W♥M (Archive)

Minneapolis: November 1 to November 2, 2017

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from November 1 to November 2, 2017.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Luna As for Dean & Britta, they were both in Luna, but for this tour, they are playing pre-Luna Dean Wareham's band Galaxie 500. ...

LUNA
+ Soccer Mommy
Cedar Cultural Center
Wed 11/01/2017 (7pm/$25)
thecedar.org

90s shoegazing band Luna will be on a November tour in support of their new album A Sentimental Education. Their first stop will be at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on November 1st.

Show up early to catch Soccer Mommy on her first-ever full band tour. Soccer Mommy is the project of 20-year-old Nashville native Sophie Allison.

Soccer Mommy’s forthcoming album Collection will be out on Fat Possum.

Tour dates:

11/01 | Minneapolis, MN at Cedar Cultural Center
11/02 | Chicago, IL at Park West
11/03 | Milwaukee, WI at Turner Hall Ballroom
11/04 | St. Louis, MO at Off Broadway
11/05 | Nashville, TN at Exit/In
11/07 | Detroit, MI at Magic Stick
11/08 | Toronto, ON at Great Hall
11/09 | Cleveland, OH at Grog Shop
11/10 | Louisville, KY at Headliners Music Hall
11/11 | Atlanta, GA at Terminal West
11/12 | Carrboro, NC at Cat's Cradle
11/14 | Washington, DC at DC Black Cat
11/15 | Pittsburgh, PA at the Warhol at Carnegie Lecture Hall
11/16 | Philadelphia, PA at Union Transfer
11/18 | New York City, NY at Brooklyn Steel

Read More Alvvays Opening up the show will be Alvvays, who we recently caught at the Turf Club on December 2014 and reported, "Although the band only has one album, you couldn’t ask for better surf-pop sweetness." … Modern English 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’. ..... Michael McDonald With that, Michael McDonald's A Tribute to Motown Live and Michael McDonald Live comes on one DVD or Bluray disc. Running time is about two hours, both concerts .....

Other shows in the area:

ALVVAYS
+ Jay Som
First Avenue
Thu 11/02/2017 (7pm/$16)
first-avenue.com

After Alvvays' stellar performances in December 2014 and March 2015, the group is back in town at First Avenue’s mainroom.

Alvvays’ second album Antisocialites is out now.

Tour dates:

10/26 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge $
10/27 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge $
10/28 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox $
10/30 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge $
10/31 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater $
11/02 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue $
11/03 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall $
11/04 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick $
11/17 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
11/18 - Ottawa, ON @ Babylon
11/20 - Hamilton, ON @ The Studio
11/21 - London, ON @ Rum Runners
12/12 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
12/13 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
12/14 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
12/15 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
12/16 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club

$ w/ Jay Som

MODERN ENGLISH
+ DJ Jake Rudh
Turf Club
Wed 11/01/2017 (7pm/$20)
turfclub.net

As previously mentioned in August 2017 when they were in town with the “Retro Futura” show, we said that Modern English will be headlining the Turf Club on November 1st.

MICHAEL MCDONALD
+ Marc Cohn
State Theatre
Thu 11/02/2017 (7:30pm/$58)
hennepintheatretrust.org

Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald is in town at the State Theatre.

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

R.I.P. Walter Becker (Steely Dan)

Read More Steely Dan Eminent Hipsters is the new memoir by Donald Fagen, best known as the singer/songwriter of 70's jazz/rock band, Steely Dan. I can't hear "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" without instantly being transported back to childhood…

Co-founder of Steely Dan, guitarist, bassist, songwriter Walter Becker has died today (September 3rd, 2017), as announced on his official website.

Becker and Donald Fagen met at Bard College and formed Steely Dan in California around 1971. If you want to read about the Steely Dan years, don’t bother picking up Fagen’s autobiography Eminent Hipsters.

Steely Dan broke up in the late 80s, but reformed in 1993. The two Becker & Fagen remained active in Steely Dan, even up to the recent Summer 2017 shows. However, Becker was ill enough that he couldn’t make it to the Classic West Music Festival in Los Angeles in July 2017.

Below are more deaths for the month of September - for the full death list: Musicians who died in 2017.

September (3)

[03 Sep 2017] Walter Becker (American musician and songwriter; co-founder of Steely Dan), 67

[01 Sep 2017] Mick Softley (British singer-songwriter and guitarist), 77

[01 Sep 2017] Novella Nelson (American actress and singer), 77

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

Burnt Sugar feat. Vernon Reid at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (26 April 2014) concert review

