERADO photo by Steph Paxton

I walked in as the always hyper Hollerado was hitting the stage. I saw them awhile back when they opened for Free Energy at the 400 Bar. It was a similar high energy performance. The thing is as with any opener, it’s hard to play for an audience that may not have heard of you before or because they are mainly there for the headliner. Hollerado definitely tried their best. They talked a lot more than the last time I saw them. Maybe a little too much. They also tried some stage tricks like spitting beer up in the air in unison.  Anyway, I saw some people get into it. Although in my opinion playing all ages shows is easier for a band. Younger folks are easier to impress. . .

Next up was Youngblood Hawke. I had never heard of them before last month but I dug their single “We Come Running.” That song specifically reminded me of Passion Pit’s newest, maximalist album. Their set was actually very full force, like their single, they started strong and finished strong. On the first song the lead singer had broken a drum stick he was bashing on his single tom. Those guys were really having a blast. In the first few songs, two drumsticks and a snare were broken. The only time they took to have a bit of a break was when they covered Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy.” Which even then, it was still a very feel good vibe. Quite a bit of the audience knew who they were, and were singing along joyfully to the lead single “We Come Running.” They definitely did a bit of genre bending during their set. Some of their songs sounded like throwback rock and roll anthems  that were very, very glossed out, and some were pop to the max.  Overall I was very impressed, I’d definitely like to check these guys out in a headlining gig.

PASSION PIT photo by Steph Paxton

Youngblood Hawke did a good job at ramping the audience up, and when Passion Pit came on stage they were very well received. They started out with “Take a Walk,” then went right into “The Reeling.” This took the crowd by surprise and they went ballistic in response. The pit was so crowded that I couldn’t tell people apart, just arms and heads, all pulsing up, down, left, and right. That was definitely a “passion pit” if I’ve ever seen one. From then on the show was just phenomenal. The crowd ate up every song, and they sang along to everything they could. Michael even stopped a few times to thank his fans. That it meant a lot to him that they weren’t on their iPhones and snapping pics the whole time. He made it clear he had no problems with recordings or photos; it was just flattering to have such a dedicated audience. They closed the set with “Sleepyhead,” which almost caused a riot in the crowd. Then they came back and gave a wonderful two piece encore of “Moth’s Wings” and “Little Secrets.” The latter of which even  I was even being hysterical about.

Overall it was an amazing show, P Pit really knows how to put on a show and they sure picked winners with Youngblood Hawke. High energy all night with these guys. So if they are stopping by your town and it hasn’t sold out, don’t wait any longer, grab a ticket!!! Or get it off someone who isn’t going.

Youngblood Hawke at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/30/12) photograph by Steph Paxton

oscar + stephanie ♥ passionpitmusic.com ♥ youngbloodhawke.com ♥ hollerado.com

W♥M092: Live Shows

W♥M092 [download (35min, 44mb)]

Vu, Sally and Oscar on this week's W♥M Radio.

News

1. Pulp are back!. Sally will be celebrating by drinking loads of things and DJing and hanging out on BRITPOP.com.au's Party Hard (Pulp Night)
2. Beatles on iTunes. Yep, welcome to 2010, Beatles.

Main program: Live shows

Sally: Charlatans at the Metro Theatre on November 11th. Apparently it upsets Sally that Tim has better hair. Also, Manic Street Preachers at Metro Theatre on November 15th.
Oscar: Delorean at 7th Street on November 16th, then on the 18th, he saw Free Energy at 400 Bar
Vu: KT Tunstall's appearance at the Epic on November 18th was dwarfed by Charlotte Hatherley's awesomeness.

Song of the show: Hollerado's "Americanarama"

Throwaway bits: too random to mention.

