W♥M

Minneapolis: May 7 to May 10

05/07 Son Lux with Emily Wells at Fine Line Read More Son Lux Max Tundra, No Age, The Ruby Suns, Rustie, Son Lux, Sun Airway, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Taken By Trees, Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu), YACHT, and many more. … Emily Wells As I previously written, Emily Wells is a one-woman band who uses live recording loops in her songs. Songs on her set was mostly from her album Mama, including ...

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

05/07/2022 Saturday

Son Lux
with Emily Wells
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Son Lux, who recently released the Everything Everywhere All At Once Official Motion Picture Soundtrack recently, will stop by the Fine Line Music Café on May 7th.

Composer, producer, and video artist Emily Wells will open. We saw Wells in Oct 2012 and said, “Emily Wells is a one-woman band who uses live recording loops in her songs. Songs on her set was mostly from her album Mama, including "Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well & The Requiem Mix", "Fire Song", and "Passenger". The odd song, not on her album was called "Don't Use Me Up," and her closer, a cover of Little Willie John's "Fever."”

Emily Wells’ tour dates:

April 27 Washington, DC Union Stage ^
April 28 Philadelphia, PA The Foundry ^
April 29 Brooklyn, NY Elsewhere ^
April 30 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair ^
May 1 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground ^
May 3 Montreal, CAN L’Astral ^
May 5 Detroit, MI Leland City Club ^
May 6 Milwaukee, WI Cactus Club ^
May 7 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe ^
May 25 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
May 26 Atlanta, GA Rooftop @ The Eastern
June 3 Austin, TX Parish
June 4 Dallas, TX Ruins
June 5 San Antonio, TX Paper Tiger
June 8 Phoenix, AZ Musical Instrument Museum
June 9 Los Angeles, CA Highland Park Ebell
June 10 Oakland, CA Starline Social Club
June 12 Eugene, OR Hult Center for the Performing Arts
June 13 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
June 14 Seattle, WA Madame Lou's
June 15 Tacoma, WA ALMA
June 17 Boise, ID Virtual Arts Collective
June 18 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
June 19 Denver, CO Tuft Theatre
June 23 Madison, WI Art + Lit Lab
June 24 Evanston, IL SPACE
June 25 Indianapolis, IN HI-FI

^ with Son Lux

05/07 OMD with In the Valley Below at Fillmore Read More OMD Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (or shortened to O.M.D.) just headlined First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday, March 18th. ..… In The Valley Below In The Valley Below (husband & wife duo Angela Gail and Jeffrey Jacob) will be at the Turf Club in St Paul this Wednesday, in support of their new EP Elephant, which came out earlier this week (July 14th). ...

05/07/2022 Saturday

OMD
with In the Valley Below
at Fillmore
livenation.com

This spring, legendary British band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (or better abbreviated to OMD) will go on their “Souvenir Greatest Hits” tour. The band will play some of their biggest hits, so if there is one tour to see these guys, it’s this 2022 show at the Fillmore in Minneapolis on May 7th.

We caught OMD in Mar 2018 and noted, “Of course, who could not love hearing their biggest hit single, “If You Leave”, which many fans probably first heard it on John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink film in 1986. The film soundtrack helped moved OMD’s song to #4 on Billboard Hot 100 that summer. It is the song that many fans came to hear, and as evident, about a hundred cellphones went up in the air to record the moment.”

In the Valley Below will open the show.

Tour dates:

4/22 - Orlando, FL - Plaza Live
4/23 - St Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
4/24 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre
4/26 - Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre
4/27 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
4/29 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
4/30 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
5/1 - Boston, MA - House Of Blues
5/3 - Toronto, ON - History
5/4 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
5/6 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
5/7 - Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore
5/8 - Kansas City, MO - The Truman
5/10 - Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
5/11 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center
5/12 - Austin, TX - ACL Live @ The Moody Theater
5/15 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
5/16 - Salt Lake City, UT - Union Events Center
5/20 - Vancouver, BC - Malkin Bowl
5/21 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
5/22 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
5/24 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
5/25 - El Cajon, CA - Magnolia
5/26 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre

05/08 mxmtoon with Chloe Moriondo at Varsity Theater Read More mxmtoon mxmtoon will be stopping by the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on Friday, October 25th. mxmtoon has been writing music and uploading it on the web since she was 16 years old. .... Chloe Moriondo Musician Chloe Moriondo is currently on tour in support of Blood Bunny (Public Consumption Recording Co./Fueled By Ramen). The tour will take her to the 7th Street Entry this October 2nd. ....

