Those Three Words: Snow Patrol at the State Theater in Minneapolis
In April of 2004, I walked the cold, snow/rain soaked streets of downtown Minneapolis towards the now defunct music venue The Quest. I was a man obsessed. For the few weeks before this, I had been incessantly playing what has become THE ultimate break up song of all time…”Run” by Ireland’s Snow Patrol.
The band was in town to perform, not in the main room, but in the much smaller Ascot Room located in the upstairs of The Quest. I was pretty amped because the room was not all that bigger than a tennis court so essentially it was going to be like a press gig. I stood two feet from lead singer Gary Lightbody, who smiled at me constantly for being such a dork for every song he played, and watched the band play several songs from the current CD at the time, Final Straw, as well as tunes from the first two indie releases. It was magnificent.
Less than three months later, they came back and played the main room at the Quest and it was good, but the Quest’s main room sound system really gargled old-man-in-a-rest-home testicles so I had trouble getting into it. Plus that first show was so intimate that it was hard to compare. More people were at the second gig as the band was beginning to get popular so at least that was cool.
Two years later, they released Eyes Open and made the word “popular” their bitch. At the time, I have to admit that I wasn’t as into that album as the rest of humanity was…I liked the songs but they didn’t resonate with me like those on The Final Straw…like “Run.” Would they ever write the bookend to the ultimate break up song in the form of the ultimate love song?
Last year when the band released A Hundred Million Suns, I discovered the answer was yes. So when I saw that they were kicking off their US tour in Minneapolis, my heart metaphorically melted into a pile of squishy love goo at the thought of hearing the most romantic song I have EVER heard played live…”Crack the Shutters.”
Gary Lightbody, lead singer and songwriter for Snow Patrol, calls the song “the purest love song I’ve ever written. Even more so than ‘Chasing Cars.’ It’s luxuriating in the beauty and wonder of someone you love with all of your heart.”
I completely agree.As the set started with the almost as romantic and deeply personal “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me To It,” a feeling slowly crept over me…ever growing…like a ripple spreading across a still Irish pond. This band travels on a path that leads very deeply into that part of the heart where the fire of romance is as eternal as the one that keeps vigil over a fellow countryman named Kennedy.
Gary solidified this as he sang, “On my knees I think clearer” for the next song, “Chocolate,” and literally did so. As the band struggled with a multitude of sound problems and Gary’s failing memory, lyrically speaking, the audience didn’t seem to care as the set list was adjusted. Looking over at my favorite show companion of all time, her face was overcome with emotion as they decided to do “Make This Go On Forever” earlier in the set. It was quite a sight to behold…to watch this companion let every single fucking word of this song resonate inside of her in glorious commonality. This was transpiring because the band had found yet another layer of heartfelt purity and, ultimately, the truth within her.
And I had realized that the songs on Eyes Open were just as good as all their rest.
When the time came for the ultimate break up song, the rest of the band left the stage. A single spotlight shone down on Gary as he sang the crush my heart wonderful words “To think I might not see those eyes /makes it so hard not to cry / and as we say our long goodbye / I nearly do.” Playing the song by himself put an interesting bend to the song and when the band then rejoined him for the ending build up, it was quite lovely.
As the set progressed, I began to prepare myself for…it. The song. That fucking song. When it started, I quickly turned to my right to see my companion’s eyes close in pure bliss. Singing every lyric, she became like true lovers everywhere as “Crack The Shutters” filled the State Theater in Minneapolis….feeling the truth of beauty in every word Gary sang….validating their belief that it does, in fact, conquer all.
As they left the stage after having done an encore of “Lighting Strikes”, “Open Your Eyes”, and “You’re All I Have”, I thought of Gary’s words above regarding “Crack The Shutters” and the song they had done back in the middle of the set…”Chasing Cars.” Yes, “Shutters” is the ultimate love song, but perhaps the song “Chasing Cars” has the ultimate line:
“Those three words…I say too much…and not enough.”
Do you have someone in your life to whom you can tell those three words? When you say them, are you continually amazed by how they look at you? And do they say them to you in the way you need to hear them?
I do.
And it’s the best fucking thing in the world.
Snow Patrol will be touring North America alone and with U2 (!) for the next six weeks. Check Ticketmaster to see if they are coming to your town.
North South East and West: The Church @ the Varsity in Minneapolis
The Church
Varsity Theater in Minneapolis
June 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 were about to listen to the new album by the Church entitled Starfish– purchased only hours earlier.
