W♥M (Archive)

Frank Turner at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (18 Oct 2019)

Pantages Theatre marquee Frank Turner Setlist Solo Set Jinny Bingham's Ghost The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead Nica A Perfect Wife The Death of Dora Hand Sister Rosetta Rosemary Jane The Lioness with Sleeping Souls The Ballad of Me and My Friends I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous Journey of the Magi Substitute Isabel Wanderlust Reasons Not to Be an Idiot I Am Disappeared Tell Tale Signs One Foot Before the Other The Way I Tend to Be The Opening Act of Spring Love Forty Down There She Is Don't Worry Balthazar, Impresario Photosynthesis Recovery I Still Believe Be More Kind Kayleigh Goldsworthy Setlist West Coast Cursed to Wander Joey (Concrete Blonde cover) Tennessee Red The Concept (Teenage Fanclub cover) Stuck Jamie Read More Frank Turner English punk and folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner is stopping by the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis this October 18th in support of his eight album, No Man’s Land (Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records). ...

English punk and folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner headlined the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis on October 18th in support of his eight album, No Man’s Land (Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records).

Kayleigh Goldsworthy opened the show. Goldsworthy is pretty fun and often talked about her father (and tour roommate). The two standout songs on her set were the two covers: “Joey” by Concrete Blonde and “The Concept” by Teenage Fanclub. Both were faithfully played, and, particularly with “Joey”, had a lot of heart.

Goldsworthy talked about how she decided to cover the Concrete Blonde song and her parents gave her some slack because, she didn’t listen to the band when she was growing up. While she probably discovered the band on her own, she does admit that her parents’ musical tastes (who sounded like they were also in a band) had a lot of influences on her.

Frank Turner closed out the show. Turner’s set was divided into two sections, a solo set with just Turner on acoustic guitar and a full electric band (billed as The Sleeping Souls) for the second half of the show.

The last time we saw Turner was in Oct 2015 and wrote, “The second Frank Turner got on stage the sold out crowd seemed to fade away and it felt like it was Frank singing just to me. It seemed like every song he sang was written for me. Like his song Tattoos where he talks about blowing your paycheck on tattoos that you will probably later regret but that are part of you. Or the song Recovery which is about exactly that, the road to recovery of whatever problems you have. Turner, later on the encore, did a cover of The Hold Steady's Your Little Hoodrat Friend after confessing his love for the music that comes out of the Twin Cities (although The Hold Steady isn't necessarily a "local band", they still have roots here). He even admitted to having some lyrics from this song tattooed on his back.”

With this current 2019 tour for his latest release of No Man’s Land (Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records), Turner played a few tracks from the new album. He had a lot of stories for each of his songs, explaining the concept and true stories for each of the songs. If you didn’t know, each song is about an incredible woman and her story.

Remaining tour dates:

10/25 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
10/29 - Phoenix, AZ - Ikeda Theatre
10/30 - Albuquerque, NM - Kimo Theater
11/01 - Dallas, TX - The Majestic
11/02 - Houston, TX - Revention
11/04 - Nashville, TN - James K. Polk Theatre
11/05 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11/06 - Tampa, FL - Palladium
11/22 - Dumfermline - Alhambra Theatre
11/24 - Cardiff - St. David's Hall
11/25 - Shouthampton - 02 City Hall
11/26 - Manchester - Opera House
11/27 - Newcastle - 02 City Hall
11/29 - Bexhill - De La Warr Pavilion
11/30 - London - Alexandra Palace Theatre

Kayleigh Goldsworthy

Kayleigh Goldsworthy

Kayleigh Goldsworthy

Frank Turner

Frank Turner

Frank Turner at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (18 Oct 2019)

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

Colin Hay at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (04 Nov 2017)

