Youa Vang

Lights at Varsity Theater, 5/8/13

Lights with Pat BrownVarsity Theater, MinneapolisTuesday, May 8, 2013Contrast plays a lot into what Canadian artist Lights does. The singer appeared onstage at the Varsity Tuesday night with a head of silver hair and a stripped down set of songs, the exact opposite from the last time she was in town ... More >>

Kathleen Edwards and Tig Notaro at Wits, 4/19/13

Wits with Tig Notaro and Kathleen Edwards Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul Friday, April 19, 2013 With a name like Wits, come expecting to laugh, but also come expecting to be moved by the musical guests. Friday's session of Wits had its guests trading roles with musical guest Kathleen Edwards showing ... More >>

Rock the Garden 2013 lineup

The 2013 Rock the Garden lineup is out there. The Current and the Walker Art Center have unveiled a grouping of bands that hopefully will not raise the ire of too many local op-ed writers, and two the big names for the spectacle are staples of the station, Metric and Silversun Pickups.The event take ... More >>

Mika at Varsity Theater, 4/2/13

Mika with DJ MooseVarsity Theater, MinneapolisTuesday, April 2, 2013Mika is certainly a singer, but who knew that he was also a magician, because the show he put on at the Varsity on Tuesday night was magic. The British singer is known for his catchy pop songs that cause the listener to dance, so it ... More >>

Sum 41 at Mill City Nights, 3/30/13

Sum 41 with Hollerado, Hunter ValentineMill City Nights, MinneapolisSaturday, March 30, 2013Some people may have relegated Canadian band Sum 41 to their dusty CD shelf, but Minneapolis was in for a throwback to their teenage years Saturday evening at Mill City Nights. Red was the theme for the night ... More >>

The best concerts in the Twin Cities this week: 1/30-2/5

The Twin Cities is starting to thaw out as January comes to an end. Friday night is especially busy. Retribution Gospel Choir plays the Turf Club while Minneapolis pays tribute to Joe Strummer in the First Avenue Mainroom. Semisonic songwriter Dan Wilson and brother Matt Wilson play a set at Pantage ... More >>

Augustana at Varsity Theater, 1/14/13

Augustana with Lauren SheraMonday, January 14, 2013Varsity Theater, MinneapolisAugustana, a band that certainly has had its ups and downs. The band announced in 2011 that they were breaking up, but soon after rescinded and said they would continue to make music, most of that mainly from lead singer, ... More >>

Brandi Carlile at Varsity Theater, 12/30/2012

Brandi Carlile with FilligarVarsity Theater, MinneapolisSunday, December 30, 2012Making her way back to Minneapolis for the fourth of five shows in the Cities in 2012 (two at the MN Zoo in June, one at the Fitz for Wits, and the remaining two at the Varsity Theater), Brandi Carlile is not shy about ... More >>

"Nickelback? That's a terrible name for a restaurant," and 25 more quotes from 2012

Sometimes an individual passage can sum up an entire interview -- or can take on a life of its own that fits absolutely nowhere. In 2012, plenty of artists took the time to speak to Gimme Noise, and one of them was notably incensed that a place serving food that a person would ideally like to keep i ... More >>

Best Twin Cities concerts 2012

The Gimme Noise crew attended a lot of concerts, festivals, events, gatherings, and what have you this past year. As is the case with every year in live music in the Twin Cities, the cacophonous noises etched history into the walls of our storied venues and into our minds. There were a lot of firsts ... More >>

Best Twin Cities concerts 2012: Staff lists

Here are the raw lists from many of City Pages' contributing writers and photograghers for the finest shows they attended this year. Hint: It's all over the place!See Also:Best Twin Cities concerts 201250 Awesome Concert Photos from 2012Best Twin Cities songs 2012: Staff lists Best Twin Cities album ... More >>

Best Twin Cities songs 2012: Staff lists

Okay, so there are a few songs out of the Twin Cities that were completely inescapable in 2012. (Nudge.) But when you're talking about a music community that's blasting in clubs, basements, garages, warehouses, automobiles, record stores, Soundclouds, public radio stations, college radio stations, a ... More >>

