Halloween 2010

Lots of great shows this weekend but I didn't attend any of them. Well, I guess I did make late hour appearance at the basement show City on the Make and The Book of Right On were playing. Tonight I'm heading to the 501 Club downtown to see Dragons Power Up! play a Smashing Pumpkins set. I also like the fact that the Turf Club will be screening Susperia, Black Sheep and Dead Alive. Some other goings on this evening...

Seawhores w/ Buildings, Iguano and Nightosaur @ Stanley's (2500 University NE University Ave)

Voyager, Poop Smeared Mirror, DJ Beethcake @ Club Med

Hot Roxx Halloween Hextravaganza: Vampire Hands with Count Nikola, The Huckleberrys, Teddy and The Turks, The Ventures Cover Band @ Hexagon

We Too Have Demons, Malls of America and Samhain @ Acadia

Lusurfer, Hastings 3000, G-Biz @ Sauce

Sleeping in the Aviary To Release Third LP.

One fine Saturday morning Elliott rang asking if I could help with a photo shoot. Being that SITA HQ is only a couple of blocks away I said sure thing. I was hoping that there were going to be masks involved and I was right! I'm the ghoul who looks all dead in the eyes.

Sleeping in the Aviary have a new album entitled Great Vacation! coming out November 30th on CD and Vinyl through Science of Sound (Madison, WI). Download the first song here.

The Release Shows:

Nov. 27 - Madison, WI - Great Vacation! Album Release @ The Frequency
Dec. 4 - Minneapolis, MN - Great Vacation! Album Release @ Kitty Cat Klub

Their US tour will include shows in; WI, IL, IN, TN, GA, FL, LA, TX, NM, AZ, CA, OR, WA, UT, CO, KS, NE, IA & MN. There will be two different legs of the tour and more announcements will be made on their myspace as things become official. A tentative routing of the first leg is located here.

Larsen Family Benefit Details.

"Tickets for the benefit honoring the life of Micheal “Eyedea” Larsen on November 9th at First Avenue go on are now available." Online tickets have SOLD OUT and can now only be purchased in person at Fifth Element (2411 Hennepin Avenue South - 612.377.0044).

A Celebration of the life of Micheal “Eyedea” Larsen
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Location: First Avenue Mainroom, 701 1st Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Doors: 5:00PM
Ages: All Ages
Donation: $20

More information available on Rhymesayers.com and you can RSVP here.

Marijuana Deathsquads @ The Entry

This recording can be downloaded here.
(Right Click > Save Link As or Control-Click)

Marijuana Deathsquads
The 7th Street Entry
Minneapolis, MN
Monday October 25th 2010

Taper: empty emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: The usual spot.
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Cards) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > razorlame > 320kbps]
Edit: Sound Forge Pro 10 (compression)
TRT: 21:40

This recording is for archival and promotional purposes only.

The personnel for this set:

Ryan
Isaac
Stef
Ben
Charles (Seawhores)
T Bos (Chibalo, Song of Zarathustra)
Slapping Purses

Marijuana Deathsquads supported Gram Rabbit.

Last Night Was A Good One...

Thanks to the Deathsquads for getting me on the list to record their last minute show at The Entry. I had a few minutes to play it back before work this morning and it was sounding like something I would be proud to share. I'll upload that around 6pm barring any last minute chicken wing happy hour outings. Unfortunately I did not stay for Gram Rabbit but I encourage you to check them out. Jesika von Rabbit was in the Twin Cities band The Minx.

I wanted to go to The Kitty Cat Klub to see The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs, The Funeral And The Twilight and The Great Confinement but I needed a serious break from Dinkytown. Since it was Colin's last night in town for a while I went down to the Hexagon. When I got there the Heggies Pizza had just started flowing like wine. If you don't live in Minnesota you probably don't know the joy of a good Heggies. Typically they can only be found in certain bars, convenience stores and smaller grocery stores. First up was a "6 Pack" (Sausage, Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Smoked Bacon, Mozzarella & Cheddar). I've had the 6 Pack before and while it is delicious it's simply too much meat on one pizza. I wanted to keep it simple and order a cheese or sausage Heggies but Harris insisted that I order the new Chicken Alfredo. I usually don't care for Alfredo based pizzas but I've got to say it was damn good. Thank you Heggies. You are doing good things up in Milaca!

Empty's Tapes On SoundCloud.

My friend Erik told me about SoundCloud and I guess I had noticed people using it but upon further investigation it seems pretty slick. Empty's Tapes on SoundCloud. Right now the only two tracks available are Ben Weaver - "22 Shells" (Live at Hymie's Records 10/19/10) and STNNNG - "New Black Hole" (Live at The Turf Club 10/23/10). If you feel like it you can bookmark http://soundcloud.com/emptys-tapes and check back for additional tracks in the coming weeks. I think I'll start offering both a direct download for people who want the actual file(s) and a SoundCloud link for those who just want to stream the tracks.

Guided By Voices Live at First Avenue

Guided By Voices Live at First Avenue (10/12/10) available for purchase on gbvdigital.com

"After breaking up Guided By Voices in 2004, Robert Pollard is reuniting the "classic" Guided By Voices line-up for just one brief US tour. Tobin Sprout (guitar) Charles "Mitch" Mitchell (guitar), Greg Demos (bass) and Kevin Fennel (drums) will be joining Pollard on classic GBV songs from 1992-1996 from the albums Propellor, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars."

I had planned on trying to record this but when I heard the band was recording the shows officially I knew that would get nixed. Glad there's a recording out there though.