Steve had been into the Church way before I had. When I first met him in the fall of 1982, he had already worn out his copy of The Blurred Crusade…a drippingly wonderful psychedelic chestnut reminiscent of late 60s jangly guitar water colours. I’ll never forget the first time he played “You Took” for me. Talk about a shovel to the head stunner of a track.
As we sat blissfully stoned in the dead nut cold of 1988 and listened to what would be the biggest album the Church would ever make, we were in heaven. Starfish is a gorgeous piece of music that will always stand the test of time. A few months later, Steve and several of his friends went to see the Church when they came to town. For whatever reason, I didn’t go. It was probably a girl.
As the years went on, I followed the Church as they made album after album. I always dug every one. They came to Minneapolis many times and I just never got around to seeing them. That’s just how it is sometimes with bands. So when my friend Brian called me up and asked, “Hey, do you want to see the Church on Sunday?” I knew that God had sent me a message.
Still basking in my last trip to the Varsity for Doves, Brian and I walked in to the theater to find a very sparse crowd. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised given our state population’s reticence to go anywhere other than the cabin or the chair in front of the TV but…MAN…did many people in Minneapolis miss a great show.
They opened with “Tantalized” from Heyday -letting us know straight from the start that this was going to be seriously tight. Drifting between new and old material, focusing on their quite good new album Untitled #23, The Church brought us all on a galactic journey that soothed my mind and heart with cosmic dust. “You Took” was loud and amazing. I thought of Steve’s grinning face, of course, as he watched me dig it for the first time 27 years ago. “A Month of Sundays” was gorgeous. “After Everything” was quite sad but exceptional. “Deadman’s Hand” and “Pangea,” both from the new record, stood up against any song from Starfish.
They closed the set proper with “Under the Milky Way” and “Reptile” which sounded so lovely and beautiful that any regret I had had about never seeing them vanished in thin air. My mind drifted back to the Elm Street apartments in 1988 and without so much as a drop of alcohol or a puff of smoke, I felt marvelously high.
Check out The Church’s latest album, Untitled #23
Web Site: The Church
The Church is playing next on…..
JUN 24 WED THE INTERSECTION * GRAND RAPIDS, MI
JUN 25 THU THE MAGIC BAG * FERNDALE, MI
JUN 26 FRI BEACHLAND BALLROOM * CLEVELAND, OH
JUN 27 SAT REX THEATRE * PITTSBURGH, PA
JUN 28 SUN THE STATE THEATRE * FALLS CHURCH, VA
JUN 30 TUE RAM’S HEAD ONSTAGE * ANNAPOLIS, MD
JUL 1 WED THE TROCADERO * PHILADELPHIA, PA
JUL 2 THU SHOWCASE LIVE * FOXBOROUGH, MA
JUL 3 FRI TUPELO MUSIC HALL * LONDONDERRY, NH
JUL 7 – TRALF MUSIC HALL *BUFFALO, NY
JUL 8 WED IRVING PLAZA * NEW YORK, NY
JUL 9 THU THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE * RIDGEFIELD, CT
JUL 10 FRI SWYER THEATRE * ALBANY, NY
JUL 11 SAT – CISCO OTTAWA BLUESFEST
JUL 12 SUN – IMPERIAL THEATRE, QUEBEC CITY.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) for my musical taint to be more stimulated. I should’ve known better….it was Doves.
Four years ago, almost to the day, I went to the Vic Theater in Chicago with my friends George and Annette. George I had known for 26 years and Annette for just under one year. It didn’t really matter how long I knew them because it was the first time in a long time that I was seeing a show with two people who LOVED music…who felt its power in every fiber of their being…who knew, like I always have, that music is the daily (hourly) healing elixir for the soul. And it was in Chicago…a town whose tendrils latched onto me in a wonderful and parasitic way long ago. We were ready to soak in the aural salve that is the eternal bandage to all people. And we really fucking did that evening because…it was Doves.
I look back on that night now and realize in hindsight how significant it was for me. It was the genesis of a journey on a path filled with heart. Had I not gone down that path, I would not be the person I am today. And I thank God every day for each minute, hour, day, week and month of the past four year’s quest. It’s forged me into the man I am today and, in the best possible way, it’s still not over.
As with any bit of travel, be it physical, mental, emotional or spiritual (and in this special case, it was all four), the music you hear at that defining moment…the alpha, if you will…is to be fucking cherished. Doves were the soundtrack to that journey. This band is very, very close to my heart because they have been the underlying and terribly gorgeous hum ever since that moment four years ago.