05/08/2022 Sunday

mxmtoon
with Chloe Moriondo
at Varsity Theater
livenation.com

The Chinese, German, and Scottish girl who started with her ukulele, mxmtoon, is back in the Twin Cities. She’ll be headlining the Varsity Theater on May 8th.

Her new album rising, set for release on May 20th via AWAl.

Chloe Moriondo to open.

Tour Dates:

5/2 - Montreal, QC @ Fairmount
5/4 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
5/5 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
5/7 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
5/8 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
5/10 - Englewood, CO @ The Gothic
5/11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
5/13 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
5/14 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
5/15 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market
5/17 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency
5/18 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency
5/20 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
5/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda
5/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda
5/24 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
5/25 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
5/27 - Dallas, TX @ The Studio
5/28 - Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
5/29 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Downstairs
5/31 - Orlando, FL @ Beacham
6/1 - Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
6/3 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
6/4 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Rozian Theatre
6/5 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
6/7 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
6/8 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
6/10 - Boston, MA @ Royale
6/11 - Boston, MA @ Royale

05/08 Ashe with The Brook & The Bluff at First Avenue Read More Ashe + Ashe Myth Thu 03/21/2019 (7pm/$28) Genre-bending artist Quinn XCII will be headlining the Myth on Thursday, March 21st, as part of his “From Michigan With Love” tour. ...

05/08/2022 Sunday

Ashe
with The Brook & The Bluff
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Los Angelese-based singer/songwriter Ashe (aka Ashlyn Rae) is headlining First Avenue on May 8th. Her debut album Ashlyn is out now on Mom + Pop Music.

From what I’ve read, her shows have been selling out, including two London shows, so I suggest buying tickets now before you regret it later.

Nashville’s four-piece band The Brook & The Bluff to open.

Tour dates:

Apr 4 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
Apr 5 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre
Apr 6 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
Apr 8 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
Apr 9 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Apr 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre
Apr 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre
Apr 14 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
Apr 16 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
Apr 17 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues Houston
Apr 18 - Dallas, TX - The Echo Longue & Music Hall
Apr 20 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works
Apr 21 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre
Apr 23 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Apr 25 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
Apr 27 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
Apr 29 - Boston, MA - Royale
Apr 30 - Montréal, QC - Theatre Corona
May 1 - Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall
May 3 - Detroit, MI - Saint Andrews Hall
May 4 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues Cleveland
May 6 - Chicago, IL - Metro
May 8 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
May 11 - Denver, CO - Summit
May 12 - Denver, CO - Summit

05/09 The Mysterines with RiGBY at 7th St Entry Read More Royal Blood Royal Blood, a new duo comprised of Mike Kerr on lead vocals/bass guitar and Ben Thatcher on drums recently played Mill City Nights in Minneapolis, and showed the attending crowd, what the immediate … RiGBY Local all-girls band Bruise Violet (named after a Babes in Toyland song), will be playing the 7th Street Entry this Feb 15, playing with RiGBY and EVV. ....

05/09/2022 Monday

The Mysterines
with RiGBY
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Fast rising Liverpool rockers The Mysterines is touring in support of their debut album Reeling (Fiction Records).

The teenagers were asked to open up for Royal Blood, The Amazons, and Sea Girls… as well as headlined BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds.

British music fans need to check out the Mysterines. They are stopping by the 7th Street Entry on May 9th.

RiGBY to open.

Tour Dates:

May 3 Brick & Mortar Music Hall, San Francisco
May 4 Peppermint Club, Los Angeles
May 5 Valley Bar, Phoenix
May 7 Lost Lake, Denver
May 9 Minneapolis, 7th St Entry
May 10 Cobra Lounge, Chicago
May 11 The Basement, Columbus
May 13 PJ’s Lager House, Detroit
May 14 Monarch Tavern, Toronto
May 15 L’Escogriffe, Montreal
May 17 Middle East (Upstairs), Boston
May 18 Mercury Lounge, New York City
May 19 DC9, DC
May 21 Vinyl, Atlanta
May 22 Welcome To Rockville, Daytona Beach

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

Minneapolis: Girls Girls Girls! (March 1 to March 5, 2016)

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on March 1 to March 5, 2016.