Best Twin Cities albums 2012: Staff lists

The waterfall of opinion flows s'more today with a collection of the best albums released locally in the Twin Cities in 2012. As opposed to the list that appeared in this week's issue, these are 14 distinct opinions on what was impressive in the past year, and a bunch of links to the related stories ... More >>

Best Minnesota albums of 2012

From Big Cats to Chastity Brown, local gems showcased their talents

Benjamin Gibbard at The Assembly at the Woman's Club, 11/1/12

Benjamin Gibbard with Advance BaseThe Assembly at the Woman's Club, MinneapolisThursday, November 1, 2012An evening with Ben (Benjamin) Gibbard is not merely an evening with music from his solo project, it's also an evening with the Postal Service, All-Time Quarterback, the Replacements, and Death C ... More >>

All Time Low at First Avenue, 10/22/12

All Time Low With The Summer Set, Hit the Lights, The Downtown FictionFirst Avenue, MinneapolisMonday, October 22, 2012In a sea of teenagers pushing amongst themselves, Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" comes on between The Summer Set and All Time Low's set, and every voice in First Avenue could be ... More >>

Frightened Rabbit at The Assembly at the Woman's Club, 10/12/2012

Frightened Rabbit with Arc in RoundThe Assembly at the Woman's Club, MinneapolisFriday, October 12, 2012The night could easily have been deemed "Plaid and Beards" at the Woman's Club in Minneapolis on Friday night with most of the sold out audience in said attire. Or even "An Evening of Storytelling ... More >>

Silversun Pickups at State Theatre, 9/21/12

Silversun Pickups with School of Seven Bells and Atlas GeniusState Theatre, MinneapolisThursday, September 20, 2012 If the Smashing Pumpkins were the grandfathers of indie rock, then the Silversun Pickups are a bit like the love child of that '90s band. With a set heavy with songs from their new alb ... More >>

Top 10 awesome concerts of August

See Also:First Avenue's 20 best concerts: The complete listFirst Avenue's 20 best concerts: Readers' picksAugust was sweltering, but we found the best way to beat the heat with concerts that were even hotter than it was outside. In some cases they were outside -- so just think about the thermometer- ... More >>

Kevin Steinman's farewell show at Bryant Lake Bowl, 7/23/12

See Also:Kevin Steinman says farewell and thanks to the Twin CitiesU.S. healthcare is too costly for Kevin Steinman, so he's moving to NorwayKevin Steinman with his band, Andy Thompson, Justin Hartke, Matt Novachis and special guests Chris Koza, Jeremy Messersmith, Brianna Lane, Luke Anderson, Linne ... More >>

Owl City at Varsity Theater, 7/13/2012

Owl City With Jayme DeeVarsity Theater, MinneapolisFriday, July 13, 2012Adam Young, aka Owl City, is learning to adapt to the music industry and playing to the still-recovering economy. After releasing All Things Bright and Beautiful  last summer, his follow-up to breakthrough album Ocean Eye ... More >>

Brandi Carlile at the MN Zoo Amphitheater, 6/20/2012

Brandi Carlile with Jeremy MessersmithMN Zoo Amphitheater, Apple ValleyWednesday, June 20, 2012Brandi Carlile is an artist that can inspire an undying loyalty in their fans -- fans who will sell out two shows during the week in a suburb and sit in the rain for two hours just to hear their favorite a ... More >>

Flogging Molly at the Brick, 5/31/12

Flogging Mollywith Reverend Peyton's Big Damn BandThe Brick, MinneapolisThursday, May 31, 2012Flogging Molly are anything but standard. Their sound is furious, solid, and intense, augmented with an accordion, banjo, bodhrán, and tin whistle to accompany the typical guitars, bass, and drums of a sta ... More >>

Art-A-Whirl Day 1 in Northeast Minneapolis, 5/18/2012

Art-A-Whirl Day 1The 331 Club, Northeast MinneapolisFriday, May 18, 2012Related: Slideshow: Art-A-Whirl 2012: Friday's Music Art-A-Whirl Day 2 in Northeast Minneapolis, 5/19/12The oldest section of Minneapolis came alive this weekend with art, culture, love, and best of all, music. Although it may o ... More >>