What a world it would be if we all cared a little bit more.

I still need to ask Women if I can release their set from the Triple Rock. I'd also like to post the Whitesand/Badlands set. That might be a little easier since it involves walking downstairs to ask my housemate.

Thursday was TWO Vampire Hands sets at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Definitely want to post some of/all of that. Someone with MIA gave me his card and would like a copy. It's nice to know they are cool with people documenting music there. Things were warped up by 9 which left time to get to the Kitty Cat Klub for Perish02. Two buses yo. Safewords and Zombie Season were both great. Hanging out with friends was also great. This time around my trip to Mesa Pizza included; 1 slice gyro pizza and 1 slice barbecue steak and fries pizza. They were both delicious.

Lots of stuff going on Friday. I went to Sauce to see Sims (Doomtree). Sauce is one of those room where setting up microphones is often more work than it's worth so I decided to travel light and just get a tape off the soundboard. That's gotta stay under wraps because many unreleased tracks were played. Thanks to Sims for the list spot and thanks to Ross for being one of the top 5 FOHs around town.

Saturday...another dozen shows to pick from but first was my friend from Guyana's birthday party. Awesome roti, jerk chicken, chickpeas and curry goat & chicken. Didn't mean to diss Guzzlemug's last Minneapolis show before they move to Chicago but I had the STNNNG LP release at The Turf Club on my calendar forever. Oh hi Ross, it's been a while. What's been crackin' in the last 24 hours? Very nice supporting sets by Gay Beast, Kill the Vultures and Mother of Fire.

Sunday was Sunday. I enjoy Sundays like that.

This Went Down Last Night

"Your life, what's in it?"

The Entry - 8pm, $6

Toys That Kill
The Arrivals
The Gateway District

The Turf Club - 9pm, , 21+

The Life and Times
Story of The Sea
Che Arthur

Cause - 9:30, $7, 21+

Sims
I.B.E.
Plain Ole Bill

Hexagon - 10pm, Free, 21+

Sorry OK
Southside Hustle
Barfly
Kind Regards

Gnarwhal (top secret locale) - 7pm

Capricorn Vertical Slum
Brain Tumors
Robust Worlds

xxxxxx - 10pm?

Expo '70
Daughters of the Sun
Stacian
FoodPyramid
Tender Meat

Stanley's - 10pm, Free, 21+

Two Harbors
BNLX
Satellite Voices
Still Pacific

The Loft (Barfly) - 9pm, 21+

Mike Mictlan (Doomtree)
Toki Wright (Rhymesayers)
Duenday (No Static)
Big Dylan (No Static) & Audio Perm
Mnemosyne
Niles Miller (No Static)

The 501 Club - 9pm, $5, 21+

Self-Evident
System And Station
Seymore Saves The World

Ben Weaver @ Hymie's Records

A .RAR file containing this recording can be downloaded here.

Ben Weaver
Hymie's Records
Minneapolis, MN
Tuesday October 19th 2010

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, left of center, ~6' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Cards) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > RazorLame> 320kbps mp3]
Editing: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge Pro 10 (slight compression)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Grass Doe
02. City Girl
03. Drag the Hills
04. East Jefferson
05. While I'm Gone
06. Maiden Cliff
07. Split Ends
08. 22 Shells
09. The Rooster's Wife

Ben Weaver - acoustic guitar, banjo, vocals
Liz Draper - upright bass

Site | Myspace | Facebook

This was the first in-store performance at the new Hymie's Vintage Records location (3820 E Lake Street Minneapolis). Look for more performances there in the future as well as daily specials on vinyl including 10-20 percent off depending on the day. Hymie's also offers 10 percent off on your birthday. This performance was in support of Ben's new album Mirepoix and Smoke out now on Bloodshot Records. Mr. John Kolstad was the sound engineer. Ben will also be joined by Liz Draper (Black Blondie, Hips Don't Lie, Carpscale Orchester, Town Hall Stompers) on upright bass for a string of 3 shows in Wisconsin.

Oct 20 Stage North, Washburn, WI
Oct 21 Kiki’s House of Riteous Music, Madison, WI
Oct 22 Green Room Pub, Sheboygan, WI
Oct 25 Pioneer Place on Fifth, St. Cloud, MN
Oct 27 Rochester Civic Theatre, Rochester, MN
Nov 3 Duffy’s Tavern, Lincoln, NE
Nov 4 Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club, Kansas City, MO
Nov 5 Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA
Nov 6 Nutty’s North, Sioux Falls, SD
Nov 9 The Mill, Iowa City, IA
Nov 10 Mike and Molly’s, Champaign, IL
Nov 11 The House Cafe, Dekalb, IL
Nov 12 The Brass Rail, Fort Wayne, IN
Nov 13 Schubas, Chicago, IL

....

It's been a pretty rough week but on Tuesday I was able to record Ben Weaver performing his new album in it's entirety at Hymie's Records. It was a nice time and I look forward to more in-stores there. I thought it would be neat to get it posted that night but I ended up watching Boardwalk Empire. I was going to post it last night but I was fortunate enough to get invited over to Lake & Bloomington for homemade pizza. It was good hanging with friends. Thank you.

Tonight I think I'm going to head to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to catch Vampire Hands. Word is they will be playing one set as a three piece and one set with Colin. Since this is supposed to be over by 9pm I'll see you at the Kitty Cat Klub for Perish featuring Zombie Season and Safewords (debut performance) plus DJs throughout the night. Safewords features Jeremy Ward, Jed from CLAPS and Colin from The Sinks. That's at 10pm and there is no cover.

