Email Author Ian Traas

2009 Stories by Ian Traas

• Cage to exorcise his demons at the Triple Rock tonight

  published Jul 08, 2009

  Let's talk about feelings -- specifically, bruised, battered, broken feelings.  It's not a revelation that affecting pieces of art can be built on foundations of pain.  Really, it's become ... More >>

• The Roots to return to the First Ave, ruestlove to DJ at Envy

  published Jul 02, 2009

  When it comes to touring, most hip-hop acts are pretty spare. Let's do the list: there are the featured emcees, a DJ (or producer, fiddling with their laptop), and a couple of hype men who probab... More >>

• Nas and Damian Marley to fuse reggae and rap at First Ave

  published Jun 30, 2009

  OK, so hip-hop supertour Rock The Bells won't be making a 2009 stop in Minneapolis.  Considering that the Soundset festival already brought a number of rap heavies this year, the absence may not... More >>

• Rancid to bring their rowdy punk rock to Myth

  published Jun 26, 2009

  It shouldn't come as any surprise that punk rock is now big business.  Record executives have always been looking for avenues into the deepest recesses of every rebellious teenager's wallet, so ... More >>

• The Sugarhill Gang to "delight" Fine Line tonight

  published Jun 24, 2009

  Like rhyme-busting Amish, the Sugarhill Gang are from an older, simpler time; rappers weren't superstars, Autotune hadn't been invented, and the gangsta genre was just a diamond-en... More >>

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  DJ Q&A: Otherworldly spaceman Alexander East

  published Jun 11, 2009

  An integral part of the Minneapolis house music scene for well over a decade, Alexander East is quick to tell you that he's not from this planet, but from his own little corner of the universe.&... More >>

• Death Cab for Cutie to (indie) rock Roy Wilkins tonight

  published Apr 15, 2009

  Who says "alternative" anymorer Every instance of that word seems to have evaporated in the past few years, overtaken by "indie" as the prefix-du-jour for rock music. Now, indie isn't just rock music ... More >>

• Nadastrom heading up Honeymoon 'Rap Video Party' at the VIP

  published Feb 20, 2009

  ... More >>

• Rock legends The Pretenders to amaze a sold-out First Ave

  published Feb 20, 2009

  It may say "The Pretenders" on the marquis, but really, that's just shorthand for the sprawling, storied career of Chrissy Hynde, who has remained the frontwoman and only constant member of the g... More >>

• Spark Festival combines art, music, and voltage

  published Feb 19, 2009

  Minneapolis is a glorious city for an art fanatic. Case in point: the currently ongoing Spark Festival, an annual 6-day celebration of electronic innovation in both arts and music. Activities held und... More >>

• SPL to rattle bones tonight at Barfly's Loft

  published Jan 30, 2009

  Perennially overcast, grimy, and gothic, London seems a fitting home for the dubstep movement, a musical shotgun marriage that fuses the stoned atmospherics of dub reggae with the cold digital crunch... More >>