The Uptown Theater is back this week—as a music venue. I hope the sign will be back in time for opening night.
Tuesday, June 6
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
- Sparta with Geoff Rickly (of Thursday) and Zeta @ Fine Line—Last week was Pedro the Lion, this week it's Sparta—is Tuesday night turning into Throwback Emo night at the Fine Line?
Bill Simenson Orchestra Open Rehearsal @ Jazz Central
Cody Steinmann Trio @ KJ's Hideaway
Bluewater Kings Showcase @ Minnesota Music Cafe
White Line Darko, Electric Church, Burning Blue Rain @ Pilllar
Moxie with The Doozers and Lumpy @ 7th St Entry
Conspiracy Series featuring Dilly Dally Alley, Amateur Hour @ 331 Club
Worker's Playtime, Mary DuShane & Nick Jordan @ 331 Club
- Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel—Knowing how easily the Twin Cities falls for anything twangy and rootsy, I was prudently skeptical of the praise heaped on this country-rockin' duo, who play the White Squirrel every Tuesday. But I finally caught them last week and they smoked.
Los Pinches Gueys (Tuesday Residency) @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, June 7
Erin Livingston with Twin Cities Hot Club and Robert Bell @ Aster Cafe
Thee Sinseers with The Altons and Rudy De Anda @ Cedar Cultural Center
Innocent Reggae Band @ Como Park Conservatory
Maggie's Wednesdays: Javier Trejo @ Crooners
Papa Bleu, The Mad Combo @ Driftwood
- The Dance Electric hosted by Walter "Q Bear" Banks with DJ Dudley D and DJ Espada @ First Avenue—Billed as a celebration of "You Know Who," which makes me wonder if there were worries the Prince estate might get litigious if they dropped His name. Host Q Bear is a Minneapolis treasure, Dudley D was Prince's go-to DJ for years, and if you just wanna go out and dance to a bunch of songs by "our golden star" (as he's also billed here), this is a lot cheaper than whatever's happening in Chanhassen this weekend.
Fever Candlelight Concert @ Granada
Legendary Shack Shakers, Dex Romweber, & Viva Le Vox @ Hook and Ladder
Aiden Intro (June Residency) with Landon Conrath and Ava Levy @ Icehouse
Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
The Craig Clark Band @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Surly Grrly Residency with Crush Scene, Mary Jam & Cannabis Kiss @ Mortimer's
Karaoke Crime Scene @ Palmer's
Dr. Mambo's Combo @ Parkway Theater
Korine with CD Ghost and SYM1 @ 7th St Entry
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Drew Druckrey and the Dharma Hounds @ 331 Club
Dark Bunny with Parachutes and Harlow @ Turf Club
Thursday, June 8
Quinn XCII with Julia Wolf @ Armory
David Harland with Sophia Deutsch @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Preston Gunderson @ The Commons
Rebecca Aadland (Album Release) @ Crooners
The Outcats, Dilly Dally Alley, Dial Tone @ Driftwood
Hold Your Lady Tight Night @ Eagles 34
- Wavves and Cloud Nothings with Ultra Q @ Fine Line—Two indie-rock lifers are coming to town to make some tuneful noise. L.A.'s Nathan Williams released Wavves' seventh album, Hideaway, in 2021. I sometimes wish the lyrics offered more of a sense of why Williams goes about fashioning catchily abrasive songs, besides his being an indie-rock lifer. But I do appreciate the way the title track flips a self-help slogan into an excuse for being antisocial—"Today could be anything I want it to be/And that's gonna be a reflection of me/So I should be careful of everyone I meet/'Cause I don't want your dark cloud around me." Steve Albini’s production articulates the songs on Cloud Nothings' ninth album, The Shadow I Remember (Carpark), till they ring out with the clarity of a ’92 DGC audition: guitarist Chris Brown’s pin-prick leads make themselves heard without being pushy, drummer Jayson Gerycz’s forward tumble contributes urgency until time comes to dramatically punctuate a chorus or bridge in unison with T.J. Duke’s bass. The frenzy’s all so tuneful that Dylan Baldi sounds consistently energized rather than overwhelmed, whether he’s posing timeless questions like, “Does anybody out there really need me?” and “Am I older now, or am I just another age?” or setting boundaries with a reasonable sentiment like “I need to make time for me, for me.” Who says self-care isn’t punk rock?
