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Noname at Fine Line, Minneapolis (22 Nov 2023)

11/22 Noname at Fine Line Tour Dates Nov 24 Chicago, IL, US The Vic Theatre Nov 25 Detroit, MI, US Magic Stick Nov 27 Brooklyn, NY, US Brooklyn Steel Nov 28 Boston, MA, US Paradise Rock Club Nov 29 Toronto, ON, Canada Phoenix Concert Theatre Jan 23 2024 Borgerhout, Belgium DE ROMA Jan 25 2024 Cologne, Germany Die Kantine Jan 27 2024 Berlin, Germany Festsaal Kreuzberg Jan 29 2024 Vienna, Austria Werkstätten- & Kulturhaus Jan 31 2024 Milan, Italy Magazzini Generali Feb 2 2024 Paris, France Le Trabendo Feb 4 2024 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy Feb 6 2024 London, UK Eventim Apollo Feb 8 2024 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso Jan 29 2025 Vienna, Austria Werkstätten- & Kulturhaus Read More Noname Chicago’s Noname is on her first tour in four years, in support of the highly anticipated third album, Sundial. The tour will stop by First Avenue on October 15th. .....

Chicago rapper Noname finally made it to the Fine Line on November 22, 2023. The rapper was originally listed to appear in October 15, but it was slightly delayed a month later.

This is Noname’s first tour in five years, having blown up in 2018 with the debut LP Room 25. The record was named one of the top albums of the 2010.

Opening the show was Connecticut’s Stout (aka Thee Stout). Her first album Awakened landed at #11 on the Billboard gospel charts, and since then Stout has been exploring gospel, jazz, rock, hip-hop, funk, and even alternative gunge music, such as her cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (which she played on her live set).

She’s got powerful vocals and even asked the sound mixer to lower her volume to let us enjoy the show. Her goal is to heal the world, so she’s preaching stomping on negativity, stomping on self-hate, on self-doubt.

Highlight of her set was going into the crowd and started a mosh pit for an energetic fun show.

It’s been quite a long tour for Noname, in support of the highly anticipated new album, Sundial. After moving around a few dates for logistic reasons and scheduling conflicts, she’s finally in town… but jokingly asked, “where am I right now? Minneapolis?” and got the audience hyped with the mentioning of their hometown.

She’s joined on stage with a backup band and two backup singers, Camillia and Claudia, which she gave a standing ovation later in the set.

Her controversial song “Namesake”, namedropped Jay-Z and the Roc Nation partnership with the National Football League. The rapper is no stranger to these topics in her other songs (often tackling political and social issues, gun violence, capitalism, police state, etc.)

For “Gospel?”, a song featuring $ilkMoney, billy woods, and STOUT, so, of course, Stout came on stage to sing on the song.

Noname’s Sundial is out now.

Stout

Stout

Stout Noname

Noname

Noname at Fine Line, Minneapolis (22 Nov 2023)

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Ben Kweller at Fine Line, Minneapolis (10 Nov 2023)

11/10 Ben Kweller with Mason Jennings at Fine Line Ben Kweller Setlist How It Should Be (Sha Sha) Commerce, TX No Reason Make It Up Walk On Me Family Tree Harriet's Got a Song In Other Words Falling Lizzy On My Way My Apartment Thirteen How I Am (Z’EV cover) Starz American Cigarettes Penny on the Train Track -- Encore -- Sundress Living in the Moment with Mason Jennings Sorry Signs on Cash Machines with Mason Jennings Wasted & Ready Read More Ben Kweller New original songs includes Rufus Wainwright's "Christmas is for Kids" and Ben Kweller's "Try to Love (Joy to the World)". Track listing: It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year ...

Ben Kweller is celebrating the 20th anniversary (technically the 21st anniversary) of his cult-classic album, Sha Sha, by doing a 2023 tour. He stopped by the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis on Friday night.

Mason Jennings opened the Minneapolis show. After playing his intro song, “Darkness Between the Fireflies”, he explained that he’s been friends with Ben Kweller for 20 years and he was excited to celebrate Sha Sha with us. If Kweller didn’t ask him to open, Jennings said he would attend the show as a fan.

He normally doesn’t play “Adrian”, but decided to put it on his setlist, because Kweller requested it.

For “Crown”, Jennings put on harmonica… which instantly made the audience think it was going to be a Bob Dylan cover…

He ended his set with the first song off his album Underneath The Roses, called “Only Lovers Welcome”. Although he left the stage, he would come back for the encore to help play “Living in the Moment” and “Sorry Signs on Cash Machines.”

Just to give you a little background, Ben Kweller started his musical career when he was really young. He’s been playing the drums since he was seven years old… and by the time he was 12, he joined a band called Radish. When he decided to leave the group, he was 19, and started focusing on his solo career.