So, I had my doubts that I could top that night back in Chicago. George was supposed to come up but couldn’t due to a conflict. Annette is living her life in Chicago. I thought of how much I missed both of them and wished they could be drinking up the magic musical potion with me. I have to admit that the melancholy for my friends was taking its toll on me as I walked up to the Varsity Theater in the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis. Dinkytown is a four square block commercial area located right next to the University of Minnesota campus. In my day, back in the 80s, it was really not all that great. Now, it is mega. The Loring Pasta Bar, the Kitty Kat Club (so cool), the Library ( a sports bar), several cafes with outdoor seating populate the small area giving it a very warm and Parisian/Florentine feel.
As I sauntered up to the Varsity, a movie house in my day, I checked the set times with the bouncer. 9pm for Doves and it was 8pm. So I had an hour to BS with my friends at the aformentioned Kitty Kat Club for a couple of pre show cocktails. I took a few steps down the street to where the Kitty was and turned to see…Jimi Goodwin, bass player and lead singer of Doves, having a smoke and taking in the sights. WOW!
Squelching the urge to be like one of those girls in the Ed Sullivan Theater when the Beatles played there in 1964, I said, “Hey, Jimi, how’s it going?”
“Good, man.”
“Take a pic with me?” I asked with the girl inside of me jumping around like a giddy cheerleader.
“Sure.”
“And could you say a little something on a quick vid to my buddy George who couldn’t make it.”
“Of course” I started the camera.
“Hey, George, where are you? You should be here man,” Jimi said with a smile to the lens.
Other folks happened by and noticed him. He signed all our tickets and I had one more thing to say to him.
“Winter Hill…amazing fucking song, dude.”
“Tough one, innit?” he said and he looked directly at me. I knew what he meant. And when he looked at me he smiled to see that I got it too. Any notion that this night would not live up to that night four years ago was fucking out of the mother fucking window at that point. I just had a conversation with Jimi Goodwin about the meaning of one of his songs…a meaning that had direct bearing on that night four years ago…a meaning that had direct bearing on me. I had not heard a single, live note yet and I was in heaven.
My friend Heather happened upon me during all of this exchange and was kind enough to take this picture at left. After me talking a mile a minute, at the Kitty, about how fucking top gear it was to meet Jimi, we boogied back to the Varsity and parked ourselves in the pit.They opened with “Jetstream”, the first track from their new album Kingdom of Rust. They wrote it to be an alternate soundtrack to the opening moments of the 1981 film, Blade Runner. How cool! After that was “Snowden,” with the twins, Andy Williams (drums) and Jez Williams (guitar) sounding magnificent. And then came “Winter Hill”. On first listen to this track, it might seem to the small minded that the lads from Wimslow are straying into “Every Breath You Take” territory. But no…no no. “Winter Hill” is about sacred love – the kind that you get from being on a journey filled with heart…the kind that stays with you forever.
The rest of their set was an excellent mix of tracks from all four of their albums. “Rise” was triumphant. “Pounding” kicked ass. “Words” was stunning. “The Greatest Denier” caused me to reflect very deeply. In so many ways, I am the greatest denier of the human condition. As the last song of the set proper began, “Caught by the River,” Jimi sang:
“Son
What have you done?
You’re caught by the river
You’re coming undoneLife
You know it can’t be so easy
But you can’t just leave it
Cause you’re not in control no moreAnd you give it all away
Would you give it all away now?
Don’t let it come apart
Don’t want to see you come apart”Can someone explain to me how melancholy, through music, can actually be a good thing?
Carrying this feeling further, the first song of the encore was the rarely played “Northenden” with only Jimi on acoustic guitar and their tour keyboard player Martin Rebelski providing accompaniment. As Andy and Jez came back on stage, Jimi went back to the drum kit. Andy had his harmonica with him and stepped up to the mic so we knew what was next…”Here It Comes.” Doves have always impressed me with their ability to swap around instruments and play whatever they need to play to suit the song.
“The Last Broadcast” was next which re-ignited my interest in that song. Finally came the ultimate exercise in self actualization, “There Goes The Fear,” and as this last song echoed into the night..the perfect song for the perfect moment…the realization swept over me that while this night wasn’t “better” or “worse” than that night four years ago, it was different…different in the most touching way. As Jimi had told me a couple of hours before,
“Tough one, innit?”
Doves will be playing Detroit, Toronto, Drummondsville East, Montreal, New York, Philly, DC, and Boston in the next few weeks before heading back to the UK.