Fever Candlelight Concert @ Granada
Indigenous + The Steepwater Band @ Hook and Ladder
Six Still Standing @ Minnehaha Bandstand
No Limits, Minnesota Music Cafe
Smiling Cowboys @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Malanmaya, Maria Isa @ Minnesota Zoo
The Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs @ Palmer's
Atomic Energy Commission @ Pilllar
Lamorn with JEN-E and Molly Otto @ 7th St Entry
Minneapolis Songwriter Round: Monica Synstelien, Hillary James, Whitney Loher, Jim Walsh @ 331 Club
Fury in Few, Rig Time! @ The Treasury
Ty Pow and The Holy North with Maria and the Coins and Clare Doyle @ Turf Club
YEA YEA FINE, YGNES, and RIK & CREW @ Underground Music Cafe
Dr. Simon R. Calder (Record Release) with Butter Boys, The Knotties, & Poison Ivy @ Uptown VFW
- The Cure @ Xcel Energy Center—When Ticketmaster costs and rampant scalping overwhelmed their fans, Taylor Swift handed matters over to the feds, Bruce Springsteen shrugged and essentially said “Them’s the breaks,” and Beyoncé? Well, she was unreachable in Dubai. But the Cure’s Robert Smith, bless his obsidian little heart, not only took steps to limit ticket resales, but actually negotiated the behemoth down to save his fans money after they slapped their usurious fees on tickets for the band’s current tour. The “Songs of a Lost World Tour,” which hits North America after its current European leg, is named for a new album that didn’t materialize as planned before the band hit the road, but the Cure have been beginning and ending their sets with two new songs, “Alone” and “Endsong,” that will presumably surface on the album when it finally drops. The rest of the night is given over to material from the band’s—get this—nearly 50-year career, including the long lugubrious stuff you diehards cherish and the college-radio synthpop preferred by poseurs like me.
The DL4, Bryan Wiese @ White Squirrel
Friday, June 9
Admiral Fox & Joe Bartel @ Amsterdam
Katy Vernon with Tori Evans @ Aster Cafe
Act II: Doug Anderson and Drew Jansen @ Crooners
The Mystery of Etta James with Kathleen Johnson @ Crooners
Kenne Thomas’ Lifeforce: Purple Knights @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Rick Carlson with Charmin Michelle @ Crooners
The Blind Boys of Alabama @ Dakota
Loose Rooster, Good Luck Alaska, Peech & the Owl Eyes @ Driftwood
Steve Clarke and the Working Stiffs @ Eagles 34
Sakura and Kero, Blood Cookie, Fussbudget @ Eagles 34
Joseph with Sawyer @ Fitzgerald Theater
The Alarmists, Farewell Milwaukee, Two Harbors @ Hook and Ladder
Silk Lounge: The Sequel @ Icehouse
Moonshine & Good Times @ KJ’s Hideaway
Emerson Avenue Band @ Lake Harriet Bandstand
Tyler Haag @ Minnehaha Bandstand
Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy @ Ordway
Annie & The Bang Bang, Ben Cook-Feltz, Leslie Rich & The Rocket Soul Choir @ Palmer's
Francis Emil Johnson, Jon Elconin, and Whalen and the Willows @ Palmer's
Dustbowl Revival @ Parkway Theater
DJ Abilities with Grace Jenn, Willy Lose and DJ Shoba @ 7th St Entry
Teague Alexy & The Common Thread. Boss Mama & The Jebberhooch @ 331 Club
Underground Dayz @ The Treasury
Andrea von Kampen with Noah Derksen @ Turf Club
- Michael Franti & Spearhead @ Utepils—Funny to think that ages ago this good-time fella was a notable leftist hip-hop scold. Honestly, I liked him then, and I like the song they used for the Corona commercial too. I have nothing to say about the rest of his music.
