Jayhawks tickets

Surprise announcement! The Jayhawks, yes the WHOLE band, not just Gary Louris or Mark Olson, have just announced a show at First Avenue on Saturday, January 29th. I was a bit surprised that the Jayhawks did not have a holiday show this year between Thanksgiving and the New Year.

In case you cannot wait to go to the Jayhawks show in January be sure to buy your First Avenue tickets for the 40th Anniversary Show. First Avenue is throwing a party for themselves on Wednesday, December 15th. Not only will Gary Louris be there, but so will my personal favorite, Har Mar Superstar! I will be at this show, and I will probably stick around to see the set from Grant Hart, Matt Wilson, and Gary Louris. Why not? How often do you have so many awesome people in the same place?!

First Avenue tickets for the January 29th Jayhawks show go on sale Friday, December 3rd. But if you are lucky, there is a First Avenue tickets presale which starts on Wednesday. And sorry kiddies, the show is 21+.

Robyn Tickets

A little birdie just told me that First Avenue tickets for the Robyn show are almost sold out. The First Avenue Twitter page just broadcasted that information to all of their followers.

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that Robyn's show would be a hot ticket at First Avenue ... I guess I was right!

First Avenue tickets for ROBYN are limited ... like their Tweet said "don't sleep on this one."

Cold War Kids tickets

New show announcement at First Avenue! The Cold War Kids have announced a show at First Avenue on Thursday, March 10th, 2011 which is part of their "Mine is Yours" tour.

Their single "Hang Me Up To Dry" was played a lot during the year that it was released.

In a recent interview, Cold War Kids talked about their plans to return to the studio in February 2010. They are working with Jacquire King who has produced the last records of Modest Mouse, Norah Jones, Kings of Leon, and some Tom Waits projects. This tour will be in support of their new album, "Mine Is Yours" which is set to be released on January 24/25th depending on which part of the world you are in.

First Avenue tickets go on sale Saturday, December 4th. In the past when the Cold War Kids have been in town as a headlining act they have sold out their shows. Granted that was at the Fine Line and First Avenue does hold more people. If you want to check out the show I would definitely buy your First Avenue tickets early. This show happens to be on my mom's birthday so I will be sitting this one out! Unless of course the yet TBD opening band kicks ass!

Mason Jennings tickets

UPDATE: The Mason Jennings show on Sunday is now an all ages show! Kiddies are welcome. This does however move the show start time up a little bit. The show will now start at 6pm.

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for BOTH the Saturday night and the Sunday night Mason Jennings shows!


It won't be this sunny in First Ave this weekend. Go away snow!

First Avenue tickets

It is going to be a busy week for the staff at First Avenue. They have a jam packed concert schedule this week aside from their usual weekly dance nights and events. Here is a list of all the shows through the end of the week - First Avenue tickets are on sale now!

Atmosphere - Sunday, November 28th


Superchunk - Wednesday, December 1st


Freelance Whales - Wednesday, Dcember 1st (Entry)


Andrew Bird - Thursday, December 2nd


Alicia Wiley CD Release Show - Thursday, December 2nd (Entry)


Mason Jennings - Saturday, December 4th and December 5th


Arcwelder - Saturday, Decembr 4th (Entry)


Broken Bells - Monday, December 6th


First Avenue tickets for the Atmosphere show is sold out, however, 50 First Avenue tickets are going to be released at the door for the show - so get their early! Broken Bells tickets will also sell out, that show is only a week a way so be sure to buy your First Avenue tickets if you want to go. I will definitely see you at that show!

First Avenue tickets

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for both of the Umprhey's McGee shows. The jam band will be in town on Friday, March 4th and Saturday, March 5th. Both shows are 18+.

Umphrey's McGee has been around since 1997 and have gained a large following over the past decade. Starting out as a cover band, they quickly found their sound. One of the band's percussionists, Andy Farag, joined the band in 1998 and his father became the band's manager. By 200 they were one of the most popular bands in the Notre Dame/Chicago area.

By 2002 they were being asked to play the Bonnaroo Music Festival. A few members of the band have even released solo albums. Umphrey's McGee has a very dedicated live show following. People who love to go to Phish shows love to go to Umphrey's McGee shows. The thing about Umphrey's McGee is that they love to tour a lot more than Trey and the boys.

If you want to check out Umphrey's McGee in March be sure to buy your First Avenue tickets asap!

ROBYN tickets

Is this the Fine Line blog? Wasn't ROBYN just at the Fine Line? Why yes she was, however, she is making a speedy return. Sunday, February 13th ROBYN will be at First Avenue for a headlining show. I'm glad that she is returning to First Avenue, which not only holds more people, but is a much better music venue for her show!

First Avenue tickets go on sale for the February ROBYN on Black Friday! Who thought of that name anyways?! Robyn has been a very busy artist this year. She committed to releasing three albums this year. So far this year she has released Body Talk Part 1 and Part 2.

I thought of Robyn as a one hit wonder from the late 90's. But it turns out she has quote a lucrative career in her homeland of Sweden and in the UK as well. The US does not have as much of an appreciation for dance and club music as Europe does. Being a pop star in the states has a much shorter shelf life so it makes perfect sense that Robyn went down this career path.

