Tom Loftus and Peter Mielech are co-owners of Modern Radio, an independent record label based in the Twin Cities that is celebrating its ten-year anniversary. In this extended interview, Tom and Peter talk about the label’s inception, future projects the…
Slideshow: Best New Bands of 2009 Showcase at First Avenue
HowWasTheShow is proud to present Jenn Barnett’s photos from Friday night’s Best New Bands of 2009 Showcase at First Avenue. The slideshow is set to “Dreams†by the Twilight Hours. Additional text by David de Young. Leisure Birds, No Bird Sing,…
Gay Beast 7-Inch Release Party at 7th Street Entry
For a band whose music seems to verge on complete chaos, Gay Beast’s show at the Entry last Friday was the work of a band in complete control of its music. Celebrating the release of their new EP, Charm, the Minneapolis…
Dreamgirls at Orpheum Theatre
Wow,” said my young companion, “she’s amazing,” and it’s true: as Effie White, Moya Angela turns in a knockout performance, one that lifts Dreamgirls (at the Orpheum, 910 Hennepin Ave., through Jan 17, hennepintheatretrust.org) and turns a solid Broadway production…
We Gotta Bingo! at The Hennepin Stages
Environmental/audience participation musicals are a jam-packed field and it gets more crowded all the time: Tony ‘N Tina’s Wedding, The Church Basement Ladies, A Deer Camp Christmas, Dixie’s Tupperware Party, et al. Audiences love them, though, and if We Gotta Bingo!…
The Alarmists with The Arms Akimbo at 7th Street Entry
Last January, the Alarmists played a pair of shows at the Entry that were billed to be their last. In the aftermath of those shows, the band members became embroiled in a much-publicized drama that eventually saw the surprise reemergence of…
Colder in Moscow at 7th Street Entry
“Okay, this next one is a loud one,†John Walker said in introducing almost every song during Colder in Moscow’s show at the Entry Saturday night. The funny thing was, none of the songs really got that loud, nor did they…
Spring Awakening at The Orpheum Theatre
Thousands of eager theater fans braved the chill on Tuesday night to catch Minneapolis’s premiere of the Tony Award winning musical, Spring Awakening, at the Orpheum Theatre. The rock musical, which is based on a controversial 1891 play by German…
Christine Rosholt at the Dakota Jazz Club
Wednesday evening, the Dakota Jazz Club was warm and inviting. It provided a much-needed shelter during Christine Rosholt‘s release show for her new CD Lipstick-Live at the Dakota Jazz Club. Having already begun the first set when we arrived, the…
Blind Boys of Alabama
Text by Jen Paulson.Photos by Alexa Jones. I have zero experience with Gospel music. To be honest with you, I went to this show on a lark to broaden my musical horizons and to hopefully be schooled by the legendary…
Canasta at the 400 Bar
Chicago’s Canasta played an inspired middle-slot set Friday at the 400 Bar sandwiched between dependable local rock band openers Seymore Saves the World and headliners Cowboy Curtis. Canasta opened with “Microphone Song,†the first track off of We Were Set…
Lloyd Cole (Wednesday, July 16th, 2004, Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis)
Many longtime Lloyd Cole fans have personal connections to his music, and I’m no different; though to be fair, my connection may be more morbid than most: In the late nineties, I chose the music for my funeral, and two…