His debut album, after signing with ATO Records, was Sha Sha, which came out in 2002 and instantly became a hit with fans, including Evan Dando (The Lemonheads), Juliana Hatfield, Guster, and Ben Folds (who created The Bens with Ben Lee and Ben Kweller).

For the anniversary tour, we’re shown footage from 2002, on a video projector, when the album first launched in Japan. My god, Kweller looks like a baby in 2002 (when he was 21).

After the videos montage, Kweller, and his full band (including actor/musician Christopher Mintz-Plasse), would play all the songs from Sha Sha, but throwing in various hits and oddities to fill out a full show. The setlist is not exactly one-on-one with the tracklisting of the ATO album, but as Kweller explained, he had to shuffle some songs for pacing reasons. Otherwise, it’ll be “bangers after bangers” as Kweller puts it.

If you were curious about the one cover song, “How I Am”, this was a tribute to his 16 year old son, Dorian Kweller (who plays as his stagename Z’ev). His son died in a car accident in February 2023, and it was a shame, because, like Ben, Dorian was also a child prodigy, and over time, he would’ve been just as accomplished as his father.

“How I Am” is one of Ben’s favorite Dorian songs, so it felt fitting to include it on the setlist.

Fans who loved the Sha Sha album was so happy to hear these songs performed live. Those same fans fondly remembers seeing him for the first time, with Pete Yorn, at First Avenue in 2011.

Remaining tour dates:

Nov 11 Chicago, IL, US Lincoln Hall
Nov 18 New York, NY, US Racket NYC
Nov 19 New York (NYC), NY, US Racket NYC

Mason Jennings Mason Jennings

Ben Kweller

Ben Kweller Ben Kweller

Ben Kweller at Fine Line, Minneapolis (10 Nov 2023)

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Mipso at Fine Line (11-01-23)

11/01 Mipso with Humbird at Fine Line Tour Dates Nov. 2 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall Nov. 3 - Madison, WI - High Noon Nov. 4 - Indianapolis, IN - Hifi Nov. 5 - Detroit, MI - The Ark (Ann Arbor) Nov. 8 - Toronto , ON - Velvet Underground Nov. 9 - Ottawa, ON - Red Bird Live Nov. 10 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz Nov. 11 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Nov. 12 - Portland, ME - Portland House Nov. 15 - Boston, MA - Sinclair Nov. 16 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Made Nov. 17 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club Nov. 18 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater Nov. 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brendas Read More Mipso Folk band Mipso is headlining Cedar Cultural Center, in support of their latest Old Time Reverie (Robust Records). Joining them on this show will be 10 String … Humbird Humbird to open. Tour dates: Oct. 21 - Chattanooga, TN - Barrel House Ballroom Oct. 22 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn Oct. 25 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West …

Last night may have been one of the few times the opening and headliner not only shared the same producer for their latest albums, but that producer, Shane Leonard, also supported both bands by playing drums.

Humbird opened the evening with Siri Undlin on lead vocal and guitar and Pat Keen on upright bass.

Undlin said it was a little weird to be playing at the Fine Line for she is currently on the road, but also back in her hometown, playing in front of a welcoming crowd of friends and family. She and Keen in fact had been in town for two days and did the only logical thing a musician would do with a day off - laundry.

Undlin grew up in south Minneapolis, performing in Irish ensembles and church choirs. She spent her first year out of college on a fellowship traveling through Norway, Scotland and Ireland researching Nordic and Gaelic folk songs.

The band she formed melds these traditions with American folk music, country and I believe based on some of Keen’s bass solos, elements of improvisational jazz.

Undlin’s songs are a nice amalgamation, never preachy, never strident, but light of touch and deeply thoughtful. Like the song “Summer Storm for Charlotte” from her sophomore album Still Life, a song about Undlin’s five year-old neighbor learning to ride a bike hours before her and Undlin’s homes would be filled with tear gas during the George Floyd Riots.

Mipso next took the stage. They are an Indie folk band based out of Chapel Hill, NC with Jacob Sharp on mandolin and guitar, Joseph Terrell on guitar, Libby Rodenbough on fiddle and keys and Wood Robinson on bass. They all sing and they are in their sweet spot when crowded around one microphone.

With ten years on the road, Mipso found themselves at a crossroads, frankly burnt out by the demands of relentless touring. Was it the seven year itch to call it quits? Well, they decided to stick it out and expand their musical horizons on their sixth album Book of Fools set to release November 23rd.

Based on the new songs it sounds like they are all looking to explore other musical avenues with songs that had Rodenbough playing an Irish dance lick and Terrell responding with a bluesy, soulful retort; Robinson taking his time to lay down some fine introspective bass solos, and the whole band turning to a reggae vibe for the encore.