Colin Hay Setlist The Last to Know Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan cover) Little Red Corvette (Prince cover) I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You Who Can It Be Now? (Men at Work song) Down Under (Men at Work song) Frozen Fields of Snow Beautiful World Looking for Jack Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles cover) Maggie Come Tumblin' Down Overkill (Men at Work song) Waiting for My Real Life to Begin Next Year People Chris Trapper Setlist Into the Bright Lights The Accident This Time Away We Go Skin Keg on My Coffin (The Push Stars song) Tour Dates 11/15/2017 Los Angeles, CA Largo 01/31/2018 Fortitude Valley, The Tivoli 02/01/2018 Tweed Heads, Twin Towns Showroom 02/02/2018 Thirroul, Anita's Theatre 02/09/2018 Bendigo, Ulumbarra Theatre 02/10/2018 South Bank, Melbourne Recital Centre Read More Colin Hay Colin Hay’s new album Fierce Mercy is due March 3rd on Compass Records. Expect to hear some of those songs on his upcoming Pantages Theatre show in Minneapolis. …

After forty years of making music, touring the world in a top-selling group, and re-inventing himself as a singing, songwriting, storytelling troubadour, Colin Hay still remains a man at work. 

The Scottish/Australian/American (who officially became a US citizen last year) ex-Men at Work vocalist brought his show to the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis for a captivating two-hour solo set.

The evening was opened by Hay’s friend and Boston singer-songwriter Chris Trapper, best known as the lead singer of ‘90s group, The Push Stars, who entertained, amused, and enthralled the crowd with his own half-hour set. 

Opening with ‘Into the Bright Lights’, Trapper then self-deprecatingly told the story of getting two songs into a recent Pierce Brosnan move called Some Kind of Beautiful… only to have it close quickly and disappear into home video.  His biggest solo success may be ‘This Time’, from the 2009 movie August Rush… though it was sung by the actor in the movie, so most don’t know it was his song. 

Trapper switched to the ukulele (“it takes a big man to play a small guitar”, he joked) for ‘Away We Go’, written for his parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary, and ended his short set with the Push Stars’ ‘Keg on my Coffin’, dedicated to the recently resurrected polka bar Nye’s for his take on a classic Irish drinking song.

After a brief break and in workman-like fashion, Colin Hay emerged on a mostly bare stage, taking off his jacket and dutifully hung it on a neighboring coat rack (the only stage prop), strapping on one of three perched guitars, to begin his headlining set. 

The new album is Fierce Mercy (Compass Records) and expands on Hay’s live show, known for its intimate and confessional nature; and in fact, many of the song introduction stories this night, would be longer than the tunes themselves (not that anyone minded).

After the opening ‘The Last to Know’ Hay expounded on his childhood days in Scotland, the influence of his father, the church, and formal school, and his reaction to first hearing Bob Dylan, seguing into his version of ‘Like a Rolling Stone’. 

A touching tribute to Prince followed, with Hay playing a bare ‘Little Red Corvette’, saying nothing additional, which showed the best kind of musical respect.  “Now, Replacements!” someone shouted out after hearing the two Minnesota covers. 

Musing about the benefits of having one name (like Sting), Hay next went into ‘I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You’ from the platinum-selling Garden State soundtrack – (“mine went… mahogany!”, he joked about his 1998 solo album Transcendental Highway, from where the track was first found).

Going back into his catalogue (“to remind you what show you came to”), Hay spoke about the beginnings of Men at Work’s first hit, ‘Who Can It Be Now?’, playing large venues with Fleetwood Mac, and calling the forty minutes it took to write the song, “well spent”.

‘Down Under’ would follow, with Hay recalling first playing the song in Western Australian bars over the noise and corner jukeboxes, and being flown back over to perform it at a recent rugby match. 

Once Hay stopped drinking, he found himself with a lot of additional time, finding himself more productive and the appropriately titled ‘Looking for Jack’ was born from his first time meeting actor Jack Nicholson.  

The Beatles were Hay’s primary musical influence growing up (watching them on shows like Ready Steady Go) and he played them a fine tribute with a George Harrison cover, mentioning it would all come full circle, later becoming part of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band for several tours.