Perish02 Tonight @ The Kitty Cat Klub

Perish. Every Third Thursday of the Month.
Perish02:
Zombie Season
Safewords (debut performance)

DJ Ossuary/DJ Lysander/Perish DJs playing music throughout the night.

Kitty Cat Klub
10pm. 10/21
Free

- Upcoming Perish -
11/18
12/16

Thursday 10/21...

Minneapolis Institute of Art - 6pm - 9pm, Free?

Vampire Hands (One set as a trio and one set with Colin)

The Kitty Cat Klub - 10pm, Free, 21+

Perish02:
Zombie Season
Safewords (debut performance)
+ DJs throughout the night

The Hexagon - 9pm, Free, 21+

The Intelligence
The Blind Shake
Private Dancer
Pink Mink

The Triple Rock - 8pm, $18, 18+

The Legendary Pink Dots

The Cabooze - 8:30pm doors, 9:30pm music, $7, 18+

Oh My God (Chicago)
Mayda
Prozac Rat

Music Box Theatre - 5pm, today through October 31st

The Haunted Theater

Frank Turner @ First Avenue

How was Frank last night? Did he steal the show? It wasn't until Friday that I realized all of the $30 tickets were SOLD OUT for Social Distortion, Lucero and Frank Turner at First Avenue. I was all jazzed from an email I had just gotten from Frank giving me permission to record his set but I was quickly knocked back down to size once I realized tickets were gone.

Here's Frank's first stop in Minneapolis at the Cabooze on October 3rd 2009.

Wednesday 10/20...

Coale's Bar and Grill (719 North Dale St. Paul)

Open Minds Open Mic, to Benefit the Micheal Larsen Family
More information is available here.

First Avenue - 8pm, $18/$20

"An Evening with Hank III & Assjack"

xxxusa - 9pm, $5

Benoit Pioulard
Leisure Birds
Food Pyramid
Capricorn Vertical Slum
+ DJ fruit and flowers

The Turf Club - 9pm, $5, 21+

Clown Lounge:
Grant Cutler & The Gorgeous Lords - 12:00
Holly Newsom (Zoo Animal) - 11:00
Dream Boat (aka Makr) - 10:00

Main Stage:
Martin Devaney - 11:30
Matt Latterell - 10:30
Brian Just - 9:30

Nick and Eddie - 11pm, Free

H.U.N.X.
+ DJs

The Varsity Theater - $5 students/$10 public, 7pm, more info here.

P.O.S
Toki Wright
I Self Devine
Kanser/ More Than Lights
Aaron and The Sea
Duenday

The Kitty Cat Klub - 10pm, Free

The Cloud Hidden
Wizards Are Real
Joseph Adrian

Micheal Larsen (Eyedea) Memorial Fundraiser

Mike's Mom Kathy Averill has set up a PayPal account for donations to go towards his memorial services. More information is available here. A benefit is being planned for November 9th which would have been Mike's 29th birthday.

I ended up staying at a friend's house last night and didn't get back this way til around 3pm. I opened up facebook and the first thing I saw was "Micheal Larsen It is with great pain and sadness that I tell you my son Mikey (Eyedea) has passed away. At this time we kindly request your respect and our privacy as we process this devastating loss. On behalf of Mikey's family, close friends and fans. Thank you Kathy Averill (Mikey's mom)." Of course I didn't want to believe it so I started telling myself that it must be some sick internet joke. Maybe someone hacked his facebook account? Yeah this can't be the truth.

I called Chris to make sure it was real. He said that people were gathering at Kathy's house so I started walking towards Lake Street. Catching the 21 to Hiawatha I sprinted to the train just in time for it to pull away from the platform. By the time I got to the 46th street station the 74 wasn't leaving for another 25 minutes. There was only one more bus separating me from the West End neighborhood of St. Paul where Mike grew up so I waited it out. The conversations going on around me all seemed like they were taking place in the next room. I could tell that people were talking but I couldn't focus in on any of the words. I started thinking about running into Mike on the patio of Casey's on 35th & Nicollet. It would have been Wednesday the 6th because they were doing karaoke and we would later joke about which songs we were going to do. I had to bust his chops a bit "What are you doing on this side of the river not playing a show?" "A buddy of mine from way back lives a block away..." motioning to his friend "He used to beat me up when we were kids" flashing the all to well known Mikey smile.

He was excited to be a part of Guitar Party, a new group started by Jeremy Ylvisaker featuring Jeremy's 6 year old daughter Mijah on vocal duties. They had a show coming up at the Cedar that Friday and I said I'd see him there. My last memories of Mike were watching his tenderhearted interactions with Mijah talking to her on the level instead of treating her like she was some little kid. I left out the back door to head back to the Triple Rock and ran into Mike in the parking lot. Like always he was waiting with a hug and a "Thank you for taping." As a general rule "taping" has always been frowned upon in the "hip hop" community but for whatever reason Mike always embraced it. It was unheard of to be able to walk into a Rap show the stature of Eyedea & Abilites and be able to set up equipment for any sort of documentation. It just did not happen unless you were involved with some sort of official release but here I was sending Mike text messages to get people added to the list for audio/video in Salt Lake City or whichever city they happened to be in that night. I'm a firm believer that after the loss of anyone whom we care about no matter if they were an electrician or a musician it's important to have records left. Perhaps Mike felt the same to a degree.

Saturday 10/16...

