W♥M: Beck

11/06/2022

Minneapolis: This Week (11/13/2022)

Here are some shows, this week, in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

11/07 Tenci at 7th St Entry

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My Heart Is An Open Field is a confident, deeply beautiful debut album from Chicago four-piece Tenci. These songs are filled with nuance- breaths of saxophone and flute, and touches of cello, piano, and pedal …

11/07/2022 Monday

Tenci
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Chicago-based band Tenci is back on tour in support of their sophomore album A Swollen River, A Well Overflowing (set for release in November 4th on Keeled Scales).

Tenchi (27 Aug 2021)

We saw Tenchi at 7th Street Entry in Aug 2021 and said, “Opening up the show was Chicago-based musician Tenci, on their last appearance with Valley Maker. The band, led by Jess Shoman, features saxophone player, guitarist Curt Oren, drummer Joseph Farago (of Joey Nebulous), Isabel Reidy (of Izzy True), were both sad and grateful for being part of the tour. Sometime when we see bands near the end of their tour, you get the impression that thay’re exhausted… but not with Tenci. The band seemed like they would be forever happy if they just kept traveling town to town talking about “snakes”. ”

Update 11/5/2022: Sass to open.

Tour Dates

Fri. Nov. 4 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Mon. Nov. 7 - Minneapolis, MN
Wed. Nov. 9 - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
Thu. Nov. 10 - Montreal, QC @ Casa de Popolo
Fri. Nov. 11 - Boston, MA @ Lilypad
Sat. Nov. 12 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Mon. Nov. 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Tue. Nov. 15 - Washington, DC @ DC9
Thu. Nov. 17 - Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
Fri. Nov. 18 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
Sat. Nov. 19 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village

11/09 Blu DeTiger with Tiffany Day at Fine Line

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Blu DeTiger

Tai Verdes Role Model Blu Detiger Tkay Maidza Del Water Gap Jelani Aryeh Isaac Dunbar …

11/09/2022 Wednesday

Blu DeTiger
with Tiffany Day
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Bass prodigy and burgeoning pop icon Blu DeTiger will kick off an extensive North American headline tour on November 3 at Royale in Boston. The tour will stop by the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on November 9.

Last month, Capitol Records released “Crash Course,” Blu’s collaboration with Biig Piig. Consequence of Sound said, “The appropriately-named ‘Crash Course’ moves at an electrifyingly quick pace, complete with DeTiger’s usual funk bass and some delightful auxiliary percussion. It’s refreshing to hear both artists turn the tempo notch high while retaining their respectively cool styles, always effortless and wonderfully stylish.”

Tiffany Day to open.

Blu DeTiger – 2022 North American Headline Tour Dates

11/3 Boston, MA Royale
11/4 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground Ballroom
11/5 Toronto, ON The Axis Club
11/7 Detroit, MI El Club
11/9 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line
11/11 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre
11/12 Salt Lake City, UT Soundwell
11/14 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
11/15 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
11/17 San Francisco, CA August Hall
11/18 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
11/19 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
11/21 San Diego, CA The Observatory North Park
11/22 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
11/25 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
11/26 Austin, TX Scoot Inn
11/28 Atlanta, GA Terminal West
11/29 Nashville, TN The Basement East
11/30 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
12/2 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
12/3 New York, NY Webster Hall

11/10 Ty Segall with Emmett Kelly at Fine Line

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Ty Segall

Man, the last time I saw Ty Segall, we were on a boat and Redd Kross’ Steve Mcdonald was on bass! There was maybe about 100 people on the small boat, and it was pretty rad. You can read all about it here: NXNE 2011 (Saturday). …

11/10/2022 Thursday

Ty Segall
with Emmett Kelly
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Ty Segall is back… this time in a special intimate acoustic solo tour. Segall was in Minneapolis, playing the much bigger venue First Avenue, with his full band, Ty Segall & Freedom Band on July 2022.

Ty Segall (09 Mar 2016)

We saw Ty Segall & The Muggers in Mar 2016, and wrote, “The ever-prolific Ty Segall is back with his latest creation: Ty Segall & the Muggers. With his eighth studio Emotional Mugger, album via Drag City Records, we see Ty Segall at his most experimental and more focused on setting a certain style and theme with the new album.”

Segall’s new album Hello,Hi is out now.

Emmett Kelly (from Cairo Gang ) to open.

Tour Dates

11/2/22 August Hall San Francisco CA
11/4/22 Star Theater Portland OR
11/5/22 Neumo's Seattle WA
11/10/22 Fine Line Minneapolis MN
11/11/22 Thalia Hall Chicago IL
11/12/22 Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit Detroit MI
11/13/22 Club Cafe Pittsburgh PA
11/15/22 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn NY
11/16/22 Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia PA
11/18/22 The Grey Eagle Asheville NC
11/19/22 Terminal West Atlanta GA
11/21/22 Hotel Vegas Austin TX

11/12 Let's Eat Grandma at 7th St Entry

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The Maine

Tempe's The Maine is touring for their fifth album American Candy (8123 Records)… Also, the band did "Let's Eat Grandma" quick intro before their biggest hit, "Right Girl" (which got confetti blown from above). ..

11/12/2022 Saturday

Let's Eat Grandma
with SYM1
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

British pop duo Let’s Eat Grandma (Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth) will be headlining the 7th Street Entry this November 12th.

We don’t know where the band got their name, but they probably stole it from The Maine, who has a song called “Let’s Eat Grandma”, which we heard at the Varsity Theater in 2015. That’s weird, right? You can hear the official recording of the track on YouTube.

Let’s Eat Grandma’s album Two Ribbons is out now.

Tour Dates

Mon. Sept. 19 - Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up du Label
Sun. Sept. 25 - Berlin, DE @ Hole 44
Wed. Sept. 28 - Hamburg, DE @ Knust
Fri. Sept. 30 - Brussels, BE @ Rotonde
Sat. Oct. 1 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Small
Thu. Oct. 6 - Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach
Fri. Oct. 7 - Manchester, UK @ Yes
Sat. Oct. 8 - Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall Thu. Oct. 13 - Newcastle, UK @ Cluny
Fri. Oct. 14 - Nottingham, UK @ Metronome
Sat. Oct. 15 - Birmingham, UK @ Space 54
Sun. Oct. 16 - Cambridge, UK @ Mash
Tue. Oct. 18 - Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Wed. Oct. 19 - London, UK @ Koko
Fri. Oct. 21 - Brighton, UK @ Patterns
Sat. Oct. 22 - Norwich, UK @ Epic
Tue. Nov. 1 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage
Wed. Nov. 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
Fri. Nov. 4 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Sat. Nov. 5 - Boston, MA @ Sinclair
Mon. Nov. 7 - Montreal, QB @ La Sala Rosa
Tue. Nov. 8 - Toronto, CA @ The Axis Club
Thu. Nov. 10 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Fri. Nov. 11 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
Sat. Nov. 12 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Mon. Nov. 14 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
Wed. Nov. 16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Fri. Nov. 18 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. Nov. 19 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Sun. Nov. 20 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Tue. Nov. 22 - San Francisco, CA @ Independent
Wed. Nov. 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater

11/13 Arcade Fire with Beck at Armory

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Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire w/ Kid Koala, Dan Deacon I'm still not clear on the dress up situation. The band required their fans to dress up in formalwear or costumes to attend their shows. ...

