Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/ann-treacy/page/17/)
I might have a new favorite show of 2013 – Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls at the Varsity! The show sold out. The place was packed yet there was plenty of room to dance. The bands seemed to enjoy themselves. Everyone sang along, and did I mention – room to dance! The first time I heard Frank Turner, I thought he was Billy Bragg, a long time favorite musician of mine. Continue Reading
Last week I attended the Cyber Security Summit in downtown Minneapolis. It’s a big event hosting lots of corporate and public security experts. I started to take full notes and realized that much of the detail was probably too much for most of the BoB readers (and me)!. So I decided to report back on highlights and broad swaths instead. Continue Reading
Being a rock star seems like fun – until you realize that between two sold out performances at First Avenue you might get to play an in-store performance at a record store and then sign autographs and you might get hungry. That’s not to say The Head and the Heart weren’t great Sunday afternoon at the Electric Fetus and it’s not even to say they weren’t having fun, but it seems like a lot of work on a weekend. (Rumor has it they also did a studio performance for The Current.)Three (out of six) band members took to the record store stage: Charity Rose Thielen (vocals/violin), Josiah Johnson (vocals/guitar) and Jonathan Russell (vocals/guitar). But they did seem to be having fun. They started with a few songs that aren’t yet on any album, before jumping into “Shake.”Their music is pretty. Continue Reading
Every year we look forward to the BareBones Puppet Collective Halloween performance down by Hidden Falls in the far reaches of Highland Park in St Paul. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the event; and we made it to opening night. The performance includes extreme puppet mastery and other big visuals – such as aerial dances and fire juggling.The performance starts with a pre-show introduction. A pumpkinhead talks us through the idea of Halloween as the time when the walls between the living and dead and thinnest and therefore the connection between the two is strongest. We also meet four of the undead who are unwilling to admit they are dead and continue on as Future Inc. to plan for the future. Continue Reading
Tuesday night Poliça released their latest album (Shulamith) and played an in store performance for an intimate group at the Electric Fetus. Fans were invited to pre-order the album over the last few weeks to qualify for free tickets to this private event. I thought that was a clever idea; it sold out. In the age of Spotify, I can’t remember the last CD I purchased – but the price was great for a CD and a show and I have no trouble paying for a concert.Poliça’s music is what I might call an electronica dance sound or I’ve heard it called synthpop R & B. Unfortunately neither title embraces the fact that Poliça includes two drum sets and two serious drummers: Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascu. The drums are a nice balance to Channy Leaneach’s ethereal vocals. Continue Reading
Friday night, Father John Misty played a solo show at Frsit Avenue. This was the third time I had seen him since early summer so I was wondering if this show would be different. It was.The warm up band was a comic named Kate Berlant. I’m not the biggest fan of comics when I want to see music. Her performance didn’t change my mind. Continue Reading
Connect Minnesota released results of two surveys this week. Residential use of mobile broadband and business use. There are a couple of observations that seem to emerge in both reports – such as rural use lags urban use – but otherwise I think the reports are different enough to merit two posts. This post is about the residential use. Continue Reading
The Twin Cities Daily Planet recently ran an interesting article on getting teens to give up their smartphones for a week – just to see how it goes… Continue Reading
Wayne “The Train” Hancock and libraries are not what you’d call a natural combination but it certainly worked Thursday (Sep 19) at Real Phonic Radio’s monthly show at the Jame J Hill Library. Hancock played recently with Reverend Horton Heat and Deke Dickerson at First Avenue – this was a different show. It included a lot more blues with the Western Swing (almost Rockabilly) Country blend and it better highlighted the band backing Hancock.Hancock started with some pretty bluesy songs – such as “Louisiana Blues” and “Fair Weather Blues”. He got progressively faster with some crowd-requested favorites including “Juke Joint Jumpin’”, “87 Southbound” and “Johnny Law”. I’ve only been to the Real Phonic Radio a handful of times but I have to say this is the first time I’ve seen people get up and dance. Continue Reading
According to a recent Pew Internet and American Life survey… Continue Reading