But it wasn’t all experimental. Sharp acknowledged the reason everyone came was to hear and sing along to songs like “Hurts so Good” from Coming Down the Mountain,” “Louise” from Dark Holler Pop and a personal favorite “Wallpaper Baby” from their self-titled album:

Get over the wallpaper, baby
This house is coming down

Also, let it be noted that it wasn’t all experimental on their soon to be released album. “Carolina Rolling By” is a sweet, wistful song that will have fans singing along next time Mispo comes to town.

Mipso

Humbird Humbird Mipso

Mipso at Fine Line, Minneapolis (01 Nov 2023)

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Neil Frances at Fine Line, Minneapolis (28 Oct 2023)

Neil Frances Setlist Standing My Ground It's like a dream Games Show Me the Right Took a While High Dancing Ask Me Anything Some Kind of Static Let's Break It Down Gimme She's Just the Type of Girl Falling for You Be Free Music Sounds Better With You (Stardust cover) Teardrops Dumb Love Read More Neil Frances Los Angeles duo Neil Frances (Jordan Feller and Marc Gilfry) is headlining the Fine Line in Minneapolis on October 28. ...

Los Angeles duo Neil Frances (Jordan Feller and Marc Gilfry) headlined the Fine Line in Minneapolis on October 28.

Opening the show was Real Action and Mango Cart (billed on First Avenue’s website as only Real Action). Mango Cart came out with a joke, yelling “Hello Wisconsin!”, then Jordan Feller from Neil Frances came out and introduced the opening group. Real Action and Mango Cart played a lot of 90s rap songs and had the crowd swaying side to side to the old school beats.

Neal Francis, not to be confused with Neal Francis, is an indie-dance duo. They released their debut album There Is No Neil Frances in 2022, and spent that year performing at over sixteen major festivals, including Life Is Beautiful and Austin City Limits.

The group was humbled and thanked everyone for coming out to see them play, and thanked those from last year that were also there.

With this new tour, in support of their sophomore album It's All A Bit Fuzzy, the group naturally played the new songs released earlier this month (October 6).

What sets this new record apart from There Is No Neil Frances, is that there are a lot of exciting collaborations, including up-and-coming LA hip hop artist St Panther for “Let’s Break It Down” and PawPaw Rod for “High.”

The new album was designed to make for a good live show, and everyone was dancing in approval.

Of course, their big hit was a cover of Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You.” Their song amassed over 150 million streams, so when they played that song near the end of their set, the crowd went absolutely crazy.

Neal Francis’ It's All A Bit Fuzzy is out now.

Remaining tour dates:

10/31 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
11/1 Seattle, WA Neptune
11/3 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
11/4 Los Angeles, CA The Novo
11/10 Tucson, AZ Dusk Music Festival
11/11 Tucson, AZ Dusk Music Festival
11/17 México City, MX Corona Capital Festival
11/18 México City, MX Corona Capital Festival
11/19 México City, MX Corona Capital Festival

Neil Frances Real Action and Mango Cart Neil Frances

Neil Frances at Fine Line, Minneapolis (28 Oct 2023)

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My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult at Fine Line, Minneapolis (20 Oct 2023)

10/20 MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT with ADULT. and KANGA at Fine Line MLWTKK Setlist Burning Dirt A Daisy Chain 4 Satan Do You Fear (For Your Child)? Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness The Days of Swine and Roses Ride the Mindway Sex on Wheelz Leathersex A Girl Doesn't Get Killed by a Make-Believe Lover... 'Cuz It's Hot The Velvet Edge Badlife Apollo 69 Glamour Is a Rocky Road Blondes With Lobotomy Eyes Radio Silicon And This Is What the Devil Does -- Encore -- Final Blindness Dope Doll Jungle After the Flesh Shock of Point 6 Kooler Than Jesus Tour Dates 10/21 @ Wildwood - Iowa City, IA 10/23 @ Vogue - Indianapolis, IN 10/24 @ King Of Clubs - Columbus, OH 10/25 @ Mr Small's - Pittsburgh, PA 10/26 @ SoundStage - Baltimore, MD 10/27 @ Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ 10/29 @ Crystal Ballroom- Somerville, MA 10/31 @ Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY 11/01 @ HMAC - Harrisburg, PA 11/02 @ TempleLive - Cleveland, OH 11/03 @ Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI 11/04 @ Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL Read More My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult Industrial rock, goth dance band My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult celebrated their 30th Anniversary at the Amsterdam Dam Bar & Hall in St Paul last night (October 21st). … Adult. Detroit’s Adult. has been pretty inactive since we last wrote about them in February 2007. Since Why Bother? in 2007, the band came back in 2013 with The Way Things Fall, and most recently, Detroit House Guests, released last year. ....

Industrial rock band My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult headlined at the Fine Line, in Minneapolis, on October 20th.