The new album’s opener, ‘Come Tumblin’ Down’ became an audience choral sing-a-long, ‘Overkill’, perhaps Hay’s favorite song from that era, was played with the same passion as thirty years prior, and the show closed with two of Hay’s most personal and hopeful songs, ‘Waiting for My Real Life to Begin’ and ‘Next Year People’.  

Bowing to the crowd and taking his jacket from the coat rack, Colin Hay had finished his musical shift to rave and standing applause and another more than satisfied group of customers for the night, even meeting and signing in the lobby following. 

The Man at Work continues his Fierce Mercy tour with one last West Coast show, before returning Down Under in 2018, to re-connect with the audience and land that would eventually bring him worldwide fame.

Chris Trapper

Chris Trapper

Chris Trapper

Colin Hay

Colin Hay

Colin Hay

Colin Hay

Colin Hay at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (04 Nov 2017)

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

Paul Weller, with Lucy Rose, at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (13 Oct 2017) (Updated)

Paul Weller Setlist I'm Where I Should Be Nova My Ever Changing Moods (The Style Council song) From the Floorboards Up White Sky Woo Sé Mama Going My Way Have You Ever Had It Blue (The Style Council song) She Moves With the Fayre The Weaver Hung Up Shout to the Top! (The Style Council song) Into Tomorrow Above the Clouds Cranes Saturns Pattern Friday Street Porcelain Gods Start! (The Jam song) Peacock Suit -- Encore 1 -- Acoustic Set Dusk til Dawn Gravity Wild Wood Hopper What Would He Say? Out of the Sinking     -- Encore 2 -- These City Streets How Sweet It Is (Marvin Gaye cover) Broken Stones The Changingman -- Encore 3 -- Movin' On Up (Curtis Mayfield cover) Town Called Malice Lucy Rose Setlist Love Song Strangest of Ways No Good at All Second Chance Moirai Shiver Is This Called Home Read More Paul Weller The Modfather Paul Weller is currently on a tiny US tour heading to Riot Fest in Chicago. For some reason, Minneapolis is just one of four US non-festival dates, and so naturally, the Varsity Theater show last night, September 10th, was sold out. .... Lucy Rose Lucy Rose will be over at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall in Saint Paul for her final 2013 Fall tour date. I'll confess that I've never been to that venue before (since I'm primarily based in Minneapolis …

Now this is a kind of revolution that we can all get behind—

Paul Weller’s current tour of North America in support of his 13th solo album, A Kind Revolution made a recent local stop at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis for a raucous three-encore show. 

The evening began with a well-received, charming half-hour opening by London-based singer/songwriter Lucy Rose, in support of her third full-length, Something’s Changing (Communion Records) playing acoustic guitar and keyboards, and supported by a couple sidemen (Ben and Andrew) for her set. 

Rose plays a delicate blend of indie folk, similar to Laura Marling and inspired by Joni Mitchell and though her musical style may be a polar opposite of the headliner’s, it was Weller himself that confessed to be a fan, texting her directly to ask her to open this tour- “I’m just as shocked as you” Rose said. 

She snuck in a lovely ‘Moirai’, a reward for the quietly attentive audience, mentioning she’d only played it once so far, at the show her dad attended, as it was his favorite song of hers.  Finishing with ‘Shiver’ and ‘Is This Called Home’, the demure songstress certainly won over those in the crowd that arrived early enough to enjoy her.

After the intermission, lights dimmed as the intro music of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ announced Paul Weller and his band taking the stage for a breathtaking two and a half hour headlining set that would touch on all points, of his over four-decade long career.

Weller has surrounded himself with a crack band for the tour featuring longtime sidemen Steve Cradock (guitar), Andy Crofts (bass), Steve Pilgrim (drums), and Ben Gordelier (percussion) as well as new addition Tom Van Heel (keys) and kicked things off with 2015’s ‘I’m Where I Should Be’, a song which encapsulated The Modfather’s confidence in still finding his place in today’s musical landscape and also echoed the sentiments of the thousand people in attendance cheering him on. 

