Ed Ackerson - Go Ahead and Cry
The first two are of songs off of Ed Ackerson's new Solo album Ackerson2. The third is a song off The Mood Swings new 3 Sided Single.
Ed Ackerson - Force Field
The Mood Swings - Nothing New
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Ed Ackerson - Go Ahead and Cry and two other videos from Sussedtacular
Ed Ackerson - Force Field
The Mood Swings - Nothing New
Friday, November 28, 2008
Electric Arc Radio's Special Holiday Show: November 29, 2008, 8:00 pm
Electric Arc Radio presents a special Holiday Show,“A Very Brady Christmas,”this Saturday night, November 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm at The Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.
Musical guests are Jeremy Messersmith (reprising his role as "singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith"), and The New Standards (who play their own annual holiday show the following Saturday, December 6th at the Fitzgerald).
The hapless writers and their entire South Minneapolis neighborhood (Sleany McFear, Bushy Bushmanov, Clerky, and all the rest) discover the meaning of Christmas in a magical ponytail. It's a cockle-warming story that's part Gift of the Magi, part Homeric Odyssey, and part MacGyver. It's "A Very Brady Christmas," made and wrapped for you with love.
Tickets are $20. Go to www.electricarcradio.com for more information. Tickets on sale now at the Ritz Theater (http://www.ritztheaterfoundation.org/) or by phone at the Ritz Box Office at 612.436.1129
The Ritz Theater is at 345 13th Ave. NE, right up the street from The 331 Club.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Faux Jean to celebrate the release of "The Mongolian Invasion" November 29th at the Hexagon Bar
Schindler explains the sudden emergence of these old recordings this way:
"As I was preparing to contemplate a move last year, I came across a big box of largely unmarked cassette tapes. These were songwriting tapes going back a decade (1997 to 2007) and most of them only had a month or year listed on the sticker. I decided that I would listen to all of these tapes and write down what existed on each tape before I had to move. This was no mean feat. I drank plenty of champagne and set myself to the task."Mike Wisti helped with the meticulous transfer from cassette to CD which is now packaged prettily in digipak (cover shown at left.)
Schindler will celebrate the album's release with a show at the Hexagon Bar on Saturday November 29th along with John Swardson, Rebel Yellow, and The Parlour Suite. The show is 21+ and free.
Preview some of the newly released songs at www.myspace.com/fauxjean. Schindler has also posted a full track listing with notes on the band's MySpace blog here.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Your local music options for the busiest barnight of the year
Every weekend without fail, HowWasTheShow's forum members start a thread to talk about the best goings on about town. (Here's this weekend's, for example.) This week however, is special. IT HAS TWO FRIDAY NIGHTS, and one of them, also known this year as Wednesday, November 26th, has a reputation akin to both a Friday and a Saturday night put together.
In honor of Thanksgiving Eve, HowWasTheShow has assembled some cool places for you to spend what's often called the busiest barnight of the year. (Supposedly it's busier than New Year's Eve since on that night multitudes of private parties provide fierce competion for the clubs.)
As with NYE, look out for amateurs!
What: Blackout Wednesday w/ Yer Cronies, Victory Ship, and Joey Ryan & the Inks
What: Transmission - DJ Jake Rudh's night before Thanksgiving Dance Party
What: Maudlin CD Release Party w/ The Hopefuls & So It Goes
What: Ike Reilly, The Alarmists, Little Man (This is always nuts)
What: Happy Apple
Any glaring oversights? Leave 'em in the comments.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Belfast Cowboys and St. Dominics Trio to release dualing debut CDs
Cover art for "The Belfast Cowboys" by Kim Sheehan
Cover art for St Dominic's Trio's "Switch" by Leah Rule
In preparation for The Belfast Cowboys and St. Dominic's trio dual CD release in the First Avenue Mainroom on Wednesday, December 3rd,, HowWasTheShow has done a full interview with Terry Walsh on the main site.
PRESS RELEASE:
The Belfast Cowboys – “The Belfast Cowboys”
St. Dominic’s Trio – “Switch”
After more than six years of live rehearsals in the bars of Minnesota, Van Morrison tribute band The Belfast Cowboys and its smaller offshoot St. Dominic’s Trio are releasing their debut CDs at First Avenue’s Mainroom, on Wednesday, December 3rd. The Tisdales, led by Rich Mattson (who produced “Switch” at his studio in Sparta, Minnesota), are slated to open the show.
Both The Belfast Cowboys and St. Dominic's Trio are led by singer/songwriter Terry Walsh, and feature other notable Minneapolis musicians, including sax man Vic Volare, bassist Joe Baumgart (Peal, Mammy Nuns), and guitarist Simon Sheehan (Congo Eels).