11/13/2022 Sunday

Arcade Fire
with Beck
at Armory
armorymn.com

Arcade Fire is on tour in support of WE, their sixth album.

Arcade Fire (08 Mar 2014)

We saw the band in March 2014 and wrote, “The band, which included conga drummers and a string section, then went through the next several numbers in rapid-fire succession (“C’mon, let’s go!”, Butler shouted), without pause, and with each song smoothly transitioning into the next, images flashing from the disco-mirrored stage onto the multi-hexagonal screens on either side.”

North American Tour 2022

10/28/22 - Washington, DC - The Anthem ^
11/01/22 - Camden, NJ - Waterfront Music Pavilion ^
11/04/22 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center ^
11/08/22 - Boston, MA - MGM Fenway Music Hall ^
11/10/22 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena ^
11/12/22 - Chicago, IL - United Center ^
11/13/22 - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory ^
11/16/22 - Los Angeles, CA - The Kia Forum ^
11/19/22 - San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^
11/22/22 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena ^
11/25/22 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena ^
11/27/22 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place ^
12/01/22 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena ^

* with special guest Feist
^ with special guest Beck (acoustic)

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

Posted at 12:00 AM in Arcade Fire, Beck, Blu DeTiger, Let's Eat Grandma, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Music Guide, Sym1, Tenci, Ty Segall | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/13/2022

Minneapolis: November 13 to November 15

11/13 Arcade Fire with Beck at Armory

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Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire w/ Kid Koala, Dan Deacon I'm still not clear on the dress up situation. The band required their fans to dress up in formalwear or costumes to attend their shows. ...

10/07/2021

Seeing Red

09/14/2017

U2 w/ Beck at US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis (08 Sept 2017) (Updated)

U2 Setlist

Intro: The Whole of the Moon (The Waterboys song)

Sunday Bloody Sunday
New Year's Day
Bad
w/ John and Yoko's "Give Peace a Chance" and Simon & Garfunkel "America" snippets
Pride (In the Name of Love)

The Joshua Tree

Where the Streets Have No Name
w/ "California (There Is No End to Love)" snippet

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
w/ The Beatles' "Come Together" snippet

With or Without You

Bullet the Blue Sky
w/ Edwin Starr's "War" and "America" (from West Side Story) snippets

Running to Stand Still

Red Hill Mining Town

In God's Country

Trip Through Your Wires

One Tree Hill

Exit
w/ lines from Flannery O'Connor's "Wise Blood"

Mothers of the Disappeared

-- Encore --

Beautiful Day
w/ Prince's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" snippet
Elevation
Vertigo
w/ Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" snippet
Mysterious Ways
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
One
w/ Prince's "Purple Rain" snippet
outro music: A Pair of Brown Eyes (The Pogues song)

Beck Setlist

Devils Haircut
Black Tambourine
Think I'm in Love
The New Pollution
Soul of a Man
Go It Alone
One Foot in the Grave
Lost Cause
Raspberry Beret (Prince cover)
acoustic
Wave
Loser
E-Pro
Where It's At

U2 Tour Dates

09/10/2017 Indianapolis, IN Lucas Oil Stadium
09/12/2017 Kansas City, MO Arrowhead Stadium
09/14/2017 New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz
09/16/2017 St. Louis, MO Dome At America's Center
09/19/2017 Glendale, AZ Univ. of Phoenix Stadium
09/22/2017 San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium
10/03/2017 Mexico City, Mexico Foro Sol
10/04/2017 Mexico City, Mexico Foro Sol
10/07/2017 Bogota, Colombia Estadio El Campin
10/10/2017 La Plata, Argentina Estadio Unico
10/11/2017 La Plata, Argentina Estadio Unico
10/14/2017 Santiago, Chile Estadio Nacional
10/19/2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil Estadio Cicero

Read More

With yesterday's announcement of Apple Watch and iPhone 6, Irish band U2 made a surprise concert appearance to close out Apple's event. They also made it known that U2's latest album Songs of Innocence …

Beck

So you like Beck and was thinking about picking up Odelay (1996). Well don't! Wait until January 29, 2008, because there's a Deluxe 2-disc version coming out. More details on our press page …

Arguably, the world’s best live band, U2 brought their Joshua Tree 30^th Anniversary Tour to a crowded US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, carrying their almost forty-year old playbook, along with them.

The two-year old football stadium, site of this season’s Super Bowl, has only hosted a small handful of concerts, with expectedly mixed results as the floor and some of the lower levels sound generally decent, while the higher levels and side of the venue with the glass walls (instead of concrete) are notoriously boomy and echo-filled.

Curtains draped behind the stage and up top (as Coldplay did) do seem to help the overall acoustics, but a more consistent fix is needed, based on numerous social media comments. Additionally, the entry process remains as or more challenging as a major airport, with long lines, sometimes confusing signing, and under-trained employee ambassadors. That said, 50,000 of your friends and neighbors still made the trip in for a show that certainly had its nostalgic and transformative moments, though was not as memorable and in the end, redeeming as the band’s last visit in the rain in 2011.

The evening began 15-20 min past the scheduled start time (thankfully to accommodate the masses still entering) with Beck, opening ahead of his long-awaited album, Colors (Capitol Records, due out Oct 13). “It’s been a long time since we’ve been here” he said towards the set’s end, maybe not realizing that he and the seven-piece band (which includes Jellyfish members Roger Manning and Jason Falkner) had just played across the river in St. Paul, less than a month ago.

As a result, his 47 min. set was mostly hit-filled and without any new album tracks, though started strongly with ‘Devil’s Haircut’ and ‘Black Tambourine’. Breaking out his Sonny Terry-esque harmonica for ‘One Foot in the Grave’ was an early highlight, juxtaposed by the sullen, slower ‘Lost Cause’ that would follow it, then breaking setlist for an acoustic ‘Raspberry Beret’ cover (“Can I just do something here?” he asked). Stretching out ‘Where It’s At’ and getting the crowd to jump along to the chorus to end things, set the table perfectly for the headliner to come.