Opening the show was Kanga, a one-woman musician and producer from Los Angeles. Her music is a little dance, a little electronic, and “post-apocalyptic” pop music.

Apparently electronic icon Gary Numan (famous for “Cars”), is a big fan and asked her to join him on his sold out 40th Anniversary UK tour in 2019.

She played “Magnolia” early in her set, and ended her set with “Vital Signs”. Many of the songs on the set is taken from her 2023 album Under Glass, available now on Artoffact Records.

Next up was Detroit’s art-punk, electroclash band Adult. (note period). We are fan of the duo (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller), it’s amazing what they can with just a drum machines, and analog synthesizers.

Adult. (18 May 2022)

As we previously mentioned in May 2022, “Their fanbase are diehard fans, many of them have seen the Detroit band numerous times.”

Adult. came on stage in darkness, and Nicola is stretching something across the stage. On closer look, you find out that it’s clear packaging tape. What the heck? Somehow the band incorporated the tape to produce sound as part of their intro song, “She's Nice Looking”. It was very interesting, and it’s something that I’ve never seen before. I love it.

By the time “Our Bodies Weren't Wrong” was played (with the catch line “yesterday was the future”), the tape went down.

They ended their set with “Nausea”, which finds Nicola in the audience dancefloor repeating the hypnotic word “nauseeeaaaa” over and over again.

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, or shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or MLWTTKK, was originally formed in Chicago by Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy, they were pioneers in this industrial music genre in the 80s and 90s. It wasn’t just the music, but it’s also a lifestyle. The band is dressed in motorcycle black leather, with chains and satirical references to Satan, Jesus, and, of course, sex sex sex.

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (21 Oct 2017)

As we previously mentioned in Oct 2017, on their 30th Anniversary, we said, “… with these reunion shows, there were plenty of hardcore older (ages 30-50) fans in the audience. Many of them bringing their high school friends and making it a reunion for the audience, as well as the band.”

It’s those same fans that showed up for this October 2023 shows, and they were more than happy to support the music and the subculture.

This new “Evil Eye” Tour is actually a continuation of their Spring 2023 tour, which abruptly ended when Groovie Mann got a serious staphylococcus infection in his hand (and spreading to his left arm). He was hospitalized in Dallas, and so they ended up missing their remaining tour dates.

The “Evil Eye” theme continues the band’s sense of humor, just take a look at “A Daisy Chain 4 Satan” and you can get in on the joke.

The band’s latest release Sinister Whisperz IV: The Bedroom Tapes (1987-1988) is out now on Sleazebox Records.

Kanga Kanga Adult. Adult. Adult.

Adult.

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult at Fine Line, Minneapolis (20 Oct 2023)

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Genesis Owusu at Fine Line, Minneapolis (12 Oct 2023)

10/12 Genesis Owusu with Godly the Ruler at Fine Line Genesis Owusu Setlist Leaving the Light See Ya There Gold Chains Same Thing WUTD Get Inspired Don't Need You Stay Blessed The Roach Freak Boy Tied Up! That's Life (A Swamp) Balthazar What Comes Will Come A Song About Fishing Read More Genesis Owusu Acclaimed Australian-Ghanaian Genesis Owusu has a debut album Smiling With No Teeth on House Anxiety / Ourness. Local band Kiss the Tiger to open ... Godly the Ruler Godly the Ruler to open. Tour dates: 10/12 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line 10/13 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall 10/14 Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch ...

First night of the tour, and it’s sold out at the Genesis Owusu’s Fine Line show in Minneapolis on Thursday night.

Opening the show was Chicago, by the way of Nigeria, Godly the Ruler (aka Godwill Oke). Godly is joined on stage with his guitarist, Ehmed Nauman, who provided the music while Godly raps.

After “Off With Your Head”, Godly brought out his whistle, which he introduced as, “Say hello to my little friend.” (a reference to Scarface).

He jokingly asked what city he was in, and feign ignorance in what day it was. The truth is that this was his first tour, at least that’s what he tells us, and I’m assuming he was really excited to be playing in Minneapolis at the sold out Fine Line.

Australia’s Genesis Owusu is back on tour in support of his highly anticipated and acclaimed sophomore album, Struggler (OURNESS / AWAL Records).

Originally we were supposed to Genesis Owusu in Jan 2022, but due to COVID restrictions and other unavoidable things… the show had been rescheduled to the Turf Club in St Paul on March 28th, 2023.

So, it’s only been about six months since he was last here, and fans, who saw him at the Turf Club, also returned and with his music still fresh in their minds.

Maybe it was his single, “Stay Blessed”, but from the looks of it, it felt like Genesis Owusu was a preacher on his podium, preaching to the choir. In fact, if you look closely, there seemed to be a giant book.

