Q&A | Beth Hart Better Than Home World Tour

By |

On February 19, 2015, Beth Hart made a stop in Minneapolis, MN to perform the 3rd night of her Better Than Home World Tour at the Cedar Cultural Center. She was generous enough to sit down with me before the show and chat a bit about her life as a touring musician and the upcoming release of her new album. I talked to several people at the show who said Beth’s music was significant in getting them through some tough life experiences. She has a gift of being able to communicate through her song writing what she has learned along her own life path and told me that she is an open book, so I hope you get a sense of that from this interview.TCDP: There will surely be Blues fans in the audience tonight.  Are you happy with the newish direction of your career that finds you playing to more of a Blues loving audience and is that a good fit for you?BH: I did the Rock thing and the Singer/Songwriter thing and once in a while I’d write a Blues or Gospel song and this went on in my career for years. When I did the first record with Joe Bonamassa Don’t Explain, I was so taken aback by how much I loved it and I was really surprised that I didn’t feel like I was doing a bad job. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Beth Hart exudes true artistry at the Cedar Cultural Center

By |

Unlike many of the current highly promoted music acts, Beth Hart doesn’t rap, perform to a backing track or rely on outlandish outfits to create headlines. Rather, to the delight of a capacity crowd at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis February 19th, she simply performs her own songs with a raw intensity unlike anything you’ve experienced driven primarily by her signature voice that’s in a league of its own. Hart credits her turbulent past as the inspiration for much of her song writing. However, this time around she is touring to promote the anticipated April 13th release of Better Than Home, a new album written from a more stable and positive perspective.Last night, during what I consider to be the best show I’ve attended at the Cedar, Hart gave fired up fans a sampling of the new material strategically mixed into a nicely balanced set of songs from the various genres she’s explored. The party started with Nutbush City Limits, a fiery upbeat tune noticeably penned by Tina Turner, which had Hart replicating some of Turner’s notorious dance moves. Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil at Myth

By |

Although February 4th was a school night, several thousand young music fans braved the Minnesota cold, enduring a lengthy wait in line that stretched out beyond the parking lot at Myth Live Event Center in an effort to get the best spot possible to rock out with some of their favorite post-hardcore bands. Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil – The World Tour proved to be well worth the sacrifice with top-notch performances by both bands including supporting acts PVRIS and UK band Mallory Knox making their first U.S. appearance. 
Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | Extreme at Mill City Nights

By |

Any mention of the hard rock band Extreme and most people immediately identify them by their early 90s Billboard #1 hit “More Than Words.” Ask any of the true fans of this band who joined forces January 29th at Mill City Nights for the Pornograffitti Live – 25th Anniversary Tour and they’ll be sure to let you know there’s so much more to their catalog of material.It’s a real treat when a band celebrates a significant recording project by performing the whole album live front to back. Not only do you get a chance to hear some tracks that never make the typical set-list, but you also get to hear them in the actual intended order and flow of the album. This is one of those albums that fans listen to enough that they are anticipating the next song, which doesn’t normally happen live.A special show like this required no opening act, so the set started out as expected with the album’s first song “Decadence Dance.” This track is such a rocker and really brought the crowd to life. Front man Gary Cherone worked the stage like a man possessed and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about performing the material. The full metal assault continued for the next three tunes “Li’l Jack Horny,” “When I’m President” and hit single “Get the Funk Out.” The songs all seemed to run long giving their MVP, guitarist extraordinaire Nuno Bettoncourt plenty of room to shred. Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | The Current’s 10th Anniversary featuring Billy Idol and Steve Stevens at the Turf Club

By |

It was great to see people packing into the sold out Turf Club in St. Paul January 19th to support and celebrate the 10th Anniversary of 89.3 The Current. It’s establishments like this that keep the Twin Cities known for being rich in the arts. The event titled Mary Lucia’s Rock and Roll Radio show created a little extra buzz as they were able to arrange for 80s rocker Billy Idol who is out on tour to swing by and squeeze in a 6 song acoustic set. Idol was packed full of charisma and his strong vocal only needed his longtime guitar master Steve Steven’s to do the music justice. Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | Steel Panther at Myth

By |

Heavy Metal fans packed Myth Friday night, December 19th for a hard rocking and entertaining set by Steel Panther. Supporting act “Like A Storm” from New Zealand started out the evening with a blistering set. The show was sponsored by 93X who held their X Girl contest finale and crowned the winner for next year. 
Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | 101.3 KDWB’s Jingle Ball 2014 at Xcel Energy Center

By |

101.3 KDWB’s Jingle Ball 2014, presented by Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park and Allstate, rang in the Season with its annual star-studded holiday concert at Xcel Energy Center on Dec. 8. The radio station did a great job creating buzz and had the mostly younger crowd amped with anticipation. With a pre-party concert at Roy Wilkins and the main event at Xcel Energy Center lasting over three hours, it really was a substantial night of entertainment. The list of artists was stacked with a number of leading women currently in heavy rotation on the Pop Music airwaves; featuring Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, One Republic, Iggy Azalea, Meghan Trainor, Jessie J, Nico & Vinz, Rita Ora, Becky G and Shawn Mendes.  In addition to many of your favorite KDWB DJ’s, Nick Jonas was on hand as the special guest host. Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | Richard Marx at Mill City Nights

By |

The usually open floor at Mill City Nights was filled with seats October 23rd creating a listening party atmosphere that nicely suited the RIchard Marx concert. There were of course some ladies who were especially excited to see him perform up close, while most seemed to be appreciators of his extensive catalog of hits. It was nice to see Marx’s personality shine through as he reminisced and joked about the stories behind some of the music that most in the audience grew up around. Out in support of his new album Beautiful Goodbye, he sprinkled in some new material amidst all of his well known hits and also performed big tunes he wrote and produced for other artists including Luther Vandross, ‘NSYNC and Keith Urban. The venue had a great feel and had the mix dialed in to a comfortable listening level, which enhanced the dynamic difference between sweet ballads such as “Hold on to the Night” in contrast to his up tempo infectious pop tunes including “Should Have Known Better.” It was a first-class performance and memorable show greatly appreciated by his loyal fans here in the Twin Cities. Coverage of issues and events that affect Central Corridor neighborhoods and communities is funded in part by a grant from Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | Hard Rock Cafe Mall of America Grand Opening with Morris Day

By |

The Hard Rock Cafe threw quite a party October 22nd to celebrate its return to the Twin Cities at Mall of America. VIP guests and contest winners were invited into the well decorated multi-level restaurant to enjoy food, drink and a live performance by Morris Day & The Time. Other highlights included a ceremonial guitar smash matched with a $1,500 donation to MusicLink. In the Hard Rock’s spirit of giving back, the event included a $10,000 donation to Hope Chest for Breast Cancer. The restaurant located inside Nickelodeon Universe demonstrated their kitchen is capable of putting together some tasty cuisine and the staff was friendly and attentive making this a location worth checking out. 
Continue Reading

MUSIC PHOTOS | Bastille at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium

By |

Sunday night October 19th may have been family concert night at St. Paul’s River Center where parents could have been reliving their passion for 90s grunge rock at the Xcel Energy Center with Pearl Jam, while the kids where next door at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium going crazy for the new sound of their generation courtesy of British rocker’s Bastille. The band’s solid debut album Bad Blood has lit up the charts and earned them more than 2 million likes on Facebook including Late Night with Seth Meyers and Conan O’Brien.Frontman Dan Smith led the charge with good energy often beating a drum or jumping up and down while still managing to deliver a good vocal performance. The set started out strong with “Things We Lost in the Fire” and contained other standouts including “Bad Blood,” “Flaws” and their show closing big hit “Pompeii.”Supporting act Grizfolk was a good match musically to lead off the show with a well-received effort.Coverage of issues and events that affect Central Corridor neighborhoods and communities is funded in part by a grant from Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. Continue Reading