It’s a special “Girls Girls Girls” edition of the Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Julia Holter Julia Holter new album Loud City Song just dropped this week (August 20th) via Domino Records. You can check out the new single from the album, "In the Green Wild", right now on YouTube. .…

JULIA HOLTER
with Circuit Des Yeux
at 7th St Entry
Tuesday, 03/01/16, 7:30pm ($15)
first-avenue.com

We caught Julia Holter in 2013 and noted that “You can tell that Holter love those old orchestra/big band/jazz sound from an earlier era, as she produced that type of genre with her band, consisting of saxophone, cello, violin, keyboard, and drums.”

This time Holter is back, promoting her fourth studio album Have You In My Wilderness, and she’s quite excited to the new album on cassette - available exclusively on her upcoming with Circuit des Yeux.

Tour Dates

02-26: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
02-27: Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
02-28: Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
03-01: Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
03-02: Chicago, IL @ Constellation
03-03: Ferndale, MI ~ Touched by the Angels
03-04: Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall
03-05: Laval, QC @ La Maison des Arts
03-06: Allston, Mass Gothic @ Great Scott
05-19: Durham, NC Moog Fest
05-20: Durham, NC Moog Fest
05-21: Durham, NC Moog Fest
05-22: Durham, NC Moog Fest

Read More Carrie Rodriguez Carrie Rodriguez's last date on a very long National tour for her latest album, Give Me All You Got was at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis last night, April 14th. .…

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ
at Cedar Cultural Center
Tuesday, 03/01/16, 7pm ($15/$20)
triplerocksocialclub.com

Country singer and fiddler Carrie Rodriguez is coming back to the Cedar Cultural Center next Tuesday, March 1st.

The current tour is for Rodriguez's highly anticipated album, Lola, which came out February 19th, 2016, via Luz Records/Thirty Tigers.

The new album was inspired by 1940s-era recordings of her San Antonio-born great aunt Eva Garza, and featured some songs in English, Spanish and “Spanglish.”

The Roe Family Singers will open the show.

Tour Dates

02/27 Knucklehead’s Kansas City, MO
02/28 & 02/29 Flying Mango Des Moines, IA
03/01 The Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN
03/04 Severson Dells Nature Center Rockford, IL
03/05 Old Town School Chicago, IL
03/24 Stuart’s Opera House Nelsonville, OH
03/25 Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH
04/01 Tin Angel Philadelphia, PA
04/02 Avalon Theatre Easton, MD
04/03 Jammin Java Vienna, VA

Read More Ringo Deathstarr Song of the Show: "Guilt" by Ringo Deathstarr Ringo Deathstarr is on tour: 13 Feb Satellite Bar Houston, TX 18 Feb Lowbrow Palace El Paso, TX … Flavor Crystals Flavor Crystals were up next, they played hard psych rock in poor lighting. Very little lyrics, but lots of high energy guitar playing with emphasis on psych and kraut rock. … The Cult of Lip Hannah was pulling double duty, as she also played in Vats, but as of July 31st, they've decided to changed their name to The Cult of Lip. I know their setlist shows eight songs, but in reality, I believe …

RINGO DEATHSTARR
at Turf Club
Thursday, 03/03/16, 8pm ($8/$10)
turfclub.net

While many, many bands are touring to SXSW in Austin.... This Texan band Ringo Deathstarr is touring away from the city. In fact, they’ll be in England/UK area once SXSW is underway.

You may recall that we recently listened to their new single “Guilt” in the last W♥M246: Keep Calm and Ringo Deathstarr Podcast.

Flavor Crystals and The Cult of Lip to open. If the latter band sounded familiar, we previously saw them as Vats... and some hours later, they’ve decided to change their name to Cult of Lip: read all about it here.

Tour Dates

Feb 27 Sunset, Seattle, WA
Feb 29 Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 1 Hi-Dive, Denver, CO
Mar 2 Reverb, Omaha, NE
Mar 3 Turf Club, St. Paul, MN
Mar 4 Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
Mar 5 Canal Public House, Dayton, OH
Mar 9 Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, UK
Mar 10 Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, UK
Mar 11 Oslo, London, UK Cosmosis Festival
Mar 12 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
Mar 13 Cookie, Leicester, UK
Mar 15 Les 4ECLUSES, Dunkerque, France
Mar 16 Maison Sage, Paris, France
Mar 17 Iboat, Bordeaux, France
Mar 18 La Lata de bombillas, Zaragoza, Spain
Mar 19 Sidecar, Barcelona, Spain
Mar 20 Siroco, Madrid, Spain
Mar 22 Le Sonic, Lyons, France
Mar 23 Bad Bonnie, Dudingen, Switzerland

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..…

POLIÇA
at First Avenue
Friday, 03/04/16, 8pm ($25/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

Local favorite Poliça will be taking over Minneapolis for the next three days (March 2nd to March 4th). Of course, they’re all sold out.