The Belfast Cowboys is an energized reworking of some of Van Morrison’s best material, including lesser-known chestnuts ("Redwood Tree”, “Precious Time”) some radio staples ("Wild Night", "Domino"), and “Cleaning Windows (Minneapolis Version)” in which Walsh name-checks several past and present Minnesota bands.
“Switch” is a CD of original songs that genre-hops between Costello-like rock (4th Day of May), blues (“Cold Dice”, “Freeze”), and Motown (“Free and Alive”, “I Thought We Were Friends”). A trio in name only, the band expands to nine pieces on five of the ten songs. Long-time favorites at Kieran’s Irish Pub and The Liffey, St. Dominic’s Trio has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two years after Sheehan and keyboardist Joe Loskota were added as regular fixtures to the three-piece band.
Plans to play Chicago (Volare’s home town) and points in between, plus regional shows are in the works. Until then, you’ll still be able to see The Belfast Cowboys monthly at Lee’s Liquor Lounge and Whiskey Junction, while St Dominic’s Trio can be found every fourth weekend of the month at Kieran’s.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Dance party of music fans under 3 feet tall at Lucy Michelle show
Our first stop Friday Evening was at The Cedar Cultural Center for the first part of a double header between Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles and Dance Band. We couldn’t stay for Dance Band, but I can tell you they were celebrating the release of a new 5 song EP, Geekadelic. With track names like “Feet On Fire” and “Bootyriffic,” Geekadelic features more weird, tongue-in-cheek (and totally awesome) dance mania from the band that has been making dancing mandatory (“We’re Dance Band, not Stand Band!) at their shows since 2006. I find it hilarious, but oddly perfect that in my Napster player, the “Other Members Like…” suggestions includes iSweat Fitness Music’s iSweat Fitness Music Vol. 46: Pilates. Remember this video from White Light Riot last year? I’m wondering if it isn’t time for Dance Band to record a full-length fitness video themselves.
Lucy Michelle and her five bandmates (cello, fiddle, drums, stand-up bass and acoustic guitar) had no trouble taking command of the large Cedar Stage. Though the musicians were spread out across the wide stage, communication between Lucy and the rest of the musicians showed signs of the abundance of practice they’ve had over the past few months. They've been playing what seems like several times a week since taking home the coveted City Pages Picked to Click award for 2008 earlier this fall. It’s important with any music, of course, but particularly important with Michelle’s that the band not drift into sloppiness that can sometimes happen when a band is spread out on a stage because her music already has a natural looseness and informality to it. The band’s Cedar performance on the wide stage bodes well for their Main Stage First Avenue performance coming up at Voltage in April.
As this was the Cedar, there were “all-agers” on hand. Early on I Twittered to friends that a dance party had broken out amongst my fellow concert-goers under 3 feet tall. Check out this video I filmed while sitting on the floor up front. [See also, this video for When The World Turned Out Its Lights.]
Lucy Michelle’s set Friday night included many songs from her debut album Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes, plus some new ones she promises will be recorded soon for the next.
HowWasTheShow photographer Jenn Barnett was along for the show and filed a full set of photos that you can view here:
Here are a few photo highlights:
Friday, November 21, 2008
Alpha Consumer at the Turf Club Saturday
One of my favorite bands in town is playing the Turf Club this weekend. They were on HowWasTheShow's wish list for our 6 year anniversary party last year, but it unfortunately would not fit in with their busy schedules.
Yes, there is a lot going on Saturday, November 29th, but if you haven't seen Alpha Consumer you really need to. It's not just because the band is comprised of some of the best musicians in the entire Midwest. Alpha Consumer is the kind of well-kept secret you wish would explode onto the world scene just to see what would happen. That may never happen, and if it did, so many minds might be blown the world might never recover. But one can still dream.
More detail:
The members of Alpha Consumer (Jeremy Ylvisaker, J.T. Bates, and Michael Lewis) have spent most of this past year touring with acts such as Andrew Bird, Dosh, A Prairie Home Companion, Happy Apple, and Fat Kid Wednesdays to, among many other places, Japan, Australia, and Portugal. Not to mention recording with Bird, Dosh, Fat Kids, Eyedea & Abilities, Why?, Fog, James Buckley Trio, Chris Morrisey, and much more.
November 29 marks a rare reconvening of Alpha Consumer who will be playing many new selections off of their recording-in-progress with the working title Kick Drugs out of America. They happily share the bill with Gospel Gossip, First Communion Afterparty, and Margaret Lane.
Who: Alpha Consumer, Gospel Gossip, First Communion Afterparty, Margaret Lane
Where: Turf Club, St. Paul
When: Sat. Nov. 29. Doors at 9:00 pm
How Much: $6
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