As the scrolling American poetry on the screen (by the likes of Whitman, Sandburg, and Kate Hoyle) and intro music of The Waterboys faded, U2 took to the stage for their third show on the third leg of the current tour, marking their twelfth time in playing in the metro, dating back to a memorable 1981 first local show at Uncle Sam’s (now First Avenue). Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. strode out alone to the jutted Joshua Tree-shaped second stage, with the rest of the band to follow, playing the first four songs like they did before all of the fame and technology, alone on a bare stage and close to the audience.

The stage itself was massive, highlighted by a 7.6K resolution 45ft tall x 200ft wide curved screen, that wouldn’t be activated until the re-creation of the seminal album, with expansive visuals compliments of longtime video collaborator Anton Corbijn. The band (Mullen, bassist Adam Clayton, guitarist The Edge) can be said to be playing better than ever, with Bono is mostly good voice, though is now speak-singing some lines in a lower register that saps some of the urgency of the original songs, while still retaining their overall effectiveness.

Beginning with radio favorites, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘New Year's Day’, ‘Bad’, and ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’, this would be the only time ‘I Will Follow’ (which would have been an ideal fit) would not be played at a concert here. Bono’s message of love and healing was preached from the beginning, “we hold on tightly to some things… and let go of others… I need to.” he said leading into ‘Bad’.

Each of the four then walked back to the main stage, its video backdrop activated with a red sky and tree silhouette and The Edge’s signature infinite guitar riff marking the beginning chords of their seminal 1987 album. The Joshua Tree (Island Records) was re-released this year, with additional content and served as the band’s reason for going on the road, and served as a break as they finished the new album, Songs of Experience.

‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ still impacts like a right cross and the crowd responded with added energy, which continued as the record’s front-loaded singles, one hit after another. No extra verse unfortunately for ‘With or Without You’, though the crowd helped with the “whoahs” and ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’ remains as incendiary as ever.

For the longtime fan (I’ve seen every U2 tour since 1985), the real reward was hearing the meat of the album- ‘Red Hill Mining Town’ played for the first time ever on this tour and backed by Corbijn’s stunning images of a Salvation Army backing band; ‘One Tree Hill’ which still soars and dedicated on this night to friend Gavin Friday’s mother Anne, who has recently passed; and a dark, poignant ‘Exit’ (with Bono stalking as The Shadow Man), prefaced by a 1950’s TV clip from the western Trackdown, showing a con man named Trump promising to build a wall and Bono reciting lines from author Flannery O’ Connor.

With no time for the album’s B-sides (‘Luminous Times’ and ‘Spanish Eyes’, please), the six-song encore began with the brightness of ‘Beautiful Day’ (and a fitting Prince snippet worked in) and the chugging drone of ‘Elevation’. “Anyone for some Spanish lessons?”, Bono asked intro-ing ‘’Vertigo’ working in a stilted verse of Prince’s ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ to cap the song (Bono may have soul… but not as much funk). The brand new song the band debuted the night before on TV was hoped for as part of the encore, but wasn’t worked in, until the next shows in Indianapolis and Kansas City, so Bono grabbed a dancing Parisian from the crowd instead, for a swinging ‘Mysterious Ways’.

Women were celebrated on-screen for ‘Ultraviolet’, with a visual ode to many famous names and even a few locals (ex-Mpls Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, Sharing and Caring Hands’ Mary Jo Copeland) were inserted in and ‘One’ brought everything full circle into togetherness, with Bono working ‘Purple Rain’ into the end chorus and dedicating “the evening to the memory eternal of Prince Rogers Nelson”.

The night ended with Bono circling back to his initial message, with the songs adapting themselves into what the country reflects today- that America is an idea, an idea that still holds its yet-untapped full potential and remains a light that leads in the dark. U2 still strongly admires the landscape they discovered and were embraced by, over thirty years ago, and provides some hope in their timeless album, that darker days will soon be just a shadow in the forest.

Beck

U2 Backdrop

Beck

Larry Mullen Jr

Adam Clayton

The Edge

Bono

U2 at US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis (08 Sept 2017)

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

Posted at 07:50 PM in Beck, John, Minneapolis, Prince, U2, US Bank Stadium | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/09/2017

Minneapolis: August 14 to August 18, 2017

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from August 14 to August 18, 2017.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

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Belle & Sebastian

Our favorite Scottish band Belle & Sebastian is releasing Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance tomorrow, January 20th, via Matador Records, their first new record since 2010's Write About Love. ...

BELLE & SEBASTIAN
at Palace Theatre
Tuesday 08/15/17 (7pm/$40)
palacestpaul.com

Our favorite Scottish band Belle and Sebastian will be returning to Minnesota this Tuesday, August 15th, at the new Palace Theatre. The last time we saw B&S, they played Rock the Garden 2015... and it was a sight to behold! See our photograph of the stage near the end of their set: photo

The band recently released a new single called ‘We Were Beautiful’, written in 2016, but finally officially released on digital format only. I won’t buy digital, and full confession: I own everything B&S released on Jeepster and Matador Records. I prefer seeing them sit on my book shelf.

Memphis’ Julien Baker will open.

Tour Dates:

08/10 San Francisco – Outside Lands, Independent
08/11 San Francisco, – Outside Lands
08/13 Missoula, Red Sky Brewing Festival
08/15 St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
08/16 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
08/17 Louisville, KY – Iroquois Amphitheater
08/19 Omaha, NE. Maha Festival
09/01 Netherlands, Utrecht, Vrendenburg
09/02 Netherlands, Vileland, Into The Great Wide Open
10/04 Tokyo, Zepp University
10/05 Osaka, Big Cat
10/07 Asagiri, Asagiri Jam, Rainbow Stage

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Howard Jones

You know, we've already mentioned how much we love Howard Jones. He'll be stopping by the Fine Line Music Café as part of his "The Songs, The Piano & The Stories'" tour. .....

English Beat

Here's a tour teamup that can't be beat: English Beat with The Paul Collins Beat tour! The tagteam ends at the Mill Cit Nights in Minneapolis, but the English Beat continues on their tour in Missouri. .....

Men Without Hats

After forty years, Men Without Hats, are still an excellent band. Known in America as a one-hit-wonder band for "Safety Dance", but I have to say, I love them anyway.

Katrina Leskanich

Katrina Leskanich kicks off her North American tour next week in support of her latest solo album entitled Blisland (Listen to Blisland streaming via Popmatters.) The album is her first collection ....

RETRO FUTURA TOUR
at State Theatre
Thursday 08/17/17 (7pm/$53)
hennepintheatretrust.org

What a great lineup for this so-called “Retro Futura Tour”! We love all these bands, having seen many of them throughout the years.

However, if you’re not familiar with these guys, I’ll summarize them:

We previously saw Katrina (from Katrina and the Waves) in April 2015 and wrote, “For her set, which just ran over an hour, Leskanich and band played many of her 80s favorites as well as introduced most of the mostly baby boomer-aged crowd, to some of her newer solo material. The NYC backing threesome brought a rough and gritty feel to the music, though thankfully most of the older Katrina and the Waves favorites were done as authentically as possible, instead of re-interpreted.”

English songwriter Paul Young is famous for his single ‘Love of the Common People’ and ‘Everything Must Change’.

New wave Modern English had a huge hit with ‘I Melt With You’ (you may have heard it on a Burger King commercial, sadly).

Most people will know Men Without Hats as the band that sang ‘The Safety Dance’. We love them so much, we flew to Canada to see them play at SXSW 2011.

Co-headliner is the legendary ska/punk band The English Beat... They actually have a new album (in over three decades!) called Here We Go Love. Rolling Stone called the new record “savagely witty as Elvis Costello”.

Closing the show will be Howard Jones. I may have mentioned that he’s known for ‘What Is Love?’, but was quickly reminded that he’s known for ‘Things Can Only Get Better’.

Retro Futura Tour

Aug 09 State Theater- New Brunswick, NJ
Aug 10 Dunkin Donuts Center- Providence, RI
Aug 11 Borgata Casino- Atlantic City, NJ
Aug 12 Oakdale- Wallingford, CT
Aug 13 Times Union Center- Albany, NY
Aug 14 Lynn Auditorium- Lynn, MA
Aug 17 State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
Aug 18 Star Plaza Theater (Chicago)- Merrillville, IN*
Aug 19 Family Arena (St. Louis)- St. Charles, MO*

Howard Jones, The English Beat, Men Without Hats, Modern English, Paul Young, Katrina (* signifies no Paul Young. Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow on line-up)

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Shakey Graves

Austin, TX’s Shakey Graves (aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia) immediately followed on the Stars stage, starting and ending his set as a solo artist, but accompanied by a full band, in-between. …

Beck

So you like Beck and was thinking about picking up Odelay (1996). Well don't! Wait until January 29, 2008, because there's a Deluxe 2-disc version coming out. More details on our press page …

Other shows in the area:

08/14/2017 Nashville’s Blank Range will be stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul to promote their debut album Marooned With The Treasure (Sturdy Girls Records/Thirty Tigers). Co-headlining will be Nick Eagon and Stone Arch Isles. 8pm, $8.

08/15/2017 Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires will be playing the 7th Street Entry this Tuesday. The band recently released their album Youth Detention, a double LP spanning 17 songs. Eleganza! and The Bad Man to open. 8pm, $10.

08/15/2017 Shakey Graves returns to First Avenue on Tuesday... bringing with them David Ramirez. The show is sold out. 7pm, $22/Sold Out.

08/16/2017 Scottish Celtic rock band Skerryvore will be stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center for a rare appearance. The band’s last release Decade came out in 2015. Andy Cook to open. 7pm, $18.

08/17/2017 Beck sold out the Palace Theatre. He hasn’t been to MN in a long time, but we saw him at Coachella, so all is good. No opening band announced. If you couldn’t get tickets to this show, he’ll be back with U2 in September. 6:30pm, $50/Sold Out.

08/17/2017 Chicago indie-rockers The Kickback will be playing the 7th Street Entry in support of their PledgeMusic sophomore record. The Usual Things and Candid Kid to open. door 7pm, $12.

08/17/2017 When not playing with Bruce Springsteen or as bandleader for Conan O’Brien, Max Weinberg is billing himself as Max Weinberg's Jukebox on tour. He’ll play the Dakota Jazz Club this Thursday. 7pm, $45.

08/18/2017 Michael Franti is back at the Cabooze Plaza, with Satsang. 5:30pm, $40.

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

Posted at 10:24 PM in Andy Cook, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, Blank Range, Bobaflex, Candid Kid, Eleganza, English Beat, Howard Jones, Julien Baker, Katrina and the Waves, Lee Bains III, Max Weinberg, Men Without Hats, Michael Franti, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Music Guide, Modern English, Nick Eagon, Paul Young, Satsang, Shakey Graves, Skerryvore, The Bad Man, The Kickback, The Usual Things | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/27/2014

Sleeper Hits

Morning Phase

Capitol (Universal)

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Beck

So you like Beck and was thinking about picking up Odelay (1996). Well don't! Wait until January 29, 2008, because there's a Deluxe 2-disc version coming out. More details on our press page …

BECK
beck.com

We all know Beck, the dude needs no introduction. I first saw him on MTV's 120 Minutes and he looked like some kid with his guitar back then.... When MTV started playing "Loser", we knew that song would be a massive hit for him.

Anyway, I have actually seen Beck live at Coachella in 1999. Unfortunately, by the nature of these large music festival, he looked like a tiny figure on stage and it was just not a good experience for me. I would love to see him in a more intimate venue, but alas those days are long gone.

Beck's new album Morning Phase came out this week (Tuesday, February 25th), and already critics like NPR is calling it basically Sea Change part two.

You can currently hear the "Waking Light" on npr.org.

Beck is returning to Coachella this year.

04/13/14 Coachella
04/20/14 Coachella
04/26/14 KDGE 102.1 EdgeFest
07/18/14 Pitchfork Music Festival
09/04/14 Bestival

in today already walks tomorrow

Monotreme Records

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Karnivool

When asked where the name "Karnivool" came from, guitarist Drew said: That's one question I can never answer very well, as the name Karnivool was around …

SLEEPMAKESWAVES
sleepmakeswaves.com

sleepmakeswaves (all lowercase) will be heading out on tour in Europe this April and May.

Maybe I'm just a very judgmental person, but whenever I see weird punctuations / capitalizations / poorly misspelled words, I just think the band is very young. Of course, this is coming from someone who uses ♥ as a verb....

Anyway, this Australian quartet debut in 2008 and by 2011 was nominated an ARIA Award for their debut album And So We Destroyed Everything.

sleepmakeswaves new album in today already walks tomorrow will be out this April 8, 2014, on Monotreme Records. Please note this album was originally released in 2012 by another record label.

