Greetings,
I recently thrifted a pair of capris, sat beside a friend as she cried to Inside Out 2 in a theater, drank a Hi-C, and played kickball. I saw a few shows, too…
Kim Gordon - Fine Line
I wrote about the icon who doesn’t like being referred to as an icon here. When singing about vibrators and oral sex over trap beats, 71 year old Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth, doesn’t give off a “trying to be edgy” vibe. It’s more of a “I don’t give a fuck and everything I say and do comes from a raw place of creative expression” energy. Gordon’s eyes were frequently on her music stand’s papers for most songs — perhaps because her memory isn’t what it used to be? Very understandable if so. For someone of retirement age who’s been on and off tour, writing, recording, and painting for most of her adult life, the words going along with the sonic distortion could be a bit hazy.
The Collection is one of my favorite albums of the year so far, and after reading Gordon’s memoir, I almost sank to my knees when she walked on stage. It was one of those few, “Oh my god, she’s real!" moments. The older (Gen-Xish) people on the barricade looked like they were elated to be there, and I wondered if any of them have seen Sonic Youth live.
Nourished by Time - Turf Club
Bass, synthesizers, an electronic keyboard, and Marcus Brown’s voice: That’s all you need to produce a captivating, danceable, richly layered performance. With the release of Erotic Probiotic 2, Nourished by Time hit the spotlight of music publications, which praised the way the artist’s new wave, hip-house musical styles reminiscent of the ‘80s landed without pastiche. His last stop in the Twin Cities was on Dry Cleaning’s tour in January 2023. (What a lineup!).
Brown has a pop star presence. It’s difficult to take eyes off him while he contorts his body in unexpected, striking, graceful movements. His own version of dance happens with eyes rolled far back and faces of excitement, frustration, desperation, and joy. In the midst of funky bass riffs, pop and R&B, his deep voice is unmistakable. For as danceable as electro-funk tracks like “Daddy” and the “The Fields” are, there’s something calming about the free flowing harmonies in his sometimes sung, sometimes almost rap verses. “The dot connector / The spot corrector / I say I love you / You say whatever,” he rapped on “Daddy.” You had to be there.
Pixies / Modest Mouse - Surly Field
It was quite interested to see the ‘90s/aughts legends play their decades old hits after watching Kim Gordon preform her newest, boundary pushing music two weeks prior. I wrote more extensive, 2 a.m. thoughts here, but in summary, the co-headliners were very talented, but it did feel like a blast from the past. I have to admit, my take is devoid of necessary context. I had no previous Pixies/Modest Mouse concert experience to compare the performance to. Chris Riemenschneider gave the show a praiseful review in the Star Tribune and added context: “There have even been times their idiosyncratic and gruff-mannered frontmen have seemed downright antagonistic and miserable being on stage.”
The only song I needed to hear was Modest Mouse’s “Float On.” When the song comes over the speakers at an establishment, it feels special; I remember other times when I heard it — like laying in an MRI machine, posing next to a pool table in a bar with friends in Juneau, eating soggy fries in a dive bar alone, etc. How corny, I know.
An Experiment: With Leslie Parker and Collaborators - The Cedar Cultural Center
I wasn’t aware of this improvisational music/dance event until I ran into DeCarlo Jackson, probably best known as a member of Hippo Campus, in Hard Times Cafe. I was writing a story (that he’s featured in, lol, see below), when he stopped in to prep music sheets for a gig next door at the Cedar. Of course, I walked down the street later that afternoon to see the public event in partnership with Leslie Parker Dance Project, The Cedar Cultural Center, Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and Northrop.
For one hour, six Black Dance Improvisation Intensive participants and Park — whose work is “a dance practice that emphasizes an organic aesthetic in experimental movement derived from the Black and African diaspora” — unleashed energy in the form of random, graceful, awkward, bodily movements. One person vogued, while another ran around, while another sat on the floor, looking bored.
It wasn’t clear if the performers influenced the musicians, or musicians influenced the performers, or both, or neither. Jackson played bass and trumpet alongside other instrumentalists, Michael Wimberly, Farai Malianga, and Dameun Strange to make spacey jazz and electronic sounds at accelerating and decelerating tempos with no melodies — just notes surrounding the performers with no place to go. If someone walked into the room without reading the show’s title, “An Experiment,” they’d likely be confused, if not uncomfortable. The audience granted a standing ovation.
Trash Date - Green Room
Some of the busiest, most talented musicians in the Twin Cities are also the most humble and kind??? It’s true! And I told the story for The Current here. Joey Hays, Kate Saoirse, and Megan Mahoney spend a good portion of the year touring with other bands, but on a Friday night, they got teamed up for a release show to celebrate their debut album, I tried to save the world… Mahoney calls the songs temper tantrumy, and the ones with the most frustration in sonic form — “Gravity” and “Same Old” — are the highlights.
I interviewed a few of their collaborators, DeCarlo Jackson and Mariah Mercedes, one of Gully Boys’ guitarists, who were also pleasures to speak with. It’s grounding to talk to people who you see on large stages and observe their genuine personas (via phone, at least) while not going hard in front of a crowd. What Mercedes says is true: You have to see the band live to fully appreciate their work.
Because I tried to save the world… is only 25 minutes long, approximately half the set was unreleased tracks, in which Mahoney remained the lead singer alongside their bandmates, who continued the mid-tempo rock in a tight, confident fashion — veiled with lingering existential questioning. The encore was a vast departure: Mahoney abandoned an instrument to rage across the stage, singing about rude treatment musicians sometimes receive from venues’ staff. (In our interview, the band told me they appreciate Green Room founder Tanner Montague’s care for artists and good compensation).
Oh, and Trash Date soft-launched as a four-piece. A new drummer’s presence makes sense: Hays says he can more fully express ideas on guitar and is getting even nerdier with his pedal set-up.
Adrienne Lenker - State Theater
Is the Big Thief front-woman and solo artist Adrianne Lenker, a prolific songwriter whose lyrics hit the feels in an indescribable way? Yes. Does her emotional complexity expose emotions you’ve suppressed and forgotten about? Yes. Did I listen to her folk-rock much before prepping for my review? No. And that’s because I turn to music to energize me, dance to, rage to, and add spice to my existence.
So it’s not easy to prep to review an artist whose music can feel like like a stab in the chest out of nowhere. You either A) go in unprepared and struggle to discern the differences in recorded vs live sound and feel lost in unfamiliarity, or B) you put yourself in an emotional chokehold, listen to their albums on repeat, and contemplate all the “what ifs” of your romantic life (or lack thereof) in the past years. I (kind of) chose option B, and therefore had to hear “Ruined,” in which Lenker sings, “Can't get enough of you / You come around, I'm ruined,” etc. (Her setlist varies night to night, and she didn’t sing “Ruined” at the show).
For just one person with an acoustic guitar, Lenker’s presence filled up State Theater. Hearing what sounded like a bass drum, I questioned if a drummer was behind stage. Later, I friend explained Lenker was hitting the side of her palm on her guitar as she picked — just another example of her pure musical talent.
Can’t stop, wouldn’t stop listening:
“Club Classics” - Charli xcx
“Challengers: Match Point” - Trent Renzor and Atticus Ross
“Love On The Outside” - Wishy
“Give It To Me” - voyeur
“Time For Slurp” - King Krule