G. Love & the Special Sauce tickets

Laid back blues guys G Love and Special Sauce are back in town for another show. GLSS travel through town at least twice a year, so if you don't think you can make it to this early 2010 show chances are good that you can catch them in the fall.

G Love and Special Sauce have a a very vast catalog seeing as they have been a band since 1994. Surely you remember "Babys Got Sauce," "Cold Beverage" and you may recognize G Love's voice from their cover of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" from a Coca-Cola Zero commercial.

Fun fact: G Love (Garrett Dutton) has released a few solo albums on Brushfire Records which is the label of Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson and G Love often tour together, they tend to attract the same crowd.

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for G Love and Special Sauce. Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad open the 18+ show.

First Avenue Tickets

Looking for a fun and cheap concert to go to? Let me introduce to you the annual Best New Bands show at First Avenue. It happens every January and features some the years best talent all at one show. All bands will be of different genres and the cover is under ten bucks!

Here are the list of bands that will be playing this year: LEISURE BIRDS, MOONSTONE, NO BIRD SING, PETER WOLF CRIER, RED PENS, SLAPPING PURSES, and TWILIGHT HOURS.

While First Avenue tickets will not sell out for this show, First Avenue tickets are on sale now and will be sold at the door well after the start of the show. Normally this is a show I go to every year, but it looks like this year there might be a Vikings playoff game this year the same day (keep your fingers crossed!) Vikings tickets, however, are a much different story and much harder to find.

One of the bands in this year's show is Leisure Birds, which according to their Myspace page classify themselves as "Japanese Classic Music" - how does that not make you a just a little curious. They also have some upcoming shows at the Turf Club with another great local band, Vampire Hands, which was featured in this showcase two years ago.

January 9th happens to also be a Saturday this year, so if you are looking for a cheap date night or cheap show to go to - this is your answer!


Seen here: Leisure Birds live

First Avenue tickets

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for the following shows:

Theory of a Deadman - January 18th, 2010

Killswitch Engage - February 18th, 2010

Jack's Mannequin - February 20th, 2010

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - March 15th, 2010

The Big Pink - March 18th, 2010

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for all of the shows listed above. I bought my Big Pink tickets already - I will NOT be left out of seeing them again.

It seems like towards the beginning of the year First Avenue has a few metal acts booked, but the show mellow out mid February. Have I mentioned that I can't wait for The Big Pink?

I have yet to make my New Years Eve plans, but something to keep in mind is First Avenue's annual party, this year titled "Deep Space Danceteria" - how can you go wrong with that? There are DJ's all night, champagne toast, etc - and if you buy your First Avenue tickets ahead of time there is a discounted rate than if you were to buy them at the door!



Maybe see you there...

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists tickets

Washington DC's favorite indie guys Ted Leo + the Pharmacists are releasing a new album and touring in support of it! This is good news, it seems the band has taken a break for a few years and are now back on track. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists new album 'The Brutalist Bricks' will be released on March 9th via their new label, Matador.

You may remember Ted Leo was the last band to help the Lookout! Records label stay away from bankruptcy. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists were with the label until 2004, however, left due to the uncertainty in the future of the label. Ted Leo is now with Matador as Lookout! tries to rebuild their label.

First Avenue tickets will be on sale for this event starting this Friday (great holiday gift idea!) Buy your First Avenue tickets early - everyone loves Ted Leo!



pictured here: Ted Leo and his Pharmacists
see them live on Monday March 15th, 2010 at First Avenue - the show is 18+ - opening acts TBA

The Big Pink Tickets

Did you miss The Big Pink show at the 7th Street Entry like I did?! Despite their not so awesome review in the Star Trib, I am still dying to see them to make my own conclusion.

First Avenue tickets for this show go on sale on Saturday, so be sure to buy your First Avenue tickets now!

The Big Pink is yet another rock duo from London creating a whole lotta buzz with their album "A Brief History of Love." Their hdebut single that exploded on indie stations was "Dominos" which has a much different feel than the rest of the album. Songs like "Crystal Visions" and "Countbackawards from Ten" really high light their true sound.

After selling out their tour of super small clubs like the 7th Street Entry they are upgrading to larger spaces like First Ave which hold about 1000 people instead of a couple hundred. Good luck selling the tour out guys!

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is Upon us!!!!

One of my absolute favorite live bands on the planet, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, has just mapped out their 2010 US Tour and one of the stops is going to be in good ol' Minneapolis.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much this made my day finding this out on Monday. I have travelled the country far and wide to go to their shows, I love love love these guys. Their last couple of albums have taken me awhile to get into, but their live shows are amazing. BRMC's albums do not do their live show justice.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be on tour of their new album "Burn the Devil's Tattoo" which is set to be released on March 9th.

First Avenue tickets for this show go on sale Friday, December 4th - don't wait to buy these - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will sell out. No opening act has been announced yet, but they always have someone good!

I will definitely see you at the show!


I will always have a place in my heart for Peter Hayes (pictured here in the middle) :)

Motion City Soundtrack tickets

Minneapolis's very own Motion City Soundtrack is back for a post holiday show at First Avenue on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010.

Motion City Soundtrack is made up of two frontmen: Justin Pierre and lead guitarist and backing vocalist Joshua Cain. Starting out on Epitaph records, Motion City Soundtrack has since moved to Columbia Records. Their follow up to "Commit to This Memory" will be again produced by Blink 182's Mark Hoppus. You may recognize Motion City Soundtrack as a band that has opened for Blink 182 and Weezer on a few of their tours.

Since this is an all ages show the show starts at 5:30pm. First Avenue tickets are on sale now for this show. Motion City Soundtrack is in town for one night only! Don't miss it!