Minneapolis: December 10 – December 12, 2014

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

ALLIANCE OF SOUND
at Mill City Nights
Wednesday 12/10/14, 8pm ($30)

Some of the biggest metal/industrial/electronic bands Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, VNV Nation, and Haujobb have joined forces to “unite instead of isolate.”

All these bands formed in the 80s or 90s (I remember these Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly way back in my radio DJ days in 1993-1995), with the exception of Los Angeles duo Youth Code… who must be over the moon to be playing with these legends.

The Alliance of Sound tour:

ALVVAYS w/ Sun Club
at Turf Club
Thursday 12/11/14, 7:30pm ($12)

There must be something delightful in the drinking water up in Canada, ‘cause Toronto keeps sending Minneapolis music fans some choice indie-pop bands to enjoy. Having just hosted fantastic power-pop giants Sloan, St. Paul’s Turf Club will be welcoming another great Toronto band on December 11th: Alvvays, whose influences, ranging from Teenage Fanclub to Belle & Sebastian, certainly left a mark on their bright, reverb-soaked sound.

Childhood friends Molly Rankin and Kerri MacLellan formed Alvvays in 2012 with Alec O’Hanley Brian Murphy, and Phil MacIsaac rounding out the lineup. They did some touring with bands like The Pains of Being Pure At Heart before releasing their full-length self-titled debut in July. The album features members of Holy F*ck and was recorded at Chad VanGaalen’s home studio (dubbed “Yoko Eno Studio”) in Calgary.

Fans of Frankie Rose and Best Coast will be pleased by the album’s shimmering lo-fi melodies. But even folks who aren’t keen on this kind of starry-eyed groove still have to check out the soaring wedding-bell-blues single “Marry Me, Archie.” Hell, Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) covered the song at a solo gig in Seattle last Saturday.

Opening for Alvvays are Sun Club, a band influenced by the likes of the Beach Boys and Animal Collective. Their debut EP is out now on Goodnight Records.

Tour dates (* indicates with The Decemberists)

11/28/14 Los Angeles, CA Echo 11/29/14 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop 12/01/14 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge 12/02/14 Seattle, WA Barboza 12/03/14 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret 12/05/14 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room 12/06/14 Calgary, AB The Gateway at SAIT 12/09/14 Saskatoon, SK Amigos Cantina 12/10/14 Winnipeg, MB Park Theatre Cafe 12/11/14 Saint Paul, MN Turf Club 12/12/14 Iowa City, IA Blue Moose Tap House 12/13/14 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom 12/18/14 Montreal, QC La Sala Rossa 12/19/14 Kingston, ON The Grad Club 12/20/14 Toronto, ON Opera House 01/16/15 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon 01/17/15 Chicago, IL Various Venues 01/21/15 Manchester The Deaf Institute 01/22/15 Leeds Brudenell Social Club 01/23/15 Newcastle upon Tyne Think Tank? 01/26/15 Nottingham Bodega Social Club 01/27/15 Birmingham Hare & Hounds 01/28/15 London Scala 01/30/15 Oxford O2 Academy Oxford

01/31/15 Bristol, United Kingdom Thekla 02/02/15 Antwerp, Belgium Muziekcentrum Trix 02/03/15 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso 02/05/15 Oslo, Norway John Dee 02/06/15 Stockholm, Sweden Debaser Strand 02/07/15 Copenhagen, Denmark Beta 02/09/15 Hamburg, Germany Molotow 02/10/15 Berlin, Germany Kantine Am Berghain 02/12/15 Vienna, Austria B72 02/13/15 Milan, Italy Lo-Fi 02/14/15 Zurich, Switzerland Bogen F 03/24/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Northrop * 03/25/15 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside* 03/27/15 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre* 03/28/15 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak* 03/30/15 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall* 03/31/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Center* 04/01/15 – Buffalo, NY @ UB Center For the Arts* 04/03/15 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues* 04/04/15 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues* 04/06/15 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre* 04/07/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of Music* 04/09/15 – Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore Charlotte* 04/10/15 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle* 04/11/15 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle*

BLITZEN TRAPPER
at Fine Line Music Cafe
Friday 12/12/14, 7pm ($25)
finelinemusic.com

The last time I saw Blitzen Trapper it was in 2007, although other people caught them in 2009 and at SXSW 2012.

The Portland-based band will be playing a one-off show to benefit the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Details below: