North South East and West: The Church @ the Varsity in Minneapolis
The ChurchVarsity Theater in MinneapolisJune 21st “I’m ready!” my friend Steve exclaimed loudly after taking a bong hit whilst standing on his head. It was the dead of winter in Minnesota in early 1988. Steve, my roommate Matt and I…
Back…Further Back
Towards the end of last summer, in my usual cock and balls shaft worship of each and every issue of NME, I downloaded the “Track of the Week” for August 4, 2008. More often than not, NME’s track of the…
And When You Will Walk, You’ll Be Walking With Me…
Doves Varsity Theater, Minneapolis May 28th “Hey, George, where are you? You should be here man.” I didn’t think it was possible after seeing Friendly Fires, White Lies, Travis, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Keane (my Brit Rock Love tour)…
Bedshaped and Legs of Stone: Keane @ Myth
“Everyone knows that the biggest wankers in any band are the drummer, the keyboard player, and the lead vocalist. And that’s their whole band, innit?” So sayeth Noel Gallagher on the subject of Keane. While there is a small grain…
All You Gods and Goddesses: Bloc Party @ First Avenue
Bloc PartyMay 4th, 2009First Avenue, Minneapolis “Hello, Minneapolis! We almost didn’t make it.” Kele Okereke shouted this from the stage last night from First Avenue right after they finished their opening number, “One Month Off” from their new album Intimacy.…
Take Me Out!: Franz Ferdinand @ First Avenue
First Avenue was packed Tuesday night April 28th as the lads from Glasgow took the stage. Franz Ferdinand has always been a real pleasure to see live. I had only seen them one other time–at the Fine Line in 2004–on…
All I Wanna Do is Rock: Travis at the Fine Line in Minneapolis
When Travis comes to town, it’s always a special show. The previous four times I have seen them have all been very entertaining. The first time was as a warm up to Oasis in 2000. Next was headline at the…
…and I took the sword from the Lady in the Lake
Resident Anglophile Mark returns to Ickmusic with a review of the recent White Lies / Friendly Fires show in Minneapolis. I need to add a “Tell Us How You REALLY Feel” category just for Mark’s colorful posts… – Pete Friendly…
A Tortured And Wonderful Howl From The Heart
In April of 2006, Billy Lunn, guitarist, singer, and songwriter for the Welwyn Garden City, Hertforshire, England trio The Subways, was diagnosed with nodules on his vocal chords. They canceled several appearances in support of their wonderful first album Young…
The Wizard Returns to His…Roots?
The first time I listened to Arena, the new 13 track album by Todd Rundgren, I felt like I was listening to the album that record companies were begging him to make… in 1981. Thankfully, he never did and went…