No Assumption

Black Audience
Mother of Fire
members of BRASS MESSENGERS
Infiammati Fire Circus
DJ Asylum Soundsystem

The Entry

The Evening Rig
The Bombay Sweets
Sleeping in the Aviary
Bird Sounds

The Turf Club

Leisure Birds "Copper Scroll" pre-release / Benefit for Yeti Records
Daughters of the Sun
Vampire Hands
Marijuana Deathsquads
DJ Matt St. Germain

Stanley's

Kruddler
Rank Strangers
Easy Baby

The Nomad

Hotpants 3 Year Anniversary!

.xxxusa.

Supersonic Piss (Iowa City)
Permanent Vacation
Puss 'n Boots
Black Broom (members of Tips for Twat)

Psychic School

Kitten Forever
Hyperslob and the Hot Babes
Frederickson
MC/VL

The Kitty Cat Klub

Chastity Brown
Bruteheart
Mayda

The 331 Club

Unknown Prophets
Artifact Shore

=====================================

Last night I made it to Palmer's for The Book Of Right On and City on the Make. Between that was an exclusive industry insiders only set from Ryan Harris of Spiritual Mansions at Med. Tonight I don't know. I would really like to go to The Entry but I would also like to go to the Turf and 2 or 3 other places. I think a simple way to resolved this dilemma is to hang out with a friend on his birthday and take in the establishment of his choosing.

Also note that Stanley's is now open in the space that was formerly Stasiu's. Their first show last night included Gospel Gossip, His Mischief, Young Pretenders and Eye Lips Eyes (LA).

Tonight At No Assumption Gallery

We are very excited to host some great live music and entertainment this Saturday. Please come on over and enjoy the art and the performers inside, outside, and throughout the property. Its going to be a fantastic show!

Music will start at 6:30pm. The gallery will be open from 4:00pm.

Black Audience
Mother of Fire
members of BRASS MESSENGERS
Infiammati Fire Circus
DJ Asylum Soundsystem

plus – ‘farewell to homes’
A foreclosure rite of passage community performance

What is No Assumption?

Art of This and Artcodex Present:
No Assumption: A Collaborative Exhibition of Art in a Residence.
Curated by Vandana Jain, Kevin Loecke, Troy Pieper & Mirelle Zacharis.

No Assumption examines the themes surrounding property, the pursuit of happiness, and contemporary American domesticity in the context of the foreclosure crisis. Artists and members of the community have been invited to exhibit relevant artworks and programming in a converted (and foreclosed-upon) storefront home in Northeast Minneapolis’ Arts District. Artworks will explore a broad range of subjects relative to the circumstances the home and its former owner have endured in the effort to keep the home and family intact. Topics examined range from bureaucracy, tragedy and loss; real estate and lending; healthcare and disability; to secrets, memories, labor and leisure; security, and self-preservation within daily domestic existence.

No Assumption, itself born of a personal domestic tragedy, is conceived of as an homage not only to a specific family, a deceased mortgage holder and the property in question, but also to similar scenarios experienced by countless families across the country in recent years. As the clock counts down toward eviction, the property will be transformed into a creative conversation about our rights, our desires, and the structural foundations upon which we build our lives.

No Assumption Gallery
1235 Monroe St NE
Minneapolis, MN

D. Rider @ The Entry

A .RAR file containing this recording can be downloaded here.

D. Rider
The Entry
Minneapolis, MN
Wednesday October 13th 2010

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, right left drink rail, 25' back, ~7' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Hypers) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > RazorLame> 320kbps mp3]

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.

Myspace

Interview with Todd on NPR

D. Rider and Gay Beast supported AIDS Wolf in The Entry last Wesnesday. The entire show was enjoyable and there was little leaving of the room by myself or many other folks. Thanks to all of the bands for a nice evening. Thanks to Matt, top notch FOH and constant class act.

"D. Rider's debut album, "Mother of Curses" (Tizona), opens with a squeak that sounds like someone writing on a dry erase board with a felt-tipped marker. The trio, led by U.S. Maple guitarist Todd Rittmann, follows by layering on buzzing, distorted guitar, Spartan drums and hazy, disaffected vocals. By the song's close, it sounds as though Rittmann is singing from the center of a busy construction zone, dodging masked welders and heavy equipment in order to deliver his screed.

But, despite the array of out-there techniques employed to create the devilish soundscape (spray paint cans, cell phones, cassette tape), "Curses" doesn't come across like some high-concept art project; this album, quite simply, rocks.+

"I'm a fan of pure abstraction, but that's just not where I'm at with music," says Rittmann. "It's hard for me to blow my own mind with abstract sounds. Right now, I'm into applying the funny sounds I come up with to rock 'n' roll songs." - Andy Downing Chicago Tribune

Friday 10/15...

The Hexagon - 10pm, no cover, 21+

Total Fucking Blood
Chibalo (12" LP release available!)
Getting Even
Powerstallion

Palmer's - 10pm, $5, 21+

The Book Of Right On
City on the Make

I don't feel like doing much of anything tonight besides hanging at the house but if I did do something I would probably go to Palmer's and then to the Hexagon.

Guante & Inky Midwest Tour.

Guante: Two-time National Poetry Slam Champion
Inky: founder of MN Mic and slammaster of Punch Out Poetry

10/14: Still Waters at Sweet Black Coffee in Milwaukee, 8pm
10/15: Voltage! at Milwaukee Public Library, 6pm
10/16: Genna’s Lounge in Madison, 7pm
10/18: Mental Graffiti at the Butterfly Social Club in Chicago, 8pm
10/19: Young Chicago Authors workshop and feature, 6pm
10/22: Root Note in La Crosse, 8pm
10/23: Indianapolis, details TBA
10/24: Green Mill in Chicago, 7pm

Sarah Johnson/Visions of Christ Split Tape Release.

