W♥M (Archive)

Sonny Knight & The Lakers at Lowertown Line, St Paul (14 Apr 2016)

Setlist Cave Man It Had To Change* Oh Mary* How Long Until Someday* I Could Never Get Tired* Through With You Sonny's Boogaloo It's Over* Help Me* Stronger In The End* Hey Girl Sooner Or Later* Songs marked with * are new songs that will be on Sonny Knight & the Lakers' next album 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…

Minneapolis’ soul/funk revival band Sonny Knight and the Lakers recently played at the critically acclaimed music series The Lowertown Line for Twin Cities PBS. For the first time, the taping was broadcast live online and TPT 2 (Channel 2).

The newly built stage in downtown St. Paul was impressive... particularly the beautiful, bright, colorful lights.

In typical live broadcast for television or radio, the sold-out concert started promptly at exactly 8pm, and timed exactly to fit right under an hour, down to the show’s last note.

We’ve seen Sonny Knight & the Lakers a few times, and knew to expect a consistently high-energy soul and funk sound. Knight, dressed in a purple suit, danced and sweat and sang at the top of his lungs. The audience couldn’t help but move and participate with the songs.

The band is joined by two girl dancers, giving off a similar vibe to their The Secret Stash Records Revue from last year.

The Secret Stash house band The Lakers (Guitar: Blair Krivanek; Bass: Nick Salisbury; Drums: Eric Foss; Organ: Sam Harvey-Carson; Tenor Sax: Cole Pulice; Trumpet: Riley Helgeson; Trombone: Tony Beaderstadt) was incredible, remembering that they are there to make Sonny Knight look good... although sometime the brass section can’t help but take the spotlight.

The recorded show will likely re-air on TPT sometime in the future, but expect to see some Sonny Knight & the Lakers clips online soon.

Lowertown Line’s next show is on May 12th and will feature Davina and The Vagabonds. The free show is sold out.

Sonny Knight and the Lakers at Lowertown Line, St Paul (14 April 2016)

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

Poliça at the Lowertown Line, St Paul (04 February 2016)

Setlist Summer Please Lime Habit Someway Wedding Melting Block Top Coat Lately Fish on the Griddle Berlin Baby Sucks Kind Lose You -- Encore -- Wandering Star Tour Dates Feb 09 Point Ephemere Paris, France Feb 11 Berghain Kantine Berlin, Germany Feb 15 Village Underground London Feb 19 Rough Trade NYC Brooklyn, NY Feb 22 Schubas Chicago, IL Mar 02 Turf Club St Paul, MN Mar 03 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN Mar 04 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN Mar 08 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, IA Mar 09 Waiting Room Omaha, NE Mar 10 The Vanguard Tulsa, OK Mar 11 Warehouse Live Studio Houston, TX Mar 12 The Loft Dallas, TX Mar 20 The Lowbrow Palace El Paso, TX Mar 22 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ Mar 23 The Irenic San Diego, CA Mar 25 The Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA Mar 26 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA Mar 28 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR Mar 29 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR Mar 30 Imperial Vancouver, Canada Mar 31 Neptune Theatre Seattle, WA Apr 14 High Noon Saloon Madison, WI Apr 15 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI Apr 16 Thaila Hall Chicago, IL Apr 18 Blind Pig Ann Arbor, MI Apr 20 Lee's Palace Toronto, Canada Apr 21 Petit Campus Montreal Metro Area, Canada Apr 22 Brighton Music Hall Allston, MA Apr 23 Warsaw New York, NY Apr 25 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA Apr 26 9:30 Club Washington, DC Apr 28 Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC Apr 29 Terminal West Atlanta, GA Apr 30 Mercy Lounge Nashville, TN May 01 The Mothlight Asheville, NC May 04 Madison, Live Covington, KY May 05 The Basement Columbus, OH May 06 Rose Music Hall Columbia, MO May 07 The Bottleneck Lawrence, KS Read More Poliça Minneapolis hometown favorites Poliça were just deemed “America’s Portishead” in Rolling Stone's review of the band’s sophomore album, Shulamith (Mom+Pop Records), but they’re so much more than that..…

Minneapolis band Poliça just debut their upcoming album United Crushers (out March 4 on Mom+Pop Music), live and in its entirety.

The occasion was a taping of local Twin Cities Public Television’s music series The Lowertown Line, and recorded in TPT’s new soundstage, in downtown St. Paul and was the second episode of the show’s upcoming broadcast season.

United Crushers may sound like an oddly aggressive title for the Minneapolis-based band, but is taken from an abandoned set of grain elevators near downtown, re-christened with that name by area graffiti artists who have tagged that title along the elevator’s upper edge for all to see.

The upcoming album was said to be written and recorded by band members in the same room, a departure from their past habits, and the result in the new songs is something more intimate and raw, with vocalist Channy Leaneagh's singing voice less electronically manipulated and the lyrics an indictment on the world around, isolation, and an eventual light through any darkness.

TPT’s new performance space is part of a $20 mil renovation to their building, located conveniently right off the light rail line in downtown St. Paul.  What was formerly storage space has turned into an open street-level entrance and acoustically fine-tuned performance area, with capacity just over 260. A makeshift bar was set up in one corner and a terraced balcony just above the stage, overlooks the entire room.

As the performance time approached, camera and sound men assumed their positions and the audience was introduced to the evening then asked to do a few short bursts of applause, for the crew to get some establishing shots and adjust any technical levels.  And from there, the band was on, with no stops, starts, or re-takes that might be expected with a television broadcast- it played like a traditional concert with no breaks during their 55min. performance, except before the encore.

Channy Leaneagh

Leaneagh took to stage left with her keyboard and sampler in place, with bassist Chris Bierden on the other side, flanked at the rear by dual drummer/percussionists Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascu, whose bass drums lit up with the beat.

Lightning was generally sparse and dim (as with most Poliça shows), and the band started with the brooding and building  ‘Summer Please’, written as a warning from a mother to her child, which is appropriate as Leaneagh recently delivered her second child. Single ‘Lime Habit’ was next, familiar to listeners as the new LP’s lead track, released last November.

Percussion was at the sonic forefront of ‘Someway’ and ‘Wedding’ took on the sensitive subjects of police brutality and racism. ‘Baby Sucks’ seemed a band declaration of independence from traditional record labels of sorts, and Leaneagh’s voice soared during the chorus of ‘Kind’.  The theme of independence came full circle with ending track, ‘Lose You’ with the band exiting to return shortly for a single-song encore.

“I just had a baby about three months ago… my memory is very off, so there’s only a few songs I remember the words to” Leaneagh confessed, to shouts of requests by the audience.

“This is a song called ‘Amongster’…no, no, sorry” Leaneagh corrected herself to cheers then disappointment. “…I can’t remember the words to that one, we’re going to do ‘Wandering Star’, I apologize”, she retreated as the crowd cheered again for the 2011 local hit, which was a nice return to the past, after hearing all of the new.

The finished episode will air locally later this fall and be available online as well.

The Lowertown Line is funded by the State Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Legacy Amendment and Public Television supporters.

Poliça's area residency at three local clubs in March has long been sold out, but their spring itinerary takes them almost everywhere around the country. The occasion was a taping of local Twin Cities Public Television’s local music series The Lowertown Line, and recorded in TPT's new studio and soundstage, in downtown St. Paul.  The episode will air locally later this fall and be available online as well.

The Lowertown Line is funded by the State Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Legacy Amendment and Public Television supporters.

Poliça's area residency at three local clubs in March, has long been sold out, but their spring itinerary takes them almost everywhere around the country.

Poliça at the Lowertown Line, TPT Studios, St Paul (04 February 2016)

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

Minneapolis/St Paul 2016 Events

Read More John Mark Nelson We last saw John Mark Nelson at his CD release show, and that was a lot of fun. Although it lacked the guest singers, congo line of brass, and confetti, it was still no less just as exciting. …

THE LOWERTOWN LINE
lowertownline.org

I have some exciting news: The Lowertown Line will be filming local bands on the Twin Cities PBS stage in St Paul. Already tickets for Poliça are sold out.

Their first film is for John Mark Nelson next week, January 14th. We've seen him a few times when he was doing promotional shows for his album Sings the Moon. Nelson's latest I'm Not Afraid is out now on GNDWIRE Records via Thirty Tigers.

The Lowertown Line filming details:

It’s time to gear up for another season of live music tapings of The Lowertown Line!

After a year of traveling around the Twin Cities filming concerts in music venues, we’re excited to return home to our newly-renovated building to host an exciting lineup of concerts at Twin Cities PBS.

Our cameras will be there to capture it all. And with genres ranging from rock to country to soul, there will be something for everyone. We’re thrilled to welcome local acts John Mark Nelson, Poliça, The Cactus Blossoms, Sonny Knight & The Lakers and Davina and The Vagabonds into our Lowertown studios.