There was heavy use of backlight, strobing bright lights, making it really hard to see Genesis Owusu’s red striped head or the three red stripes on his jacket. There’s a look and theme to this new Struggler release. For the second album, he’s exploring the struggle of life, while his debut album Smiling With No Teeth was about racism.

I wasn’t surprised to see that the show, perhaps the tour, has sold out, thanks heavy rotations on local radio station The Current, and Triple J’s naming his debut album “Album of the Year” and winning four ARIA awards.

Struggler is out now on OURNESS and AWAL Records.

Remaining tour dates:

10/13 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
10/14 Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch
10/15 Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird Music Hall
10/17 Toronto, ON - The Velvet Underground
10/18 Montreal, QC - Le Studio TD
10/19 Boston, MA - The Sinclair
10/20 Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere
10/21 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
10/25 Washington, DC - Union Stage
10/27 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre
10/28 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
10/29 Nashville, TN - The Basement East
10/31 Austin, TX - Empire Control Room & Garage
11/01 Dallas, TX - The Studio
11/03 Denver, CO - Globe Hall
11/06 Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre
11/07 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
11/09 Seattle, WA - Neumos
11/10 Portland, OR - Star Theatre
11/11 Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
11/15 London, UK - Heaven
11/16 Paris, FR - Café de la Danse
11/17 Berlin, DE - Hole44
12/01 Perth, AUS - Ice Cream Factory
12/08 Melbourne, AUS - Festival Hall
12/09 Canberra, AUS - UC Refectory
12/14 Brisbane, AUS - Fortitude Music Hall
12/15 Sydney, AUS - Hordern Pavilion
12/16 Adelaide, AUS - Hindley St Music Hall

Godly the Ruler

Genesis Owusu Godly the Ruler Godly the Ruler

Genesis Owusu at Fine Line, Minneapolis (12 Oct 2023)

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Yeule at Fine Line, Minneapolis (09 Oct 2023)

10/09 yeule with SASAMI at Fine Line yeule Setlist bloodbunny Electric 4ui12 cyber meat softscars ghosts Don’t Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty sulky baby software update x w x aphex twin flame dazies Read More Yeule Singaporean songwriter and producer Nat Ćmiel, or otherwise known by the stagename Yeule, will be headlining the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis this October 9th. Yeule’s new album softscars will be out on September 22nd via Ninja Tune. .… Sasami Los Angeles-based artist Sasami (stylized as SASAMI) is returning to the area, at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on Saturday, April 20th. SASAMI’s debut self-titled album is available for pre-order now .…

Singaporean songwriter and producer Yeule (aka Nat Ćmiel) headlined the Fine Line Music Café, in Minneapolis, on Columbus Day, October 9th.

According to both Sasami and Yeule, the band almost didn’t make it to Minneapolis, as their tour bus broke down in Omaha, Nebraska, early in the morning of October 9th. In an emergency, they could only get a Toyota Corolla rental… which you would know is considerably smaller than a traditional tour bus. Everyone is cramped in the small car, with their instrumentals packed in a U-Haul trailer.

Somehow they were able to make it to the show, perhaps a tad later than they had anticipated, but they were happy to be in Minneapolis, at the Fine Line.

Sasami (02 Apr 2022)

Opening the show was Sasami, playing solo. She’s normally with a metal band called Barishi (all of this was previously mentioned in Apr 2022: “Sasami came on stage slightly later than advertised. She’s dressed up in this outfit, and her live band is Vermont’s metal band Barishi.”

She confessed that she was nervous, not having a band to “hide behind.” Since she has to play guitar and serves as a one-woman-show, she decided that she was going to “experiment” with brand new songs that have never been released. Perhaps some of these songs will make it in a future album.

Shortly after Sasami exited the stage, Yeule came on stage, dressed in raggy white outfit, with Sasami and a drummer, also dressed in the same theme.

The trio wasted no time in kicking off their set with “bloodbunny”.

When Yeule put on her guitar for “4ui12”, she realized that “Someone stole my guitar picks.” Personally speaking, I do have some guitar picks in my wallet (I’ve bought them from merch or were given to me). Someone in front must’ve given her some picks, so the band could play.

You find out later that Yeule has never been to “this part of America” before. She’s referring to the Midwest, which is pretty expansive with long stretches of rolling hills and empty spaces. Basically, a lot of nothing, until you hit a major city, such as Minneapolis or Chicago.

It did sound like Yeule is enjoying her time in America, despite car breaking down and other hiccups in their tour.

Yeule’s new album softscars is out now on Ninja Tune.