Art-A-Whirl Day 2 in Northeast Minneapolis, 5/19/2012

Art-A-Whirl Day 2331 Club, Psycho Suzi's, and Sample Room, Northeast MinneapolisSaturday, May 19, 2012Related:Slideshow: Art-A-Whirl 2012: Friday's MusicArt-A-Whirl Day 1 in Northeast Minneapolis, 5/18/12Rusty Quarters in Uptown Minneapolis posted a Facebook status asking where everyone was, making ... More >>

Incubus at The Myth, 5/9/2012

IncubusThe Myth Nightclub, MaplewoodMay 9, 2012Not many bands are brave enough to take the stage with no opener to warm up the crowd, but alt-rockers Incubus needed no segue for their almost two-hour set that shared songs from all of their albums. With eyes closed and lost in his own world, lead sin ... More >>

SXSW 2012: A conversation with Peter Pisano and Chris Koza

​The appreciation for SXSW usually doesn't happen until the festival is over and done with, but Peter Pisano of Peter Wolf Crier and Chris Koza of Rogue Valley were able to find some time to reflect and acknowledge on the poignancy of an event that happens once a year connecting so many people. ... More >>

MUTEMATH at First Avenue, 2/18/2012

​MUTEMATH with Canon BlueFirst Ave., MinneapolisSaturday, February 18, 2012Big production and big sound was the goal for the latest MUTEMATH tour, and while most artists use their live show to breathe new life to their music, MUTEMATH uses their live show to take their music to another level. The ... More >>

Los Campesinos! at the Varsity Theater, 1/29/2012

​Los Campesinos! with Parenthetical GirlsVarsity Theater, MinneapolisSunday, January 29, 2012Los Campesinos! is an indie-rock band that hails from Cardiff, Wales -- which is pretty far removed from anything Latino-related implied by the name. The seven-piece ensemble drew a pretty big crowd for a ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Solid Gold, John Lennon tribute, Ryan Adams, and more

Mat Kearney at First Ave, 11/20/2011

​Mat Kearney with LeaguesNovember 20, 2011First Ave.As music listeners, we like to split our music into two distinct groups: radio-friendly pop and everything else. But Eugene, Oregon native, Mat Kearney can easily fall into both camps. Kearney seems to like Minnesota a whole lot. He made Minn ... More >>

Yellowcard at the Varsity, 10/18/2011

​Yellowcard with Every Avenue, Go Radio, Small Town HopeOctober 18, 2011The Varsity Theater, Minneapolis"You guys stay right there -- we're going to play some rock and roll songs for you," Ryan Key of Yellowcard states to a crowd that is old enough to drive, yet not old enough to drink. So ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Aretha Franklin, Battles, 4onthefloor, and more

Rocktober opening weekend concert roundup

They don't call it Rocktober for nothin'. Fall has always been a popular time for touring musicians to hit the road, and it's making for some busy nights at venues across the Twin Cities. Nearly every night, concertgoers are faced with some tough choices -- like tonight, when Astronautalis performs ... More >>

Top 10 concert photos of August 2011

It's been another big month for concert photography on the Gimme Noise blog and in City Pages -- so big, in fact, that one of our photographer's photos of the Flaming Lips ended up on the cover of the paper last week (well done, Erik Hess!). See that photo and nine other favorites from the month bel ... More >>

Top 10 concert photos of the summer so far

It's been a rainy start to our summer so far, but that hasn't stopped Twin Cities fans from busting out their ponchos and going outdoors to take in live music. Between Rock the Garden, Soundset, the Warped Tour, and shows at the Minnesota Zoo's amphitheater, concertgoers have had plenty of chances t ... More >>

City Pages in the '80s: A look back at some of our most iconic music covers

​To coincide with our Cars interview from this week's print edition and this week's cover, which reprises the design of our very first issue (back when we started as Sweet Potato in 1979), we decided to take a look at some more of the music archives from our early days as a paper. Intrepid Gimme N ... More >>

My Lady Four releases 'In This Life or Next' at Station 4 tonight

Matt Vogel​Ever gracious and funny, My Lady Four is gearing up for the CD release, In This Life or the Next, at Station 4 tonight. We caught up with Francis Fisher and Brian "Carp" Carpenter for five quick questions.

The Last Place on Earth

After the final remaining Hmong refugee camp in Thailand closed, Minnesota greeted five thousand new residents with warm words and closed doors. Now many are homeless and struggling to survive.