See you at Illuminati Hotties tonight?
Tuesday, October 8
International Reggae All-Stars @ Bunker's
John Craigie with Tre Burt @ Cedar Cultural Center
Will Effertz and Pete Whiteman @ Dark Horse
St. Dominic's Trio @ Driftwood
Karaoke With On Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
- Fontaines D.C. @ Fillmore—In the years since their 2020 breakthrough, A Hero's Death, with its ready-for-anything hooks and battle cry of "Life ain't always empty," these Irish rockers haven't quite been able to duplicate its triumphant energy. But don't count 'em out yet: On album no. 4, Romance, they boost their sound for the bigger rooms without losing all of their charm. They do lose some of their charm, though. Such is success.
Ginger Root with Pearl & the Oysters @ First Avenue
Cedar Avenue Big Band @ Jazz Central
Papa John Kostad, Dean Harrington, Dean Mikkelson @ Metronome
Nova Jazz Orchestra @ Minnesota Music Cafe
In Lieu, Kal Marks, Oyster World, Battery Eyes @ Mortimer's
New Hope Club with Haven Madison @ 7th St Entry
Artist Showcase @ Sociable Cider Werks
Industrial Strength with DJ Sin @ Terminal Bar
October Conspiracy Theory featuring Ditch Pigeon, Oceanographer, Faux Pseudo @ 331 Club
- Illuminati Hotties with Daffo @ Turf Club—As the (non-problematic) Kanye West of contemporary indie rock, Illuminati Hotties mastermind Sarah Tudzin is both a studio wizard and great artist in her own right. And lemme tell ya, as a longtime fan, I’m thrilled to see both pursuits paying dividends: Tudzin scored a Grammy for her recording work with supergroup Boygenius, and her Illuminati Hotties profile continues to rise. Lyrically, the L.A. singer-songwriter approximates the David Bermanian ideal—mixing the emotional with the yuks, albeit in more direct/millennial fashion. IH always promises more rippers than skippers per album, and that holds true on their latest, last month’s POWER. The group sounds larger and louder than ever, with the guitars on “The L” throbbing with the force of 100 Gecs and “Can’t Be Still” exploding with fuzz-drenched choruses. But POWER is undergirded by tenderness and sweetness, a document of its author finding comfort in true love; “Sleeping In” manages to swoon without irritating, while “I Would Like, Still Love You” heightens infatuation to dangerous metaphorical places. You know you’re in good hands with Tudzin.—Jay Boller
DL4 with Thomas Sticha @ White Squirrel
Homunculus Rex (Tuesday Residency) with Civil Decline, SYFN @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, October 9
Shady Baby's Open Mic @ Acadia
MN Songwriter Showcase @ Aster Cafe
Cox, Seru, Cartwright @ Berlin
Scrunchies, Faye, the Slow Death @ Cloudland
Memphis and the Meantimes @ Crooners
The Bad Companions @ Eagles 34
Miss Shannon's Swing Night @ Eagles 34
Boris with Starcrawler @ Fine Line
Valley with Mickey Darling and Charli Adams @ First Avenue
Lake Drive, The Losing Hope, 1947 @ The Garage
Clay Fulton & The Lost Forty, Valors, The Knotties @ Green Room
Kevin Gordon with James Loney and Matt Fink @ Hook and Ladder
Above Average Tuba Quartet @ Metronome
Brian Naughton @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Lazy Scorsese (October Residency) @ Mortimer's
Connor McRae Trio @ Schooner Tavern
Hotline TNT with Disq and Prize Horse @ Turf Club
Harold’s House Party on KFAI with Drew Petersen @ 331 Club
The Get Up Kids @ Uptown Theater
Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers @ White Squirrel
Lord Jeremy with Ben Radavich, The Old Smugglers @ White Squirrel
Thursday, October 10
6arelyhuman with That Kid @ Amsterdam
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie @ Armory
Natural Satellite & Mike Lewis/Barbara Jean @ Berlin
Jaybee & the Routine @ Bunker's
Upright Forms, Toilet Rats, Tender Comrade @ Cloudland
A Tribute to Michael Bublé & The Ratpack @ Crooners
Savion Glover Presents Project 9 @ Dakota
Lodge, Matthew Smith @ Driftwood
LGBTQ+ Twin Cities Latin Dance @ Eagles 34
Karaoke With On-Call Entertainment @ Eagles 34
Intercourse, Robot Slide, AskSerpent, Gundams @ Eagles 34
TCC4 SLAY – Drag Cabaret & Fundraiser @ Hook and Ladder
Minor Moon with Full Catholic + Voulouse @ Icehouse
Sweater People @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Holst's The Planets @ Orchestra Hall
The Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs @ Palmer's
Mind Out of Time, 1-800-LIVE-MUSIC, and Chief Opossum @ Pilllar Forum
The De'Linda's, Edie Rae Band @ Schooner Tavern
Wasia Project with Sabrina Sterling @ 7th St Entry
$uicideboy$ with Denzel Curry, Pouya, HAARPER, Shakewell, and Ekkstacy @ Target Center
Acid Mothers Temple with Spirit Mother @ Turf Club
Drook, The Briefly Gorgeous, & Linus @ Underground Music Cafe
La Santa Grifa with Dharius @ Varsity Theater
Erik’s Iridescent Tent with Psychotic Reaction, Comets Ov Cupid @ White Squirrel
Friday, October 11
- The dB’s with The Silent Treatment @ Amsterdam—You don't often get to use "power pop" and "innovators" in the same sentence—the genre thrives on fulfilling expectations, not upending them. But on their first two albums (Stands for Decibels and its worthy successor, Repercussion, both released in 1981, both recently rereleased) this arty NYC quartet, one of the breakout groups from the storied Hoboken club Maxwell's, freely mixed and matched their influences, combining the southern-fried Beatlemania of Big Star with the rhythmic tension of XTC. This is their first first tour in over a decade. Come early for local rockers the Silent Treatment.