Weller followed up with the new ‘Nova’, a Bowie-esque tune presumably written for his eighth child, a daughter of that same name born earlier this year.  Things then got dialed back to the ‘80’s for the first of three Style Council songs, the peppy, soulful ‘My Ever Changing Moods’ which was the band’s highest charting US single. 

‘Woo Sé Mama’, the opening track from the new record, vibrated with a stomping finessed blend of blues, soul and rock, showing Weller still has plenty more to offer.  “We play what we play”, Weller said following, saying they don’t conform to any need to play certain songs.  The Style Council song ‘Have You Ever Had It Blue’ was actually a bit of a live rarity, drawn from the soundtrack of 1986’s Absolute Beginners, and Crofts’ bass was the anchor for the new ‘She Moves with the Fayre’ with Weller on Telecaster singing echo-effected vocals.

Weller eventually moved to keyboard for several songs, notably the title track of his 2015 album Saturn’s Pattern and the pensive ‘Friday Street’. Weller went back to guitar for The Jam’s ‘Start!’ from 1980 and with the main set closing ‘Peacock Suit’ at the ninety-minute mark, the crowd was getting more boisterous... and the show was really only just beginning. 

For the first encore, Weller and band went into a six-song, acoustic sit-down performance, with the selections being more reflective and of the wandering spirit ilk such as 2015’s ‘Dusk til Dawn’.  “You’ve been a very patient audience, I don’t want to push it, but we’re going to play you a couple songs not on any record” Weller said, treating the enraptured crowd to the rare ‘Gravity’, following soon after with the newer ‘What Would He Say?’.

The second encore was more of a soul revue, with Weller mostly behind the keyboards with his own trippy ‘These City Streets’ channeling itself into a joyous, slowed-down Marvin Gaye cover, and ending with two 1995 selections, ‘Broken Stones’ (which had everyone clapping along) and ‘The Changingman’. 

Not quite done yet, the band emerged for a third encore, somewhat energized by the momentum uplift and continuing with a percussion/bass heavy and funky ‘Move on Up’, a Curtis Mayfield cover The Jam would cover in 1982.  

Showing McCartney-like stamina, the 59 year-old Weller ended the evening after almost 2 ½ hours, banging the tambourine on a rowdy ‘Town Called Malice’ that had the audience in a frenzy, dancing about and singing the chorus back at Weller. 

The revolution continues as Paul Weller and band end the current tour on October 27th with a show at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, then head  to Japan and Australia in January, and Ireland and the UK in February and March – Vive le Revolution!

Tour dates:

Oct 20 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades
Oct 21 Berkeley, CA The UC Theatre
Oct 22 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Oct 24 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
Oct 25 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
Oct 27 Los Angeles CA The Wiltern Theatre

Lucy Rose

Lucy Rose

Lucy Rose Setlist

Paul Weller Setlist

Paul Weller

Lucy Rose

Paul Weller

Paul Weller

Paul Weller

Paul Weller

Paul Weller

Paul Weller at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (13 Oct 2017)

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

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, w/ Elephant Revival at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (27 Jan 2016)

Josh Ritter Setlist Idaho Birds of the Meadow / No Church in the Wild snippet, Kanye West/Jay-Z cover Young Moses Right Moves Rumors Monster Ballads Come and Find Me Henrietta, Indiana A Certain Light Seeing Me Round Where the Night Goes Cumberland The Stone Snow Is Gone The Temptation of Adam Engine Engine #9 (Roger Miller cover) Bonfire Getting Ready to Get Down Kathleen Homecoming -- Encore -- Change of Time To the Dogs or Whoever Tour Dates 02/16—Toronto, ON—The Phoenix* 02/17—South Burlington, VT—Higher Ground* 02/18—New Haven, CT—College Street Music Hall* 02/19—Boston, MA—House of Blues* 02/20—New York, NY—Beacon Theatre* 02/21—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer* 02/23—Washington, DC—9:30 Club* 02/25—Durham, NC—Caroline Theatre† 02/26—Atlanta, GA—Terminal West† 02/27—Nashville, TN—Cannery Ballroom† 02/28—Louisville, KY—Headliners Music Hall† 02/29—Cincinnati, OH—Taft Theatre† 05/22—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre‡ *with support from Elephant Revival †with support from Barnstar ‡supporting Elephant Revival Read More Josh Ritter Josh Ritter (who we previously described as "happiest man alive") and his band The Royal City Band will be stopping by the historic Pantages Theatre next Wednesday, January 27th, … Elephant Revival Colorado's Elephant Revival and the Lowest Pair are currently heading down to "Boats & Bluegrass Festival" and "Maximum Ames Music Festival" in late September, but before stopped …