Tour dates:

04/17 Belgium Hasselt - Muziek O Droom
04/18 Switzerland Bulle - Ebulition
04/19 Belgium Zottegem - Dunk! Festival
04/20 Switzerland Geneva - Graviere
04/22 Spain Barcelona - Razzmatazz
04/23 Spain Madrid - Moby Dick
04/24 France La Coopérative de mai
04/26 France Dunkerque - 4 Ecluses
04/27 Germany Karlsruhe - Jubez
04/30 Sweden Gothenburg - Fangelsets
05/01 Sweden Orebro - Slöjdgatan
05/05 Poland Wroclaw - Klub Hydrozagadka
05/06 Hungary Budapest - Durer Kert
05/07 Czech Republic Praha - NoD Theater
05/08 Germany Stuttgart - Juha West
05/09 Germany Hannover - Cafe Glocksee
05/10 UK London - Beyond the Redshift Festival

Forever Home

Decades Records

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Surfer Blood

"This is our seventh time in Minneapolis," stated singer John Pitts from Surfer Blood, making their stop at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis last night, Sunday, October 13th. …

WAKE UP
whywakeup.bandcamp.com

Speaking of lowercase, wake up is a four piece rock band from Lake Worth, Florida.

Their debut 7", 'Forever Home', is said to be a three song collection (a fourth song, "Again", is available but only as a digital bonus track) with homage and styling of 90s rock, but without the whole 'grunge revival' thing. The songs are said to be more in tuned with Stephen Malkumus (Pavement) or Doug Martsch (Built to Spill). So... slacker rock it is...

The 7" is coming out March 11, 2014.

Tour Dates with Surfer Blood:

02.25 - The Space - Hamden, CT
02.26 - Iron Horse - Northampton, MA
02.27 - The Saint - Asbury Park, NJ
02.28 - Baby's All Right - Brooklyn, NY
03.01 - Glasslands - Brooklyn, NY
03.02 - The Southern - Charlottesville, VA
03.03 - Camel - Richmond, VA
03.04 - Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC
03.05 - Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville, FL

Minutes of Sleep

Scissor and Thread

FRANCIS HARRIS
facebook.com/adultnapper

Brooklyn-based producer Francis Harris released his new album Minutes of Sleep this week (February 25th).

To support the new album, Francis will be playing some dates, particularly San Diego, and Brooklyn.

Francis Harris tour dates:

02/27/2014 TBD San Diego California
02/28/2014 Panther Room/Output Brooklyn
03/01/2014 TBD Boston Massachusetts
04/05/2014 Warung Beach Club Brazil
04/11/2014 Cuenca Ecuador
04/12/2014 Quito, Eccuador
04/17/2014 Zurich
04/18/2014 TBD Belgrade, Serbia
04/21/2014 TBD London, UK

About Last Night

RCA Records/Mom + Pop

SLEEPER AGENT
sleeperagentmusic.com

About Last Night is the upcoming album from Sleeper Agent. The album is set for release March 25th on RCA Records/Mom + Pop. You can preview their track "Waves" over at YouTube.

This Kentucky's current lineup is Alex Kandel (vocals), Tony Smith (guitar, vocals), Justin Wilson (drums), Lee Williams (bass), Scott Gardner (keys), and Josh Martin (guitar).

Sleeper Agent's next appearance will be at Shaky Knees Music Festival on May 9th, 2014.

Dull Days

Sleepy Hahas

SLEEPY HAHAS
facebook.com/sleepyhahas

New York's garage rock four-piece Sleepy Hahas just released their title track from their upcoming debut album Dull Days, coming out on May 12th.

They describe the song as gritty guitars with 'catchy hooks'.

Hear it from yourself on Soundcloud.

No Turn Before The Shoreline

Primary Records

SLEEPERS WORK
sleeperswork.net

Sleepers Work (otherwise known as Bill Flynn) has a debut album called No Turn Before The Shoreline coming out March 11, 2014, on Primary Records.

No Turn Before The Shoreline was a work of art through a period of six months. Flynn explained the time passage, "I would just grab a sound, start pitching it, pulling it, looping it, messing with the attack and release. I found the specific moments I liked, and then moved on to grabbing the next layer in the same way."

Praise Elephants

The Persian Leaps

THE PERSIAN LEAPS
thepersianleaps.com

The Persian Leaps are not from Persia, but from St Paul (Minneapolis' Twin City), Minnesota. The band described themselves as noise pop and they seem to be fairly new.

They first sent me "Sleepless" from their debut EP Praise Elephants (which missed my Elephants article because they didn't put 'elephants' in their subject header). Thankfully, they put 'Sleepless' in their email.

Live dates:

Apr 03 Kitty Cat Klub Minneapolis, MN
Apr 18 Hexagon Bar Minneapolis, MN
May 30 Cause Spirits & Soundbar Minneapolis, MN

Happiness Was a Light Sleeper

La Belle Records

HERR STYLER
facebook.com/herrstylerofficial‎

Herr Styler is a band from Paris, France. Their latest work is Happiness Was a Light Sleeper, which is an EP (three tracks, totaling 19 minutes) released earlier this month (February 3rd) on La Belle Records.

Already France's "Les Inrockuptibles" put the band on their 12 "Acts to Watch in 2014" article.

Hear the lead track, "Necklace Forest":

Slow No Wake

GoldFlakePaint

SLOW NO WAKE
slow-no-wake.bandcamp.com

Slow No Wake is the musical project of multi-instrumentalist Adam Theron-Lee Rensch. Rensch started his music career as a guitarist in a local metal band when he was 16. His musical exploration lead him to discovering classical, folk, 60s pop, and jazz.... among his biggest influence are Spiritualized, Can, Built to Spill, and Mazzy Star.

Rensch wrote over 100 songs in ten years, but never considered to release them: "I never thought about pursuing music seriously. I just made music because I enjoyed it. Then all of sudden people were contacting me, asking me if I had an album they could buy."

Last December, he took nine songs about "love, mortality, and time" and put it together on his self-titled album Slow No Wake on GoldFlakePaint.

City of Hearts

Minty Fresh

SLEEP THIEVES
facebook.com/wearesleepthieves

Sleep Thieves is a trio (Sorcha Brennan, Wayne Fahy, and Keith Byrne) from Dublin, Ireland.

The synthy band's second single "City of Hearts", just came out this week (February 25) on via Minty Fresh. The Rian Trench mixed track is describe as "haunting, dreamy, cinematic vocals".

"City of Hearts" is taken from their upcoming album You Want The Night, due out this Spring.

Hear the song now:

Sleep

B3SCI Records

MISUN
facebook.com/MisunBand

Misun (pronounced 'me sun') is a four-piece band from Los Angeles. If you were wondering about their name, it's taken from the singer's name Misun Mojcik.

The band is self-described their sound as 'aquawave', a form of traditional pop, but with 60s rock & roll and a dash of hip hop and dance.