Remaining tour dates:

10/10 - Chicago, IL @ Metro*
10/12 - Toronto, ON @ Axis
10/13 - Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
10/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer*
10/15 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall*
10/18 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
10/19 - Washington, D.C @ Black Cat*
10/20 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle*
10/21 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell)*
10/24 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall*
10/25 - Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory*
10/26 - Austin, TX @ Levitation
10/28 - Mesa, AZ @ The Nile*
10/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda*
12/7 - Paris, France @ Café de la Danse
12/8 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Melkweg OZ
12/9 - Berlin, Germany @ Zenner
12/11 - London, UK @ HERE at Outernet

Sasami

Yeule Sasami Yeule

Yeule at Fine Line, Minneapolis (09 Oct 2023)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Yard Act at Fine Line (09/13/2023)

09/13 Yard Act with Stuck at Fine Line Yard Act Setlist Rich Fixer Upper Land of the Blind Dead Horse Dark Days Payday Witness (Can I Get A?) The Trench Coat Museum 100% Endurance The Overload The Trapper's Pelts -- Encore -- Ace of Spades (Motörhead cover) Stuck Setlist The Punisher Lose Your Cool Time Out Planet Money Labor Freak Frequency Fools Idol City of Policy Break the Arc Do Not Reply Change is Bad / Invisible Wall Read More Yard Act UK’s Yard Act is on their debut headlining US tour, and the first stop is at the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis, this September 13. This is one of the hottest UK band …

A post-punk vibe was alive and well at the Fine Line on Wednesday night and the bearers of the sound were not even born when the music first hit the scene.

The crowd definitely had a mixed vibe. There were young people, for sure. But there were just as many men and women there who would have been teenagers in the 80’s. Still, it’s nice to see different generations converging to check out a new band with a fresh sound making their Minneapolis debut.

Stuck opened up the evening with a fiery set. They are out of Chicago and mostly played songs from their recently released album Freak Frequency. They even started with the first four songs from the album which is definitely entrenched in the post punk vibe with its pulsating, stripped-down beat and staccato-like lyrics.

The band is composed of Greg Obis on lead vocals and guitar, Tim Green on drums, Donny Walsh on guitar, and David Algrim on bass (however, for this show, Sarah Clausen has replaced David). Obis kept things brief between songs. So brief that when he mentioned their new album he only said, “It’s over there,” pointing to the merch table. Then added, “Rock ‘n Roll” before launching into the electric “Break the Arc.”

Yard Act was a little more conversational. In fact, the lead singer, James Smith was down-right loquacious. They were excited to be in the Twin Cities, the first stop on their American Tour and they didn’t waste any time by launching into the peppery “Rich” which playfully mocks the corrosive nature of accumulated wealth.

Yard Act is a new band (2019) from Leeds England and they had quite the debut with their first album The Overload, which was short-listed (nominated) for the Mercury Prize last year. “Confident” is the word Pitchfork used to describe the album and it is a perfect word to describe the band with a heavy beat and recitative delivery of Smith’s somewhat rap, somewhat punk, sped-up poetry slam of verbal acrobatics with a tongue in cheek and biting tongue.

“Good to be back in America,” said Smith. “And good to be in Minneapolis.”

Smith went on to say he wouldn’t want to live in America. He said he loved his perfect country and as an ode to its brilliance they played “Land of the Blind.”

Special shoutout to the band who supported Smith’s sharp, funny lyrics. Ryan Needham on bass, Jay Russell on drums, Sam Shipstone and his impressive mustache on guitar provided quite a funked-up beat that reminded me of the early Talking Heads. At moments I was thinking, who needs words with a groove this good, especially when they launched into their new single “The Trenchcoat Museum” that had everyone dancing, young and old.

Remaining tour dates:

09/14 - Madison, WI @ The Terrace
09/15 - Chicago, IL @ Riot Festival
11/02 - Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves
11/04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
11/05 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
11/06 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/07 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
11/09 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
11/10 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/11 - New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
11/14 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk
11/15 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company
11/17 - Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Festival
12/02 - Bangkok, TH @ Maho Rasop Festival

Stuck Stuck Stuck

Stuck

Yard Act Yard Act Yard Act Yard Act Yard Act

Yard Act at Fine Line, Minneapolis (13 Sep 2023)

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Temples at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (17 June 2023)

06/17 Temples with Post Animal at Fine Line Temples Setlist Liquid Air Certainty Cicada Holy Horses Exotico The Golden Throne Oval Stones Keep in the Dark Slow Days Hot Motion Afterlife Paraphernalia Gamma Rays -- Encore -- Mesmerise Shelter Song Tour Dates 06/19 – Denver, CO – Bluebird 06/20 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge 06/22 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall 06/24 – Los Angeles, LA – Teragram Ballroom 08/31 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw 09/02 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom 09/03 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival Read More Temples Along their way to Minneapolis, Temples have been building huge buzz appearing at Great Escape 2013 and (recently) SXSW 2014. With all that excitement for the band, they sold out the Turf Club presale … Post Animal Chicago’s heavy, prog psychedelic rock band Post Animal released their sophomore album Forward Motion Godyssey on February 14, 2020, via Polyvinyl, and will be doing a national tour to promote the new record. …

British psychedelic band Temples is currently touring in June in support of their latest album Exotico (ATO Records). The group stop in at the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis on Saturday night.

