Let the music play - new Concert Reviews/Experiences

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It happened a few weeks ago, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jeff Tweedy's performance at 1st Ave back on Nov 6th. The place was every bit as packed as it was for the Garbage show I saw last month, even on a Thursday night.

While he was there in 2022 with Golden Smog, this marked the first time he had been at the venue with his solo project band since 2015. Line-up includes his two sons, Spencer on drums and Sammy on synth & some vocals. The rest of the band includes contemporary friends of his kids. All pretty solid, it's not a vanity project

While maybe not as energetic as a Wilco show, I found the evening quite enjoyable. It's in promotion of his wonderful TRIPLE album, Twilight Override.

No Wilco material, but that was fine by me. I wanted as much material from the new album as possible. 17 songs were included. Nothing weak.

The encore was marked by a wonderful tribute to Conrad which I already commented on in his thread. It also set the stage for a couple of big surprise covers.

Each stop they have been featuring a song as a 1 time tour performance that is also a nod to the locale that they are playing. We were treated to a bring down the house Prince cover of "Kiss". Sammy on lead vox. If that wasn't enough, due to the reverence for Minneapolis, we got a bonus. The Replacements, "Androgynous".

A delightful treat.

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Ope3 said:
Pearl Jam N2 at Hard Rock Live got off to a great start just from the shout outs I was getting from wearing my Replacements/Midway T-shirt. It included a photo opportunity with a guy from Jordan, MN sporting the exact same get up.

He asked what song did I want to hear most. I went with my #1 PJ song, Release. Boom. Didn't have to wait long, show opener, played in complete darkness. That was followed by a deep cut, Of the Girl. Next up, my #3 fave, Given to Fly with minimal light so that the band appeared as silhouettes on the screen behind.

There was really no let up with crowd pleasers throughout and an ample amount of Dark Matter material. Jeremy, Elderly Woman, Daughter, Even Flow, Black, Porch, Just Breathe & Betterman were also included in the setlist. Ed also called an audible into Faithful for which I approve.

The evening finished with the NY standard Rockin' in the Free World and Yellow Ledbetter.

Great show. Great night. Great weekend.

I have now determined I am a fan of The Cadillac Margarita.

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As a Fan Club member which helps out with these foundation donations, I approve. Cool story.

 

Anyone skipping tonight's Lemonheads show at The Fine Line based on last year's Shame About Ray/Come on Feel stop (same venue), I don't blame you. That was a mess, which is actually about as kind as one can label it. However, you missed out on a dandy of a show.

I threw caution to the wind and made a late game day decision to attend. This was based on how strong the new album is, Love Chant, and the solo Nashville (mostly ) In Store I saw him at in October, which Evan kept his bleep together.

The opening act Erin Rae was a solid singer song writer who also added some backing vocals on Love Chant. She thanked Dando and more importantly his wife for hosting her on this tour. That gave me hope with her around he would be lucid & present.

Indeed he was. It's the most I have seen him smile in the past 10 MPLS shows, COMBINED. The voice also held up for the most part.

We got about half the new album along with some Lemonheads standards in the main set.

The solo/acoustic had some John Prine but then the we got a real treat. He fired off a Replacements double shot, Skyway > If Only You Were Lonely.

The rest of the trio came back on stage for Into Your Arms and ended the night with If I Could Talk.

Thank you Mrs Dando.

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Ope3 said:
Anyone skipping tonight's Lemonheads show at The Fine Line based on last year's Shame About Ray/Come on Feel stop (same venue), I don't blame you. That was a mess, which is actually about as kind as one can label it. However, you missed out on a dandy of a show.

I threw caution to the wind and made a late game day decision to attend. This was based on how strong the new album is, Love Chant, and the solo Nashville (mostly ) In Store I saw him at in October, which Evan kept his bleep together.

The opening act Erin Rae was a solid singer song writer who also added some backing vocals on Love Chant. She thanked Dando and more importantly his wife for hosting her on this tour. That gave me hope with her around he would be lucid & present.

Indeed he was. It's the most I have seen him smile in the past 10 MPLS shows, COMBINED. The voice also held up for the most part.

We got about half the new album along with some Lemonheads standards in the main set.

The solo/acoustic had some John Prine but then the we got a real treat. He fired off a Replacements double shot, Skyway > If Only You Were Lonely.

The rest of the trio came back on stage for Into Your Arms and ended the night with If I Could Talk.

Thank you Mrs Dando.
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Post show Pizza Luce.


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Yacht Club Festival lineup out. Yeesh......$150 for a day pass or $275 for a three day pass. Three day pass is fairly reasonable. But $150 for a single day? I just want to see Marcy Playground.....


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Over the past roughly 100 days in 3 states, I was able to see Jeff Tweedy perform in 3 incarnations. Last night's treat was a quick jaunt to Chicago to see Golden Smog for a rare non-Twin Cities gig.

Usually he joins the Minneapolis based supergroup (Jayhawks-Soul Asylum-Run Westy Run) on to their home turf. This year after a 3 year gap, they did a couple of New York shows before heading back west at play the Vic on a rainy night.

Very good crowd. Tough ticket, they were going for $250+ on the secondary market. While it was a very predictable Setlist of material, I enjoyed it thoroughly none the less.

Highlights as always were Glad and Sorry (Faces Cover) and Won't Be Coming Home. Gary Louris and Tweedy can harmonize right up there with the Everly Brothers and the Beach Boys, IMO. Speaking of Brian Wilson, Love and Mercy was also featured.

The main set concluded, which rolled into a Louris/Tweedy 4 song duo acoustic set starting with Radio King. That song belongs on each's Mt Rushmore over their prolific catalog.

Kraig Johnson, Marc Perlman, Danny Murphy & Steve Gorman rejoined for another encore. Johnson just tore through the Neil Young classic Revolution Blues and they ended on Weird Tales standard Until You Came Along. I suspect we will get that one again this weekend for the Jayhawks show at the Palace.

Great time.

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-7 walking from the parking ramp to the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul on Saturday night. That will put anyone into the holiday spirit for cool double bill of Robyn Hitchcock & the Jayhawks.

It was the first time I had seen Hitchcock in several decades, he delivered a couple of my favorites early on, Balloon Man and Madonna of the Wasps

Between most of his songs there was quite comedic entertaining stage banter. His strong set ended with his Soft Boys classic, I Wanna Destroy You to an appreciative crowd.

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The Jayhawks were a stripped down 4-piece, going without an.extra guitar player. In addition to a lot of the same usual stuff there were a handful of new tunes. They will on their new album due out by July which will the 40th Anniversary for the group.

Also included.were a half dozen modern Christmas songs to a very receptive audience.

The night ended with a Golden Smog song, Until You Came Along. Pretty surreal that I was able to witness Gary Louris & Marc Perlman perform it in two different confirmations in the same week, having just seen them in Chicago.

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Gary Louris clad in a formal suit and tie, equipped with a Flying V.

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The show was dedicated to Konrad, whose image was occasionally shown on the backdrop video screen. Quite a tribute.
 

Tommy Stinson opening for Soul Asylum tonight with a full band.

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The Cave (Northfield)
1st Ave
The Whole/Coffman Union
Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Great Hall/Coffman Union
Edge Fest (Somerset, WI)
State Theatre
The Fine Line
The Red Carpet (St Cloud)
Basilica Block Party
Grand Old Days
Canterbury Downs (Shakopee)
The Quest
Peavey Plaza
Taste of Minnesota (State Capitol)
Rib Fest
Lumberjack Days (Stillwater)
7th Street Entry
St John's Block Party (Rochester)
Pan O Prog (Lakeville)
Nicolet Mall (Super Bowl)

As my friend and I were heading to 1st Ave on Saturday to see the Tommy Stinson/Soul Asylum double bill he asked me how many times I had seen SA. I guessed 30.

Then I mentally went through the list of where I had seen them before (above) and I realized I was way off. I came up with at least 20 venues. Having seen them more than 20 times at 1st Ave alone, I am thinking conservatively it's about 50.

Tommy got things cooking with his band. First time I had seen him fronting one in a long time.

Soul Asylum was clicking. While I miss the old crew dearly, Pirner has this collection of pros playing tight.

There were about a half dozen new tunes along with a couple of favorites from the '00s, Lately & Oxygen. Some usual standards were included: Misery, String of Pearls, Black Gold, Runaway Train & Somebody to Shove (finale).

The thrill for me though was seeing these 3 tunes:

Without a Trace
Sometime to Return
Veil of Tears

Those are probably my top 3 songs in the Pirner catalog, and it's been rare the last few decades that all get played in the same set. Often it's less than 2. Dave let the audience carry the final verse on Without a Trace, much to his delight.

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The place was Sold Out and packed, most getting there for Tommy's set which was cool to see.

Good way to cap off 2025 for live shows from Minnesota to Florida, Iowa, Washington, Tennessee & Illinois. A fun ride.

Good times.
 
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I went back to the Sphere in Vegas for my 2nd concert - this time we saw Zac Brown Band. Great concert once again. My 4th time seeing ZBB and much different experience in the Sphere.

I highly recommend the Sphere if there's a musician you like. Tickets aren't cheap, but the experience is exceptional and so different than a traditional venue.

We also saw Wizard of Oz earlier that day, glad I saw it once, don't need to again. The smart thing they did is they cut out about 37 minutes of the original and the movie moved along at a good pace and nothing was lost in the plot. The addition of movies at the Sphere is a gamechanger for them.

Go Live Music!!
 

The 2026 concert sojourn started on Saturday night at the Turf. Late 90s local "flesh rockers" Detroit played a reunion show.

Great fun, singing their classic hits Keg Party Tonight, Fran Tarkenton, Space Pod, He Drives a Chick Car, My Girl Drives a Monster Truck amongst others. Also got in their crowd favorite Rush medley.

It was dual birthday celebration for a friend of the band, complete with cake. Bonus.

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For many years Mellencamp was on my list to see and I finally did two years ago. I think I posted in this thread how disappointed I was and that I'd never see him again because he barely played any of his hits...well today, after much pushing from his manager I assume, he announced a "Greatest Hits" tour and he'll play all of his hits, including some he hasn't played in 17 years.

I'm glad he did this and I'll get tickets for his August concert here in Phoenix!

www.mellencamp.com

John Mellencamp Sets Landmark Dancing Words Tour - The Greatest Hits

www.mellencamp.com www.mellencamp.com

Go Live Music!!
 

BleedGopher said:
For many years Mellencamp was on my list to see and I finally did two years ago. I think I posted in this thread how disappointed I was and that I'd never see him again because he barely played any of his hits...well today, after much pushing from his manager I assume, he announced a "Greatest Hits" tour and he'll play all of his hits, including some he hasn't played in 17 years.

I'm glad he did this and I'll get tickets for his August concert here in Phoenix!

www.mellencamp.com

John Mellencamp Sets Landmark Dancing Words Tour - The Greatest Hits

www.mellencamp.com www.mellencamp.com

Go Live Music!!
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Hopefully he holds up, in terms of vocals. Very few back-to-backs which should help. His Tour Manager should have eliminated all of them, but sometimes the dollars win out. Just from the short set I saw at Farm Aid, there are plenty of his hits that don't require a huge vocal range.

I love that Key West Intermezzo and I Need a Lover are included on the expected "hits" list though those are a couple that are dependent on voice range, IMO.

I'm sure his backing band will be quite stellar.
 




Awesome concert Saturday night at The Phoenix Open, 16th hole to kick off the big tournament here this week. The Killers headlined with Tyler Hubbard opening. About 25,000 fans on the 16th hole, they set the stage up in the middle of the fairway. It was an incredible night out and awesome concert. Hubbard was really good, though an odd pairing to open for The Killers. And then The Killers just crushed it - absolute energy from the opening song to the end, with choreographed drone show as the final song was sang.

Opened with Mr. Brightside, finished with When You Were Young.

Such a great night.

Go Live Music!!

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Ope3 said:
Springsteen is coming back to Minneapolis with the E Street Band on March 31 at Target Center to kick off relatively brief spring tour.


Given the theme of the show, I will be curious about ticket prices and if it will go the dynamic route.
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I saw him twice on his last tour and vowed to see him on any future tour, I'll be at the Phoenix concert in April and already blocked off my calendar for the ticket sale time on Friday.

Go Live Music!!
 

BleedGopher said:
I saw him twice on his last tour and vowed to see him on any future tour, I'll be at the Phoenix concert in April and already blocked off my calendar for the ticket sale time on Friday.

Go Live Music!!
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My only apprehensions about seeing Springsteen in Minneapolis are how disappointing the few shows (for other artists) have been at Target Center. Really substandard sound.

It's been more than 20 years since I have seen a show there. Maybe there have been improvements. Or maybe I should think about a road trip.
 

Ope3 said:
My only apprehensions about seeing Springsteen in Minneapolis are how disappointing the few shows (for other artists) have been at Target Center. Really substandard sound.

It's been more than 20 years since I have seen a show there. Maybe there have been improvements. Or maybe I should think about a road trip.
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If you road trip down here let me know...it's been about 22 years since we last randomly sat together, twice!

Go Gophers!!
 

The annual Innings Festival and Extra Innings Festival back to back weekends is upon us here in Phoenix. My wife and I went to Innings Festival this past Friday.

We saw Minnesota legend's Marcy Playground, Goo Goo Dolls, Myles Smith and Mumord & Sons who headlined. Fantastic lineup, first time seeing Marcy Playground, second for GGD and Myles Smith and third time for Mumford. Beautiful day/night for a festival.

What's crazy about Myles Smith is just over a year ago my daughter and I saw him for $15 at a tiny venue here that has a 200 person capacity. We were front row, my daughter got a selfie with him after the concert, he came in the (small) crowd and sang right next to me, etc. We knew he was going to blow up, and now he's performing in front of 25,000 just over a year later. And this summer he's the lead opener for Ed Sheeran in football stadiums where he'll perform in front of 50,000+. It has to be one of the faster rises in recent history, and he's still just as good as he was in the tiny venue.

Mumford and Sons released their new album the day we saw them, fun way to be part of their "album release party" as they said a few times.

Go Live Music!!
 

Ope3 said:
Springsteen is coming back to Minneapolis with the E Street Band on March 31 at Target Center to kick off relatively brief spring tour.


Given the theme of the show, I will be curious about ticket prices and if it will go the dynamic route.
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BleedGopher said:
I saw him twice on his last tour and vowed to see him on any future tour, I'll be at the Phoenix concert in April and already blocked off my calendar for the ticket sale time on Friday.

Go Live Music!!
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My hopes and dreams of a scoring a GA Pit ticket or close at face value were not fulfilled. The process was not smooth. Frustrating.

Target Center/AXS I got in the virtual queue as suggested 15 minutes in advance. It took around 20 minutes before I got through to select seats.

GA Gone, but the first several rows MF behind the Pit were $427, which I think was very close to face even though they were "AXS Premium". I also checked first few rows Lower Bowl, same price. Went back to select a pair on that MF, but was somehow booted out of the queue.

Had to restart the whole process which took about 10 minutes. All those same tix were available but now showing prices of $2500 - $3000.

Futzed around for a couple of hours. Very few of those tix were selling, but the prices were steadily dropping and started to move again when they were down to the $600 - $700 range.

I wound up buying just in front of the soundboard at standard price $350.

I checked later, when the prices dropped to under $500 virtually all of the Lower Bowl/Main Floor were snapped up.

Boston/TD Garden did not go on sale until the next day. Those were through Ticketmaster. Despite being online for over an hour, never had a chance to buy anything at Standard Price. Pass.

It would be fun as the Boston show is over Memorial Weekend as the Twins are also playing the Red Sox at Fenway.
 

Ope3 said:
My hopes and dreams of a scoring a GA Pit ticket or close at face value were not fulfilled. The process was not smooth. Frustrating.

Target Center/AXS I got in the virtual queue as suggested 15 minutes in advance. It took around 20 minutes before I got through to select seats.

GA Gone, but the first several rows MF behind the Pit were $427, which I think was very close to face even though they were "AXS Premium". I also checked first few rows Lower Bowl, same price. Went back to select a pair on that MF, but was somehow booted out of the queue.

Had to restart the whole process which took about 10 minutes. All those same tix were available but now showing prices of $2500 - $3000.

Futzed around for a couple of hours. Very few of those tix were selling, but the prices were steadily dropping and started to move again when they were down to the $600 - $700 range.

I wound up buying just in front of the soundboard at standard price $350.

I checked later, when the prices dropped to under $500 virtually all of the Lower Bowl/Main Floor were snapped up.

Boston/TD Garden did not go on sale until the next day. Those were through Ticketmaster. Despite being online for over an hour, never had a chance to buy anything at Standard Price. Pass.

It would be fun as the Boston show is over Memorial Weekend as the Twins are also playing the Red Sox at Fenway.
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The demand was crazy. My buddy in Jersey was 80,000th or so in line for that show and obviously it was sold out before he was close to getting in.

I was 25,000th in line for the Phoenix show and there was plenty of lower level inventory by the time I selected. We are lower bowl, about 2/3 the way up, 3 sections from the stage and I think we paid $225 per ticket.

Go Live Music!!
 

BleedGopher said:
The demand was crazy. My buddy in Jersey was 80,000th or so in line for that show and obviously it was sold out before he was close to getting in.

I was 25,000th in line for the Phoenix show and there was plenty of lower level inventory by the time I selected. We are lower bowl, about 2/3 the way up, 3 sections from the stage and I think we paid $225 per ticket.

Go Live Music!!
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For Boston I was 48,000 in line.

Nice work on the PHX show.
 

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