Well goddamn it. I can't always record everything on both sides of the river every night. Last Wednesday Sarah Johnson and Visions of Christ had their split cassette release show at The Turf Club which included one of the sickest bills that side of the Mississippi. Check out Soothing Almonds Collective for more information. Anyways I don't own a time machines or anything but if you don't already know Sarah Johnson will be moving to Asheville, NC for the winter and possibly longer. You can get the tape by contacting either of the bands. Word is SJ are halfway through their share of tapes so grab one while you can...I'm sure they will need monies for gas and gas station food on their journey to escape another Midwestern winter.

For anyone with a time machine here are your coordinates:

Wed. Oct. 6th
Turf Club
10pm $5

Sarah Johnson
Visions of Christ
Daughters of the Sun
Voyager
Lighted

Speaking of Sarah Johnson, they've already left town and you can purchase the tape in the following cities while supplies last.

Oct 14 OASIS NEW LONDON, CT
Oct 15 Castelvania PROVIDENCE, RI
Oct 16 SURREAL ESTATE NYC, NY
Oct 17 HELP! NYC, NY
Oct 18 HELP! ALLENTOWN, PA
Oct 19 JRs PHILLY, PA
Oct 20 VISITING MY MOM DC, MD
Oct 21 HOPES + DREAMS CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
Oct 22 TBA NASHVILLE, TN
Oct 23 TBA NASHVILLE, TN
Oct 24 BREAK? WHERE?, TN
Oct 25 RANCH RANCH PERVERT PIT TAMPA, FL
Oct 26 NEW COLLEGE SARASOTA, FL
Oct 27 LOU'S BAR ORLANDO, FL
Oct 28 MEADOWS of DAN W/ YOHIMBE! CARRBORO, NC
Oct 29 GSS2 HAUS W/ YOHIMBE! RALEIGH, NC
Oct 30 GREEN BEAN W/ YOHIMBE GREENSBORO, NC
Oct 31 HOME ASHEVILLE, NC

Jazz Thursdays At MacPhail

Mingus: Meditations and Revelations

Thursday, October 14 · 8:00pm - 10:00pm
MacPhail Center For Music
501 South 2nd Street

Join Adam Linz, Chris Thomson, and Alden Ikeda as they present the first Jazz Thursdays concert at MacPhail. Kicking off our year long tribute to the music of Charles Mingus. From Duke Ellingtons Sound of Love to a solo version of Please Don't Come Back From The Moon we pay tribute to one of America's most unique voices in jazz and society. Hope you can make it. Special QandA session with the artists from 7 till 7:30PM in the US Bank Lobby outside Antonello Hall. Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment For The Arts.

Adults $10 | Students $5

Tickets are available by calling 612.767.5250 or you can purchase in person at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis.

Thursday 10/14...

MacPhail Center for Music - Adults $10, Students $5, 8pm

Mingus: Meditations and Revelations (Every Thursday Night)

"Join Adam Linz, Chris Thomson, and Alden Ikeda as they present the first Jazz Thursdays concert at MacPhail. Kicking off our year long tribute to the music of Charles Mingus."

The Triple Rock - $15, 10pm, 18+

Rocky Votolato
Ha Ha Tonka

Hexagon Bar - no cover, 10pm?, 21+

Camden (Cole of Daughters of the Sun)
Robust Worlds (Chris R. of Vampire Hands)
Elven Thief (Nick of Daughters of the Sun)
Bonnie Brown and the USA's (Sho of Mute Era/Seated Heat)*
Drug Emergency (Alex of Vampire Hands)

* name subject to change before the show.

AIDS Wolf, D. Rider and Gay Beast @ The Entry Tonight

The 7th Street Entry
Wednesday, October 13th 2010
8pm | 18+
$8.00

AIDS Wolf (Montreal)
D. Rider (Chicago)
Gay Beast (Minneapolis)

And So I Watch You From Afar - Live At The Triple Rock

Got to The Triple Rock around 6:30 last night to set up. I ended up making 3 trips down the street to The Cedar. One to set up a recorder, one to start the recording and one to retrieve the recorder. Most of that was amass a sea of drunk 20 and 30 somethings yelling "Brrraaaiiins!" and feeling me up all night. The things we do to document live music yeah? I still managed to get the first 3 bands at The Triple Rock recorded. The venue staff did a top notch job of dealing with any unruly zombies. Envy's tour manager asked for their set to not be recorded which was totally fine. All of the Envy guys were super nice and has some of the best senses of humor I had encountered in some time. And So I Watch You From Afar was obviously my draw there and because the four band members and three crew were staying at the house I was in for the long haul regardless. Well, most everyone eventually ended up on the bus and here's hoping they didn't get a ticket for parking in the lot of the Church across the alley. Great people and great times that carried on into the early AM with birds chirping in South Minneapolis. A special thanks and much respect to Andy Coles, the front of house for ASIWYFA. Safe travels fellas. Something tells me you'll really enjoy the Northwest. We'll work on getting the full set online, likely with some soundboard in the mix but for now here's a track from last night's set. If you're into it you'd be wise to catch them before they're back across the pond. ASIWYFA's 2009 s/t LP and their 2010 The Letters EP can both be picked up through Smalltown America Records.

