THURSDAY: Big White House 25th Anniversary
Minneapolis rockers Big White House celebrate their 25th Anniversary. In a time where many bands struggle to stay together, members Paul Pirner (vox/guitar), Martin Sundquist (guitar), Brian Guze (bass), and Brad Fayfield (drums), keep Big White House going strong, even after over two decades. Local artists Dosh and Greg Cardinal will start the night’s festivities.
FRIDAY: The Cactus Blossoms
[The Cactus Blossoms] nailed the mid-50s country sound so perfectly, stirring in some of the ol’ Everly Brothers genetic harmony sound and a whole hell of a lot of earnestness that makes them sound impossibly lifted out of time. This nifty sound has brought them to the attention of a ton of national country and rock acts who rightly see them as the inheritors of the form, including most recently right-wingy-but-still-kind-of-rad country dude Charlie Daniels. Hoping they’re recording soon, as their output has thus far been magnificent but not nearly enough to slake our hunger for these guys’ magnificent harmonies. We also love openers Brian Just — they’ve kind of nailed that killer psych-pop sound with horns and they write songs like nobody’s business. [Jon Hunt, l’étoile magazine]
Sounds like: Elijah Ford, Lukas Nelson, Big Sur
SATURDAY: Battle of the Garages! ft. The Pandoras, Lyres, and more
The Turf also has an intriguing show Saturday featuring a pair of ’80s garage rock bands. The Pandoras emerged from Los Angeles in 1983 with an all-female lineup and a noisy sound. Band leader Paula Pierce died of an aneurysm in 1991, effectively ending the group. But onetime bassist Kim Shattuck (who was briefly a member of the Pixies in 2013) formed a new version of the group this summer. Boston’s Lyres, who have been active on and off since 1979, are also on the bill with locals the Mighty Mofos, L’Assassins and Beebe Gallini. [Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press]
If you happen to be in the mood for some straight-ahead, no brakes rock and roll this is the best place for you to be this weekend. On the one hand, this is a gosh darn solid showcase of local punk rock. The Mighty Mofos are legends and don’t need an introduction. L’Assassins reputation precedes them like a long shadow cast by the setting sun. Beebe Gallini is something of a supergroup of local femme fatales and DJ Travis Ramin has spent plenty of time on the boards of the Turf Club over the last decade. However, The Pandoras have are returning from the mysterious time before a band named Nirvana changed everything. The Lyres have been blasting punk rock since the term itself was coined. [Todd Wardrope, l’étoile magazine]
Sounds like: Thee Headcoatees, The Muffs, The Fleshtones, The Dirtbombs
SUNDAY (morning): World’s Most Dangerous Brunch/Polka Band
The World’s Most Dangerous Brunch is a new, monthly brunch series that features music from the World’s Most Dangerous Polka Band, Polish brunch items on special, and sausages from Minneapolis landmark Kramarczuk’s. “The World’s Most Dangerous Polka Band at the Turf Club is a perfect fit,” says General Manager Nate Kranz. “We’ve both been popular longer than most of our fans have been alive, and we felt like with Nye’s impending closing we had to make sure this iconic group has a new home.” The World’s Most Dangerous Brunch takes place the last Sunday of each month through the end of 2015.
SUNDAY (evening): Eleni Mandell
L.A. singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell explains that her 10th studio album, Dark Lights Up, released Friday, was inspired by classic country after a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame with her toddler twins. There’s a childlike playfulness to the tunes, some with Hawaiian undertones, some with a Patsy Cline-ish vibe, some honky-tonk lite. Her song “Town Called Heartache” summarizes Mandell’s worldview: “There’s a town called Heartache in the state of Misery/ I used to live there all year round/ Now I’m just passing through. … Is it still such a thrill before you start to fall down?” Courtney Marie Andrews opens. [Jon Bream, Star Tribune]
Sounds like: Laura Cantrell, Jolie Holland, Tift Merritt, The Watson Twins
MONDAY: Srand of Oaks
Strand of Oaks wowed an Entry crowd last summer shortly after his/its fourth album Heal landed to deserved raves. Thickly bearded Indiana-reared, Philadelphia-based rocker Timothy Showalter thickly piles on the guitars, keys and personal drama, with echoes of the War on Drugs and My Morning Jacket. His Dead Oceans labelmate from Chicago, Ryley Walker, opens. [Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune]
Sounds like: Sturgill Simpson, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Joanna Newsom, Elliott Smith
TUESDAY: A.A. Bondy
It has been nearly four years since A.A. Bondy released Believers. He spent his last extended hiatus transforming from a frontman in the Alabama grunge ensemble Verbena to a solo singer-songwriter warbling spectral folk-blues in upstate New York, taking his cue from the likes of Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Robbie Robertson. Now he lives near the ocean north of Los Angeles, but reviews confirm that his performances remain emotional, atmospheric and intimate. [Britt Robson, Star Tribune]
Sounds like: Joe Pug, The Felice Brothers, Deer Tick, Langhorne Slim
WEDNESDAY: Ringo DeathStarr
Ringo Deathstarr, a musical trio from Austin, TX, have been putting out records since 2007. Consisting of Elliott Frazier (guitar, vocals), Alex Gehring (bass, vocals), and Daniel Coborn (drums, vocals), their sound is born from a love of melody, a love of guitar, and a hatred of pompous vocals. Finding it to be too much fun, the group has expounded upon the sounds of the masters before them. This desire to play the music they were too young to witness as children has taken Ringo Deathstarr around the globe. Warm guitars and pulsing drums combine to form an aggressively atmospheric bubble, encompassing the listener in an infectious cohesive which blends the sounds of an era when Sonic Youth and Jesus and Mary Chain walked the Earth with a forward thinking and creatively stubborn indie darling.
Sounds like: My Bloody Valentine, Lush, No Joy, Ride, Chapterhouse
Blog by Gina Reis