All shows are FREE admission – but make sure to reserve a ticket through the designated Eventbrite link!

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. with music starting promptly at 8 p.m.

Come be a part of this live music experience and stay tuned for when the episodes will air on TPT at a later date. RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW:

January 14: John Mark Nelson | Reserve tickets here

February 4: POLIÇA | SOLD OUT

March 10: The Cactus Blossoms | Reserve tickets here

April 14: Sonny Knight & The Lakers | Reserve tickets here

May 12: Davina and the Vagabonds | Reserve tickets here

*Limited space is available in studio. Tickets do not guarantee entry. Please arrive early to ensure a spot in the audience at the show.

Read More Public Enemy Public Enemy's incredible 20 hour soundcheck was filled with "ai'ight" and "cd and dvd for $10". The soundcheck was so long, the press photographers, possibly bored out of their mind started taking pictures …

RACE, RAP, AND REALITY
augsburg.edu

Come celebrate Dr Martin Luther King Jr with Public Enemy's Chuck D at 1pm on January 18th at Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center, at Augsburg College Campus.

The event is completely free, but if you want a good seat, I suggest you show up early.

Details:

Chuck D is the leader and co-founder of legendary rap group Public Enemy, author of two critically acclaimed books, and a political activist, publisher, radio host, and producer.

Chuck D redefined rap music and hip hop culture with the release of Public Enemy’s debut album in 1987, Yo! Bum Rush The Show, which delivered a powerful articulation of the realities facing black people in the late twentieth century. With an unprecedented lyrical eloquence, Public Enemy has continued to stress the importance of history and self-determination in the forward movement of all who have been oppressed. Between 1987 and 2009, with Chuck D at the helm, Public Enemy has released 13 albums, toured 63 countries, and influenced hip hop communities, social justice struggles, and political activism throughout the world.

Chuck D has been named one of the “50 most important performers in rock and roll history” by Rolling Stone magazine; one of the “100 Most Influential Black Americans” by Ebony Magazine; and in 2013, Chuck D and Public Enemy were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has been featured and/or interviewed in more than 50 documentaries and has appeared in numerous public service announcements for national peace and the Partnership for a Drug Free America. He has also been a national spokesperson for Rock the Vote, the National Urban League, Americans for the Arts Council, and the National Alliance for African-American Athletes.

Chuck D continues to make music and to write prolifically on technology, politics, rap and soul music, and race in the United States.

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This event is open to the public. For information or special requests, call 612-330-1104.

W♥M239: June is the new... (73 mins) Read More Rock the Garden The second Rock the Garden music festival on Sunday saw a seemingly bigger crowd, particularly near the front of the stage. …

ROCK THE GARDEN
walkerart.org

The Walker Art and The Current's annual summer festival Rock the Garden will return on June 18th, 2016. Tickets goes on sale April 5th for Walker and The Current members. General public will get their chance to buy tickets April 6th.

We love the festival, it is usually the highlight to our summer, as a special bonus, listen to John and Vu talk about Rock the Garden and how incredibly busy June 2015 was for us.

NOTE: The event will be held at Boom Island because of the construction to the Walker.

Here is the details about Rock the Garden 2016:

The Walker and The Current’s annual summer festival returns Saturday, June 18, 2–10 pm. Due to construction at the Walker, this year’s concert will be held at Boom Island in Northeast Minneapolis. The bands will be announced on Tuesday, April 5, beginning at 9 am on The Current. Tickets to Rock the Garden go on sale Tuesday, April 5 at 10 am, to Walker and The Current members and to the general public on Wednesday, April 6, at 10 am.

“We are so pleased to have secured Boom Island as a temporary location Rock the Garden ’16” said Philip Bither, Director and McGuire Senior Curator for Performing Arts at the Walker. “This beautiful setting will allow for a one-day, multiple staged event sure to carry the same great spirit and inspired mix of music that Rock the Garden has been so noted for in the past. We look forward to returning to the gorgeously re-designed new Walker campus for Rock the Garden ’17.”

“We’re really excited to venture into a new location and experiment with the staging and format of Rock the Garden this year,” adds Jim McGuinn, program director for The Current. “Attendees can expect the same level of playful creativity and sonic adventurousness that have been hallmarks of all the previous lineups, along with a chance to explore a new neighborhood and hang with friends at Boom Island for a celebratory summertime kick off!”

Become a Walker Art Center member at walkerart.org
Become a member of The Current/Minnesota Public Radio at mpr.org

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