Photo by Anna Gulbrandsen

Wavves
With FIDLAR and Cheatahs
7th Street Entry, Minneapolis
Friday, March 29, 2013

Wavves, fronted by singer/guitarist Nathan Williams and bassist Stephen Pope, rolled into Minneapolis on Friday as part of a national, small-venue tour to promote their new album Afraid of Heights. Touring with Mom+Pop label mates FIDLAR, the evening promised to be a raucous exercise in Southern California punk/surf rock catharsis, complete with repeated references to getting drunk, stoned and generally fucked up.

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Slideshow: Wavves, FIDLAR, and Cheatahs at 7th St. Entry

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Ex Cops Opening for Blessed Feathers and Young Buffalo 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis Thursday, February 28, 2013

Touring in support of their excellent 2013 release True Hallucinations, Brooklyn-based Ex Cops made their first appearance in Minneapolis last night, opening for Young Buffalo and Blessed Feathers, a pair of duos from Mississippi and Wisconsin respectively.

See also:
The best Twin Cities concerts this week: 2/27-3/5

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Photo by Frode & Marcus

Forget everything you think you know about New Zealand's the Ruby Suns -- if that was much in the first place. Since 2004, Ryan McPhun has steered the Suns through a series of danceable and densely instrumented releases, but after a breakup with a bandmate a few years back, he was ready to reinvent. After some QT in Norway, and hooking up with producer Chris Coady (Beach House, Grizzly Bear), the result is Christopher, the Ruby Suns' fourth release -- and possibly best -- out on Sub Pop Records.  

Gimme Noise caught up with McPhun before Friday's show at the Entry to figure out who this Christopher fella is, and to discover what it was like to meet Robyn.  

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This past Christmas, Gimme Noise asked a handful of local musicians to help us make sense of a holiday where the accompanying songbook seemed to be guided by all things commercial. Valentines Day has those talking points a bit reversed.More »

Photo by Erik Hess

Big Freedia
Turf Club, St. Paul
Saturday, February 2, 2013

By the time New Orleans' Queen Diva Big Freedia took the stage, the crowd seemed worlds away from a cool down. With all that sustained pleasure, it makes a bit of sense that the roomful of Freedia Freaks would eventually fizzle.

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Slideshow: Big Freedia at the Turf Club, 2/2/13
Big Freedia: My personality drew all these people to me

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Photo by Anna Gulbrandsen

Free Energy
Turf Club, St. Paul
Saturday, January 26, 2013

Saturday night's sold-out Free Energy show at Turf Club indicates that there are still plenty of feverish locals who can only be cured by more cowbell. It seems like a calculated decision by the band to start every show they play with cowbell knocks. And it's a little disarming that something as simple as the one-two-punch of the bell and floor-tom from the opening "Backscratcher" could herd everyone one step forward. All the more impressive considering that the crowd itself stood closer to the side of casual concertgoer-a common demographic for fashionable homecoming shows.

See Also:
Slideshow: Free Energy at the Turf Club, 1/26/13
Free Energy's Paul Sprangers: We're not trying to be like the Strokes or Jet

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Photo by Erik Hess

John Mark Nelson performing at Best New Bands 2012

John Mark Nelson, the latest darling of the local music scene, has been churning out new music with a furor ever since the 2011 release of his debut album Still Here. Since then, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter has released a second album, Waiting and Waiting, and is currently in the process of recording his third. Well, kind of. That's where you come in.

See Also:
Picked to Click 2012: #3 (tie). John Mark Nelson
John Mark Nelson channels folk-pop sophistication: Minnetonka teen charms the Current with his second album

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Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford

The new lineup from left to right: Adam Reich, Liam Betson, Julian Veronesi, Eric Harm, Patrick Stickles

With their 2010 record The Monitor raising critical eyebrows as a sweeping concept album about the American Civil War, it seems natural that Titus Andronicus would choose to dial things back a bit for their third release. Local Business is about as close to honest-to-goodness heartland rock epic as a band this hyper-literate could make. Full of riff-heavy, heart-on-the-sleeve tunes and an abundance of shout-along hooks, the latest incarnation of Titus is set to land in the Twin Cities on Thanksgiving at our own Plymouth Rock of a venue: the 7th Street Entry.

Gimmie Noise caught up with singer/guitarist Patrick Stickles by phone to discuss their #localbuisnessforever fan-project, his thoughts on the Replacements reunion, and the deep dark secret we all share: Poop.More »

Photo by David Black

After a two-year break from recording, San Diego indie-rockers the Soft Pack have returned with their new album Strapped. The record's glossy production, complete with synths, horns and dance beats should come as a shock to fans of the punky-garage sound the group had previously been known for. They'll be testing the new material Saturday at the Turf Club with openers Heavy Hawaii.

Gimmie Noise reached lead guitarist Matty McLoughlin by phone in Washington D.C. to talk about their radical new sound, living like Diamond Dave, and the almighty power of the saxophone.

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Andrew Craig

Deemed one of the most beloved video games of all time, The Legend of Zelda has continued to gain popularity over the past 25 years. This Saturday, the celebrated Nintendo game will be brought to life in The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Tour, a live orchestral performance at the Orpheum Theatre.

With a 66-piece orchestra, two harps and a 24-voice choir, the concert, conducted by Eimear Noone, features songs from The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask.

"The music just lends beautifully to this type of orchestral presentation. Much like film music, it really tells a story and that's what we've done with the music through our concert," Jason Michael Paul, CEO and executive producer of Jason Michael Paul Productions, Inc. says.

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