Happy belated May Day, lovers of live music. Here, as always, is as much of what's happening this week as we could wrangle into a single post for you.
Tuesday, May 2
International Reggae Allstars @ Bunkers
St. Dominic’s Trio @ Driftwood
Tech/House Tuesday with DJ JEN-E @ Mortimer's
Emily Roth Organ Recital @ Northrop
Zeecsart Radio Hour Live @ Palmer's
- Mike Dreams Tribute @ 7th St Entry—Local rapper Mike Dreams died in February at the age of 34, and tonight the local hip-hop community he gave so much to will celebrate him. On hand to perform are Ashley DuBose, Lizea Harper, Just Wulf, and a slew more of notable performers.
April Conspiracy Series featuring theyself, Loser Magnet @ 331 Club
Worker's Playtime, Jake Manders @ 331 Club
Overcoats with Plastic Picnic @ Turf Club
Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello @ White Squirrel
PSYPL (Tuesday Night Residency) with Briefly Gorgeous, Ginny and the Fizz @ White Squirrel
Wednesday, May 3
MN Songwriter Showcase hosted by Nick Hensley @ Aster Cafe
Maggie's Wednesdays: Deb Brown & Brian Ziemniak @ Crooners
The Real Imaginary Numbers, School of Rock Adult Band @ Driftwood
- Feist @ First Avenue—Wow, Feist and the New Pornographers in the same night? An exciting time to be a Bush-era nostalgic. Of course, like her fellow indie Canadians, Feist has done plenty since those days, though she's hardly as prolific: Multitudes is her first album since Pleasure in 2017. The new album offers thoughtful if sometimes overly dreamy and prettified folk carried by the singer's breathy vocals and livened up by production techniques Feist cooked in collaboration with several others, including two Millses—clever Cali guitarist Blake and R.E.M. alum Mike.
- The New Pornographers with Wild Pink @ Fitzgerald Theater—Dan Bejar has departed to commit himself to full-time Destroyer-ing, leaving Carl Newman and Neko Case and let’s not forget bassist John Collins as the only founding members of a Canadian pop crew who’ve been at this for nearly a quarter-century. Their ninth album, the recently released Continue As Guest, may be relatively dull by NP standards, but there are still New Pornographic titles like “Pontius Pilate's Home Movies” on offer as well as countless well-turned phrases linked so indelibly to unshakable melodies that you can almost convince yourself you know what they’re singing about. And while it’s fun to bounce around to the New Pornographers’ indie-pop, I’m sure no one old enough to remember where they were when they first heard Mass Romantic won’t mind being able to take a seat at the Fitz.
The Goddamn Gallows + IV and The Strange Band @ Hook and Ladder
Brian Nichols Piano Trio @ Icehouse
Prairie Clamor, The Culture, Spaceport @ Mortimer's
Emily Roth Organ Recital @ Northrop
M83 with Jeremiah Chiu @ Palace Theatre
Karaoke Crime Scene @ Palmer's
Paul Bergen and Friends Has @ 331 Club
Barn Dance featuring Trailer Trash @ Turf Club
Winona Forever with Lapdogs + Self-Help (Stripped Down) @ Underground Music Venue
K.C. McKee with Pure Shifter @ White Squirrel
Thursday, May 4
Blink-182 Pre-party With Blink $1.82 @ Amsterdam
Emmy Woods + Sammie Jean Cohen @ Aster Cafe
Jay Bee & the Routine @ Bunkers
Willow Waters & the Earth Tones with Bad Posture Club @ Cedar Cultural Center
The Neighborhood Quartet @ Crooners
Sue Scott's Island of Discarded Women with Princess Titus & Jonatha Brooke @ Crooners
The Roundabouts, Rynn Arens @ Driftwood
Alexandra Kay with Tana Matz @ Fine Line
Candlelight: The Best of Hans Zimmer @ Granada
- María Isa – Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice Fundraiser @ Hook and Ladder—Good to see that María Isa Pérez-Vega's new role as a state rep hasn't interrupted her music career much. In fact, her terrific new 2023 album, Capitolio, leads with a clip from Bernie Sanders urging her to keep rapping—who else can claim that? Tonight's show is a benefit for a very worthwhile cause.
26 Bats! with Tacklebox @ Icehouse
It's a Family Affair @ KJ's Hideaway
Virgin Whores & Guests @ Mortimer's
Emily Roth Organ Recital @ Northrop
"Knockturnal" with Greenery @ Palmer's
Dougie Poole with Filthy Kittens @ 7th St Entry
Acid Mothers Temple with My Education @ Turf Club
Death is a Business, Justhano, and Nothing to Do @ Underground Music Venue
Kepi Ghoulie with The Strait A's & DJ Rock The Monkey @ Uptown VFW
Blood Driver with Loser Magnet, Total Gaze @ White Squirrel
- Blink-182 with Turnstile @ Xcel Energy Center—The latest much-ballyhooed Blink-182 reunion tour—this one featuring the return of prodigal son Tom DeLonge—got off to a rocky start when the band’s all-world drummer, Travis Barker, injured his finger so badly it required surgery. Now, finally, the world’s greatest pop-punk band is at full power, and “Edging,” the lead single from their upcoming comeback album, suggests a return to their self-titled artistic opus from 2003. Never mind mercurial DeLonge’s (increasingly non-crackpot) extraterrestrial obsession, and forget Barker’s odd turn as a tabloid fixture: Following co-frontman Mark Hoppus’s victory over cancer, the vibes in Blink land appear stronger than ever. The trio’s fun, muscular Coachella set felt like celebratory fan service.
Friday, May 5
The Changeups with Waltzing on Waves @ Aster Cafe
Demitri Rallis & Friends @ Bunkers
Joyce Lyons Presents @ Crooners
Sounds of Santana starring Joe Cruz @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow: Rick Carlson with Charmin Michelle @ Crooners
The Seaweeds, Alibi @ Driftwood
The Lemon Twigs with Josephine Network @ Fine Line
- Built to Spill with Prism Bitch and Itchy Kitty @ First Avenue—We blurbed the Built to Spill show at First Ave. less than a year ago, so this is giving us the strangest sense of déjà vu. What’s different now? Welllll, we can talk about When the Wind Forgets Your Name, Built to Spill’s first release for Sub Pop and its first with a lineup that includes Le Almeida and João Casaes of Brazilian jazz-rock band Oruã; Pitchfork says it “shakes things up without breaking their pattern of low-key, late-period releases.” But the fun of a Built to Spill live show (we can’t really shorten it to BTS, can we?) is in the jammy way Doug Martsch and co. approach the entire oeuvre; no two shows are ever quite alike. So yes, even if you caught them at First Avenue in August, it’ll almost certainly be worth seeing them again in May.
Cinco De Mayo MPLS: Corey Medina & Brothers, Javier Trejo Y Caballo Cosmico, Ken Valdez @ Green Room
KFAI’s 45th Anniversary Community Celebration @ Hook and Ladder
Sarah Morris (Album Release) with Emily Haavik @ Icehouse
Gregg Hall and the Wrecking Ball with FrogLeg Trio @ KJ’s Hideaway
Adoni y Sus Amigos @ Myth Live
Taylor James Donskey, Molly Brandt, and Hemma @ Palmer's
PROBLEMS, Larry Wish, River Sinclaire, and Shrimp Olympics @ Palmer's
Amtrac with Bad Sandy @ 7th St Entry
Tacklebox, Nina Luna, Jordan Carr @ 331 Club
Senses Working Overtime with DJ Jake Rudh @ Turf Club
BIZARRE Residency with D.Frequency & Friends @ Underground Music Venue
Prgrphs with Slow Death, Partial Traces @ White Squirrel
Saturday, May 6
Twins of Franklin + Lakewood Cemetery @ Aster Cafe
- Onyx with R.A. the Rugged Man @ Cabooze—Let the boys be boys! Rap nostalgia shows at the Cabooze are always (well, often) a lot of fun. It's customary to say things like "Hard to believe it's been 30 years since Bacdafucup," but really, is it hard to believe? Onyx's breakthrough album and their belligerent hit, "Slam," do seem like they hit a long time ago. I'll close with this wonderfully clunky Wikipedia quote: "They have been quoted as describing their style as loud screaming, aggression, fighting with each other, stage diving, throwing water, rapping with grimy voices, and bald head fashion." UPDATE: Onyx has dropped out of the show. So enjoy R.A. the Rugged Man!
