TV ON THE RADIO @ First Avenue [2 shows]

TV ON THE RADIO is in town tonight & tomorrow to make up for the two shows cancelled this spring at First Avenue due to the death of Gerard Smith on April 20th. Here's the info for the shows TV On The radio at first Avenue.

BON IVER at Orpheum Theater (2 sold-out shows)

image from @trikno's flickr

Very excited to see Bon Iver at the Orpheum Theater this Tuesday and Wednesday September 6th & 7th. His new self-titled album will definitely make most of 2011 best album's lists and his live shows bring an honest and delicate rendition of his growing catalog of beautifully arranged folk songs. I hope to see you all there to enjoy and celebrate one of minnescene's favorite 'local' bands.

Holocene Video

Holocene (live)

ZOÉ en concierto - Unplugged @ First Avenue!

I can't believe that ZOÉ one of my favorite bands out of Mexico is coming to town. I've only being following them for a few years but I've been amazed by their 15+ year old catalog of amazing Rock/Pop en Español. They bring their critically acclaimed MTV Unplugged show to our favorite venue First Avenue on Sunday, August 14.
This is a highly recommended show!

Here's the track "Nada" with Enrique Bunbury


and here's my favorite track from their MTV Unplugged show called "Soñé"

DJ Shadow at First Avenue July 17th 2011

I can't believe that it's been five years since DJ Shadow's last album The Outsider. A whole lot has happened in the DJ game since and even more since he released anything that captivated the masses like his classic Endtroducing..... one thing is for sure his live sets are always entertaining, specially with the addition of that crazy "Shadowsphere".

Ticket's and info at First Avenue's website.

DJ Shadow Highlight Reel


Organ Donor (Live)

The Arctic Monkeys @ First Avenue 5/28/11

One of my favorite indie rock bands & live act, The Arctic Monkeys are coming back to town on Saturday May 28th 2011. Armed with a new record full of great tunes and a surprisingly more mature sounding voice by Alex Turner, the kids from Sheffield UK will bring their energetic rock show to First Avenue's main stage.

Here's the first cut from the album "Suck It And See" to be released on June 7th 2011.

and here's the new single just released: Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair.

James Blake plays First Avenue's 7th St Entry

Really excited to see James Blake performing on Monday, May 16th 2011 at my favorite small venue in town the 7th Street Entry! Tickets go on sale this weekend so make sure to get them here. [SOLD OUT]

James Blake's self titled album is a definite departure from the sound that made him a sensation in the London dubstep circle and landed him a slot on Giles Peterson's BBC Radio 1 show. His voice has become the driving force behind ethereal piano compositions and electronic drum patterns & backing tracks all played live by his minimalistic band.

Here's a clip of his live performance and interview on BBC Radio's Sound of 2011.

and here's The Wilhelm Scream on BBC Sound of 2011

Friendly Fires in Minneapolis @ The Varsity Theater 6/1/11

Just got an advance listen to the new album Pala [due for release on May 16th on XL Recordings] and really enjoy their follow up effort. The band sticks to what they do best and deliver a collection of great dance-rock tunes. this will be a fun show at The Varsity Theater in Dinkytown MPLS.

Download "Blue Cassette" here


"Live Those Days Tonight" Video

Yelle at First Avenue 5/7/11

French cutie Yelle hits the mainroon fresh from a great performance at Coachella and touring in support of her new album "Safari Disco Club" a banging collection of electro-pop tunes that'll keep hipsters dancing through the night. See you all there saturday at First Avenue.

Live at Coachella


Safari Disco Club

The Kills @ First Avenue 5/5/2011

The Kills' Alison Mosshart is one of the sexiest rock stars out there in my humble opinion. No one in rock music looks sexier while playing a hollow body guitar. She pours raw energy and emotion into her live shows and has found a perfect compliment in the talented guitarist/producer/singer Jamie Hince. Their new album Blood Presures will be released April 5th. Make sure not to miss them on Thursday, May 5th @ First Avenue.

Check out the video for the first cut off Blood pressures "Satellite"

DJ Vadim & The Electric at The Cabooze 5/19/11

My main man DJ Vadim brings his new project "The Electric" a collaboration with songstress Sabira Jade and Chicago Rapper Pugs Atomz back to the Twin Cities. The Electric will be rocking their organically grown sounds from their new album "Life Is Moving" at The Cabooze on May 19th.

The Electric - Beautiful featuring Yarah Bravo


The Electric - Running

TV On The Radio album, film, & shows in MPLS

Brooklyn brewed TV On The Radio is releasing their new album Nine Types Of Light today! get your copy here. It is an amazing album, packed with great tunes that cement them as experimental rock's hottest act today. Nine Types Of Light is also a film containing music videos for every song in the album and interviews with New Yorkers on different topics. Check it out!



As part of their US tour they'll be playing two shows in MPLS this spring at First Avenue on Saturday April 23rd [sold-out] and Sunday April 24th!

CSS and Sleigh Bells 5/19/11

Brazilian art pop/punk band CSS or Cansei De Ser Sexy [tired of being sexy] is coming back to town to play at First Avenue. They first burst into the world's new rave scene back in 2005 with their hipster-approved release Cansei De Ser Sexy. I guess being nodded by Apple in a TV spot didn't hurt the band's global appeal. Can't wait to see Loverfoxxx performing again.

Here's a video for the song Move from the 2008 release Donkey.



Sharing the night's bill will be Brooklyn based Sleigh Bells fronted by Derek E. Miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocalist, lyricist).



(with NEON INDIAN and PRINCETON as opening acts)

Cut Copy at First Avenue 4/9/11

Australian band Cut Copy comes back to Minneapolis to promote their new album Zoonoscope. They'll be playing at First Avenue this Saturday April 9th with Holy Ghost!

Cut Copy - Need You Now from Cut Copy on Vimeo.

This is my favorite Holy Ghost! song Hold On. Holy Ghost! is a DJ duo from Brooklyn, NY, formed by Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser of the now-defunct group Automato.

Listen to the new Foo Fighters Album

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters

Bomba Estereo at The Cedar May 15th

Bomba Estéreo will be playing at The Cedar Cultural Center on Sunday May 15th 2011. [click here for tickets] Really excited to dance to one of the most eclectic representatives of Colombian cumbia, mixing it with electronic sounds, Champeta, Reggae Music, and Folklore...Liliana Saumet's voice and command of the stage will hypnotize you...we need this show to shake the last of our cold weather blues!

Bio: formed in 2005 as a project by visual artist/musician, Simón Mejía.Originally called A.M. 770, the loosely formed collective of DJs and visual artists included DJ Fresh, Diego Cadavid, Javier Fonseca of Alerta, and was led by Mejia, who renamed the group Bomba Estéreo in 2006 and released debut album, Vol. 1.Entrecasa, Colombeat, a label project by Héctor Buitrago and Andrea Echeverri of Aterciopelados, gave Mejía an opportunity to participate in their first compilation project focused on exposing new Colombian talent in the world of electronic music; releasing the track ¨Ritmika,¨ a cover song from a classic Venezueluelan orchestra, Los Blanco.On Vol. 1, Mejía met Liliana “Li” Saumet, former singer of Mister Gomes in Bombay. She sang over the track, ¨Huepaje,¨ marking the official collaboration between Liliana and Simon as Bomba Estéreo.

Gayngs Affiliated Showcase

Props to Gimme Noise for organizing a show of this proportion! The Ryan Olson pioneered movement that has become Gayngs is definitely one of the most creative and entertaining ones brewed here in the twin cities in a while. Everyone related to this project, their bands & solo acts are set to perform in all three rooms of First Avenue.
Really looking forward to sets by Megafaun, Solid Gold, Marijuana Deathsquads, & Har mar Superstar among others.
For full info and tickets go here!

Bibio's New Album Mind Bokeh

Here's the first cut from Bibio's upcoming release (March 29th US and April 4th UK/ROW)
Love this track's nicely layered & distorted electro sounds and 8-bit sounding beats.

Warpaint at The Varsity Theater! [Cancelled]

Update: Due to severe winter weather conditions, Warpaint is not able to travel to Minneapolis, MN and must cancel their show scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, March 23, at the Varsity Theater. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Refunds are available at point of purchase.


The lovely and talented ladies of WARPAINT are coming to town to play at The Varsity Theater on Wednesday March 23rd 2011.

Their debut full length album The Fool is definitely one of the best female indie rock album on 2010. The band has been able to craft their sound by compressing a lot of their personal influences into a post-punk driven beats, melodic vocals, intricate guitar riffs psychedelic noise that's amazingly soothing.

Here's a few interviews and videos with Emily Kokal (vocals/guitar), Theresa Wayman (guitar/vocals), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass/vocals), and Stella Mozgawa (drums).

Little Dragon at The Cave

Who would have thought that a small college venue like The Cave in Northfield MN would be such a great cozy setting for one of my favorite voices in electro-pop music Yukimi Nagano. Her band Little Dragon delivered a short but sweet set of songs that are now classic in my collection and even played a couple of new unreleased tunes. Yukimi's voice is as soulful as anyone's in pop music today and was awarded with some mainstream recognition by being included in Gorillaz's album Plastic Beach.

Here's a little video I shot that night and it includes clips from the songs Feather, Looking Glass, and a new unreleased song.