Visit: Doves.net
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 of truth to what the elder of Brit Pop says, Keane is still a massively good band.
The first time I saw them, back in 2004 on their Hopes and Fears tour at Quest (formerly Glam Slam and home of the sound system that gargles old-man-in-a-rest-home-testicles), honestly, they didn’t need any more than those three instruments. Richard Hughes’s drums were explosive. Tim Rice-Oxley’s (could he HAVE a more Brit sounding name?) keyboards filled the full melodic and sonic spectrum. And Tom Chaplin?
The voice of a fucking angel.
I challenge any of you Ickmusic fans to listen to “Bedshaped” and not have your heart melt into a lysergic acid diethylamide–induced water colour of gut wrenching, broken hearted nostalgia. There is a man or woman out there – for all of you – who is the purest definition of this song. So with all due respect, Noel – you are incorrect.
Imagine my surprise when Keane took the stage last Friday night at Myth in Maplewood (see: essentially Wisconsin) with a bass player in tow and Tom sporting a…Fender guitar?
After three albums, Keane has decided to build upon their three piece arrangement and expand their width of vision. Their new album, Perfect Symmetry, gives a giant shout out to the entirety of the 1980s while sounding wonderfully modern at the same time. Their first track of the night, “The Lovers Are Leaving,” found me reminiscing of Roxy Music (Avalon era), ABC, and Spandau Ballet, yet remaining fully entrenched in a 00’s dream pop bliss. As their set progressed, remaining mainly with their current effort and Hopes and Fears, I was perfectly and willingly trapped in that bliss.
Snapping out of hypnosis and midway through their set proper, the band left the stage to leave only Tom and…an acoustic guitar. Knowing what the next song would be (because I peeked at setlist.fm), I was stunned. One of my two favorite Keane songs: “Your Eyes Open”. An absolute stunner played with quiet certitude. Perhaps it was the minor key.
The band then rejoined him for the obligatory “unplugged” moment at the front of the stage. The first song from their second album, Under the Iron Sea, was played: “Try Again.” And then, in an extremely touching moment, Tom said, “We put this song in the set list earlier this afternoon, when it was quite sunny here in Minnesota. And then it started pissing down in English style!” Thus, we heard “Sunshine” and our hearts were warmed.
As the set concluded with more songs from Perfect Symmetry and the very last song of the set – the triumphant “Crystal Ball” – I found myself hearkening back to the awkwardness of the 8th grade dance…the 80s rag back in full force…wondering if falling in love for the first or last time was ever worth it. They left the stage to exulting hand raises and the anticipation of…the encore…and…that song. THE song.
It was nice to hear a new song (“My Shadow”) at the start of the encore. It was even nicer to hear more from Iron Sea, the other hit from that second effort, Is It Any Wonder?. The anticipation was palatable. The crowd could taste it in the air. Their hearts were ready. Mine certainly was.
And then it came.
Starting with the warmth of gentle kiss, building to an orgasmic cascade of sonic love in its purest form, and then going back and forth between the two…mother fucking “Bedshaped”… played with all of the softness and terror that all things carnal bring. As the final notes echoed through the club and the band left the stage, I shuffled off the floor of the pit through the empty cups and bottles. And, as it always is with Keane…my heart warmed and broken at the same time.
Keane will be playing in DC, Philly, Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Montclair, and NYC in the next two weeks.
Hear: Bedshaped (mp3)
Links: Keane’s Official Site | MySpace
The Truth About Funk
Behind the scenes, I have quite a cool little network of like-minded folks when it comes to the music of Prince. We have a soft spot for that golden era in Prince music – the 80’s – when he was as prolific as ever. We also have fond memories of his side projects and off-shoots from that era – the Time (of course), The Family, Madhouse… So how cool is it to see that some members of these groups – St. Paul Peterson, Jellybean Johnson, Jerry Hubbard, and the great Eric Leeds – have come together to form The Truth.
Their mission? Keep the Minneapolis Sound alive! And throw in some old school funk from the likes of Funkadelic, Cameo, and the Ohio Players while they’re at it. The guys are tight and funky as hell live, very true to the originals, and boy can they play the sheeet out of some Prince jams… “Erotic City”, “DMSR”, and even “America”.
The kicker? A new live album recorded at Minneapolis’s Fine Line that showcases their conglomerate of Prince-inspired talent. Who knows how they feel personally about their old boss, but make no mistake that they’re paying tribute to him, and to an era very important to a lot of us – an era that will never be matched.
