Illuminati Hotties / Fenne Lily at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (06 Mar 2022)

The co-headlining Illuminati Hotties and Fenne Lily show was officially sold out, according to the 7th Street Entry venue, but it didn’t feel like it… that’s because there was a winter storm warning (which never came) and it was a very late Sunday evening show. It was a nice, for a change, because it meant you can walk around comfortably.



First on this triple-girls bill was Pom Pom Squad. The band did a cover of Weezer’s “Undone (The Sweater Song)” as their penultimate song. They ended their set with “Be Good”.



I’ve pieced together the story about this tour, so far… as I’ve heard various bits and snippets from all the bands. The fact is somewhere in Canada on March 2nd, the Illuminati Hotties’ van died on the road. They tried to save it, they don’t even know what’s wrong with it. So instead of pulling out of the tour, the band rode in Fenne Lily’s tour van… making for an extremely uncomfortable trip. It was so bad that Lily’s sound guy, Alex, thought it was best if he just book a one-way flight to the next destination. You see, the van only has enough seats for eight people… but there were now ten people – so two had to sit floor. That doesn’t sound great, and it also doesn’t exactly sound street legal.



So this may explain why Bristol, UK-based Fenne Lily was so tired due to lack of sleep. She said to keep herself awake, she’s been drinking hard liquor. Her humor is really dry, and you’re not quite sure if she’s joking or being serious half the time.



She played some tracks from her new album Breach ( Dead Oceans)… which they didn’t have the album for sale. She’s convinced that they may have lost the box of CDs somewhere, as she didn’t think they sold them all out.



Highlight of their set was, “Laundry and Jetlag”, which required violins. “We don’t have to budget for violins, so you are going to have to imagine it,” she said.



She also played a brand new song that she’s currently calling “Hot House”. Towards the end of the song, she just started humming, as she said she forgot the lyrics. “There are 18 lines in the song… I just didn’t remember it.”



As for the Illuminati Hotties, they were excited to get on stage. They didn’t waste any time, playing their greatest hit song of 2021, “MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA” early, setting the tone of their show.



They saved their latest single, “Sandwich Sharer” near the end… which is about feeling comfortable with someone enough that, “you finish each others’… sandwiches.”



Highlight of their set was the story about how their van broke down in Canada… after the story was told, singer Sarah Tudzin started singing a made-up song that goes, “I Left My Van in Canada”. Rest in peach, Illuminati Hotties’ van.



Remaining tour dates: