W♥M (Archive)

Minneapolis Music Guide: June 8 - June 14, 2014

Here is a guide of some Minneapolis (and St Paul) live concerts and events taking place next week: June 8 - June 14.

Read More Yann Tiersen So anyway, Jeunet discovered Yann Tiersen through one of his production assistant who was driving him around. They were basically listening to Tiersen's accordion and piano music in car … NO Echo Park/Los Angeles band NO was next, playing a spanning 40 min. set in near-darkness, that had singer Bradley Carter often moving along the stage edge and inciting the crowd. …

SUNDAY, JUNE 8
CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER
Yann Tiersen w/ NO

Infinity sounds like toy instruments?

Avant-garde minimalist Breton musician Yann Tiersen brings the back-to-basics sound of his earlier works full circle as he plays selections from his latest and 8th studio album, ∞ (Infinity) on Mute Records, an album that centers around the concept of stones-- a repeated theme in the work.

The multi-instrumentalist is best known for composing the soundtrack to French cult-hit Amélie and started the new album’s work with sounds from toy instruments, then electronically manipulating those, adding acoustic instrumentation, then strings, moving from analogue to digital, and back again. Ex-Arab Strap singer-songwriter Aidan Moffat lends his voice to the album closing and Celtic-tinged ‘Meteorite’and the live presentation of this latest work, should be interesting to say the least.

Echo Park, Los Angeles band NO, who wowed us back in March as part of their label’s showcase tour, opens the show, in continued promotion of their debut full-length, El Prado (Arts & Crafts). The six-piece are led by native New Zealander Bradley Carter, who has a baritone similar to The National’s Matt Berninger and a crowd inciting stage presence that is mesmerizing and infectious.

Yann Tiersen North American Tour Dates

06/01/14 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair 06/03/14 Montreal, QC Club Soda 06/04/14 Toronto, ON Opera House 06/06/14 Pontiac, MI Crofoot Ballroom 06/07/14 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge 06/08/14 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center 06/10/14 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater

06/11/14 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge 06/13/14 Seattle, WA Neumos 06/14/14 Vancouver, BC Rio Theatre 06/15/14 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom 06/17/14 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom 06/18/14 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom 06/20/14 Los Angeles, CA The Fonda

Read More Eagulls Demand for Unofficial SXSW Showcases. Eagulls, not Eagles. Eagulls self-titled album released March 3rd on Partisan. … Cheatahs UK-based Cheatahs, led by Canadian Nathan Hewitt started the night with a brief 30 min. set, playing songs from their debut, Extended Plays …

MONDAY, JUNE 9
7TH STREET ENTRY
Eagulls w/ Cheatahs

This ain’t no Hotel California…

Eagulls (NOT 'The Eagles') are a rising post-punk/garage rock band from Leeds, England that charges headlong with a discontented and relentless aggression that demands to be heard. Their video for single ‘Nerve Endings’ (featuring a decomposing pig’s brain) was more than controversial, but the buzz also landed them on The Late Show with David Letterman in late January, with the band serenading Letterman and guest Bill Murray on ‘Possessed’.

Their self-titled debut (on Partisan Records) is a mostly gloomy wall of sound that also brings an urgency and persistent tension missing in most music today. This is the kind of in-your-face rock that is reminiscent of The Sex Pistols playing a shoegazing version of Killing Joke – buckle your seatbelts.

Fellow English shoegazers, Cheatahs from London open the show, promoting their own self-titled full-length (on Wichita Recordings), who we saw last year opening for Waaves and FIDLAR.

Eagulls Tour Dates

06/02/14 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
06/03/14 Vancouver, BC Media Club
06/04/14 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
06/06/14 Salt Lake City, UT Shred Shed
06/07/14 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
06/09/14 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
06/10/14 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen
06/11/14 Pittsburgh, PA Brillobox
06/12/14 Northside Festival
06/13/14 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
06/18/14 Allston, MA Great Scott
06/19/14 Montreal, QC Casa De Popolo
06/21/14 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace
07/19/14 Longitude
07/24/14 Boomtown Livel
10/30/14 London, United Kingdom Scala

Read More World Party I've liked this British band since I first heard "Ships of Fool", in the early 90s. I'm sure most people will just disregard World Party as a simple one-hit-wonder band, but I'm almost certain they had another hit with "Is It Like Today?" …

TUESDAY, JUNE 10
DAKOTA JAZZ CLUB
World Party

The Arkeologist is back in the U.S.

Karl Wallinger brings his group, World Party, back to the States, their first such outing since 2012, for a month-long leg of shows, continuing support of Arkeology (Seaview Records), a massive 5-CD/70 track set of new songs, demos, rarities, and unreleased sessions. A new album is also in the works, so fingers are crossed the audiences will get a preview of some of the new work as well.