Opening the show was Chicago’s heavy, prog psychedelic rock band Post Animal with a 45-min set. The Chicago six-piece features Dalton Allison (bass/vocals), Jake Hirshland (guitar/keyboard/vocals), Javi Reyes (guitar/vocals), Wesley Toledo (drums/vocals), and Matt Williams (guitar/vocals).

Everyone in the band took turn to take lead vocals at some point in their set, so it felt like there was really no one band leader. They played songs from their new self-produced Love Gibberish album, co-written by the entire band. This record is special to them, as after releasing two albums on Polyvinyl, they’ve decided to do things on their own. All six members met at Hirshland’s family farm, and produced months of demos and finding themselves where they first named the band.

“This album takes us back to how it felt before we ever thought we'd be an actual touring band, with no expectations for ourselves,” guitarist Matt Williams says. “Now, we’re inside the gibberish-ness of life, trying to figure out what we need to survive.”

The band looked like they were having a very good time on stage, often moving and invading each other’s space on stage.

Contrary to the hyper movements were dreamy, psychedelic UK band Temples, who took their time to play songs from their latest, latest album Exotico. The record was produced by Sean Ono Lennon, who previously worked on Temples’ single, “Paraphernalia” in 2020. The band loved what he brought to the table on “Paraphernalia” that they asked to work with Lennon again for the new album.

Temples (17 May 2013)

Temples, currently featuring James Edward Bagshaw on vocals and lead guitar, Adam Thomas Smith on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Thomas Edward James Walmsley on bass, and Rens Ottink on drums, exploded onto the psychedelic music scene in 2013 with only a handful of singles at the Great Escape NME Showcase: “Temples were surprising solid. They reminded me of Kasabian and Pink Floyd. Lead singer sported the old-school curly brown Afro 60's look and the other members looked like the Davies brothers from the Kinks. The only downfall to the set, is that they didn't play "We Were Children."”

By 2014, the band had a hit debut record Sun Structures, which landed at #7 in the UK charts, and was headlining First Avenue’s mainroom in April 2014.

If you haven’t seen the band, do yourself a favor and check them on this new tour. Temples’ Exotico is out now on ATO Records.

P.S. Apologies for the bad photos. When I got to the show, I found out that the battery in my camera had died. The photos below were taken on an iPhone 14.

Post Animal

Post Animal

Temples

Temples at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (17 June 2023)

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Fenne Lily and Christian Lee Hutson at Bottleneck (05/22) and Fine Line (05/23)

Christian Lee Hutson Setlist Strawberry Lemonade State Bird Twin Soul with Fenne Lily Single for the Summer Atheist Get the Old Band Back Together Lose This Number Endangered Birds Northsiders Rubberneckers Fenne Lily Setlist Map of Japan Dawncolored Horse 2+2 Lights Light Up Berlin Elliott Pick In My Own Time Henry Red Deer Day Half Finished Work Wife Setlist Too Young to Understand Coeur D'Alene Strangers Something's Up Creases Soft Lie Brian Eno Ride, Ride Tour Dates 05/24- Milwaukee, WI @ Back Room 05/25 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall 05/26 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe 05/27 - Toronto, ON @ Legendary Horseshoe Tavern 05/30 - Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace 05/31 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair 06/02 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 06/03 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 06/04 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat 06/05 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall 06/06 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West 06/07 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East 06/09 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge 06/10 - Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips 06/11 - Austin, TX @ The Parish 06/13 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf 06/15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge 06/16 - West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour Read More Fenne Lily So this may explain why Bristol, UK-based Fenne Lily was so tired due to lack of sleep. She said to keep herself awake, she’s been drinking hard liquor. Her humor is really dry, and you’re not quite sure … Christian Lee Hutson The first act of three to take the stage was singer/songwriter Christian Lee Hutson. Hutson is a Los Angeles-based musician, just releasing a new single, ‘Northsiders’ (which Bridgers produced) from his .…

The indie folk live pairing of Bristol, UK native (and a Brooklyn resident since the Fall) Fenne Lily and Americana singer-songwriter Christian Lee Hutson has been on the road for a short while, but this tour leg (which began at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS) has added Brooklyn up-and-comers Work Wife (Meredith Lampe, Cody Edgerly and Kenny Monroe) to the bill, complete with their brand-new banjo player.

The two headliners would trade off which band closes out the show. For the first night of the tour, Fenne Lily closed out Lawrence. For the second night, Christian Lee Hutson closed out the Fine Line.