Deniel Rodriguez with Emma Rose @ Cedar Cultural Center
Yohannes Tona & The Ethio-Jazz Experience with DIBEKULU @ Crooners
Dean Magraw and Bruce A. Henry @ Crooners
Patty Peterson Presents: Jazz Women All Stars with a Brazilian Flair @ Crooners
Maggie's Afterglow:Rick Carlson with Dorothy Doring @ Crooners
Crazy Chester, Tiny Traces @ Driftwood
Healing For Tomorrow: Michael Bland with Chris Kroeze, Chaunté Shayne and Tracey Blake @ Fine Line
City and Colour with Courtney Marie Andrews @ First Avenue
10 Years of Mactír: A Wolfpack Celebration @ Hook and Ladder
The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League, Hot Damn Scandal @ Hook and Ladder
Glittercakes Productions Presents Burlesque Brunch @ Icehouse
DJ Shannon Blowtorch Presents Y2K @ Icehouse
The Singer/Songwriter Challenge Winter Showcase @ KJ’s Hideaway
Atlantis Quartet with Hamline Jazz Combo @ KJ's Hideaway
Run Westy Run and The Scarlet Goodbye @ Palmer's
Little Lizard, Rigby, Sad Boy Dave, and Pink Tower @ Palmer's
The Briefly Gorgeous, Spaceport, Ice Climber @ Pilllar
Bankrol Hayden with Scorey and KillBunk @ 7th St Entry
Joe & The Mechanics, Elour, Red Eye Ruby @ 331 Club
Kevin Devine and The New Amsterdams with creeping charlie (solo) @ Turf Club
An 80s New Wave Prom! with DJ Shane Kramer @ Uptown VFW
Against the Current, Trophy Eyes @ Varsity
Caitlin Robertson & Alex Sandberg with Boots and Needles @ White Squirrel
Confucisaurus with Dani Reese, Onion Bun @ White Squirrel
Sunday, May 7
Swing Brunch with Patty & the Buttons @ Aster Cafe
Rachel Holder, Judi Vinar, and Lori Dokken @ Crooners
Adam Wolff Jazz Trio @ Crooners
Dane Stauffer's Birthday Celebration @ Crooners
Urban Classic: Michael Bland, G Sharp, Mark Lickteig and Jay Bee @ Crooners
Phine Friends, Shotgun Ragtime @ Driftwood
Peter Cat Recording Co. @ Fine Line
Johnny Sincerely Orchestra @ Granada
Cornell ’77 Turns 46 @ Hook and Ladder
Brandon Commodore's NRG with David Billinglsey @ Icehouse
Dr. Jay’s Cabaret Presents: The Zesty Besties @ KJ's Hideaway
Lou Carver, Grant Glad, and Caleb Bell Jones @ Mortimer's
The Kanneh-Mason Family @ Ordway
Church of Cornbread: Cornbread Harris and His Band @ Palmer's
Michael Gay's Old Country Buffet @ Palmer's
Reckless Daughters: Joni Mitchell in the '70s @ Parkway
Odie Leigh with Pine & Fire @ 7th St. Entry
Enervate, Dose, Identity Crisis, Reality Check, and Out4Blood @ Underground Music Venue
The Falderals @ White Squirrel
The Matt Arthur Contraption with Greg Volker @ White Squirrel
Disturbed @ Xcel Energy Center
Monday, May 8
José James Sings Badu @ Dakota
Plini with Sungazer and Jakub Zytecki @ Fine Line
Gary Numan with Front Line Assembly and DJ Jake Rudh @ First Avenue
Auto-Tune Karaoke @ Mortimer’s
Cowaoke with Ben Moooker @ Palmer's
The Roe Family Singers @ 331 Club
Matt Arthur Contraption @ 331 Club
Escape From The Zoo with Doom Scroll @ 7th St Entry