Wallinger has been steadily back on the scene since 2006, five years after a debilitating aneurysm left him unable to speak, and has a treasure trove of songs to draw from, via the box set and his five previous studio albums.

World Party tour dates:

June 3: Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC
June 5: 34d and Lindsley, Nashville,TN
June 6: Variety, Atlanta, GA
June 7: Do317 Lounge, Indianapolis, IN
June 8: Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
June 10: Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis, MN
June 12: City Winery, Chicago, IL
June 13: City Winery, Chicago, IL
June 14: Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO
June 16: Soiled Dove, Denver, CO
June 18: State Room, Salt Lake City, UT
June 20: City Winery, Napa, CA
June 21: Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
June 23: Triple Door, Seattle, WA
June 24: Doug Fir, Portland, OR
June 27: Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
June 28: Soho Restaurant & Music Club Santa Barbara, CA
June 29: Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach, CA

Weekend shows (Minneapolis)

Weekend cures for the MN Winter Blues

The Current's 9th Birthday Party photo credit: thecurrent.org Read More The Current Local alternative public radio station 89.3 The Current held its 2nd Public Music Meeting at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall in St. Paul last night. This open session gave their listening public a chance …

FRIDAY/SATURDAY

89.3 The Current- 9th birthday Party concerts

Local alt/indie Public Radio station 89.3 FM- The Current celebrates its ninth birthday of changing the Minnesota airwaves, with a two-night celebration in First Avenue’s Mainroom, bringing together several of the most notable local music artists. Friday night brings together Actual Wolf, Strange Names, Lizzo, and Har Mar Superstar while Saturday’s lineup is The Cactus Blossoms, Howler, Heiruspecs, and Caroline Smith. Special guests have been known to make surprise appearances (Prince had his guitar set up one year, but never made it to the stage), so clearly anything can happen.

Friday night is sold out, with only a small handful of tickets available for Saturday; but fear not, those who can’t make it inside the doors of First Avenue, can still tune in to the live on-air broadcast here: thecurrent.org/listen

Lineup:

Friday Actual Wolf Strange Names Lizzo Har Mar Superstar

Saturday Cactus Blossoms Howler Heiruspecs Caroline Smith

Cate Le Bon with Kevin Morby photo credit: catelebon.com Read More Cate Le Bon Welsh singer/songwriter Cate Le Bon’s new album, Mug Museum, is her first recorded outside of her homeland – deep in the dark heart of the entertainment empire …

SATURDAY

Cate Le Bon w/Kevin Morby

Welsh native Cate Le Bon returns to town, for an intimate show at the 7th Street Entry, promoting her latest release, Mug Museum (Turnstile Records). Mug Museum, in part inspired by her grandmother’s recent death, features somewhat dark lyrics delivered with dreamlike, sometimes psychedelic and haunting vocals. A recent movie to California has injected more melody to her songs, bringing some sunshine into her Wales cloudiness, as evidenced on “I Think I Knew”, a duet with Perfume Genius.

Kevin Morby of Brooklyn band, The Babies (and bassist for Woods), opens the show with selections from his solo debut, Harlem River (Woodsist Records), an homage to New York City and which Cate LeBon guests on track, “Slow Train”.

Show details:
Presented by Radio K
Saturday, January 25, 2014 - 8:00pm
$12.00, 18+

St. Lucia at Fine Line Music Café Poster photo credit: first-avenue.com Yellowcard Poster photo credit: yellowcardrock.com Read More Yellowcard It's been ten years since Yellowcard's best known album Ocean Avenue was released, and to honor the occasion, the band is releasing Ocean Avenue Acoustic. In their own words …

SUNDAY

St. Lucia w/ Sir Sly

South Africa by-way-of Brooklyn artist St. Lucia brings worldly beat with 80s influences to the Fine Line Music Café, in a show that was upgraded from the smaller 7th St. Entry. Promoting their first full-length, When the Night (Neon Gold/Columbia), St. Lucia (aka Jean-Philip Grobler) brings a full band and energetic performance with recent setlists showing they even sneak in a Chaka Khan cover version. LA trio Sir Sly opens the show, promoting their latest EP, Ghost (Neon Gold/Columbia) with their “monochromatic blend of vigilante pop”, which has been described as reminiscent of a “chillwave Coldplay”.

Johnny Flynn w/The Melodic

Johnny Flynn: Country Mile Transgressive / Thirty Tigers

Those that remember the local concert beginnings of the current UK alt-folk wave will recall that Flynn famously headlined the 2008 show at the now-defunct 400 Bar that featured openers Laura Marling with a little backing band known as Mumford and Sons. Flynn, now out supporting his third full-length, Country Mile (Transgressive Records) draws inspiration from subjects as diverse as TS Eliot, Einstein, and Hank Williams, and brings Flynn back to his singer-songwriter roots, after some dabbling in acting that included Shakespeare plays at the Globe and appearing in an upcoming Anne Hathaway film.

Brixton, UK folk/afro pop band The Melodic open, in support of their worldbeat influenced debut, Effra Parade (Anti Records) at this Turf Club hosted show.

The Wailers w/British Dependency

The Wailers Poster photo: first-avenue

The current incarnation of Bob Marley’s famous backing band hits the First Avenue Mainroom stage to play reggae classics from the greatest hits album, Legend (Island Records) in its entirety. Bassist and elder reggae statesman Aston “Family Man” Barrett leads the full band lineup in a performance at First Avenue that can be no doubt described as “Hit-Filled”…in more ways than one. Island trio British Dependency opens the show with their unique blend of “roots, heart and soul music”.

Yellowcard w/What’s Eating Gilbert

Jacksonville, FL pop-punk band Yellowcard is still going strong, even after over 15 years in the business. Their latest tour and release, Ocean Avenue Acoustic (Hopeless/Universal) celebrates the 10th anniversary and a re-interpretation of the seminal album that put the band on the national map. Expect a two-set performance with Ocean Avenue in its entirety and a smattering of other Yellowcard classics from their back catalogue. New Found Glory offshoot band, What's Eating Gilbert opens this night at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Smith-Westerns with Strange Names at the Varsity Theater 8/20/13

Listen Read More Smith-Westerns It’s been two years since Chicago’s fuzzy dreamsicles Smith-Westerns dropped some teenage kicks on our skulls with their effervescent single “Weekend” and it’s equally energetic album Dye It Blonde. …

Chicago indie band Smith-Westerns broke through the humidity Tuesday evening with a short and sweet set at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. The band were rounding out a tour promoting their latest record Soft Will with the Minneapolis show being the final one.

STRANGE NAMES

Opening for the dream-pop quintet were local band Strange Names who brought a satisfying brand of R&B-flavored pop (think 80s staples ABC or Heaven 17) to the stage. Songs like “Strange Revelation” and the bouncing “My Sharona”-like bass of “Minor Times” prove why this band was has been stirring up a lot of buzz lately.

Smith-Westerns took to the stage after 10 pm and kicked in to “Fool Proof,” off of Soft Will. The guys played well despite the oppressive heat (lead singer Cullen Omori, who was dressed in an ultra-thin, billowy shirt, looked like he might melt under the stage lights) and end-of-tour fatigue. Affable jams like “Best Friend” and “White Oath” worked well alongside choice cuts from the band’s breakout album 2011’s Dye It Blonde like the spritely “End of the Night,” “Fallen in Love” and a favorite of mine, “Smile.” They also tossed in a track from their first album (2009’s self-titled), a garage-y Ramones-style tune. The sweetly synthed “Varsity” saw Omori’s airy vocals soar and fan-favorite “Weekend” brought the set to a close.

Smith-Westerns will take a four week break before returning on the road on their European tour:

Sep 17 100 Club London, UK
Sep 18 Deaf Institute Manchester, UK
Sep 20 Incubate Festival Tilburg, Netherlands
Sep 21 Paradiso Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sep 22 Botanique Sint Joost Ten Node, Belgium
Sep 23 Le Point Ephemere Paris, France
Sep 25 Magnet Berlin, Germany
Sep 26 Repperbahn Festival Hamburg, Germany
Sep 27 Vega Copenhagen, Denmark
Sep 28 Radar Århus, Denmark

Smith-Westerns at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (08/20/13)

emily () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ smithwesternsmusic.com

Hands at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (06/11/13)

Tour Dates 06.12 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews 06.14 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge 06.15 - Salt Lake City @ Kilby Court 06.17 - Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar 06.19 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern 06.21 - San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar 06.22 - Davis, CA @ Sophia's Thai Kitchen Read More Hands This coming Tuesday, June 11th, Hands from Los Angeles will bring their indie rock sound to 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis. Founded in 2012 by Geoff Halliday (vocals, keyboards) and Ryan Sweeney (guitar) they moved from Philadelphia …

Hands stopped by 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis last night, June 11th, as part of their tour for Synesthesia.

GRANDCHILDREN

The evening started out with a 6-piece band out of Philadelphia called Grandchildren (Aleks Martray, Roman Salcic, Russell Brodie, Tristan Palazzolo, Adam Katz and John Vogel). Grandchildren was as much fun to watch as they were to hear. Their sound is similar to Animal Collective, with a pop/orchestral sound. The two drummers battled and then synch up across the stage. One of the drummers also pulled out the trombone. They were so much fun to watch and listen to.