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The Bottleneck, Lawrence (05/22)

The Bottleneck, Lawrence (05/22)

Work Wife just released their Quitting Season EP in December (on Born Losers Records), but are already looking forward playing several new tracks (expected on their sophomore EP later this year) debuted live for the first time. We liked what we heard and expect them back soon, most likely headlining.

Christian Lee Hutson is out in support of last Spring’s (similarly-named) Quitters full-length (produced by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst and on ANTI- Records) and we saw all three play live in Minneapolis in 2019. Hutson continued a story between the songs of his hour-long set, about his father getting in some scuffle at Kid Rock’s Nashville restaurant, which inspired Hutson to dream of opening his own establishment, eliciting crowd suggestions of what might be on the menu.

Fenne Lily would describe Hutson’s music as “excellently ambiguous”, while her own music, in support of Big Picture (out just last month via Dead Oceans) has a claustrophobic intimacy about it, recorded through the pandemic-era shut-in period and of a relationship from its beginnings to end, though the songs teeter to easily morph into something of a bigger sound.

All three acts seemed like a comfortable fit in touring together (and Work Wife and Fenne Lily each sitting in to help play a track on another’s set), all had a collectively symbiotic, indie folk sound, and the trio of rising acts made for a laid back and enjoyable weeknight evening.

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Fine Line, Minneapolis (05/23)

Fine Line, Minneapolis (05/23)

“Spending ten hours in the car can put a strain on the bum.” Or something to that effect, said Fenne Lily in a lovely Bristol accent and a voice that Pitchfork Magazine has described as “… a warmth and a quaver that can wring pathos from the most conversational lines.”

I imagine there are not many opportunities in England where you spend most of the day traveling in the car, but when you just played in Laurence, Kansas with the next show in Minneapolis, the “bum” is going to take a hit.

Work Wife opened the evening with a seven song set, a highlight being “Brian Eno”, a song that started off with the bands reserved tone but moved into a free-wheeling cosmic jam lead by Cody Edgerly on drums.

“One the road for one day,” said lead singer, Meredith Lampe, “And already forgot the day of the week.” Then she went on to describe the journey of getting there: Flying into Texas to pick up her friend Rachel who wanted to join the band in order to take them to the CC Club after the show. But only after they picked up Isaac (on steel guitar and banjo) in Oklahoma and performed a show in Kansas.

Fenne Lily took the stage next, starting off with “Map of Japan”, maybe the best song on her new album, Big Picture, an album that she wrote during the pandemic.

Lily was quite funny in between songs, maybe sharing more information than what the audience wanted to hear or maybe not. She talked about her upcoming period and wisdom teeth finally coming in. She went on about her grandfather being a real piece of work aka alcoholic and how he could inhale one cigarette in one breath. Then onto the pandemic and how it turned the whole world upside down, especially on her block where single vegan neighbors eventually turned into child-bearing steak eaters.

In between musings she sang songs as Paste Magazine described as “… successful meditation(s) on tension, an act of sitting in discomfort.” For example, “Berlin” is a song about living by herself and eating black licorice and “Pick” is about people who need help but don’t ask for it. (Not her granddad)

Lily ended the set with “Birthday” a song about being cheated on by a musician with another musician. All parties were to be unnamed, but she was interested in any guesses at the merch table.

Christian Lee Hutson finished the evening, starting off with “Strawberry Lemonade”, the first song on his latest album Quitters.

Like Lily, Hutson was also pretty funny in between songs, complaining to the crowd that on his tenth birthday his dad took him to get chicken wings. He said he started touring at age seventeen and for seven years it was mostly playing in spaghetti restaurants.

Lily joined him on stage for “Twin Soul”. And after he sang “Get the Old Band Back Together”, he said it was the dumbest song he ever wrote. He wrote it as a joke, but the producer, a one Phoebe Bridges, liked it so much she put it on the new album.

And while Hutson tuned his guitar between songs, he wanted to know if the audience had any questions. Someone asked if he ever played at Buca di Beppo (spaghetti restaurant). Not yet. Someone then asked about Taylor Swift. No opinion. Then another wondered if would be at the CC Club later.

“Will see,” he grinned.

Christian Lee Hutson (05/22) Work Wife (05/22) Work Wife (05/22) Christian Lee Hutson (05/22) Christian Lee Hutson (05/22)

Fenne Lily (05/22)

Fenne Lily (05/22)

Fenne Lily (05/22)

Fenne Lily at Lawrence, Kansas (22 May 2023)

Fenne Lily (05/23) Work Wife (05/23) Work Wife (05/23) Fenne Lily (05/23) Christian Lee Hutson (05/23)

Christian Lee Hutson at Fine Line, Minneapolis (23 May 2023)

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