Freak of the Week feat. DJ Katalist @ Beast Barbecue
Ice Climber, America Y Los Sentimientos, Sunken Moon, and Solana @ Can Can Wonderland
Honey Please, Mayfly Moon, SoL @ Caydence Records & Coffee
Gypsy Mania Hot Club Quartet @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Raye with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Galactic Cowboy Orchestra @ Crooners
Savion Glover Presents Project 9 @ Dakota
Grim Lot, Hot Jupiters, Kid Corea @ Day Block Brewing
The Uninvited, the Rockin' Iguanas, Pibon @ Driftwood
Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs @ Eagles 34
Graden Hill and Emmy Woods @ Eagles 34
Them Coulee Boys with Clare Doyle @ Fine Line
JD McPherson with Kate Clover @ First Avenue
Dog Park Dissidents, The Weekend Run Club, Doll Chaser @ The Garage
Kottonmouth Kings & Rehab @ Granada
Haunted Hoochie Dance Party: Aries Firebomb, DJ McShellen, Chico Chi, DJ Sasha Bangzz @ Green Room
15th Annual Big Fat Love: Celebrating John Prine’s Birthday @ Hook and Ladder
Splash! (Album Release) with Paper Chain & Theyself @ Hook and Ladder
John Douglas and Lily Vakili @ Icehouse
The Tyler Lustek Confluence presents Shmehara @ Jazz Central
Austin Healy @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Julie Albers Plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto @ Ordway
Amy Manette @ Papa Legba Lounge
Erik's Iridescent Tent, Lunar Moth, Lykoi Fel, and Majoon Travelers @ Palmer's
Hot Pastrami @ Schooner Tavern
Slaphazard, Indicat, The Slashies @ 331 Club
Ruby Waters with Mato Wayuhi @ Turf Club
Single Mothers @ Underground Music Venue
NEON NOIR Episode 2: Dana Kazuko, DJ Eve, SYM1 @ Uptown VFW
Beebe Gallini @ White Squirrel
Pogo Ballet with Earload @ White Squirrel
Cody Johnson @ Xcel Energy Center
Saturday, October 12
Hiss Golden Messenger @ Amsterdam
Cody Jinks with Calder Allen @ Armory
Coqui Calzadilla & Andy Garcia @ Berlin
Mikel Wright & the Wrong's @ Bunker's
Strictly R&B: One Year Anniversary @ Cabooze
Marimba Matt @ Can Can Wonderland
Larry Wish with Obchod and Mommy Log Balls @ Can Can Wonderland
Yungchen Lhamo with Broken Caterpillar @ Cedar Cultural Center
Coward's Women with Erin Schwab, Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson @ Crooners
Sounds of Santana Starring Joe Cruz @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Colleen Raye with Rick Carlson @ Crooners
- Christian McBride and Ursa Major @ Dakota—An established jazz eminence in his 50s, bassist McBride has gathered up a group of young musicians for a unit called dubbed Ursa Major. They are not to be confused with the '70s Detroit hard rockers of the same name, featuring guitarists Dick Wagner and Rick Derringer (and, briefly, Billy Joel on keyboards!). Though I guess really there wasn't much danger of that.
Annie Frazier Band, Andra Suchy Retro Band @ Day Block Brewing
The Fab Hackmasters, Pencilneck @ Driftwood
Weeping Covenant, Maria Rose, Cotton Warren, and Lydia @ Dusty's
The Driftless Area (Album Release) with Rob the Carpenter and the Cellar Kings @ Eagles 34
Nada Surf with Office Dog @ Fine Line
- MJ Lenderman & The Wind with Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band @ First Avenue—I’ll admit it: I enjoy Manning Fireworks, the latest from this celebrated young North Carolina wisecracker with a shambling guitar, much more on a track by track basis than as a whole. On their lonesome, the mordant “She’s Leaving You” and the one where Lenderman pleads “Don't move to New York City, babe/It's gonna change the way you dress” while trying to keep up with "Bark at the Moon" on Guitar Hero and the one where he quotes Quiet Riot (quoting Slade) offer fresh insights into the current state of indie male immaturity. But stack those lackadaisical moments end to end and you can understand why babe might have lost patience. Taking it this slow in 2024 can be kind of a spiritual achievement, but you also risk life passing you by.