In Lieu, Oddysseys, Spoy, & Glowing Tide @ Underground Music Cafe
Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers with Lillie Mae @ Uptown VFW
ELOUR, JoJo Green, and Amateur Hour @ Uptown VFW
- Be Our Guest: Disney DJ Night @ Varsity—Absolutely not.
Beyond the Trees @ Water Works
Muun Bato with Pop Star, Drug League, Smellkin Ernesto @ White Squirrel
Saturday, June 10
Twin Citizen, Red Eye Ruby, Moonlit Mushroom, and Christmas on Neptune @ Amsterdam
Dan Ristrom & The Big Throwdown @ Bunkers
- Superbus Maximus vs. Freaque @ Cedar Cultural Center—A "17-piece supergroup... assembled in the spirit of ancient Roman Bacchanalia and futuristic revelry"? That seems like ... a lot. But my curiosity about Superbus Maximus was piqued when I saw their list of influences: "Miles plus Funkadelic plus August Darnell plus Marvin Gaye." The least familiar name there is the one that hooked me—first with Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah band and later with Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Darnell is responsible for some of the most engaging conceptual dance music of the late 20th century. On his Instagram, local songwriter Freaque (aka Gabriel Roderick) promises "There will be punching galore. Bodies strewn across the stage. A true free for all. The horrors will be magnificent." You can't tell me you're not at least a little curious.
RIVER: The Music of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon @ Crooners
Cate Fierro: Amy Winehouse Tribute @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Rick Carlson with Judi Vinar @ Crooners
Lao Tizer Band feat. Elliott Yamin & Eric Marienthal @ Dakota
Fab Hackmasters, Hoot Gibson, Velvetwolf @ Driftwood
Union Suits, Little Fevers, Claire Doyle @ Dusty's
Jack Knife, Present Company @ Eagles 34
- DISCONCÉ ⏤ A Beyoncé Disco with DJ OMGIGI, Lady Cummeal Cassadine, Priscilla Es Yuicy, and Cariño @ Fine Line—Friend of Racket and local luminary Gigi Berry held her first Disconcé party at the Entry in March, and the event has already graduated to the Fine Line. The Mainroom awaits?
- The Bad Plus with Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog and Alan Sparhawk @ First Avenue—A rare chance to catch the locally spawned jazz outfit in the Mainroom. The simple title of The Bad Plus's 2022 album, The Bad Plus (shared by their 2001 debut), makes sense, since the group is at the most radical stage of reinvention yet. It's the first that the rhythm section of Reid Anderson and Dave King recorded a pianoless combo for the first time in their career, with new members saxophonist Chris Speed and guitarist Ben Monder, The playing is more wide open, with the sax often restating melodies and riffs throughout and guitar churning away underneath, both newcomers occasionally cutting loose into wilder forays. Guitarist Marc Ribot made his name contributing slightly avant-garde touches to the music of slightly alternative singer-songwriters like Tom Waits and Elvis Costello; for the past 15 years he's dedicated most of his time to Ceramic Dog, an improvisational but certainly rock trio with Shahzad Ismaily and Ches Smith. The group’s latest album, Connection, is due out this summer, with its ornery and catchy-despite-itself single already streaming.
GRRRL SCOUT: June Queer Dance Party @ Hook and Ladder
Gypsy Mania Hot Club @ Icehouse
Cody Steinmann Trio @ Icehouse
Gypsy Mania Hot Club Quartet @ KJ’s Hideaway
Dayna Stephens Quartet @ KJ's Hideaway
The Good, the Bad, & the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy @ Ordway
Curtiss A & The Dark Click, The Silverteens and The Fret Rattles @ Palmer's
Pretty Pretty Please, The Makeouts, and Filthy Kittens @ Palmer's
Orchird Club, Super Flasher, Splimit @ Pilllar
- St. Paul Pride Festival @ Rice Park—The stacked, exciting, and diverse all-day music lineup for this free event includes NUNNABOVE, Cameron Wright, Mikko Blaze, JD Steele & the MacPhail Youth Choir, Bdot Croc, Kelese, the Culture, Enzy Rose, and Tahjer.