Program Book Setlist Pretzel Logic Monkey in your Soul Any World that I’m Welcome To Haitian Divorce The Fez Deacon Blue Any Major Dude Black Crow Show Biz Kids Third World Man Kid Charlemagne Do It Again -- Encore jam -- Burnt Sugar Players Vernon Reid - conductor. guitar Mikel Banks - vocals Micah Gaugh - vocals, horns Karma Mayet Johnson - vocals Shelly Nicole - vocals Vinia Mojica – guest siren Bruce Mack - vocals, keys V. Jeffery Smith - horns Mazz Swift - violin, vocals Lewis "Flip" Barnes - horns "Moist" Paula Henderson - horns Dave "Smoota" Smith - horns Andre Lassalle - guitars Ben Tyree - guitars Leon Gruenbaum - keys Jared Michael Nickerson - bass Lafrae Sci - Drums Greg Tate - creative misdirection/projections Read More Living Colour Cult of Personality: I sell the things you need to be I'm the smiling face on your TV I'm the cult of personality… Steely Dan Eminent Hipsters is the new memoir by Donald Fagen, best known as the singer/songwriter of 70's jazz/rock band, Steely Dan. I can't hear "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" without instantly being transported back to childhood…

Who knew classic rock band Steely Dan’s music could be so soulful, funky, and filled with joy?!

Put this in your musical blender and hit “spin” – the guitarist from funk-rock band Living Colour + a Sun Ra-esque Arkestra + a set of deconstructed, funkified Steely Dan cover songs… equals Burnt Sugar in a rare area appearance at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, over the weekend.

The 17-piece band, started in 1999 and organized by co-founder Greg Tate and Jared Michael Nickerson (“on bass…and business!”) , was conducted by Living Colour’s Vernon Reid (Reid and Tate also founded the Black Rock Coalition in the 1980s), along with accompanying video clips compiled by Tate, for a spirited two-hour celebration of musical re-invention.

Officially titled, "Any World (That I'm Welcome To): Sex Race Hoodoo & The Steely Dan Conductions- A Hipster Carnivalesque in Post Soul Vernacular" (whew!), Reid set his sights on Steely Dan, after Burnt Sugar previously re-interpreted and “turned sideways”, the songbooks of James Brown and David Bowie.

Pre-Concert

Reid began the evening by apologizing to the crowd that he would have his back turned to them for most of the night, then launched the collective into the classic, ‘Pretzel Logic’, from the Steely Dan album of the same name.

Thankfully, the evening was not simply a re-gurgitation of Steely Dan’s greatest hits and songs most familiar to radio listeners; rather, it was a handpicked batch of selections that lent themselves best to the musical re-interpretation that Reid and Co., were striving for. Reid jumped, shouted, and played crowd hypeman as much as conductor for the evening (much like Isaac Hayes would do); inciting the audience to be as interactive as possible, and quickly sweating through the back of his silk vest.

For ‘Monkey in your Soul’, Reid picked up the guitar for one of only two times during the evening, slightly holding back with a rhythm riff, as the crowded band did most of the musical heavy lifting. The four dedicated background vocalists each had their turn in the spotlight for a song or two, and most of the primary musicians also stepped forward for a lead vocal turn, on one song each.

Corresponding still images projected were as divergent as MLK and Malcom X, to Wall Street occupiers and artist J-M. Basquiat, to dedicated photos matched with a particular song, such as Robert Downey, Jr. with ‘Kid Charlemagne’, giving the show somewhat of a visually social-conscious edge.

Each member of this “Gotham-based ensemble of pan-ethnic sound warriors” shone in their own right, particularly on tracks like ‘Haitian Divorce’, which was expanded and done in a loose and funky island-jazz vibe. Before each song, the title was flashed on the screen along with a key lyrical verse, causing the audience to applaud in anticipation with their favorites from the Dan catalog.

Some selections, such as ‘Deacon Blues’ remained more faithful to the original version, while a song like ‘Black Cow’(purposely? titled ‘Black Crow’ on the setlist) was updated to sound more urgent, while the piano/organ foundation of the song, remained intact. While it provided added insight to be at least somewhat familiar with the Steely Dan originals beforehand; it was not mandatory, as each re-interpretation strongly stood as-is, on its own merits.

Setlist

‘Show Biz Kids’, an actual single from Steely Dan’s 1973’s Countdown to Ecstasy, provided some of the evening’s most biting commentary as stills of rich Hollywood types were set against the horn section cutting loose, and the audience clapping double-time in accompaniment while the chorus of “Show biz kids making movies of themselves, you know they don't give a f**k about anybody else” was repeated to a gentle end.

The main set closing, ‘Do It Again’ was one of the more jazz-sounding selections, playfully stretched out to give ample solo time to several members, as tempo would rise and fall. Drummer Lafrae Sci was particularly impressive on this night, ably excelling with every song style and beat change, and drumming with a true joy and passion for her craft.

To raucous applause, the Arkestra re-emerged for a 10 min. encore jam that brought the so far mostly-reserved-in-nature crowd down from their seats, to dancing as one at the front of the stage, as the band riffed on. Two hours later, the crowd wanted more, but would have to wait until the next rare area appearance of this highly versatile collective.

Score another musically interesting and boundary-defying show for the Walker Art Center.