And So I Watch You From Afar - Set Guitars to Kill (Live)

Oct 10 Jackpot Music Hall Lawrence, Kansas
Oct 12 Bluebird Theatre Denver, CO
Oct 13 The Basement Ogden, UT
Oct 15 El Corazon Seattle, wa
Oct 16 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR
Oct 18 Cafe Du Nord San Francisco, CA
Oct 19 Chain Reaction Anaheim, CA
Oct 20 Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
Oct 22 The Casbah San Diego, CA.
Oct 23 The Underground Mesa, Arizona
Oct 25 Rubber Gloves Denton, TX
Oct 26 Emo's Alternative Lounge Austin, TX
Nov 22 Dingwalls London, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 23 Hare & Hounds BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 24 Clwb Ifor Bach CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 25 Kazimier LIVERPOOL, West, IRELAND
Nov 26 King Tuts GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM

Zombies, Sons of Belfast and a Guitar Party...

Tonight I'm going to attempt to run mics at The Triple Rock for And So I Watch You From Afar while also setting up a second "rig" at The Cedar for Guitar Party. Guitar Party's first show was last night at The 331 Club. They're a new band featuring:

Jake Hanson- guitar
Jeremy Ylvisaker- guitar
Mijah Ylvisaker - voice
J.T. Bates- drums
Andrew Broder- guitar
Micheal Larsen- guitar
Mike Lewis- bass
Haley Bonar- keyboards, voice

Sounds pretty legit right? Been waiting a long while for ASIWYFA to come to town. They're opening the 8pm Envy (Japan) show with Touche Amore (Los Angeles). Oh yeah, I keep forgetting the West Bank will be overrun with Zombies tonight. Zombie Pub Crawl VI!

ROCKTOBERFEST II

Rocktoberfest 2 : Wir leben fur diese!

October 9th Doors at Noon $10 Entry Fee

Grumpys NE Al Fresco (in the back)

Grumpys NE, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Surly Beer are despoiling the oncoming
cold fronts and flipping the bird at snowflakes with one final outdoor
show of loud, rage-filled, animalistic instrument banging in the back of
Grumpy’s NE.

Rocktoberfest 2 is upon us.

Eight bands, Eight brutal band names. Chibalo, Wolvhammer, The Rockford Mules, Tonnage, Rat Catcher, Total Fucking Blood, Kentucky Beltfight and Disasteratti.

Smolderingly irresistible Demon Dogs will be available to sate your urge to devour the entrails of beasts along with its lovable scamp sidekick, taco bag.

$2 PBR Tallboys from Noon to til the music starts.

The first 100 people to cross the threshold into the netheryard of the
Grump will thereupon be awarded a commemorative Rocktoberfest T-shirt
while sizes last

Saucey

Got down to Sauce/Cause in time to record CLAPS off the board. So tight. So good. Missed most of Chelsea Boys and unfortunately all of Food Pyramid and The Great Confinement. TGC now has nicely done tee shirts.

Got back to the neighborhood late. CD Club at Memory Lanes and my ongoing tour the chicken wings throughout Minneapolis. The Triple Rock and Tracy's both have some quality wings. I was left wanting a little more from ML. I've always loved teh establishment though. Rail Station wings have always looked amazing...time to try them. Rambo Salinas should also hook up the annual "Last Nice Day of the Year Wings and Dominoes" marathon on The Cedar Inn patio. I'm talkin' wings.

Also a damn fine hootenanny across the way thanks I. to the B..

Mark Mallman Marathon III

Mark Mallman's Marathon III: A 78-hour rock epic.

His performance will include well over 400 pages of lyrics and 75 backup musicians over the course of 4 days. This piece is representative of one of indie rock's unsung heros life's undertaking. This piece is a musical installation of 3 consecutive phases. Each phase is 26 hours long, like a Marathon is 26 miles.

“PHASE I : A Giant Wave”
...“PHASE II : Blood Flow”
“PHASE III: Liquid Moth”

When asked recently if he was planning on setting a world record Mallman stated:

“I am not a magician or a stuntman attempting to set a world record.
I am a professional musician,
who seeks to expose the raw nerve of creativity itself.”

A full schedule of guests and performers will be released a week before the event. A song single from each phase will also be available on line. MARATHON 3 will be recorded on multitrack, and select portions will be released online. The full event will be broadcast live from www.markmallman.com.

===========

Mallman fired things up Thursday afternoon and will be fueling the file through Sunday evening. During this time The Turf Club is open to the public from 12pm to 2am. From 2am-12pm Mallman and associates will likely be playing for Felix, Dave and whichever Midway ghost happens to wander in to check out The Marathon III.

Check out the full schedule of players HERE. Damn! Some of the Twin Cities' finest!

Friday 10/08...

CLAPS + Chelsea Boys + Food Pyramid + The Great Confinement @ Sauce/Cause

Mark Mallman Marathon 3 (Night Two) @ The Turf Club

The Somethin' Else #5 (I, Synthesizer) @ Franklin Art Works (1021 East Franklin Ave)

Guitar Party (Ylvisaker, Bates, Bonar, Lewis + others) @ The 331 Club

Ogre Smash Death Boom + Zombie Season + Sorry OK @ The Whole (Coffman Union)

A Benefit for Brad Kern @ First Avenue

Grieves & Budo @ The Entry

Naomi Dornfeld + Taj Raj + The Painted People + Jim O'Neill & The Brain Clouds @ The Nomad

Teddy and the Turks @ The 501 Club

Faun Fables Canceled.

