Squeeze / KT Tunstall at State Theatre, Minneapolis (03 Sep 2019)
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State Theatre marquee
Squeeze Setlist
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British rock band Squeeze returned to the Minneapolis area with a full band (Simon Hanson, Stephen Large, Steve Smith, and Yolanda Charles), and not just its founding members Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford (who previously appeared as a duo at the Cedar in Nov 2015).
Opening up the show was Scottish singer KT Tunstall, who later explained how they became acquaintance with each other. In contrast to Squeeze’s much larger band, Tunstall came out by herself. She even joked, “Let’s hear it for my band!” (which there was none). Tunstall is no stranger to playing solo, and uses a variety of percussion loops and other tricks to produce a much fuller sound.
Prior to playing her biggest hit to date, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” (medley with “Black Betty”), she tells us about how she met Squeeze… and somehow Squeeze was the father to “Black Horse..” The story goes that she was invited to play Jools Holland with Squeeze in 2004. She didn’t even have a recording of her songs, so she rushed to a recording studio to produce the song. The whole thing came together very quickly, and the song remain her most famous and signature song. Since meeting Squeeze in 2004, she’s become friends with them and with this recent tour, the band personally asked Tunstall to play with them.
The highlight of her set was for “Hold On”, which she medley with Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like An Egyptian”. She explained the reasoning behind the weird covers, that Prince love women and how he hires only women in his band or management. The truth is that the Hold On/Walk Like an Egyptian medley is a staple in her set since 2016.
It was still very nice to see her tribute to the Purple One, it’s clear that she’s a big fan (especially since she mentioned she went to Paisley Park earlier in the day).
As for beloved UK band Squeeze, it’s truly a delight to see the band return in full electric gear and playing many of their biggest hits from the late 70s and through the 80s.
Eager fans cheered at hearing the opening notes to such hits as “Cool for Cats”, “Tempted”, or “Another Nail in My Heart” (many of which landed in the second half of their long setlist.
Most of their songs were lyrically written by Chris Difford, with music added by Glenn Tilbrook, much like the Morrissey and Johnny Marr collaboration in The Smiths, so it’s probably better to compare Squeeze to The Smiths, rather than The Beatles … but they are often compared to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Unless you’re a music Anglophile, chances are you probably haven’t heard of Squeeze. It’s really a shame, because their songs are so catchy and fun… but it’s a rarity that that modern American radio would even play their music. Having said that, they did have a hit with “Tempted” and “Hourglass” in the USA. Unfortunately, by 1982, they broke up … but then reformed in 1985, and then breaking up again in 1999.
The band eventually re-formed in its modern iteration in 2007 (adding new bassist Yolanda Charles in 2017 and Steve Smith – from Dirty Vegas – as percussionist and backing vocalist).
If you’re a new or casual Squeeze fan, this “Squeeze Songbook” tour is actually the perfect tour to see the band on. They’re not really promoting any new album or music (their last album came out in 2017), so they’re just playing most of their biggest hits (but also including some underrated songs).
Remaining “The Squeeze Songbook 2019” USA tour:
Opening up the show was Scottish singer KT Tunstall, who later explained how they became acquaintance with each other. In contrast to Squeeze’s much larger band, Tunstall came out by herself. She even joked, “Let’s hear it for my band!” (which there was none). Tunstall is no stranger to playing solo, and uses a variety of percussion loops and other tricks to produce a much fuller sound.
Prior to playing her biggest hit to date, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” (medley with “Black Betty”), she tells us about how she met Squeeze… and somehow Squeeze was the father to “Black Horse..” The story goes that she was invited to play Jools Holland with Squeeze in 2004. She didn’t even have a recording of her songs, so she rushed to a recording studio to produce the song. The whole thing came together very quickly, and the song remain her most famous and signature song. Since meeting Squeeze in 2004, she’s become friends with them and with this recent tour, the band personally asked Tunstall to play with them.
The highlight of her set was for “Hold On”, which she medley with Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like An Egyptian”. She explained the reasoning behind the weird covers, that Prince love women and how he hires only women in his band or management. The truth is that the Hold On/Walk Like an Egyptian medley is a staple in her set since 2016.
It was still very nice to see her tribute to the Purple One, it’s clear that she’s a big fan (especially since she mentioned she went to Paisley Park earlier in the day).
As for beloved UK band Squeeze, it’s truly a delight to see the band return in full electric gear and playing many of their biggest hits from the late 70s and through the 80s.
Eager fans cheered at hearing the opening notes to such hits as “Cool for Cats”, “Tempted”, or “Another Nail in My Heart” (many of which landed in the second half of their long setlist.
Most of their songs were lyrically written by Chris Difford, with music added by Glenn Tilbrook, much like the Morrissey and Johnny Marr collaboration in The Smiths, so it’s probably better to compare Squeeze to The Smiths, rather than The Beatles … but they are often compared to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Unless you’re a music Anglophile, chances are you probably haven’t heard of Squeeze. It’s really a shame, because their songs are so catchy and fun… but it’s a rarity that that modern American radio would even play their music. Having said that, they did have a hit with “Tempted” and “Hourglass” in the USA. Unfortunately, by 1982, they broke up … but then reformed in 1985, and then breaking up again in 1999.
The band eventually re-formed in its modern iteration in 2007 (adding new bassist Yolanda Charles in 2017 and Steve Smith – from Dirty Vegas – as percussionist and backing vocalist).
If you’re a new or casual Squeeze fan, this “Squeeze Songbook” tour is actually the perfect tour to see the band on. They’re not really promoting any new album or music (their last album came out in 2017), so they’re just playing most of their biggest hits (but also including some underrated songs).
Remaining “The Squeeze Songbook 2019” USA tour:
09/07, Park City, UT, Deer Valley Resort
09/09, Seattle, WA, The Showbox
09/10, Salem, OR, The Elsinore Theatre
09/12, Oakland, CA, The Fox Theatre
09/13, Los Angeles, CA, The Orpheum Theatre
09/15, Chandler, AZ, The Chandler Center for the Arts
09/17, Austin, TX, The Paramount
09/18, Houston, TX, Warehouse Live
09/19, Dallas, TX, The Bomb Factory
09/22, Atlanta, GA, The Tabernacle
09/09, Seattle, WA, The Showbox
09/10, Salem, OR, The Elsinore Theatre
09/12, Oakland, CA, The Fox Theatre
09/13, Los Angeles, CA, The Orpheum Theatre
09/15, Chandler, AZ, The Chandler Center for the Arts
09/17, Austin, TX, The Paramount
09/18, Houston, TX, Warehouse Live
09/19, Dallas, TX, The Bomb Factory
09/22, Atlanta, GA, The Tabernacle
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KT Tunstall |
KT Tunstall |
KT Tunstall |
KT Tunstall |
KT Tunstall |
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Squeeze |
Squeeze |
Squeeze |
Squeeze |
Squeeze at State Theatre, Minneapolis (03 Sep 2019) |