The music never stops in the Twin Cities. Third Man Records' Pokey LaFarge makes a trip to the Cedar Cultural Center while singer/songwriter Lissie (above) plays a sold out show at the Varsity Theater. Soundset 2013 takes place this Sunday with a pre-party Saturday night at the Triple Rock and an after party late Sunday in First Avenue's Mainroom. The infamous Prince makes a two-show appearance that could hurt your bank account (tickets are $259) at Myth. Lastly, the Turf Club will be hosting a benefit to help photographer Erik Hess featuring several local artists and even a secret special guest.More »

Photo by Emily Utne

The Walker Art Center's yearly pairing of high-concept film and local music, Summer Music & Movies, has just unveiled this year's slate of entertainment. Running on Mondays between July 29 and August 19, each of the four shows -- under the subhead "Roadways" -- expresses something different from the mind of Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, who curated the series.

Among the artists involved are 2012 Picked to Click winners the Chalice, as well as a night that has the potential for Weird Visions/Zoo Animal/Wolf Lords songs on the table. Each evening at Loring Park will also feature some DJ boost from 89.3 the Current. Check out the schedule below.

See Also:
Walker Art Center's 2013-14 music lineup
Rock the Garden 2013 lineup & schedule
Basilica Block Party 2013 lineup

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Photo by Jonathon Weiner

Late last fall, the members of New Found Glory got the idea to do a tour commemorating the ten-year anniversary of their Sticks and Stones album. Even without any "big hits" in recent years, the Florida pop-punk band has been touring constantly and continuously building their fanbase on the road. Due to timing, the band wasn't able to make it to Minneapolis, but was given the opportunity this spring to do a few shows in Canada and allowed them to add some cities they had skipped out on.

The band will be playing Sticks and Stones album in full at their show on Saturday evening, and Gimme Noise spoke with drummer Cyrus Bolooki before the band's swing through First Ave.

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Photo By Erik Hess

Foals
With Surfer Blood and Blondfire
First Avenue, Minneapolis
May 20, 2013

There are a few different ways for musicians to approach the dreaded Monday night show, where typically fans and bands alike are still feeling the effects of the weekend and the obligatory drag of the start of the work week. The first is to play like every show is on a Saturday night, and bring enough energy to your songs that the crowd simply gets swept up in it. The second is to go through the motions, get through the set with little more than is required, and save yourself for the big shows on the weekends when everyone is naturally in a party mood.

Those two techniques were on full display at First Avenue on Monday evening, where the Oxford, England, quintet Foals delivered a dynamic and forceful 90-minute set that completely invigorated the crowd, while Palm Beach, Florida's Surfer Blood gave a listless, tepid performance full of flat new songs that didn't come close to packing the same musical punch as those found on their debut.

See Also:
Slideshow: Foals at First Avenue, 5/20/13
Surfer Blood and the Drums at the Varsity Theater, 10/13/10

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Jeff Gage

Todd Rundgren
Varsity Theater, Minneapolis
Monday, May 20, 2013

There were signs hung all around the Varsity Theater on Monday night that, if you gave them a moment's pause, did plenty to set the tone for the evening. "Warning," they said, in big, black, capitalized letters. "There will be strobing lights at this show."

Nowadays, of course, "strobing lights" are all but routine at concerts. So, bothering to actually post a warning about them? Well, that could mean things getting a little weird. And, what do you know, after all these years, Todd Rundgren is just as weird as ever.

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Sheila E.

Most Minnesotans hunger for music as much as they crave cheese curds -- if not more. So it makes sense that between the Minnesota State Fair's Grandstand entertainment and a load of free stages there's a veritable binge on live entertainment, and no heartburn.

The highest-profile shows of the Great Minnesota get-together are jammed into dual evenings at the Bandshell Tonight! stage. Singer/drummer Sheila E., who spent a good portion of the '80s collaborating with Prince and since has amassed significant pop, country, and jazz accomplishments, highlights the Bandshell offerings, which also include the now-grown Hansen, and Robert Randolph & the Family Band. The Heritage at Sundown stage should tickle a Gimme Noise reader or three as well with Chastity Brown, Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles, and several others. Plus, Grammy winners the Okee Dokee Brothers are at the Family Fair. Check out more highlights of the free stages below.

See Also:
Depeche Mode unveil 2013 U.S. tour dates -- St. Paul in August
MN State Fair announces more 2013 grandstand: Macklemore, Tim McGraw, and more

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Rhymesayers label treasure and representative Blueprint is an articulate and prolific figure. Founder of Weightless Recordings, half of the super-duos Soul Position with RJD2 and Greenhouse Effect with Illogic, and a standout solo member of the biggest independent label in the region, the veteran emcee/producer that goes by Printmatic, or even just Al, celebrates nearly 15 years of putting Midwest rap on the map this weekend.

Charged with the task of warming up the Soundset Festival patrons with a headlining show at the Triple Rock on Saturday night, and then hosting the festival itself the next day, Blueprint paused to connect with Gimme Noise on his history with Rhymesayers, future projects, and how he'll handle his responsibilities at the landmark event that features headliners Atmosphere, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and many more first-class rap acts.

See also:
Soundset 2013 lineup: Atmosphere, Snoop Dogg, Mac Miller & more
Rhymesayers releases "Soundset 2013 Let's Go!" teaser video

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
With Thenewno2
First Avenue, Minneapolis
May 18, 2013

It has been a rather tumultuous couple of years for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. In late 2010, the California trio suffered the shocking passing of Michael Been, legendary frontman of the Call, who died of a heart attack backstage at one of the band's shows. Been was not only the father of BRMC's Robert Levon Been, but he had also been the band's sound engineer for years, providing a welcome and steady sonic influence on the group while on tour.

The songs from BRMC's just-released new album, Specter at the Feast, are justifiably drenched in raw emotion and dignified remembrance of Been and his long musical legacy, and the band's triumphant return to First Avenue on Saturday night appropriately kicked off with a raucous cover of the Call and only got better from there during their generous two-hour, 23-song set, which drew liberally from throughout their entire 13-year career.

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Photo by Erik Hess

The prodigious singer-songwriter Zach Sobiech's trials with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, have ended. When his song "'Clouds" went viral last year, the teenager brought a wealth of hope and strength to his own situation and to countless others. On his Caring Bridge site today, his mother Laura Sobiech announced that he had passed surrounded by his sisters, brother, parents, and girlfriend. "We love him dearly," she writes. He was 18.

See Also:
SoulPancake releases Zach Sobiech documentary
Zach Sobiech: I hope a music career doesn't change who I am
Zach Sobiech at Varsity Theater, 2/16/13
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Photo By Anna Gulbrandsen

Art-A-Whirl Night One
With the Blind Shake, Gospel Gossip, Carroll, Kill the Vultures, Jaill, Quiet Corral, and Tramps Like Us
331 Club, Minneapolis
May 17, 2013

The 331 Club emphatically kicked-off the musical portion of 2013's Art-A-Whirl on Friday night, with a diverse line-up that only grew better as the night wore on. Sadly, the fans who gathered for the outdoor portion of the event seemed to be a bit subdued by the unseasonable cool May evening and the chilly winds that blew through the tent-covered parking lot stage, as most concert-goers were indifferent to the acts who played during the early part of the night. But once the festivities moved indoors and packed the small, intimate club, the night caught fire as did the music on offer.

See Also:
Slideshow: Art-A-Whirl 2013: The music, 5/17/13 
Slideshow: Art-A-Whirl 2013: The music, 5/18/13
Gospel Gossip record release at 7th Street Entry, 3/21/13

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