I was on the 18 heading towards Downtown somewhere around Nicollet & Franklin when Shane from Guzzlemug sent me a "Show canceled!" text. Apparently their van broke down somewhere in Iowa. Since I was already half way there and had a copy of the Guzzlemug set from the Sleepytime show I told Shane I'd meet him down there. Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine was down the street at The 400 Bar and I was tempted to see if I could record. Good talking with a couple of the Guzzlemug fellas but at that point I just felt like going home and gave 24/7 a ring. Thanks to Billy and The Triple Rock for drowning my sorrows in the meantime.

Guzzlemug is moving to Chicago and these shows will be your last chances to see them around here:

Oct 10 Tarnish and Gold Gallery Minneapolis, MN
Oct 22 ye Bye For Now Part One - Maritime Tavern Appleton, Wisconsin
Oct 23 Bye Bye For Now Part Two - xxx.usa ***LAST MPLS SHOW*** Minneapolis, MN

Thursday 10/07...

Faun Fables + Guzzlemug (2nd to last show ever) @ The Triple Rock

Robust Worlds (Chris R. from Vampire Hands) + Dreamboat (makr) + Shahs + Chickadee Mt. Martyrs @ xxxusa

Wizard Baby, Air Conditioning School, Dial Up (Andrew from A Paper Cup Band) @ The Entry

Mark Mallman Marathon 3 (day 1 of 4) @ The Turf Club

Tannahill Weavers @ The Cedar Cultural Center

The Annandale Cardinals @ The Foundry Pub (1201 Jackson St Saint Paul)

Satellite Voices + Thought Thieves + Riot Act Reading Series @ The 501 Club

"Mike The Mike" Millard

I must admit every time I hear the word "bootleg" I cringe a little on the inside. It's been a romantic term that lots of folks have associated with a "live recording" for YEARS. The truth is that the "B" word is a dirty word for those of us doing this to help archive live music. Many do not regard "Bootlegging" as meaning the same thing as "Taping" or "Recording a show." To "Bootleg" is to make a recording without the bands permission and consequently sell that recording to those interested thus profiting off the band instead of helping them document what's going on. I also have to admit that I stopped sneaking gear into shows years ago. Anyways, here's some of "Mike The Mike" Millard's story...

Mike Millard, nicknamed "Mike The Mike" was an avid concert taper in the 1970s and 1980s, recording mostly Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones concerts in California, especially at the Los Angeles Forum. He taped virtually every show at the Forum from 1974 to 1980. Many of his recordings found their way into the hands of bootleggers who sold Millard's work to fans.

Starting with a basic mono recorder in 1974, Millard upgraded to a Nakamichi stereo recorder with AKG Acoustics microphones for the 1975 Led Zeppelin shows in the area. He often used a wheelchair to conceal his equipment, pretending to be disabled. Unlike most 1970s audience bootlegs, Millard's recordings are noted for their great sound quality, and are to this day considered some of the finest audio bootlegs available.

Millard's recording of the Led Zeppelin concert on June 21, 1977 at the Forum (allegedly taped from row number six) was released under the title Listen To This Eddie, and remains one of the best-known Led Zeppelin bootlegs. His recording of the opening number from the concert, "The Song Remains The Same", was included in the promos menu of the Led Zeppelin DVD. Millard recorded all of the Rolling Stones 1975 shows at the LA Forum, and his recording of the Sunday, June 13, 1975 show (titled 'LA Friday') has become one of the most widely spread recordings of a Rolling Stones concert.

Millard was never behind the sale of bootlegs and was openly against the illegal sale of his recordings - like many audience tapers today. He was notorious for "marking" copies of his tapes so that if one of his recordings turned up for sale on LP or CD, he would be able to tell which person he had traded it to. He kept a very detailed logbook of his marked recordings and who they were distributed to. "Unmarked" copies of Mike's recordings are very scarce. Recently, several unmarked 1st generation copies of his Led Zeppelin recordings surfaced in trading circles, a truly historic moment for collectors around the world.

Millard allegedly suffered from severe depression, and committed suicide in 1990.

- ye trusty ole wikipedia

==========================================

There has been some debate about Mike Millard recordings aside from Led Zeppelin. This is from interview with someone who used to trade with Mike Millard between 1987-1990.

Q. What other bands did Mike record beside Led Zeppelin?
A. Tons. Pink Floyd in 1975, many Yes shows, Who shows, the Rolling Stones, & Jethro Tull. Basically everyone who came to the LA Forum in the years 1974-1980s, then occasionally taping after that, ie the Who in 1989, Plant in 1990, etc. He originally used a mono recorder in 1974, then got his portable Nakamichi tape recorder and AKG microphones in 1975 for the Zep shows.
Q. How was the tape intentionally messed up?
A. He would put a marking in a song somewhere like a volume fluctuation and then keep a log book of every copy he sent out and who's copy had what markings.

Q. Did he give tape covers to the bootleg companies?
A. Never, he hated boot companies. Every boot that was made was without his approval.
Q. Any idea how much he sold tapes for to the bootleggers?
A. He didn't. He never sold a tape, and certainly never intentionally gave one out to the boot companies. He blew a gasket when For Badgeholders Only came out.
Q. Was his wheelchair due to an illness or an injury?
A. As far as I know, it was a prop for taping.
Q. How old was he in 1977?
A. He was in his twenties in 1977.
Q. With whom did he go to concerts?
A. I am not sure on this one, I know he had a few "helpers"

Q. What was his goal in recording concerts?
A. Making the best quality recordings one could make. He was also very protective of his tapes, and any tape he traded out was marked in a secret way to identify that tape if it was put onto a bootleg. He also used Dolby B and played back with it off to boost the high end, but it also increased the hiss on many of his masters.
Q. How did he love music? What other ways did he show his love for music?
A. When he sent tapes out, he would decorate the cases with colours, labels, and Xeroxes of his ticket stubs.
Q. Did he ever meet any musicians?
A. No idea here, he was a little reclusive.
Q. Any other biographical information that would be OK to know: What education did he get?
A. He was living at home with his mother. He worked as a custodian at a high school (nothing glamorous here)
It's my understanding that his master tapes are now in the possession of his family.

