Music

MUSIC REVIEW | Rihanna's too cool for school during a tepid stop at the Xcel Energy Center

By Marcus Michalik, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Patrick Dunn

Considering the name of her latest album is Unapologetic, it was a bit surprising that the first image of Rihanna’s "Diamonds" tour was one of forgiveness. On her knees in prayer and flanked with religious iconography, Rihanna opened her concert on a somber note with “Mother Mary,” a song that finds the controversial pop star admonishing herself in the eyes of the Lord for falling back on old habits and ultimately admitting that she’s “prepared to die in the moment” in the name of true love.

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MUSIC REVIEW | Local Natives bring impressive range and musicality to First Avenue

By Daniel Niepow, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Chad Rieder

By the time Local Natives took the stage at First Avenue on Saturday, March 23, a sold-out crowd had filled into nearly every inch of the main floor. In the balconies folks peered down from tables or pressed against railings to get a better view.

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Melissa Oakvik's "Peace of Mind": A rich sound from an unlikely source

By Dwight Hobbes, Sounding Off On Sound

I've been fairly fortunate of late in my trips to Corner Coffee over in Minneapolis' Warehouse District, coming across some pretty strong talent. Most recently, going in to play a set early this winter, guitarist Bill Travers and I were getting our gear together off stage when we heard an outfit that was just lighting joint up. It turned out to be one marvelously gifted singer-songwriter Melissa Oakvik backed up by a very tight band.

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Sounding Off On Sound

MUSIC REVIEW | Lee Brice is all country at Mill City Nights

By Patrick Dunn, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Patrick Dunn

Country music fans packed Mill City Nights Thursday, March 21 to see rising star Lee Brice play a 90-minute set primarily consisting of songs from his current release "Hard 2 Love" and his first album Love Like Crazy. The 32-year-old singer/songwriter chose his path in music after a career ending football injury in college. He is becoming known for his very personal and relatable style of songwriting.

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MUSIC REVIEW | Frightened Rabbit loosen up at the Varsity Theater

By Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Photos by David McCrindle

According to Sasha Frere-Jones, Neil Diamond’s voice has two settings: less Neil and more Neil. Something similar could be said of Scott Hutchison, frontman of the Scottish band Frightened Rabbit—his thickly accented keen can be less poignant or more poignant, but it’s always poignant. The band’s March 21 show at the Varsity Theater, though, had a “Song Sung Blue” quality to it. The songs were sad, but the mood was buoyant.

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MUSIC REVIEW | Pink makes jaws drop at the Xcel Energy Center

By Patrick Dunn, TC Daily Planet

Photo courtesy Pink

What better way to escape the disappointing cold and snowy white start to spring in the Twin Cities than a big production music event at the Xcel Energy Center, where it was all Pink and very hot. One of Pop/Rock’s most dynamic entertainers, Pink (she spells it P!nk) presented The Truth About Love Tour in support of her sixth studio album with the same title, to a sold out crowd in St. Paul on March 19. The world tour began February 13 in Phoenix and has been selling so well that extra dates are now being added to the back half of the schedule including a November show in Minneapolis.

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MUSIC REVIEW | An evening of blues with Keb' Mo' at the Guthrie Theater

By Betsy Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Tom Baker

Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moore), the award-winning, Delta-blues-influenced singer/songwriter, played to a crowded house at the Guthrie Theater on March 18. He's promoting his album The Reflection, which comes after a few years' break from recording (2006's Suitcase was his last album).

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MUSIC PHOTOS | Ash and Strange Names at the Varsity Theater

By David McCrindle, TC Daily Planet

Ash. Photos by David McCrindle.

On March 18, Ash and Strange Names played the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.

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REVIEW | Paula Poundstone and Robyn Hitchcock open MPR's "Wits" season in style

By Betsy Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Courtesy Paula Poundstone

Wits is a now-weekly MPR radio program. It airs live from the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday nights this season (March 15-June 14). If you can't swing a spring break to a warm climate this year, tickets to this gig would be a great alternative getaway. (Heads up, though, that some events this season are already sold out.)

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Trumpeter Avishai Cohen will perform with the SFJAZZ Collective March 19 at the Dakota

By Mordecai Specktor, American Jewish World

Avishai Cohen: The swing is in the hummus. (Photo: Ariel Efron)

Avishai Cohen is feeling under the weather. During a recent telephone interview with the AJW from his home in Tel Aviv, he sounds a little groggy, and he apologizes for his diminished physical state.

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