This live album comes highly recommended… here’s a taste:
The Truth – High Fashion (mp3)
Visit the band on MySpace.
The Truth is:
- St. Paul Peterson (The Time, The Family) on bass, vocals, guitar and keyboards
- Jellybean Johnson (The Time, The Family) on guitar
- Odell (Mint Condition) on guitar and vocals
- Jerry Hubbard (The Time, Jesse Johnson) on bass, keyboards, guitar and vocals
- Chance Howard (Prince, The Time) on bass guitar, bass synth and vocals
- Kip Blackshire (Prince) on vocals, keyboards and guitar
- Kirk Johnson (Prince) on drums and vocals
- Eric Leeds (Prince) on saxophones, keyboards and vocals
- Donnie Lamarca (Johny Lang, Mick Sterling) on keyboards.
All You Gods and Goddesses: Bloc Party @ First Avenue
Bloc Party
May 4th, 2009
First 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. One month off indeed. Bloc Party was originally scheduled to play 1st Ave on March 30th in what was to be the kick off for my six date Brit Rock Spring Wank with gentle ball cupping (Keane and Doves still to come). When they canceled due to Kele losing his voice, I checked their tour schedule to see if they could swing back through at a later time. I saw several dates in Canada and since we are basically part of that country, I thought it still could happen.
It did.
And it was bloody marvelous.
Right off the bat one could see that the boys in the band felt bad for missing us on the original date. Kele promised a thunderous AND extended set. They fucking delivered playing nearly all of their new album and several tracks from their first two albums. Since I missed them the first and only other time they came through in 2005, it was great to hear them play “Blue Light”, “Like Eating Glass” and “Positive Tension” from Silent Alarm; and “Flux” from A Weekend in the City really got the pit swaying around.
In addition to fantastic performances of “Mercury”, “Ares” and “The Prayer”, Kele and the rest of the lads charmed the crowd… carrying on conversations with people in the audience, flirting with girls (natch!) and chastising people for walking out during the encore which saw “She’s Hearing Voices” tacked on just for us Minneapolitans.
This last bit prompted Kele to say, “Alright, that’s it! I’m coming out there.” And he did…gloriously allowing all of us to body pass him around the pit and eventually to stage left where he proceeded to run up the steps to the upper level! He paused on the area of the steps that has always been known to elicit cries from staff saying, “You can’t stand here, dude!” Well, he not only stood there, but found a woman to dance with – continuing to run around all areas of the club with the roadie following behind him, frantically trying to give him more slack on the mic cable.
Sure I would’ve liked to hear “Biko” from the new record and my fave Bloc Party tune “Tulips” (a shiver and a sigh), but the energy from the band and the crowd more than made up for it. Sadly, this is the last North American show for Bloc Party. They are off to Europe though, so all you Ickmusic readers there should go to see them. It will be a corker!
Links: Bloc Party’s Official Site | MySpace
Buy their latest: 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 their first tour of the US. In addition to putting on a high energy show back then, I got to hang out with several burly local Scots who were wearing kilts…the way you are supposed to wear them:)
Alex, Nick, Bob, and Paul opened up their set last Tuesday with “Jacqueline,” a slow ballad that shifts into high energy about one quarter of the way through. Immediately, we all knew we were in a for a visual treat as the immense video screens kicked on in the back and proceeded to bombard us with high def images of such beauty and wonderment that I must admit I got a some late evening wood.As they went from song to song, the visuals changed…sometimes showing band members…other times showing certain images that reflected both the theme and the style of the song. This was not simply tech geeks getting off with their new Mac. This was ART. And it was not spoon fed to us.
They played songs from all three of their albums focusing primarily on their new record “Tonight” which has several great tunes. “No You Girls,” “Ulysses,” and “Turn it On” were all played and sounded magnificent. Of course, old chestnuts like “Tell Her Tonight” and “Michael” torqued up the crowd…the frenzy of which was reached when we all shouted take me out during….”Take Me Out.”
The encore contained a track called “Lucid Dreams” which brought even more stunning visuals on the back drop and propelled all of us into the year 1967 as the chaps summoned the spirit of Syd Barrett to downtown Minneapolis. I remarked to my friends in attendance with me that I never would’ve pegged Franz as going down the psychedelic road, but they did–and in their own femmy dork style.
They closed with “This Fire” and sent all out into the night to burn our city down–metaphorically of course. I know that I did and in the process have become a different man.
Thank God.
For the next two weeks they will be playing dates out east. Check their web site for more information.
Link: Official Site
Search