The band's latest release is a 7" single called "Sleep", which came out last week (February 18th) on B3SCI Records.

vu (

) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Posted at 10:19 PM in Beck, Francis Harris, Herr Styler, Misun, Persian Leaps, Sleep Thieves, Sleeper Agent, Sleepers Work, sleepmakeswaves, Sleepy Hahas, Slow No Wake | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/28/2013

Saturday Night in Minneapolis (June 29th, 2013)

It's busy busy busy this Saturday, June 29th, in Minneapolis!

Read More

Caveman

Caveman's first release "Coco Beware" reached my ears in early 2012 and I knew from that point on that they'd not only be a personal favorite of mine, but affect other people similarlyâ€¦

ROGUE WAVE
roguewavemusic.com

You know, I have often mistaken this California band for Minneapolis' own Rogue Valley. Rogue Wave is basically Zach Rogue (vocals, guitar) with Patrick Spurgeon (drummer) and various band members.

Originally signed to Sup Pop, but currently with the release of Nightingale Floors on June 4th, 2013, is through Vagrant Records.

The band is currently on tour in support of the new record.

06/28/13 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
06/29/13 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe
06/30/13 Summerfest
07/12/13 San Francisco, CA The Independent
07/13/13 San Francisco, CA The Independent
07/16/13 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
07/17/13 Seattle, WA Neumos
07/18/13 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
07/20/13 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
07/21/13 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern

The Minneapolis date (Saturday, June 29th) at the Fine Line Music CafÃ© will feature Caveman for support.

Read More

Portland Cello Project

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 PCPâ€¦

PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT
portlandcelloproject.com

These guys are pretty fun, Portland Cello Project (PCP), the last few times I saw them, and they like to play heavy metal on cello.

I guess their latest project is working on the "Beck's Song Reader".

Check out one of their songs:

The good news is that PCP is currently on tour with Laura Gibson - who I saw last year and absolutely love her "La Grande" song.

Portland Cello Project, featuring Laura Gibson on tour:

06/28 Chicago, IL - The Hideout
06/29 Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar
07/01 Bozeman, MT - The Filling Station
07/12 DANCE PARTY MADNESS
07/13 DANCE PARTY MADNESS
08/14 Seattle, WA - Two Union Square
08/15 Bellingham, WA - The Wild Buffalo

TWIN CITIES PRIDE FESTIVAL
tcpride.org

The 41st Annual Twin Cities Pride Festival is happening this weekend, Sat & Sun, June 29 & 30, 2013, at Minneapolis' Loring Park.

This year's theme:

Twin Cities PRIDE is pleased to announce the theme for the 2013 PRIDE Festival: "I HAVE PRIDE". In honor of the continued support for equality and inclusiveness in Minnesota for GLBT rights, Twin Cities PRIDE will be concentrating the 2013 festival theme on raising awareness for individuals' dedication to its 6 pillars - Strength, Enthusiasm, Happiness, Growth, Confidence and Power.

Festival admission is free, however an "ID Check and Beer Garden" wristband will set you back $5. If you want to watch the "Pride in Concert Headline Show", tickets are $10(advance) and $20 (door).

2013 Pride Festival Entertainment Lineup

Loring Stage: Main Stage
Hosted by Helen Back
Saturday
11:45am - Strange Names
12:40pm - Wiping out Thousands
1:40pm - Duck Duck Punch
2:35pm - RJ & The Soul
3:30pm - Wicked Wenches Cabaret
4:25pm - TIGER VS.
5:30pm - Gates Open

PRIDE IN CONCERT
Hosted by Bradley Traynor
Starring L'Assassins
The New Standards
Neon Hitch
Nina Sky

Sunday
12:00pm - Southside Desire
12:45pm - June Bug
1:25pm - Matt Iverson
1:50pm - Freedom Jazz! Big Band
2:35pm - Buffalo Moon
3:15pm - Brent
3:35pm - Roxxy Hall Band
4:25pm - Keri Noble
5:15pm - Closing Celebration

Rainbow Stage
Up Close and Personal
Hosted By Martina Marraccino

Saturday
12:00pm - Jeremy Neiderer
12:30pm - JACKSEE
1:25pm - McIntyre Stoudt Jazz Duo
2:20pm - Fuzzy Machete
3:15pm - JACKSEE
4:00pm - Yansen Marie
5:00pm - Three Nuns and a Gun

Sunday
12:30pm - Chris Bargmann
1:15pm - Marx and the Yogis
2:15pm - Hounds of Finn
3:20pm - Jeffrey Goodson
4:00pm - Pennyroyal
4:45pm - Drew Klinkert
5:30pm - Parental Advisory

Stonewall Stage
A Drag Extravaganza!
Presented by SCENE Magazine
Hosted by Ravonna Belladonna & Evie Blank

Saturday
12:00pm - Saint Cloud Drag Troop
1:00pm - Friends of Pride "JACKSEE"
2:00pm - Majestics
3:00pm - Dragged Out
4:00pm - B.J. Armani's Cabaret
5:00pm - Spotlight Performances
(Featuring Comedian Kristin Anderson)

Sunday
12:30pm - Friends of Pride
1:00pm - St Cloud Drag Troupe
2:00pm - April's Talent Showcase
3:00pm - Elegance Show
4:00pm - Imperial Court of MN
5:00pm - Friends of Pride

P2P Stage
A Multi Cultural Experience
Presented by RARE Productions
MCs: RARE Productions, Paradise Valentio
DJs

Saturday
11:00am - Opening Ceremony
12:00pm - Sol's Showcase
1:00pm - Bloomer Beatbox
1:30pm - Bad Medicine Review
2:30pm - RARE Review
2:45pm - BE STEADWELL
3:45pm - Mayda Miller
4:30pm - Sotaboyzz Ent.
5:30pm - Soulacious

Sunday
11:30am - Opening
12:00pm - Pigpen's Delight
12:30pm - RARE Review
1:00pm - Toni Foxx: LABEL KILLER
2:00pm - Infamous T
2:30pm - UNL Drum Line
2:45pm - BE STEADWELL
3:45pm - Soul Beautiful
5:00pm - The Chalice
5:30pm - What Tyrants
5:45pm - Stage Close

TEEN STAGE
Hosted by McNally Smith College

Saturday
12:00pm - Battle of the Bands
3:30pm - inIrie
4:30pm - City of the Weak
5:30pm - Battle of the Bands Winner
6:00pm - Dance

Sunday
12:30pm - Umbrella Bed
2:00pm - Variety Show/Open Mike
4:00pm - Drunk History

vu (

) â™¥ weheartmusic.com

Posted at 03:36 PM in Beck, Caveman, Fuzzy Machete, Laura Gibson, Rogue Wave, The Portland Cello Project, Vu | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/23/2012

Harvest Presents - Parramatta Park, Sydney - November 17th 2012

When a friend asked me to Harvest Festival in 2011, I gave an answer that many of you who are a bit older can relate to, that is, that I wasnâ€™t into festivals anymore. In my mind festivals were for people who liked to wear clothing displaying the Aussie flag (which theyâ€™d often take off during the day) and who were willing to stand in long lines for smelly toilets and crappy, overpriced food and booze. But lured by a line-up of golden oldies and golden not-so-oldies I allowed myself to be dragged out west to Parramatta Park, and boy was I was impressed, the acts were great, the quirky setup was brilliant and I donâ€™t think I stood in a line for anything for long enough to notice that I was in a line. With an equally eclectic and awesome line-up was announced for 2012 I was keen to go back to see if it could meet that same standard.

First up on the windmill Stage (the second biggest) I checked out a few songs from Dexys Midnight Runners or simply â€œDexysâ€, as they are now known. I wasnâ€™t sure what I was expecting (denim overalls maybe?), but it was a charismatic and fun performance from what I saw and it was a bit of a shame to miss â€˜Come on Eileenâ€™ after heading off to the Great Lawn (the main stage) to see the Dandy Warhols. No doubt large parts of the crowd (myself included) have a big soft spot for the Dandys, particularly at their early noughties power- pop perfection peak, and Iâ€™ve seen them several times over the years. A friend later told me he thought their hearts werenâ€™t really in it, but I didnâ€™t really get that; I thought their form was good. Maybe it wasnâ€™t their best ever, maybe they were not so happy to be playing early in the afternoon, maybe they were still suffering a bit from a big night at World Bar the night before. Maybe they should have kept that last part to themselves. Then again theyâ€™re not from Sydney, they probably donâ€™t know any better than going to World Bar.

A quick dash back to the Windmill stage got us up pretty close to the Silversun Pickups. Like many, Iâ€™ve been a fan of these guys and gals since first hearing the opening bars of â€˜Lazy Eyeâ€™ many moons ago now. To say they were impressive and were well received is a huge understatement. They looked great (and like they were having a great time), sounded tight and with Brian Aubertâ€™s distinctive and screeching voice and 90â€™s-esque power chords it was one of the highlights of the day.

Now Mike Patton is a god and everyone who says otherwise is clearly lame, but despite the bucket loads of talent on the stage it seemed that many people found it a little difficult to get into Mondo Caneâ€™s orchestral versions of old pop songs sung in Italian. True diversity is one the strengths of Mr Patton and Harvest festival in general, but I was just internally sooking a bit that I was watching Mike Patton but not watching Faith No Moreâ€¦. or Mr Bungleâ€¦. or Peeping Tom.

I wasnâ€™t really fussed between Cake and Ben Folds Five and at the suggestion of the people I was with, I stuck around at the main stage to see Cake. In hindsight it was probably the wrong choice. I donâ€™t know why but I just couldnâ€™t get into it, Iâ€™ve read and heard many describe it as a surprising highlight but their newish, more country sounding material (which was by far the majority of their set) didnâ€™t do a lot for me. There was also a bit of a rant about their former record company, I mean, a rant about record companies? I know Harvest is aimed at an older demographic but please, it isnâ€™t 1996 anymore, and if youâ€™ve got a profile like Cake why would you even need a record company?

Beck was next up on the main stage and with the sun going down he delivered a stomping set that had everyone up on their feet. He played all the well-known stuff for the casual fans as well as some more obscure numbers, all delivered with a raucous swagger. Everyone I could see was moved, literally and figuratively. At the top of his game.

Back at the smaller stage we managed to catch the back half of Grizzly Bear next and, as expected, the harmonies were seamless; theyâ€™re a fantastically talented group that deserve all their success and, importantly, can deliver live. Fab.

W♥M147 (41 mins)

The choice between Sigur Ros and Santigold to close out the day was like choosing your favourite childâ€¦ you know, if those children were full grown fantastically-talented performers who youâ€™d never met before. Iâ€™ve appreciated Sigur Ros since ÃgÃ¦tis byrjun and there probably isnâ€™t a more beautiful, atmospheric and ambient band around. Then again Iâ€™ve loved the offbeat, catchy, electroclash synthy goodness of Santigold since her debut; nothing has drowned out horrible gym music and got many of us exercising this year like her Master of My Make Believe album. Deciding we wanted an upbeat finish to the day to Santigold we went. Iâ€™ll just say â€œwowâ€; the costume changes, the moves of her backup dancers (and a backup dancing horse) and the sheer simple freaking hook-y fun of it all. Not one person in the crowd stopped dancing the whole set and most of the way to the train station too, where we met up with friends who had seen Sigur Ros and were on a similar high (though one which involved less dancing). So it seems there really wasnâ€™t a wrong decision of who to see last.

Just on the train station though, someone clearly hadnâ€™t factored in the reasonably-obvious fact that there might beâ€¦ oh a few thousand extra people there at 10.30 on a Saturday night, so it was pretty unpleasant ride home for many. That was literally the only problem with the day.

Oh wait, at one point I saw a guy with his shirt off, drinking bourbon. But apart from those two things it was pretty awesome.

http://www.harvestfestival.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/HarvestPresents

Lincoln and Matt

Posted at 03:56 PM in Beck, Dexys Midnight Runners, Harvest Festival, Mike Patton, Mondo Cane, Santigold, Sigur Ros, The Dandy Warhols | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/30/2012

W♥M138: Nineties Revival

W♥M138 (50 mins)

Sally and Vu remembers (or tries to forget) the nineties.

Upcoming music festivals:

• Splendour in the Grass: Jack White, Smashing Pumpkins, At the Drive-In, The Shins, Mudhoney, Lana Del Rey, Dirty Three, Afghan Whigs, Bloc Party, The Kooks, Gossip
• Harvest Festival: Beck, Sigur Ros, Mike Patton's Mondo Cane, Grizzly Bears, Ben Fold Fives, Cake
• Fat As Butter: Wheatus,Good Charlotte, Pond, Mystery Jets, Yellowcard

Nineties revivals:

• Blur to unveil two new songs via @blurofficial. Blur to release BLUR 21: The Box, 21-disc Deluxe Box Set including all 7 studio albums, plus b-sides, and a Seymour 7".
• The Stone Roses reformed and currently on tour in the UK
• Ride, or at least Mark Gardener, rides again. Underground Lovers and Sky Parade to open for him in Australia.
• The Afghan Whigs on tour in Australia
• Spiritualized's Sweet Heart Sweet Light
• Song of the show is "Hey Jane" by Spiritualized

W♥M Radio is available on iTunes, please subscribe!

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____
Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com

vu (

) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Posted at 03:09 AM in Afghan Whigs, Beck, Festivals, Podcast, Sally, Smashing Pumpkins, The Afghan Whigs, Vu, White Stripes | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/06/2009

Top 2008 Lists

Top 5 Albums of 2008

Beach House - Heart Of Chambers

Beach House

I wrote in my blog (I blog) the other day about my frustration with making “top” lists (even though I had made the suggestion to Vu). Music, like any art form, is so openly subjective that any attempt at creating a definitive “best” list is hopelessly, well, hopeless. So I present to you my purely personal Top 5 of 2008 compilations. Take it or leave it (but please take it, and love me too).

1. Beach House – Devotion

Their first album was nice. Occasionally heavy-lidded and aimless (as in, the mind wanders when listening), but nice, certainly a curious take on dream pop. Then Devotion came out and it was like Beach House even further demented the dreamy stargaze domain, in, you know, a really, really attractive way. With Victoria’s sad, velvet voice (not at all, never ever cute, for godsake), the off-putting pace, the hollow beat, the moodiness, the sometimes romantic/sometimes painful lyrics, the harpsichord, that Daniel Johnston cover…it just works. How often do all the pieces fall into place? It may never happen again. Enjoy, Beach House.

2. The Raveonettes – Lust Lust Lust

So the Raveonettes are getting fuzzier and less defined, and moving further from those neo-noir 60s Phil Spector-inspired melodies into darker territory. Darker, louder territory. Like, seriously loud. I’d probably be less impressed with this album if it wasn’t for the sheer enormity of sound. Every song has a kind of feverish build-up; by the end it’s bye-bye future hearing, hello creepy weird aural enlightenment, or something.

3. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Real Emotional Trash

What I like about Real Emotional Trash is that it combines the best of the Pavement core—bizarre/absurdist lyrics and sprawling noise/extended “jammin’/freak deaky guitar rifts. This album sounds very Malkmus; it isn’t the work of a middle-aged rocker desperate to fit in one last reinvention and prove to the twenty-somethings that he’s “still got it.” No, Malkmus hardly seems concerned with too much change; he may choose different directions with each of his solo albums, but there’s always a comfortable familiarity. (And, for the record, he’s definitely still got it.)

Santogold-L.E.S Artistes

The Magnetic Fields-Too Drunk to Dream

4. Santogold – Santogold

Let’s just get the obvious out of the way: yes, she reminds you of M.I.A. Sure, Santogold sings through her nose, loves a crazy beat, and is scarily supa fly (intimidating to the average-looking), but if you actually listen to her album you’ll realize that she ain’t no M.I.A. Which isn’t to say that Santogold ain’t fabulous. Au contraire, it’s perfect downtown club music (for the mild, hip and white). You can bump, grind, convulse, jump, rapidly move your hands in front of your face, remain mostly still while nodding your head, twirl, whatever. Also, with the absence of any kind of political message you don’t even have to pretend that you care about real things.

5. The Magnetic Fields – Distortion

What an aptly titled album. I’m found of aptly titled things. I wish Animal Collective and Xiu Xiu would take note and start naming their albums “Weird Crazy Things That Sound Like Woodlawn Creatures and Kitchen Utensils.” It would be convenient for writing reviews. Anyway, Distortion is Stephen Merritt doing distortion, which means fuzzy, drone-y guitar that lovers can still swoon to, and sad/silly lyrics like “sober, you’re old and ugly; shit-faced, who needs a mirror” (“Too Drunk to Dream”).

Top 5 Songs of 2008

1. Beach House – “Heart of Chamber” (Devotion)

Honestly, I could have chosen any song from Devotion, but “Heart of Chamber” is the one that gives me the strongest heart palpitations (like remembering a teenage night that never happened). As I said before, it works, and who needs solid logic?

2. Beck – “Walls” (Modern Guilt)

My relationship with Beck is similar to my relationship with thrift shopping: 99% of the time I leave the store irritated and resentful; however, maybe once a year I find something absolutely stunning, like amazingly, disgustingly perfect that I forget about all the previous disappointments. “Walls” is my disgustingly perfect gold lamé romper that I will never wear again.

3. Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines” (The Stand Ins)

Apparently there are (self-proclaimed) straight men out there that would “go gay” for Will Sheff. Who knew. I cannot make that same declaration, but I will say this: Jonathan Meiburg’s voice keeps me comfortably heterosexual.

Lucinda Williams - Jailhouse Tears

Benoit Pioulard-Brown Bess

4. Benoît Pioulard – “Brown Bess” (Temper)

His name is Tom (hint: he’s not French). Tom taps into those same otherworldly arrangements that Zach Condon used to convince hipsters that foreign music could be edgy too. “Brown Bess” is just too pretty to ignore. I don’t know what he’s singing (it’s in English; he mumbles, I selectively listen), but similar to hearing a beautiful French phrase, do you even care?

5. Lucinda Williams (ft. Elvis Costello) – “Jailhouse Tears” (Little Honey)

The whole album’s kind of a mess: a few old-school bluesy ballads, some terrible angry rockers, and a truly frightening AC/DC cover (Lucinda, no). However, this duet with Costello makes me smile because I think Lucinda’s being a bit cheeky, no?

Top 5 Bands to Think About in 2009

Sybris-Oh Man

Alina Simone - Half My Kingdom

Jumbling Towers-Gamble

The Pharmacy-Little Toys On A Shelf

Doomtree-Dots and Dashes

1. Sybris

What: Anti-twee indiepop
Where: Chicago, IL
Think about: “Oh Man!” (Into the Trees, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/sybris

2. Jumbling Towers

What: Halloween-voiced lad + pop music + geek beats
Where: St. Louis, MO
Think about: “Gamble” (Classy Entertainment EP, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/jumblingtowers

3. Alina Simone

What: Folk/punk
Where: Brooklyn, NY
Think about: “Half My Kingdom” (Everyone is Crying Out to Me, Beware, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/alinasimone

4. The Pharmacy

What: Dirty rotten indie rock
Where: New Orleans, LA
Think about: “Little Toys on the Shelf” (Choose Yr. Own Adventure, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/pharmacy

5. Doomtree

What: White-friendly (read: non-threatening or “not too ghetto”) “smart” hip-hop

Where: Minneapolis, MN
Think about: “Dots and Dashes” (Doomtree, 2008)
More! http://myspace.com/doomtree
Note: Doomtree is extremely popular within their home state of Minnesota, but have they crossed the border? Let me know.

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com