The Other Ol' Blue Eyes @ Gambit Brewing
Velvet Dreaming, SYM1, ZORA, DJ Butangel420 @ The Garage
Desperate Electric, Vinny Franco & The Love Channel, Cat Tales, 100bees @ Hook and Ladder
Brandon Wozniak's Old Friends/New Friends Trio @ Jazz Central
The Good the Bad & the Funky @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Panteon Rococó y Mägo de Oz @ Myth Live
Holst's The Planets @ Orchestra Hall
Julie Albers Plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto @ Ordway
Home Team Quarterback, Flintlock, Cache, Mid Death Calm, PALS, A Sunken Ship Irony @ Palmer's
Ms. Dorothy & the Sky's the Limit @ Papa Legba
My Cousin Dallas, My Kid Banana @ Pilllar Forum
Lolo's Ghost, Kung Fu Hippies @ Schooner Tavern
sammy rash and The Astronomers @ 7th St Entry
Midnight Tyrannosaurus, Phiso, Pyke, Subfiltronik @ Skyway Theatre
Glutton for Punishment with Nott, Descent of an, Ysilik, Disembodied Human @ Studio B
21 Pilots with Balu Brigada @ Target Center
Jim Clifford and Friends @ Terminal Bar
Cult Vibes, Wish Wash, Fruit Form @ 331 Club
Brooke Alexx with Rosemary Joaquin @ Turf Club
Snow & Flurry Fest @ Underground Music Venue
Sorry Papi Tour: The All Girl Party @ Varsity
Betty & the Rumble @ White Squirrel
David Stoddard @ White Squirrel
The Del-Viles with the Sparks, the Makeouts @ White Squirrel
Murf, Abandoncy, Curve, In Lieu @ Zhora Darling
Sunday, October 13
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Curated by Bassist Liz Draper (feat. Aida Shahghasemi & Sara Pajunen) @ Berlin
Hania Rani @ Cedar Cultural Center
Advance Base, Katie Malco, alone-a @ Cloudland
Story Tellers: The Great Songs of Billy Joel, Jim Croce, and Neil Diamond @ Crooners
TK & the Collective @ Crooners
Christian McBride and Ursa Major @ Dakota
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Karaoke with Reina Starr @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Country Dancers @ Eagles 34
Mod Sun & lovelytheband with honestav and No Love For The Middle Child @ First Avenue
Sunday Jazz Series: NxtGn @ Metronome
Andrew Crowley & Friends @ Metronome
Kathleen Johnson's Get Down Birthday/Retirement Celebration @ Minnesota Music Cafe
Church of Cornbread @ Palmer's
West Band Social Club @ Palmer's
Donovan Woods with Katelyn Tarver @ 7th St Entry
Emmy Woods & the Pine City Ramblers @ 331 Club
Panopticon with Exulansis, Primeval Well and Shatter @ Turf Club
R&R Sunday with Jeff Ray @ White Squirrel
Brandon Lake @ Xcel Energy Center
WATERMEDOWN, Virginia’s Basement @ Zhora Darling
Monday, October 14
Curated by Bassist Liz Draper (feat. Circuit City) @ Berlin
Oyster World, American Culture, Gash @ Cloudland
Céu with Paul Beaubrun @ Dakota
Tango Desperados Practilonga @ Eagles 34
Twin Cities Queer Contra Dancing @ Eagles 34
Mdou Moctar with FACS @ First Avenue
Brandon Seabrook with Erik Fratzke @ Icehouse
MN Hard Bop Collective @ Metronome
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Chromeo and The Midnight with Girl Ultra @ Palace Theatre
Edwin Raphael with Francesca Blanchard @ 7th St Entry
- Sabrina Carpenter with Amaarae @ Target Center—This has been Carpenter’s year. “Espresso” is one of those truly effervescent pop hits that doesn’t care whether you like it or not, her delivery of “don't embarrass me, motherfucker” on “Please Please Please” never loses its bite, and the boastful “Taste” just gets better when you get to picture her gory duel with Jenna Ortega in the video. The summer of Sabrina culminated recently with the album Short n’ Sweet, and its non-singles have plenty of fun to offer as well, with Carpenter yearning for “a boy who's jacked and kind” on the countryish “Slim Pickings” and demanding “Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?” on “Bed Chem.” Amy Allen, who has co-writing credits on every track, must have something to do with the cleverness here, but her own album has little of the same magic. So give the star her props. The smart ‘n’ sexy Amaarae, whose Fountain Baby was the R&B album of 2023, opens.
Mumblin’ Drew’s Oldfangled Orchestrators @ White Squirrel
Zach Bryson with Marina Madden, Bad Posture @ White Squirrel