“Let’s see where the night takes us, let’s see where the night goes”—

More than just a lyric from the latest single from Josh Ritter and The Royal City Band, it seemed to also be a mission statement for the evening and Ritter and band’s buoyant 105 min performance at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis.

Elephant Revival

Nederland, CO five-piece “transcendental folk” ensemble Elephant Revival got the evening rolling with a tight 40 min set of homegrown music, culled from their three previous full-length studio releases, and they also mentioned new music was forthcoming with upcoming album, Petals (on Thirty Tigers Records) due out April 1 (and assured Minneapolis they’d be back in the spring too).

The progressive folk band enraptured the theater audience with their own blend of the genre, and featured instruments such as  cello, washboard, banjo, stand-up bass, pedal steel, and saw played with violin bow, guided by the songwriting and vocals of Daniel Rodriguez and Bonnie Paine.

The band impressed with 2008’s ‘Ring Around the Moon’ and ‘Single Beds are Made for One’, and ‘Grace of a Woman’ from their last album,  and the upcoming album is produced by Royal City Band’s keyboardist, Sam Kassirer, so the music had a natural fit for the evening.

Having just appeared on Conan the previous night, Josh Ritter emerged by himself with an acoustic guitar under a dim spotlight, in the same one-piece paint-spattered that he wore on TV and new album cover, to start things with the gentle ode to his home state, ‘Idaho’.

The band entered and volume increased for ‘Birds of the Meadow’ which was interlaced with a snippet of a Jay-Z/Kanye West collaboration, which all flowed seamlessly.  The River City Band proved drum head tight, anchored by Zack Hickman on bass (whose waxed moustache is unique and who we saw last fall leading Ray LaMontagne’s band) and was filled out by Sam Kassirer – piano, organ, accordion; Austin Nevins – guitar, lap steel; and Liam Hurley – drums.

Ritter mentioned that he hadn’t forgotten that he was honored to be playing near the headwaters of the Mississippi, speaking above the over-zealous screaming from the theater’s left side.  Tracks from the band’s latest, last October’s Sermon on the Rocks (Pytheas Recordings) were peppered in liberally amongst older favorites.

The organ and guitar instrumental break on the new ‘Seeing Me Round’ painted an aural multi-layered picture, as or more expressive than the abstract backdrop that was draped behind the band.

A solo mini-set, about two-thirds through, began with the prematurely sung but crowd favorite ‘Snow is Gone’ (as it’s only January in Minnesota) with Ritter commenting “this incredible theater is like…being inside a beautiful wedding cake…and we’re all in the cake!”, Ritter joked.

Ritter’s brand of Americana is one of a troubadour on the road, sometimes lonely, sometimes haunting; no more evident than when he covered Roger Miller’s ‘Engine Engine #9’ from 1965, an obvious hero of his.  Guitar and bass rejoined him for the rising ‘Bonfire’ with the rest of the band returning for the toe-tapping ‘Getting Ready to Get Down’.

The two-song encore started gently with 2010’s dreamy ‘Change of Time’ as a solo piece, then ended in an exclamation with the clap-along, foot-stomping to 2007’s ‘To the Dogs or Whoever’ and its rapid-fire lyrics over a booming bass drum beat.

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

The night ended up taking us on the road, on a virtual journey with Josh Ritter and the River City Band, all without leaving the confines of a venue that looked like a “beautiful wedding cake”.