STRANG NAMES

At the 10 o'clock hour, Strange Names played. Minneapolis based, the band was formed by Francis Jimenez, and Liam Benzv. I would describe the entire band as spunky and entertaining. Combining a vibe of post punk and hipster, their sound happily varies between songs. Arctic Monkeys comes to mind if you need to compare them to a type. "Once an Ocean" has a surfy sound, whereas other songs had a Latin feel. Francis sang into an old-school microphone and had fun using it as a prop. The audience really responded to the energy emitted from the band. You were drawn into their exuberance like a magnet. Strange Names played the night before at Electric Fetuses 45th anniversary party if you happened to catch that show and they will be playing many gigs in the Twin Cities through June.

Hands, which hails from LA, wasn't too much of a disappointment if you listened to their most recent release, Synesthesia. The album is catchy and they do sound a bit reminiscent of Ned's Atomic Dustbin, but without the message. The bass player, Alex Staniloff, was the most energetic and impressive. They played their hit song "Trouble", which audience responded well to this song. I have a feeling that singer Geoff Halliday was losing his voice for some reason and that is one of the reason's the performance was off.

Hands continues their tour for Synesthesia, which came out last late April on Kill Rock Stars.

Hands at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (06/11/13)

gretchen ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ handssounds.com

Ash at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (03/18/13)

Tour Dates 03/20/13 Detroit, MI / Magic Stick Lounge 03/21/13 Newport, KY / Southgate House 03/22/13 Indianapolis, IN / Radio Radio 03/23/13 Pittsburgh, PA / Altar Bar 07/19/13 Truck Festival Hill Farm, Oxford 07/20/13 Super Bock Super Rock Portugal 07/27/13 Kendal Calling Lake District 08/02/13 Camp Bestival Dorset 08/03/13 Y Not Festival Derbyshire Read More Ash Sure, I mentioned Ash last week, but today, they released the official SXSW shows and "mini" tour dates - which looks like they are catering to the mid-west .…

"We got delayed by a storm for... seven years," joked singer Tim Wheeler from Ash, as they apologized for staying away from Minnesota for so long. Ash is currently on small U.S. tour, making a rare Minneapolis appearance at the Varsity Theater last night, March 18th.

STRANGE NAMES

Opening up the show was Strange Names, a band from Minneapolis, who may or may not be friends with Howler's Jordan Gatesmith. For a new band, I thought Strange Names was really comfortable on stage and sounded like they've been doing this for a while.

The two key players were dedicated singer, and sometime tambourine player, Liam Benzvi, and guitarist, and sometime singer, Francis Jimenez. Both of them were excited about an upcoming new single or EP on March 26th, as they played two new tracks from it called "White Irish" and "Minor Times" (which they ended their set with).

As for Ash, what can I say? It's been a long time, but well worth it, finally seeing them again. I've seen the bands a few times, but they usually were not billed as headliner - for instance, opening up for Saves the Day in 2003 or Bravery in 2005.

For casual fans, let me help catch you up: the Irish band started off as a trio (Tim, Mark, and Rick) and had a massive hit with 1977 in 1996. Charlotte Hatherley joined the band in 1998 with Nu-Clear Sounds, she became an integral part of the band, until her departure in 2004 with Meltdown. By 2007, the band returned to their music roots as a trio with Twilight of the Innocents, but Tim and company were unhappy with its release that they announced it will be Ash's last album. That's not the end of the story: Ash would come back as strictly a "singles" band, returning with the "A-Z" series (recording a new single every two weeks for a year).

“Return of White Rabbit” was really, really good!

If you were afraid that Ash is only doing "A-Z" songs on this tour, let me squash that fear right now. Only a few selected songs were played ("Arcadia", "Joy Kicks Darkness", "Binary" and "Return of White Rabbit"), and they sounded great live. In particular, the set closer, "Return of White Rabbit" was really, really good!

I am also happy to report that a good portion of songs on this current tour were taken from my personal favorite 1977 album ("Goldfinger" , "Angel Interceptor", "Kung Fu", "Oh Yeah", and "Girl From Mars"). You can tell that the audience loved the album as well with their strong sing-along feedback and dancing.

There were a couple of surprises for me at this show, first is Nu-Clear Sounds was largely ignored (no "Jesus Says", no "Wildsurf", etc.), the second is that songs from Free All Angels ("Walking Barefoot", "Shining Light", and the encore "Burn Baby Burn" ) got huge responses from the fans, and third, who knew bassist Mark Hamilton was such a rock star? Wow check out his moves!

It's really been too long. Let's hope we don't have to wait another seven years to see Ash again, the band promised to come back soon.

Ash's A-Z Series is out now. You can pick up all 62 songs at a bargain price of $8.99 on amazon. The physical discs (both Vol 1 & 2) can be picked up at their merchandise table for $10 each.

Ash at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (03/18/13)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ ash-official.com ♥ strangenamesmusic.com