Nascar Aloe with WHOKILLEDXIX and DeathProof Inc.@ 7th St Entry
Lulu & the Shoe, A Sunken Ship Irony, Crush Scene, Ditch Pigeon @ 331 Club
Voltage Controller, Endif, Outcidr @ 331 Club
Laamar with bathtub cig and HOLLY HANSEN @ Turf Club
Haunted Like Human with Gut Czech & Silence Marsh @ Underground Music Cafe
- Yam Haus, Landon Conrath @ Uptown Theater—Late last year, Racket provided Twin Cities readers the scoop on the Uptown Theater being transformed from a vacant 950-seat movie theater into a 2,516-capacity live performance space. For some context, that capacity puts the place in line with the Northrop (2,700), the Orpheum Theatre (2,579), and St. Paul's Palace Theatre (2,500), per this handy venue-size infographic. No venue of that size exists south of downtown Minneapolis, meaning the Uptown neighborhood—whose life and/or death is breathlessly debated—is receiving a major nightlife adrenaline boost as its namesake theater reopens. Local trio Yam Haus will smash an indie-pop bottle upon the reimagined venue’s hull at tonight’s celebration, which, if nothing else, offers an affordable chance at snooping around the new space.
Code 13, Vacant, Sex Cells, & Giallo @ Uptown VFW
Sorry Papi Tour: The All Girl Party @ Varsity
Caitlin Robertson & Alex Sandberg with Art Vandalay @ White Squirrel
Big Salt with The Muatas, Vulgar Tongue @ White Squirrel
Sunday, June 11
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Katie Dahl + Ellis Delaney @ Aster Cafe
The Say Gay All Day Pride Cabaret: Presented by Lori Dokken @ Crooners
Stablemates: Dale Alexander, Gary Raynor and Jay Epstein @ Crooners
Tribute to the “Summer of Soul” with Ginger Commodore and Friends @ Crooners
Prudence Johnson: The World According to Randy Newman @ Crooners
The Rumble feat. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. with Southside Aces @ Dakota
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
The Scarlet Goodbye @ Hewing Hotel
Red Hot Django Peppers @ Icehouse
The Fairlanes @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Irish Diplomacy @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Cornbread Harris: Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
Mystery House with Chris Hepola and The Real Chuck Norad @ Palmer's
ROSIE with Theo Kandel @ 7th St. Entry
Mike Gunther, Mumblin’ Drew @ White Squirrel
St Paul Songwriter Rounds @ White Squirrel
Monday, June 12
Oak and the Woods with Murphy Smith, Real Late Nites, and The Weeping Covenant @ Amsterdam
- Bebe Rexha @ Fillmore—There may be no pop star this successful about whom I have so little to say. She wrote Eminem's "The Monster" and (more importantly) Tinashe's "All Hands on Deck." In 2017 "Meant to Be," her duet with Florida Georgia Line (can you have a duet with a duo?) set a record for the longest run atop Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Last year she and David Guetta jacked Eiffel 65 for "I'm Good (Blue)," which hit No. 4 and I didn't even know was her. Other than that, all I know about Rexha is that she's of Albanian descent, like Dua Lipa. Maybe there's a thinkpiece there?
- Sophia Kickhofel (Monday Residency) with Michael Cain @ Icehouse—Each month, Icehouse lets a local musician curate their Monday jazz series for the month, and for June that honor goes to Kickhofel, a brilliant young saxophonist who's off studying at Juilliard these days. Her set with her quartet was fantastic during the first installment of the series.
Root River Band @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
grandson and K.Flay with Jack Kays @ Palace Theatre
Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer's
One With the Riverbed, Boba @ Pilllar
Bayonne with mmeadows @ 7th St Entry
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