ROBYN'S last show at the Fine Line was super super sold out, so if you want to catch her this time around be sure to buy your First Avenue tickets asap because they will not be hanging around for very much time.

First Avenue tickets

This is holiday week brings a lot of local favorites back to town. First Avenue tickets are on sale now for all these shows:

Ike Reilly Assassination - Wednesday, November 24th

The Red Pens with Gospel Gossip - Wednesday, November 24th (7th Street Entry)

A Tribute to the Replacements Friday, November 26th (main room and (7th street entry)

Dance Nights: Ritmo Caliente (main room) and The Bungalow (Record Room) - Thursday, November 25th

Atmosphere - Saturday, November 27th and Sunday, November 28th

First Avenue tickets are available for all shows except of course Atmosphere, which are both sold out!


The coolest guy in the world, Paul Westerberg

Girl Talk tickets

Were you planning on going to that Girl Talk show on Tuesday, March 8th? Well, you can't because First Avenue tickets are sold out for that one. BUT you can buy First Avenue tickets to the show that was just added on Wednesday, March 9th. Can you even plan that far in advance? I can't, I hope I am in Mexico that week! ha!

Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk, set the internet into a frenzy this week when he released his new album online. It was all over Twitter topics and trends - Girl Talk basically almost broke the internet because everyone wanted his new album.

SO, if you want to see what the hype is about you should definitely buy your First Avenue tickets asap. The new Girl Talk album is "All Day." While the 71 minute album is 12 tracks, Gillis has explained its really only one track. There are over 373 samples on his new jams. To tell you the truth, I can't wait to see what this guy is all about.

See you at the show!


The mad genius himself.

Dropkick Murphys tickets

Spring seems like a million miles/years away, but that hasn't stopped the Dropkick Murphys from mapping out a tour. Just a shade before St. Patrick's Day, the Dropkick Murphys will be in for a show at First Avenue on March 3rd, 2011. Omg! That is like 4 months away - I don't even want to think about the horrors of winter we have to endure between now and then.

The Dropkick Murphys are the famous band for being Irish that sing songs about swashbuckling and drinking, and well, being Irish. I am not personally a fan of of the pop punk jams that they turn out, but I do know that their shows sell well because they have a very dedicated fan base. The Dropkick Murphys tour every spring before and after St. Patrick's Day. This year the lucky city that gets to host these guys on St. Patrick's day is Boston, MA.

First Avenue tickets always sell out for the Dropkick Murphy's shows - Dropkick used to play at the Myth Nightclub, which hosted about 3000 people, unlike First Avenue which holds about 1200. First Avenue tickets for the Dropkick Murphys St. Patricks Day Tour 2011 are on sale now!

Old 97's Tickets

Alt-Country crooners, the Old 97's have announced a show at First Avenue on Sunday, February 20th. The Old 97's will be touring in support of their latest album, "The Grand Theatre: Volume One" which was released on October 12th. It has that catchy little tune "Everyday is Friday Night."

The Old 97s recorded so much material for their upcoming album, there are dozens of songs that didn't make "Volume 1." Another installment of "The Grand Theatre" is scheduled to be released in 2011. Before recording this album, the band actually rented out a theater in Austin, TX to test all the new jams our live before they professionally recorded any of them. Kind of a cool idea - making sure your songs are good enough live before you record them. The Old 07s are known for their awesome live shows so this method of recording really makes sense for them.

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for the February 20th Old 97s show. The Old 97s have been around for years and have a pretty dedicated following. First Avenue tickets for this show will definitely sell out closer to show time. Girly indie rockers, Those Darlins, open the show.

Rhett Miller, the babe himself

Remembering Eydea

I just wanted to post this in case you had to miss the show like myself. There is a wonderful write up about the benefit for Eyedea that took place at First Avenue on Tuesday. The event raised a lot of money for his family and from the tone of the article it looks like it was a nice way to remember a lost friend. I teared up reading it.

Read the full article here.


November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010

First Avenue tickets

There have been a lot of great show announcements at First Avenue this week. The first of which is another celebratory event: The Onion's 1143rd Twin Cities Issue Celebratory Gathering. Quite the title, no? But it's the Onion, so what do you expect.

First Avenue tickets go on sale this Friday for the Onion's celebratory show. The line up includes a lot of local favorites Pink Mink, BNLX, Zebulon Pike, Fuck Knights, Grant Cutler & the Gorgeous Lords, DJ Jake Rudh and a special headlining guest which is TBA.

You can catch most of the acts at our local favorite bars on any given weekend (Hexagon, 331 Club, 7th Street Entry, etc) but here they are all in one spot, one night only! Pink Mink was this years City Pages "Pick to Click" artist so there is a lot of buzz about these guys.

If you are not familiar with the Onion, you should be. Here is one of my favorite Onion articles:

Dawes tickets

I would like to take a minute to express how excited I am to see Dawes and Peter Wolf Crier on Thursday. As I have blogged before, I was super sad I couldn't make it to their Taste of MN performance. BUT as soon as that show was over the announced a return to Minneapolis this November.

