Twin Cities
Articles, blog posts, and videos relating to Twin Cities artists, figures, or events.
- Henry Rollins at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Just as I put off recalling the three hours in which I basked in Henry Rollins’ stories in form of a review for well over a week, it took me roughly ten years to finally nut up and risk seeing my idol in person. However easy it is for me to become wrapped up in […]
- Gwar and Cradle of Filth at Myth Nightclub (St. Paul, MN 10/24/2007) ()
Opening the show with Swedish sleaze rockers Vains of Jenna and closing with English death metal band Cradle of Filth, the Viva La Bands tour covered extracts from this world and beyond—the unearthly Gwar playing middle spot and entirely gorging its audience with hedonism and irreverence. While the highly anticipated CKY couldn’t make the bill […]
- Justice at Foundation Nightclub (Minneapolis, MN) ()
The setting: a dark basement complex surrounded by a crowd of sweaty, dancing teenagers…an environment that could easily double as a cramped pool hall on any given night; but on this night two of the most elite electronic musicians in the world did what they do best – make people dance. Opening their set three […]
- Girl Talk & Dan Deacon at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
This past Friday Girl Talk rocked the post-adolescent audience late into the night, the performance culminating one of the most entertaining events First Avenue has seen all year. The term “sold out” doesn’t even cover it, as block-long lines continued to wrap around the venue a half hour after doors opened and the body of […]
- Tapes ‘n Tapes & the Melismatics at Fine Line Music Cafe (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Sunday night’s occasion was alive in spirit as a half dozen bands collected in support of Mercedes Gordon, a local resident who was severely injured in the collapse of the 35W bridge in early August. Among the bands playing were local favorites such as Coach Said Not To and The Melismatics, Hershey, Pennsylvania’s The Ocean […]
- Aesop Rock at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Video of Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz performing at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN, featuring clips of “Coffee” and “Daylight.” [This post was first published by Culture Bully.]
- Wu-Tang Clan at Myth Nightclub (Maplewood, MN) ()
Starting midday Saturday afternoon, the Rock The Bells tour stopped in the Twin Cities, playing Maplewood’s Myth rather than the previously scheduled parking lot at the Metrodome. Though the day began early, it wasn’t until late afternoon when I arrived, graciously welcomed to the club by “Free,” the lead track from Pharoahe Monch’s recent release. […]
- Hank Williams III, Big Red Goad & The Power of Country at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Kicking off the show with “a bit of national rag” Power of Country opened up with a rousing bluegrass introduction before singer Jim Goad (aka Big Red Goad) stepped on stage at First Avenue, promptly sticking his chewing gum to the microphone stand and taking stance with one boot firmly planted on one of the […]
- Romantic, sexy and funky all at once ()
“Musicology” (2004): I believe I will find myself in the minority in this situation, but the only Prince song that I’ve really spent any amount of time with is ‘Musicology.’ Having not been born, raised, or nurtured in Minnesota, my musical tastes were developed with different circumstances of favoritism and bias than that associated with Minnesotans […]
- The Villains of Verona, The Alarmists & White Light Riot at Fine Line Music Cafe (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Praising, “this is the best crowd we’ve ever had,” before continuing the night’s set, White Light Riot lead singer Mike Schwandt and his band were faced with a unique set of circumstance this past Saturday at the Fine Line Music Café. The night’s event was in commemoration of the band’s first full length album, Atomism, […]
- People, Places & Rhymes: Unknown Prophets ()
Formed in 1997, the Unknown Prophets began as two MCs Big Jess and Mad Son, friends who went to school together in Northeast Minneapolis. A year later the duo added Willy Lose, one of the Cities’ best DJs, to the mix and in doing so completed the group’s lineup. With four albums, an EP, and […]
- Liquid Flow & Subtle Beats: Big Cats! ()
Having recently produced the track “Black Out on White Night” for Sage Francis‘ heavily acclaimed new album Human The Death Dance, Minneapolis talent Big Cats! proves that you don’t need the fashionable nonsense in order to create some strict beats. That track in particular underscores Francis’ unique flow while singer Jolie Holland does her best […]
- Band of Brothers: Brothers Quetico ()
Minneapolis’ Brothers Quetico find old soul in quid bro quo, their debut full length that somehow slipped under the radar fall of last year. In true punk tradition, the Brothers cover 9 songs in 25 minutes, traversing a grizzly terrain of grandly intelligible progressions and sentimental vocal harmonies that recalls a similar restless simplicity Radiohead […]
- An Atypical Traditionalist: Andra Suchy ()
There’s a rule of thumb that isn’t necessarily always true, but for those who have official biographies is often true: if said biography begins with a key to the pronunciation of your name you’ve probably lived a fairly interesting life. Like I said, not always but often true, and in the case of Andra Suchy […]
- Got a Lot of Light: The Trimmed Hedges ()
Local Minneapolis quartet The Trimmed Hedges attempt to capture a number of genres throughout the band’s first full length release The Seas Elected, released locally through The Missing Stamp Collective. While the release has a general compliance towards diversity (see: banjo & slap bass) the band finds its strongest moments through the use of synth-forward […]
- Twin Personas: Local Bloggers Greg Swan & Toby Cryns ()
As an outsider looking in on the local Twin Cities music scene one may be left with a simplistic look as to what it is that The Cities and their modern artists have to offer. But aside from conversations surrounding Hüsker Dü, The Replacements or even Tapes ‘n Tapes what does the rest of the […]
- Klaxons at 7th St. Entry (Minneapolis, MN) ()
It’s not often that a band plays its set exclusively for one particular person at a show. One person crammed in amongst the rest of an over-sold audience. One person amongst many in the humid, low-ceiling showcase of The Entry. That and it’s hard to honestly believe that the now mythical band from the UK, […]
- Type O Negative at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Type O Negative is the type of band that people—often, young adults who were furiously trying to find an identity—listened to when they wanted a taste for a gothic lifestyle without necessarily giving it the old college try. The band is fairly accessible, its landmark 1993 release Bloody Kisses went platinum and its 1996 follow-up […]
- Twin Personas: Stook & Martin Devaney ()
As an outsider looking in on the local Twin Cities music scene one may be left with a simplistic look as to what it is that The Cities and their modern artists have to offer. But aside from conversations surrounding Hüsker Dü, The Replacements or even Tapes ‘n Tapes what does the rest of the […]
- Twin Personas: Local Bloggers Kyle Matteson & Steve Engelmayer ()
As an outsider looking in on the local Twin Cities music scene one may be left with a simplistic look as to what it is that The Cities and their modern artists have to offer. But aside from conversations surrounding Hüsker Dü, The Replacements or even Tapes ‘n Tapes what does the rest of the […]
- Twin Personas: How Was the Show’s Andrea Myers & Bob Longmore ()
As an outsider looking in on the local Twin Cities music scene one may be left with a simplistic look as to what it is that The Cities and their modern artists have to offer. But aside from conversations surrounding Hüsker Dü, The Replacements or even Tapes ‘n Tapes what does the rest of the […]
- Reverend Horton Heat at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
One of the best parts about going to a Reverend Horton Heat show is just sitting back and seeing the crowd. Skinheads, greasers, played the show in support of no new material, with no publicity surrounding a new DVD or compilation, but rather the Reverend Horton Heat played because it’s the band’s job. Unlike many […]
- Mastodon and Converge at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
2006 was an amazing year for the night’s three bands: Priestess broke out of its Québécois-hard rock niche and found a welcoming fan base internationally; longtime hardcore mainstays Converge took their sound and expanded its audience based on the heels of their acclaimed album No Heroes, an album which found praise from the likes of […]
- The Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth at the Minnesota State Fair (St. Paul, MN) ()
It was the opening day of the State Fair and the weather was atrocious. Months we had waited, my sister and I, and up to this point the summer had been one of the hottest and driest in history. But today was one of those days that balanced the averages as nature leveled the score […]