Twin Cities
Articles, blog posts, and videos relating to Twin Cities artists, figures, or events.
- 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 […]
- New MTown Producer Alert! DJ STV SLV ()
As the internet grows it continues to develop its own unique sects, niches and cliques. Two such groups that have sprung up within the broad music blogosphere include sites dedicated towards the ever-vague terms indie rock and hip hop. One site, The Hood Internet, has found equal ground between the cultures using the atypical bootleg model […]
- 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 […]
- Mew & Onethousand Pictures at Fine Line Music Cafe (Minneapolis, MN) ()
When approaching a show to see, not the headliner, but the undercard, so to speak, it gives you a lot of freedom to get into the music really fast. Fortunately San Diego’s Onethousand Pictures offered a short set that was well cut and stylish set that was completely on mark, helping the crowd wake up. […]
- 21st Century Industrialization: The Gilded Age ()
Lead by the stripped down, honky-tonkless Jimmy Dale Gilmore vocals of Evan Dvorsak The Gilded Age sound straight out of a retrospective time capsule film on the deep south round the turn of the century. There are so many individual pieces of sound that seem handpicked to suit their individual place in the larger picture, […]
- 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 […]
- The Raconteurs at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
I was in, I made it. A show, entirely sold out, and I was inside the building. Initial what if scenarios plagued me on the ride to downtown Minneapolis’ First Avenue left proverbial butterflies in my stomach and the arrival to the venue was met with a siege of queasiness. The Raconteurs were to play, […]
- Soul Asylum “The Silver Lining” Review ()
Soul Asylum releasing new music is a strange thing. It sparks thoughts about a friend you had all but forgotten about a decade ago. You’ve both moved on and neither had since taken the initiative to check in periodically, both content with your current state of living without any burning curiosity as to how the […]
- Punk Rock Graduation Part 2 ()
My intentions aren’t to spark a debate or express myself as something that I’m not. I’m a simple fan with simple thoughts, but when Angela and I were talking and a post-punk reference was dropped I was sort of taken back that she wasn’t quite certain what post-punk is. I was listening to a newer […]
- Electric Six and the Fever at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
I was actually pretty excited to see Rock Kills Kid. After hearing their latest album, Are You Nervous?, I had a good idea of the electronic-based rock that I was going to here. Before the show I was able to head backstage and I meet RKK guitarist Sean, which gave me a cool introduction to […]
- The Plastic Constellations ()
Minneapolis’ The Plastic Constellations have received immense critical acclaim in recent years, including a recent mention on SPIN Online’s Band of the Day. Without knowing better, the band’s bio and interviews would leave you with a sinking feeling that this group of twenty somethings are nothing more than an American Sum 41 with tunes laced […]
- Hank Williams III at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Photos of Hank Williams III taken August 15, 2005 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN. [This post was first published by Culture Bully.]
- Tegan and Sara at Minnesota Zoo (Apple Valley, MN) ()
This show was a different kind of experience for me. Most of the shows I’ve been to have been in “clubs” and this one…was in…THE ZOO. I will get into the ranting after the actual review of Tegan and Sara’s set …IN THE ZOO… Tegan & Sara – They performed a good selection of songs, […]
- Sleater-Kinney and Dead Meadow at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Though I’ve known about the show for over a month, actually making it down there was a spur of the moment type situation. I had decided in the morning that I would take my little sister to the show, making it her first. When I remembered back to my first concert (The Cranberries & Cracker…it […]