The first show at the Turf Club in St Paul will feature openers Sarah White and Fraea.

The second show will be at the small 7th Street Entry, with openers Dizzy Fae and Izell Pyramid.

The third show will be at the larger main room of First Avenue, with openers Fog (not to be confused with England’s The Fog) and Kill the Vultures.

You may recall that we caught the band at the Lowertown Line earlier in February and heard the band play the entire new album United Crushers live. Expect a similar setlist for these three local shows.

Tour Dates

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 Emily Wells As I previously written, Emily Wells is a one-woman band who uses live recording loops in her songs. Songs on her set was mostly from her album Mama, including "Symphony 6 …

EMILY WELLS
at Cedar Cultural Center
Saturday, 03/05/16, 7pm ($12/$15)
thecedar.org

The last time we heard about Emily Wells, she was doing some crazy collaboration with our favorite producer Dan the Automator. The result was a record called Pillowfight which came out in 2013 via Bulk Recordings. Prior to this, we caught Wells with Dark Dark Dark at the Cedar (05 Oct 2012) and with PCP at the Cedar (01 May 2012).

Wells is currently back in the city, promoting her 2016 album Promise (Thesis & Instinct).

New York’s Lorna Dune will open.

Tour Dates

03/02/16 Denver, CO Lost Lake Lounge
03/03/16 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
03/04/16 Omaha, NE Slowdown
03/05/16 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
03/06/16 St. Louis, MO Luminary Center
03/09/16 Louisville, KY Zanzabar
03/10/16 Indianapolis, IN The Hi Fi
03/11/16 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen
03/12/16 Lakewood, OH Mahall's 20 Lanes
03/22/16 Bordeaux, France Bootleg
03/24/16 Laval, France 6 Par 4
03/25/16 St. Lo, France Le Normandy
03/26/16 La Roche Sur Yon, France Fuzz'yon
03/29/16 Paris, France Le Divan du Monde
03/30/16 Paris, France Le Divan du Monde
03/31/16 Lille, France La Peniche Du Pianiste
04/05/16 Copenhagen, Denmark Vega Ideal Bar

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

Dark Dark Dark at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (10/05/12)

Tour Dates 10/06 Chicago, IL @ Schubas 10/08 Hudson, NY @ Helsinki Hudson* 10/09 Allston, MA @ Great Scott* 10/10 Pawtucket, RI @ The Met* 10/11 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse* 10/12 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory* 10/13 New York, NY @ Le Poisson* 10/14 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery* 10/15 Washington, DC @ DC9* 10/16 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook* 10/17 Atlanta, GA @ 529* 10/18 New Orleans, LA @ Cafe Istanbul* 10/19 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's* 10/20 Austin, TX @ Holy Mountain* 10/21 Denton, TX @ Dan's Silverleaf* 10/24 Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Sol 10/26 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive* 10/27 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court* 10/28 Garden City, ID @ Visual Arts* 10/29 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile* 10/30 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom* 10/31 Nevada City, CA @ Haven Underg* 11/01 Santa Rosa, CA @ Arlene Francis* 11/02 Oakland, CA @ TNew Parish* 11/03 SF, CA @ Bottom of the Hill* 11/05 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex* 11/06 San Diego, CA @ Luce Loft* * w/ Emily Wells Read More Dark Dark Dark Just in time for Halloween comes Dark Dark Dark, the band so gloomy they named it thrice. Largely accordion and banjo driven - with cello, standup...

Dark Dark Dark just released their third album Who Needs Who this week, October 2nd. In celebration, they had two CD release shows: October 3rd and last night, October 5th. Having seen all three bands at three different occasions, I already knew I was in for a treat.

EMILY WELLS

As I previously written, Emily Wells is a one-woman band who uses live recording loops in her songs.

Songs on her set was mostly from her album Mama, including "Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well & The Requiem Mix", "Fire Song", and "Passenger". The odd song, not on her album was called "Don't Use Me Up," and her closer, a cover of Little Willie John's "Fever."

Highlight of her show was when she unveiled her brand new black-keys melodica before "Passenger" was played. She met someone on the Wednesday show who worked at a company that made melodica and gave her a new one. So she gave her old melodica to someone in the audience.

MOUNTAIN MAN

Mountain Man mostly did harmonizing a cappella-style songs on their set. It sounded much better indoors vs their patio show last year (mostly because the audio sounded one thousand times cleaner.)