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com

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

Free Energy at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/10)

Free Energy: Free Energy Tour Dates 11/22/10 Valentines* Albany, NY 11/23/10 Paradise Rock Club* Boston, MA 11/24/10 Bowery Ballroom* New York, NY 11/26/10 Music Hall of Williamsburg* NY 11/27/10 Theater of Living Arts* Phila, PA 11/30/10 Chameleon Club* Lancaster, PA 12/01/10 Rock n Roll Hotel* Washington 12/05/10 Blue Note Columbia, MO 12/06/10 Midland Kansas City, MO 12/07/10 Bourbon Theater Lincoln, NE 12/08/10 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, IA 12/09/10 Blue Moose Tap Iowa City, IA 12/14/10 Orpheum Theatre+ Boston, MA 12/15/10 Orpheum Theatre+ Boston, MA 12/17/10 Roseland Ballroom+ New York 12/18/10 Roseland Ballroom+ New York *with Hollerado + with Weezer Read More Free Energy I felt that they should have ended their set with the easy to follow "Bang Pop" song (their chorus is easy to remember: "bang, bang, pop, pop"). Easily their best song.

If you haven’t heard of Free Energy by now, you are seriously missing out on life my friends. The five piece band is originally from Red Wing, MN but now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consists of Scott Wells (lead guitar), Paul Sprangers (lead Vocals), Evan Wells (bass), Geoff Bucknam (guitar), and Nick Shuminksy (drums). The latter two members were met in Philly and the rest have a history in Minneapolis as the no longer active band, Hockey Night. And their record “Stuck On Nothing” has received many the ecstatic reviews from places like, Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

Unlike a lot of hype bands these guys aren’t the young guys with the colorful synth tunes. These 5, 30 year old guys, rely on catchy, hook-laden 70’s guitar riffs, sing-a-long anthems,  with a dose of good feelings, and “energy” for good measure and a worry “free” feeling. Ironically they are signed to DFA records, which is the child of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and home to Hot Chip , Shit Robot, Holy Ghost!, Hercules and Love Affair, and YACHT. (If you are unfamiliar with these bands, they are all synth-laden indie rock bands.)

I was very privileged with the opportunity to see them in Paul Sprangers’ and the Wells brothers’ home state of Minnesota for the second time. When I got to the venue, I noticed there was only one drum set, which clearly belonged to Free Energy. I asked the bartender what the deal was and he told me that there had been a complication. It seems that both bands had been held back at the Canadian boarder earlier, and they would be playing an hour and a half late. Having seen them open for Titus Andronicus, I knew the kind of party these guys bring to wherever they go. So,  I decided to wait, and boy was I not disappointed. At About 10 PM they had a sensational power-pop group from Canada, open for them. The name of this band was, Hollerado, and they got the crowd amped and jumping in glee. The perfect openers to set the stage for the crazy fun that is Free Energy. Scott Wells and Paul Sprangers took stage with Hollerado for a couple songs. It seems they like to do that a lot, since last time they joined Titus Andronicus on stage and they brought Amy of Titus Andronicus on stage with them during their set  too.

Free Energy took stage at about 10:50, and opened their set with “All I know.” And proceeded the song with their hit single, “Dream City.” Their set, like always was a sing-a-long rock party that had the crowd jumping, and fist pumping. The happiness and energy they bring on stage is so incredibly contagious. They closed their set with “Hope Child” and then came right back out for a two song on-core, which they closed with “I’m going down” by Bruce Springsteen. Which was probably the highest and most epic part of the show. Paul started to pull people up on-stage with him, which ended with half the floor up on-stage. I took the microphone at the last verse and sung it and the chorus. Then it lead into a spontaneous cover of Neil Young’s “Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World” when lead singer and guitarist of Hollerado, Menno Versteeg picked up Scott Wells guitar. Then the venue erupted into chaos, as members of Free Energy and Hollerado and I sang loud and proud, while the venue sang-a-long and danced.

All in all, if Free Energy is coming to your town. Do not miss out. There are still a few dates left on this tour, and they promised to return real soon on a spring tour. And listen to Free Energy if you are into bands such as Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick and The Cars. Or if you need something to blast on your iPod or stereo while you sit back and try not to worry about the world around you.

For more of Hollerado:
http://www.myspace.com/hollerado
http://www.hollerado.com/

And more of Free Energy:
http://www.myspace.com/freeenergymusic
http://www.freeenergymusic.com/

♥ Free Energy at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/10)

oscar () ♥ myspace.com/freeenergymusic ♥ twitter.com