​The exuberant Detroit party band Electric Six returns First Avenue, a room that they claim is one of their "favorite venues in the world," on May 11. And to prove just how special the legendary local club and their Twin Cities fans are to them, the band will be recording this show (as well as the next night at the Double Door in Chicago) as part of a planned live double-album.
 

Unsurprisingly, the first disc will feature the band's celebrated debut album, Fire, in its entirety, which they will play front-to-back during their second set at the Ave. The second disc will feature non-Fire material culled from the band's other albums, and these songs will be part of the first set that E6 plays at First Avenue. Now Fire has a majority of the band's big hits, so "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar" will obviously be played. But here are five Electric Six's lesser-known, but still explosive, songs that we hope still find their way into their first set.

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​Fresh off of bringing Wednesday night's Best New Bands showcase to a triumphant close at First Avenue, local MC MaLLy gives his fans a taste of what his hotly anticipated forthcoming LP will sound like with the brand new track "Future's Classic." The fresh, throwback beats were laid down by Miami producer Rem', but MaLLy truly carries the track with his spirited, emphatic verses and clever wordplay, giving everyone lyrical proof of why he was tabbed to be a big part of Atmosphere's sold-out Welcome to Minnesota Tour in February.

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​Add another annoying item to the list of things Justin Vernon had nothing to do with leading up to the February 12 Grammy Awards. First, there was this treacherous ice sculpture of a poster, and now there's a 30-second ad trumpeting Bon Iver's involvement the We Are Music campaign yet again, featuring a snippet of "Holocene."

It plays out basically the way the Grammys people seem to want to pigeonhole this guy: Some animated snow, some trees, and a stiff breeze. And as you can see from the image on the right, it forever links Vernon to the late-'70s Kansas power ballad "Dust in the Wind."
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​Cinephiles who appreciate a 110-137 BPM range take note: The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think concert film is in movie theaters for an exclusive one-night showing Wednesday, February 1. Popcorn-rockin' beats? You bet. And the best thing about this news locally is that Gimme Noise has a pair of tickets to the showing at Block E that you can win without really having to think much about it at all.
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Photo by Matt Luem

​On March 22 and 23, a collective of young, folk-rooted composers who were drinking buddies back in Vermont will perform at the Walker's William and Nadine McGuire Theater. If you read that sentence and a certain level of pretentious cultural superiority didn't come to mind, go back and read it again. Better yet, attend the show in March.

To be fair, people these days often mistake pretension for sophistication, and consequently miss out on some quality stuff. This March show is quality stuff. The 802 Tour -- which features Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon, Doveman and Nadia Sirota -- makes for a night of good, clean fun with a class of music to match its luxurious setting. And it will sound more expensive than the actual ticket price (only $22, $18 for Walker members).
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Photo By Mike Vorrasi

​After recently signing with Chris Walla's Trans Records, local trio Now, Now have released their first new batch of songs today with the digital EP Dead Oaks. The catchy but fleeting "Dead Oaks" has been floating around since we reported on the band's signing to Walla's label back in December, while the wistful "School Friends" was shared earlier this month. Both tracks are set to feature prominently on Now, Now's forthcoming full-length, Threads, due out on March 6.
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​Rogue Valley's tour diaries are written by frontman Chris Koza and edited by bandmate Peter Sieve. You can read their first, second, third, fourth, and fifth installments.

Everyone slept in late the next morning, Portland was its grey, soaking wet, bone-chilling wintery self, but despite the uninviting weather, I felt compelled to put on my running shoes, a stocking cap, call my brother, and get a few miles in before anyone else was up.

That afternoon we headed north to Seattle for our show at the High Dive in the Freemont Neighborhood. If you don't know where that is, just ask someone where in Seattle the giant statue of Lennon and the neon-swim-cap wearing-lady-diver convene. The sound man had it dialed in, and we ripped through our set, starting with False Floors and ending with Rockaway. More >>

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​When describing the new video for his band, Fairfax, AK's singer/songwriter Pat Dougherty sounds more like a humble musician than a salesman, "I think selling music is a pretty cold process but music is very personal thing for both the performer and the listener, so we wanted to do something a little different."More >>

​A mysterious black feather and other items with symbolic possibilities aplenty figure in prominently into the new, moody "Cry, Cry Crow" video from Midwest folk act the Pines. Our star is a ginger-haired girl -- who should totally meet the L.L. Bean-clad loner boy in Bon Iver's "Holocene" video -- setting out on a mission to figure out where this feather belongs. The song comes from Dark So Gold, which is out in mid-February via Red House Records. Spoiler alert: Some characters in the story will not survive to the final frame.
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"Willard Mitt Romney Song": for Florida's many glowstick-waving voters.

​Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a new song dedicated to him with a message he probably won't approve. "Willard Mitt Romney Song" by Minneapolis electro-hop act the Sicko Pervs arrived over the weekend -- just as the former Massachusetts governor heads into a heated Republican primary election this week in Florida. This is a markedly better soundbite-chop than Dubnasty's "Newt Gingrich Sucks the Iowa Caucus Remix," but it seems that this political-sparring dubstep subgenre inspires some of the most uninspiring song-titling around.
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