They mostly stuck to traditional folk songs or cover songs, including "Blues Stay Away From Me", "How Am I Doin Hey Hey", "Whiskey River", "Babylon", and "Dog Song."

Mountain Man will be appearing on "A Prairie Home Companion" today, October 6th.

Since it was the CD release for Who Needs Who, most of the songs played live were taken from the album, including "Last Time I Saw Joe", "Meet In The Dark", and "How It Went Down."

There was a couple of non-Who Needs Who, including "Daydreaming" from their previous album Wild Go.

Encore was supposed to have three tracks, but they skipped the first one and ended with the title track, "Who Needs Who" and "Trouble No More."

Dark Dark Dark's Who Needs Who just came out October 2nd, you can pick up a copy at amazon.com. They will be heading out on tour in October and November with Emily Wells.

Dark Dark Dark at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (10/05/12)

vu () ♥ brightbrightbright.com ♥ facebook.com/mountainmansquint ♥ emilywellsmusic.com

Portland Cello Project and Emily Wells at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (05/01/12)

Tour Dates 05/03 Madison, WI @ The Majestic* 05/04 Chicago, IL @ Schubas* 05/05 Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre* 05/06 Lexington, KY @ Natasha's Bistro 05/08 St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House* 05/09 Columbia, MO @ Mojo's* 05/11 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre* 05/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom* 05/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Largo at Coronet* 05/16 Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place* 05/17 SF, CA @ Swedish American Hall* 05/19 Davis, CA @ Sophia's Thai Kitchen* 05/25 Pt Angeles, WA Juan De Fuca Festival 05/26 Pt Angeles, WA Juan De Fuca Festival 06/26 New York, NY Hudson Square Music 06/27 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live 06/28 Arlington, VA Iota Cafe * with Emily Wells Read More Portland Cello Project The Portland Cello Project, aka PCP, is an interesting band. They consist of five cellists, who, as told by ringleader Douglas Jenkins, started around the Portland area....

The Portland Cello Project (PCP) calls Minneapolis their second home, which is fair to say since this was my third time seeing the band (including their first appearance with Thao Nguyen). They've always played at the Cedar Cultural Center, which is one of my favorite Minneapolis venues.

Opening up for PCP was Emily Wells, as it turns out, was the first night of touring together schedule. It would later be described as a sort of "Ocean's Eleven" kind of event when everyone landed.

Emily Wells

If you have never seen Wells, she is a one-woman band. All the instruments and melodies are played live, but she record and loop the sound, adding in more melodies (including vocals) on top of the loops. I've seen this technique done before, but never seen a whole set devoted to this method. Among the many instruments that she plays, the melodica (aka the "classy" sounding blow-organ) was the best. I was wondering when she'd break out the ukulele, but that never happened.

I may be missing some song titles since she didn't actually have a setlist, but according to my notes, she played "Don't Use Me Up", "Come to Me", "Wonderful Life" (Felice Brothers cover), "Symphony 1 In The Barrel Of A Gun", "Symphony 2", "Mama's Gonna Give You Love", "Dirty Sneakers and Underwear", "Let Your Guard Down (Mama)" and "Passenger".

Quite a good show, I am pretty certain she'd come back to the Cedar soon. Her album, Mama, is out now Partisan Records. Look for her upcoming Dan the Automator collaboration, Pillowfight, sometime in the future.

As for Portland Cello Project, as I have previously mentioned, they are cellists who play rock/pop/metal/hip-hop songs in the classical orchestra style. Unlike the previous shows I saw PCP, they now have extra band members, including a drummer, flautist, and I believe, a French horn player. The extra bandmembers brought a nice fuller sound, particularly on Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" cover. They, of course, did the fan-favorite Pantera's "Mouth For War".

The second part of their set includes nothing but Jay-Z and Kanye West covers, including colorful titles like "H.A.M.", "Ninjas in Paris", "That's My... Sandwich" (please note "ninjas" and "sandwich" are safe substitute words.) The reason is that their latest album, Homage, are all based on Kanye and Jay-Z.

They ended their set with Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and for encore, it was the theme song to "Mission: Impossible".

Portland Cello Project's latest album, Homage, just came out yesterday via Jealous Butcher Records. If you are into classical music and likes pop songs, you need to check out PCP. They are a fun bunch to watch.

Portland Cello Project at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (05/01/12)

vu () ♥ portlandcelloproject.com ♥ emilywellsmusic.com