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for the Dawes show this Thursday. Local favorites Peter Wolf Crier are opening the show. They are a band I have heard so much about but have not had a chance to check out yet - another plus!

Last week the Star Tribune had an article/interview with the band. Here is a snippet that I love and makes me proud to be a Minneapolis music fan, "After every tour, when we get home and people ask, 'So what was your favorite show?' Minneapolis is always at or near the top of the list. That's not just something I would say, either, because we aren't playing rooms the size of First Avenue in other cities, except maybe New York."

See you at the show!

Girl Talk tickets

Everyone's favorite sampling artist, Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) is back in town for a show on Tuesday, March 8th. Last time Girl Talk was in town First Avenue tickets were super super sold out and difficult to find. When First Avenue tickets go on sale in a few days be sure to buy them as soon as possible.

Who is Girl Talk? Girl Talk is a dude and his laptop. He takes snippets from thousands of songs and mixes them together - basically a successful DJ. Everyone calls Girl Talk "a lawsuit waiting to happen," however I believe every part of the songs he uses are under 30 seconds. From what little information I understand about copyright law, if you sample less than 30 seconds of a song you do not have to pay royalty fees. It must be the case because otherwise Girl Talk would need to be a multi millionaire to pay for all his royalties.

Girl Talk is currently touring in support of "Feed the Animals" which he released in June. Some of his shows this past summer included fireworks, sadly I don't think First Avenue can have fireworks. I know I don't want my belived concert venue to go up in flames! First Avenue tickets for Girl Talk go on sale now. See you at the show!


Not your average Girl Talk!

First Avenue tickets

As you may know, we lost one of our beloved Minnesota musicians a few weeks ago, Mike Larsen. However, you may recognize him as Eyedea from the Rhymesayers family. Minneapolis music fans were shocked and saddened by the surprise

His First Avenue family is throwing a benefit to help his family with the costs of his funeral and burial expenses. First Avenue tickets are $20 for this show and all proceeds go to Eyedea's family. First Avenue is donating 10% of all liquor sales from their bar next door, The Depot. Thankfully this should leave Eyedea's family with over $20,000+ dollars to cover these unexpected expenses.

First Avenue and Rhymesayers have been very mum on the subject as to who will be performing at this benefit, but the line up will be ideal for any Minnesota Rhymesayers music fan. First Avenue tickets were sold out online for quite sometime but a few more were just released. If the Eyedea benefit show is one you want to go to, good luck finding First Avenue tickets - they will sell out.

Celebrate life, Celebrate the good times.

First Avenue tickets

First Avenue keeps adding more and more shows to the December concert calendar, although I am a little surprised that they waited so long. As you may know, First Avenue has been celebrating their 40th Anniversary all year. While they have hosted many parties for the Current and other cd release shows they apparently neglected to book one for themselves!

First Avenue is having a 40th Anniversary Bash on Wednesday, December 15th. I know, a Wednesday, right? But there are just too many exciting shows already booked every weekend in December. So what can you do? Throw a party during the week of course! Are ready for the line up - there are a lot! And the list will only continue...

Scheduled to appear:

Gary Louris, Grant Hart, The Mighty Mofos, Matt Wilson & John Munson, Heiruspecs, and my personal favorite, Har Mar Superstar!

First Avenue tickets go on sale Saturday at noon for this awesome celebration. First Avenue tickets will also definitely sell out - this is a great celebration with an even greater lineup.

See you at the show!

Hold Steady tickets

A local favorite, The Hold Steady, has added a holiday show to First Avenue's December concert calendar. Craig Finn and Co. have been touring in support of their May release "Heaven is Whenever." However, the Hold Steady don't need a reason to tour in Minneapolis because everyone loves them!

The opening band for their December 29th show at First Avenue is the Meat Puppets. A band that I thought had long ago disappeared. Turns out they reunited in 2006 and have been together ever since (the original line up, mind you)

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for the Hold Steady show on December 29th show. Normally when the Hold Steady is in town they have several shows, often three nights in a row at First Ave. But because First Avenue is already booked for the month of December adding more shows is not an option. Hold Steady First Avenue tickets will sell out for this show!

First Avenue tickets

Halloween happened to be on a Sunday this year, but that did not stop First Avenue from having their annual Halloween Party and costume contest. The event took place last night (obviously,) the winners were: 1) Toiletron, 2) The Chilean Miners, and 3) Buzz Lightyear. If I find a pic of the winners I will add it to the blog - so far I haven't had much luck!

First Avenue tickets are on sale now for the just announced Tapes N Tapes show in February. Always a local favorite, Tapes N Tapes will be touring in support of their new album, Outside, which will be released on 1/11/11 - catchy, no? If you can't wait to check out the First Avenue show in February, Tapes N Tapes will be playing a show at the Turf Club on November, 11th. There are no Tapes N Tapes tickets available ahead of time, admission will day of show only. Tapes N Tapes will be playing their new album in its entirety at this so. Sounds pretty exciting for any Tapes N Tapes fan.