Ritter and band are currently on a brief touring break, resuming in two weeks, but are also featured on this Saturday’s CBS Morning Show, which is worth tuning in for.

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (27 Jan 2016)

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

Matisyahu at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (24 October 2015)

Matisyahu Setlist Black Heart Watch the Walls Melt Down Surrender Indestructible Broken Car with Janice Brooks King Without a Crown Lord Raise Me Up Sick For So Long Intermission One Day Got No Water So Hi So Lo Searchin Aish Tamid Live Like A Warrior Jerusalem Running Away (Bob Marley cover) Time of Your Song Read More Matisyahu Matisyahu will be back in Minneapolis next Saturday, October 24. Billed as "An Intimate Evening with Matisyahu", expect this to be slightly toned down compared to his Live at Stubb's album …

Matisyahu just played a very intimate double set at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis last Saturday evening.

This is just a quick post to get some basic information, tour dates, photos, and setlists online, as soon as possible.

We've seen Matisyahu before, but Saturday's show was possibly the best show we've ever seen - and it's thanks to clearly hearing every note from his very excellent live band, away from the distractions of a regular "rock" show where fans are constantly talking. Unfortunately, fans weren't used to the sit-down environment of the "theater style" shows. At first everyone was respectful (with some dancing fans going to the back to dance away without obscuring someone's view of the stage). Of course, all that changed when the second set of Matisyahu when everyone stood up (with encouragement from the singer).

The whole show was very relaxed and laid back, Matisyahu even sat through most of his set.

Surprisingly, his biggest hit song, "Youth", was not played.

Highlight of the show was when singer Janice Brooks was asked to come on stage to sing backup to "Broken Car". It felt very last minute, as they were scrambling to get an additional microphone for Janice while she stood on stage.

More details later.

Tour dates:

10/26/15 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
10/27/15 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
10/28/15 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman Place
10/29/15 Skokie, IL North Shore Ctr
10/30/15 Cincinnati, OH Ludlow Garage
10/31/15 Iowa City, IA The Englert Theatre
11/04/15 Arcata, CA John Van Duzer Theatre
11/05/15 Sacramento, CA Crest Theatre
11/06/15 San Francisco, CA Herbst Theatre
11/08/15 Riverside, CA Fox Performing
11/10/15 San Luis Obispo, CA Fremont Theatre
11/11/15 Rohnert Park, CA Green Music Center
11/12/15 Agoura Hills, CA The Canyon
11/13/15 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
11/14/15 Los Angeles, CA Luckman Fine
11/15/15 San Diego, CA Balboa Theatre
12/03/15 Festival Of Light
12/04/15 Ithaca, NY State Theatre
12/05/15 Providence, RI The VETS
12/06/15 Concord, NH Capitol Center
12/08/15 New Brunswick, NJ State Theatre
12/09/15 North Bethesda, MD Music Center
12/10/15 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
12/11/15 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
12/12/15 Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House
12/13/15 Durham, NC Carolina Theatre
12/15/15 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
12/16/15 Orlando, FL Plaza Live Orlando
12/17/15 Tampa, FL David A. Straz Jr. Center
12/18/15 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Ponte Vedra
12/19/15 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Ponte Vedra
12/20/15 Melbourne, FL King Center
12/29/15 Miami, FL Adrienne Arsht Center
12/30/15 West Palm Beach, FL Kravis Center
01/21/16 Santiago, Chile Teatro Cariola

Matisyahu at Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (24 October 2015)

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

Emeli Sandé at the Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (08/01/13)

Setlist photo courtesy of John Tour Dates 08/02/13 Lollapalooza 08/09/13 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues 08/10/13 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia 08/11/13 "Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival" 08/17/13 "V Festival" (Shropshire) 08/18/13 "V Festival" (Chelmsford) 08/28/13 Rumsey Playfield @ Central Park 08/30/13 House of Blues Boston, MA 08/31/13 "Budweiser Made In America" 09/01/13 "Budweiser Made In America" 09/29/13 Unity - London Read More Emeli Sande We've been following Emeli Sandé's rise to fame for a while now. Since her TV performances at last year's Olympics, I've noticed a huge interest in her music from fans of Adele and Paloma Faith. …