Burnt Sugar at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (26 April 2014) Photo courtesy of Walker Art

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ burntsugarindex.com

Eminent Hipsters by Donald Fagen

Read More Donald Fagen Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen's book Eminent Hipsters is coming out October 22nd, 2013 on Viking Press, a Penguin Company (ISBN: 978-0-670-02551-0; $26.95). .…

Eminent Hipsters is the new memoir by Donald Fagen, best known as the singer/songwriter of 70's jazz/rock band, Steely Dan. I can't hear "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" without instantly being transported back to childhood memories of riding in the way, way back of my parent's station wagon, with the ol' Steely Dan cassette playing in the woodgrain dashboard. Ah, memories.

Well, this book covers everything in Donald Fagen's life EXCEPT those Steely Dan years, which is kind of interesting that he would leave that out. The first half of the book covers his family's musical lineage, suburban Cold War childhood, and introduction to modern jazz. The second half is structured like a journal following a recent tour across the country with Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald as they play classic jazz standards.

I recommend this book if you're really interested in learning more about Donald Fagen's modern jazz influences, as it is what he writes the most passionately about here. If you grew up around the same time as him, you will enjoy reading about his Jean Shepard experience and college years. But it definitely has a cranky old man "Back in my day...." vibe going on, which I guess is OK because the dude has been doing this for 40 years now. If he wants to use the book to complain about clueless audience members staring at their iPhones, that's fine with me, because I AGREE- nothing sucks the energy from a crowd than people on their phones. Oh, now listen to me- I'm starting to sound old too.

Eminent Hipsters will be available from Viking Publishing October 22, 2013.

Book tour: 10/22 New York, NY - Barnes & Noble           ”Upstairs at the Square” 10/24 Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Free Library           Onstage Q&A with David Dye

10/29 Washington, DC - Sixth & I           Onstage Q&A with Cary Sherman 11/06 San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord           Onstage Q&A with Ben Fong-Torres 11/07 Seattle, WA - Town Hall w/Elliott Bay           Onstage Q&A with Ross Reynolds

alison ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ steelydan.com ♥ penguingroup.com

Autobiographies: Morrissey and Donald Fagen

Read More Morrissey I've just seen the screener for Morrissey 25: Live From Hollywood High, the first authorized Morrissey film since Who Put the 'M' in Manchester, released in 2005.*…

MORRISSEY
true-to-you.net

Last month Morrissey issued a statement that his book, Autobiography will not be release on September 16th due to "a last-minute content disagreement between Penguin Books and Morrissey". That news came out of nowhere, and the internet went crazy saying how this was impossible because there were no ISBN number associated with book and that no contracts were signed.

In the latest Morrissey saga, all disagreements were amended and the book will finally get publication on October 17th in the UK. The book will be published by Penguin Classics and has an ISBN listing of 978-0-141-39481-7.

As a Morrissey fan, I should tell you that this is the first time Morrissey will tell his story in his own words. Previously official biography Landscapes of the Mind by David Bret was, how shall I say it, boring. The best Morrissey biography is actually an unofficial one called Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance by Johnny Rogan (or "Johnny Rodent" as Morrissey would have it). Even if some events were untrue, according to Morrissey, I don't think it painted a vulgar picture of Morrissey at all… but to make him human.

No words on when Autobiography will make its way to America, but we'll find out soon enough, especially if the book is predicted by Jon Howells from Waterstones as "to be one of this Christmas's top sellers."

It's a pretty good time to be a Morrissey fan.

Read More Books Singer/songwriter of AFI, Davey Havok, announced his debut novel, Pop Kids, coming out April 4th, 2013, via Black Candy Publishing. …

DONALD FAGEN
steelydan.com

Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen's book Eminent Hipsters is coming out October 22nd, 2013 on Viking Press, a Penguin Company (ISBN: 978-0-670-02551-0; $26.95).

I have just received the book, and already I think I'm going to enjoy it based on the introduction alone. The introduction basically defended the book, stating that Donald Fagen always thought of himself as a student of journalism or working in a book store and that, in fact, by jazz standards, Fagen was strictly an amateur!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading about Fagen's early years in New Jersey in the 50s, his college days, how he met Walter Becker to form Steely Dan, and going on touring.

Speaking of tour, Steely Dan is wrapping up their "'Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day" residency with the 6th and final 7th dates on Monday October 7th (Aja Plus Selected Hits) and Tuesday October 8th (Greatest Hits Night) at the Beacon Theatre in New York. I am assuming on Wednesday the band will binge on nothing but pancakes all day.

If you don't live in New York, fans of the jazz/rock group will want to get a copy of this book and personally meet Donald Fagen at one of these book signings:

10/22 New York, NY - Barnes & Noble
          ”Upstairs at the Square”
10/24 Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Free Library
          Onstage Q&A with David Dye
10/29 Washington, DC - Sixth & I
          Onstage Q&A with Cary Sherman
11/06 San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord
          Onstage Q&A with Ben Fong-Torres
11/07 Seattle, WA - Town Hall Seattle w/Elliott Bay
          Onstage Q&A with Ross Reynolds

More details about the book is available on penguingroup.com.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com