Q. Do they intend ever to do anything with them other than keep them?
A. No, I had a friend who knew him very well, go to his mother after his death and try to help her organize them and pack them, but she would not let him into the room where they were. As far as I know, they are still in the room he was living in during the last years of his life. - taken from a Zeppelin fan site.

Monday 10/04: What To Do What To Do?

Tonight at The Triple Rock a party will be brought to you by King Khan and the Shrines. Be sure to get there early for St. Paul's own Private Dancer who go on at 8:30 sharp. Gentleman Jesse and His Men are also in for the festivities. Who would want to miss this?!

BUT since music is not until 8:30PM perhaps prior to that you would like to check out some of the Seachange/Gastro Non Grata Patio series Part 3. These are always great. This just in from Mr. Drehmel of Gastro Non Grata:

Seachage Restaurant Patio overlooking the Stone Arch Bridge, featuring Drew Peterson and Brad, followed by Jim and the French Vanilla
818 South 2nd St
Minneapolis, MN

$5 Entrance gets you a free PBR tallboy, $25 for Four Courses off the Grill or $7 per course

Drew Peterson and Brad will open the show around 6:30, Mr. French Vanilla will go on around 8.

Roma di Luna (CD Release) @ First Avenue

Download this recording in FLAC format via The Traders' Den (BitTorrent).

Roma di Luna
October 2, 2010
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN

Taper: pjp and empty
Source1: Schoeps MK4 > Nbox > Edirol R44
Source2: SBD > Edirol R44
Location: Front right corner of board
Transfer: R44 > USB > CEP > CDwav > .flac
Editing: Mixed with Cool Edit Pro, removed a couple clicks, fades

***************************************************
DO NOT ENCODE TO LOSSY FORMATS!
***************************************************

Setlist:

01. Pearls For Pigs
02. Baby Hotel
03. Hey Lover
04. Mars
05. Starling
06. Miss You Too
07. Below Our Feet
08. Ghost Dance
09. Before I Die
10. I Will [The Beatles]
11. Porcupine
12. Red Walls
13. Plans to Leave
14. Drop a Penny
15. Bury Me (Beneath The Killing Fields)

Total running time: 78:06

***************************************************

Alexei Moon Casselle - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Channy Moon Casselle - lead vocals, violin
Ben Durrant - electric guitar
James Everest - bass guitar
Ryan Lovan - drums and percussion
Jesse Prusha - vocal harmonies, piano on "I Will"
Eliza Blue - vocal harmonies on select songs
David Olson - trumpet
Martin Devaney - tenor sax
Chris Thomson - tenor sax

- the above is P.J.'s original post from TTD.

Site | Myspace | Facebook | Twitter

Wow, what a show. This was a co-album release with Dark Dark Dark. Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps supported Saturday evening. This recording is available in FLAC format via BitTorrent. Further information regarding those technologies can be found along the right side of the blog below the Venue listing. It's possible that this recording may also be available on the Live Music Archive at some point but right now this torrent is the only way to obtain it. Roma di Luna's Then the Morning Came as well as Dark Dark Dark's Wild Go are both available through the bands' websites. I'm sure they are or will be available at a good number of the local Minneapolis/St. Paul record stores (check The Electric Fetus, Treehouse Records, Cheapo, Yeti Records and Extreme Noise).

Thank you to the bands and to First Avenue for allowing us to document this show. Much respect to Lee and Conrad.

Nomia - "Red Wing" Live At The Ritz Theater

Last Friday I had the pleasure of recording in the beautiful Ritz Theater for the Nowlikephotographs curated showcase featuring Nomia, The Autumn Project and a very rare set from Lights Out Asia. What a gorgeous sounding room. Please show The Ritz Theater your support in their time of financial strain.

Nomia - "Red Wing" Live At The Ritz Theater (09/24/10)

The Great Confinement @ The KCK Available On Myspace

Haven't heard of The Great Confinement? Shame shame. "The Great Escape" and "The Awakening" live at The Kitty Cat Klub (09/23/10) are now available via their myspace player. The Great Confinement is:

Sarah Mattheis - Cello, vocals
Lindsay Keating-Moore - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, vocals
Evan Keane - Drums

These tracks come from Perish 01. The Funeral And The Twilight played this evening as well. "Perish is a monthly night of dark music at the Kitty Cat Klub in Minneapolis. Two bands and DJ's playing music all night long." Check out Perish at the KCK every third Thursday of the month.

Friday 10/01...

The Thermals + Cymbals Eat Guitar @ The Triple Rock

Lazerbeak Release Show + Doomtree + DJ Paper Tiger @ Fine Line

The Yoleus + Disasteratti + Bouncer Fighter @ 501 Club

MC/VL + Cadette + Animal Lover (Fargo) + Les Deux Magots + Jabberwhorl @ Midway House Show

The Acorn + Anders Ponders @ The Turf Club

Double Bird + The Brutes + Mike (the Pike) Frottage (Seattle) + The Anchor Windlass @ The Hexagon