So a friend takes me to see Emeli Sandé tonight (Thurs., 8/1) at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. I hadn’t known anything about her (how’d I miss her?), but figured what the hell, I’ve been invited, why not? So I checked some of her youtubes a couple days before the show. Reminded me of Alicia Keys, whom I love, but my final verdict was: sure, Sandé can sing, but the music’s not my bag. Just got home from the show and am still singing that damn Next to Me song, can’t get it out of my head. I was on my feet clapping, dancing, singing … yep, you can sign me up for the Emeli Sandé fan club.

Well known local singer-songwriter Aby Wolf opened the show, her accompaniment supplied by local techno-beat mage, Grant Cutler. It was the kind of set you sat back and listened to: no standing, dancing or jumping around, just silently appreciating what Wolf can do with her voice and what Cutler can do with his tech-know-how. Seemed like a lot of reverb and echo for a voice that I happen to know doesn’t need any and without which more easily finds its way to my heart (if that’s a goal), but hey, if you elect to use your moment opening on a locally prestigious stage for a pretty big name headliner to experiment with different sounds, I say: good on you, baby, bring it! The audience served them up a lot of love. But nothing compared to the love showered upon Sandé (deservedly so).

Sandé sings like a pro, in a voice that soars, like it’s effortless, like she was born to sing, and yeah, she was, and yeah, she is a pro. Her band was damn fine too: a couple of backup singers behind her, bass player on the left, guitarist on the right, drummer in the back left, and in the back right, a keyboard player behind his L-shaped bar formed of two keyboards, where he served up some smooth tones that all happily consumed. Sandé’s piano stood on a platform at center stage, and when she sat down and played it, you listened.

Like when she performed the song River. People definitely shut the hell up and listened to that one:

I’d be smiling if I wasn’t so desperate
I’d be patient if I had the time

If you somehow hadn’t caught on to the fact that this was a songwriter, not just a singer, you kinda had that figured out by the end of River. Other notable tunes included Suitcase, Clown, My Kind of Love, and the evening’s finale: Next to Me (you know, the one still echoing in my head).

Emeli Sandé photo courtesy of John

While happily agoogle in the aftermath of this show, I discovered the song Crazy in Love, featured in the soundtrack of the recent remake of The Great Gatsby, and you know what? Shweeeet! She didn’t do it at this show—maybe no trumpet player was handy (and that’s kinda integral to this tune) or maybe the tune just didn’t fit her chosen programme for the show, but that’s okay, I forgive her, nobody could possibly gripe they were shortchanged at this show.

Sandé jumped around the stage, strutted, took her shoes off, and spoke lovingly to the audience, as if to a dear friend. She ladled out plenty of love to her bandmates too: brought the bass player up front to join her on a couple of tall stools for one number (when the high-heels came off), promoted the male backup singer to the foreground to sing a respectably lengthy opening to a tune, and introduced each band member by first name, as if to assure the audience: hey, we’re all on a first name basis here. It would be hard to find fault with any aspect of the show, and I sure as hell ain’t gonna try. On top of all the virtues listed above, this girl is just too damned adorable not to love. So check her out, you’ll be hearing more about her in future, that I promise.

“this is the best performance of the song I've ever heard.”

Earlier this year, Sandé performed Natural Woman at the White House in a tribute to Carole King. Jesse Goffin, someone who's heard the song all his life (his father co-wrote it with King) had this to say: “this is the best performance of the song I've ever heard.”

Check her debut album, Our Version Of Events … you can download it, or individual singles from it, on emelisande.com. Emeli Sandé tour dates are listed on the sidebar—catch her if you can!

Emeli Sandé at the Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis (08/01/13) photo courtesy of John

doug ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ emelisande.com