Virtually Home

Phoebe and Harrison in Saint Paul I decided these shows can share one post: Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers at the Palace Theatre, Saint Paul, 9-7-17 Phoebe and Harrison in Milwaukee Saint Paul was a no-brainer. The Palace only recently reopened after having been closed a few decades, and it was my first chance to see the venue. It's an old-fashioned theatre with a standing-room-only pit and a balcony with seating. The vibe is an interesting mix of ornate and run-down that appeals to me. It has a kind of annoying series of ramps and staircases to get to the stage, which the venue implemented so they can check tickets before people get to the pit, but is annoying when everyone is trying to exit at the same time through bottlenecked passageways. "Lua" trio Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers at the Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, 9-8-17 The Pabst was cool because I had never been to Milwaukee before, and it's the middle of downtown, with a "secret...

Everything Now A friend invited me last-minute to see the Arcade Fire on their stadium tour. I had caught them once at a festival and remembered it as a raucous celebration of a show -- in my memory, now, it's more of a bright roar than anything. I thought it sounded fun to revisit, even though I haven't really heard any of their last couple of albums. The gimmick of Everything Now  is that the band is sponsored by a bunch of fictional global corporations. The logos cover all the merchandise, the performers' clothing, and scrolled across the scoreboard and banners in the arena. I wasn't sure how I would like this. The pre-show was fascinating and also irritating, by design. Every few minutes a green-screened cowboy would take over the scoreboard and make an announcement in a patently fake accent. Win Butler's visit to our section Just as the band was entering, in a boxing-style procession to the center of the arena, I realized I had lost my wallet. I was...

My favorite venue on a nice day There's nothing like being in my favorite venue, in the heart of my hometown. I had fun seeing trying to see the venue through new eyes: the giant sepia portraits of country and western stars, the spring-loaded wooden dancefloor, the disco ball and neon star in the ceiling, and the faded awning above the stage make the place feel old and kind of hokey, but in the best possible way. Cain's has been my favorite thing about my hometown for about half my life at this point. So many of my favorite Tulsa memories happened there. Ian Felice during the Felice Brothers set I visited the Gypsy coffee shop on my way to the venue and waited outside on a nice, sunny day. My friends arrived from their trip from Kansas City all the way out to Memphis and back, and we had a nice time waiting for the show. I appreciated the warmer spring weather, after leaving frigid Minnesota. Conor and the Felices played wonderful sets. This was my Life in the Dark ...

Nils of RAA I found out Rural Alberta Advantage was playing pretty last minute, through an online ad. I bought a ticket the day of and went solo. The band was incredibly nice, and expressed gratitude toward Minneapolis for being the most supportive US city on their tour the last couple of years. They stopped through the Twin Cities and played at a sold-out Cedar Cultural Center to try out some new tunes in November of last year, which was a great show. They since recorded their album and promoted it all over North America and Europe, and last night was their last American show before heading back to Canada to wrap up the tour. Paul of RAA Yukon Blonde, another Canadian band, opened. Their music was at times sort of soul-inspired, but mostly really enjoyable and catchy rock. It's a five-piece band that features three people who seem to share the songwriting (or at least the singing) duties. I'm not sure it's the kind of thing I would listen to on my own, but I enjo...

Driving south through Iowa at dusk I went to Lincoln for a job interview of sorts. I reveled in the driving. It turns out that solo slogs across the lonely plains states, singing along to my car stereo, are my idea of a good time. It was the kind of interview that seems only to exist in my field: the one where someone already knows they want to hire you but the job may or may not exist. I gave a talk, met a bunch of really cool people, and spent a nice afternoon in a town I have only visited in songs. I left Lincoln for Omaha, crushed under the weight of not getting my hopes up.  I planned to get to the venue at some point after doors opened, which is not my usual modus operandi. I was going to play it cool. I should preface this by saying that there is no such thing as a casual Mountain Goats fan, in my experience. Mountain Goats shows are a deeply and unsettlingly communal experience. The unsettling part comes because, in spite of having lived a life I cannot identify with ...

Gogol Bordello, from really far away I went back to the venue Ryan Adams played Friday night to see Modest Mouse last night. I've seen Modest Mouse a handful of times, and I have generally thought their performance can be kind of uneven. Once, they played Norman and they were stumble-drunk and belligerent. Once, they played Sasquatch Fest and I thought it was one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen. I'm glad I went, but I think we got both worlds last night. I confess I missed the first act. Gogol Bordello played second. I had seen them a festival once, and what stuck in my mind about that performance was how absolutely on their frontman is. He didn't disappoint this time, either. The band comes across as incredibly engaged, intentionally quirky, and borderline manic. The frontman is singing, slinging his acoustic guitar around on his back, and waving a bottle of red wine so enthusiastically it's spraying everywhere when it's not being drunk by var...

Cory Chisel's opening set I couldn't not see more dates on the  Prisoner  tour. I was kicking myself for not buying tickets for Chicago, and trying to figure out exactly how much wriggle room I had in my work schedule to take a road trip (honestly, bad idea). But then I found out that Ryan was, after a swing through Europe, a break, and a UK tour, coming back to the Upper Midwest....to do a show with the legendary Emmylou Harris. Emmylou has been on my concert bucket list for a while, so I can't tell you how excited I was for this. The show was outdoors at Breese Stevens Field, in the busiest part of Madison on a Friday. Music started early, at 5:30 p.m., when the laser sun was right in the performers' eyes during the opening set. Cory Chisel opened with Adriel Denae on backup vocals and tambourine, and a bassist. He's a Wisconsin native who's apparently been gaining notoriety in Nashville (and by the way, you have to hear Emmylou pronounce "...