MUSIC REVIEW | Slow, luscious music with Natalie Lovejoy at the Icehouse

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Natalie Lovejoy welcomed a sold out crowd to “slow, luscious music” at the Icehouse on Sunday night. She was there to introduce us to her third album, Hiding in the Light. The stage was as crowded as the house with as many as nine people on stage. I have to say, a string section on stage is worth the squishing!Lovejoy opened with House of Coates, which has an undercurrent of dance music but it’s a song, like all of her songs, that tells a story. She played a number of songs from the new album.”Would You Be Happy” has the potential to a big song for Lovejoy. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull a lot to like at Target Center

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“Baby I like it,” is not just a line from Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull’s hit “I Like It,” it was also my impression when I left the Target Center on Saturday, February 21. Cricket Wireless Presents Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull tour made their final stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Opening for the two artists was Colombian music artist J Balvin. J Balvin did his thing and impressed me with his bangers and the stunts his dance crew performed as they were flipping all over the place to the tune of Latino music. He did his part in getting the crowd on their feet and Pitbull took it to another level when he made his entrance. Continue Reading

Real Phonic at Hill Library: Shannon McNally, Red Planet and Erik Koskinen with the Real Phonic Band

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Every third Thursday of the month, my favorite 10 year old and I enjoy music in the reference room of the erudite James J Hill Reference Library and every third Thursday we learn a new chapter of music history from talented musicians who have played with great names in rock and rock, country and veins other musical genres that run through both. In February we learned about Bob Dylan, Bobby Charles and Dr. John from Shannon McNally.McNally was both the spoken word and headline performance. She read from Bob Dylan’s recent controversial speech at the MusiCares where he called out many musicians for selling out, pandering or at best being risk averse. You could have heard a pin drop as McNally, with her melodious voice and southern accent, read a speech written by and highlighting a man with a whiny, gravelly, Minnesotan sound. It gave gravitas to her interest in deep roots of rock.By the time she took the stage to sing later in the night, we were predisposed to take her seriously. She didn’t disappoint. Continue Reading

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

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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 REVIEW | Sleater-Kinney return to First Avenue after 10 years

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In the 10 years since they last played First Avenue, Sleater-Kinney grew into a legend of huge proportions. During the band’s previous run, it was rare for First Avenue to sell out the main room for indie bands of any stripe. Going to a show there sometimes felt like an act of rebellion; that the band, you and the few brave souls in the room were fighting the good fight – to keep rock alive, to fight for rights, to fight for art. Today, 1500 people line up upside First Avenue for hours in 0 degree weather on Valentine’s Day, waiting for their chance to see a band that embodied that fight. The trio of Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Janet Weiss (with backing musician Kate Harkin) made the effort, and the fight, worthwhile.Stepping into the shoes of their ever growing legend, the band brought a light show and backdrop with them that signaled a step up to another level of performance for them—not just “Words and Guitar,” but now “Sound and Vision” too. Continue Reading

KFAI Benefit Sells Out: Mighty Mofos, X-Boys, Flamin’ Ohs and Michael Yonkers

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Feb. 7 the Turf Club was jumping with a sold out crowd for KFAI’s Benefit with Friends show. It was one of those night when you dind’t need two people checking IDs at the door; not a lot of youngsters. Perhaps because the night was a flashback to the 1980s, which is maybe the last time I saw the Mighty Mofos.The Mofos looked the same, sounded the same and nothing could have made me happier. Oh wait, if one of the Batson brothers from the band came up after the show and said, “thanks for dancing” that would make be even happier. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Minnesota Orchestra’s “West Side Story” in Shakespeare Winterfest: Unexpectedly cool

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The Minnesota Orchestra’s Shakespeare Winterfest is a wonderful piece of season programming. Using material connected to the works of William Shakespeare provides an often-missing focus to a stylistically disparate body of music, and lets listeners hear first-hand how different composers interpreted the same plays. The varying proportion of Shakespeare-related material in a given concert is a strength, as a whole month of nothing but this music might have grown tiresome – but sprinkled here and there and sometimes concentrated, it works quite well. Larsson’s A Winter’s Tale, for example, contrasts excellently with Dvořák’s more familiar New World Symphony, even though the latter having nothing whatsoever to do with the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon. The New World Symphony would have been even better paired against Dvořák’s Romeo and Juliet overture, but since the latter work has been lost, it remains an impossible match. Continue Reading

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

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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. 
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Bob Mould: New Day rising since 1978

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Reader’s Digest review: Bob Mould. Nailed it. If I closed my eyes it could have been 1985.Never mind ageless, Bob Mould actually gets better with age. His set on Saturday night at First Avenue was at least as energetic and inspiring as any show on the same stage 30 years ago – which is saying an awful lot. He looks amazing and sounds the same, despite the fact that this was round two of a two-gig weekend.He started strong with Flip Your Wig and Hate Paper Doll. Continue Reading