Minneapolis: January 10 to January 12, 2024

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

 

01/10/2024 Wednesday
Yellow Ostrich
with Bathtub Cig and Megasound
at Icehouse
first-avenue.com

It’s Yellow Ostrich’s 3rd Annual Winter Shindig residency at the Icehouse, starting on January 10th, 2024.

 

We saw Yellow Ostrich at Pianos, in New York, in Feb 2014 and wrote, “I listened to Yellow Ostrich’s music the day before the show and knew immediately that I wanted to see them live. They have a lo-fi indie rock sound with vocals from Alex Schaaf (also member of The Chairs) whose voice is a mixture of fun.’s Nate Ruess and Ben Folds. Other band members include talented musicians: Jared Van Fleet (guitar/keyboard), Zach Rose (bass), and Michael Tapper (drums).”

The band writes:

Yellow Ostrich’s Winter Shindig is back for a third year in January 2024, taking place over four consecutive Wednesdays. Each week will feature different setlists and surprises, along with different supporting bands each night (hand-picked by YO).

Yellow Ostrich is a long-running project led by Minneapolis-based songwriter Alex Schaaf, who started the band in Brooklyn in 2010 before moving it to the Midwest. The band released Soft in 2022 on Barsuk Records, the first new music in seven years to be released by Schaaf under the Yellow Ostrich moniker, since he paused the project to explore new musical identities on a handful of excellent self-released albums. This was followed by Make it Make Sense (EP) in January of 2023. The latest full-length, Soft, takes its name from the lyric that stands as a thesis for the entire album, a beautiful and haunting rumination on the pitfalls and pressures of traditional masculinity and on Schaaf’s drive toward vulnerability and tenderness as core tenets of his being.

Bathtub Cig is the intimate depression pop project of Hilary James. Born in a Minneapolis bedroom the spring of 2017, it is an honest attempt at coping with her long struggle with mental health. She is joined by Dave Power on drums, Skyler Nowinski on bass, and Hannah Heble on synth, flute and harmony. Their 2018 debut EP “Old Light” draws comparisons to a synth-pop version of Frankie Cosmo with raw lyrics.

2021 Ep “bed” is both a dream-like and hazy musing on quarantine as well as a heartbreaking attempt to cope with grief. In a departure from James’ first full band EP “Old Light”, this new release is a stripped down solo voyage. Hilary is joined by Addie Strei (Adelyn Rose) on clarinet, flute, and bass to create beautiful textures to balance out the loneliness of the electric guitar. Their 2022 debut full length “Night Blindness” has been described as a clever and dark Gen Z Ode, putting our hardest thoughts into music.

Megasound is a rock band brought to you by the minds behind Bad Bad Hats (Kerry Alexander and Chris Hoge) and Party Nails (Elana Carroll).

Tour dates:

 

 

 

01/11/2024 Thursday
Alina Maira
with Another Heaven, d’Lakes and The Envies
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Local singer/songwriter Alina Maira will be headlining the 7th Street Entry on January 11, 2024.

We saw Alina Maira in 13 Apr 2022 and wrote, “ Local singer/songwriter, by the way of Philadelphia, Alina Maira end the show. She’s joined on stage by her band (and I got the impression that they are also her best friends): Tim, Seth, Jess, and Jonny. Maira first came to our attention when she opened up for Tokyo Police Club in Oct 2021. Maira described her songs as a way to provoke the human connection through shared experiences… and it would seem that many of her songs are about her past experiences and she’s singing her story.”

Another Heaven, d’Lakes, and The Envies to open.

 

01/12/2024 Friday
Best New Bands of 2023
featuring Barlow • Ber • Clare Doyle • LAAMAR • L.A. Buckner & BiG HOMiE • REIKI • she’s green
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

It’s the annual Best New Bands series, which usually at First Avenue or one of their venues. This year will be hosted by The Current’s Jill Riley, Radio K’s Grace Williams, KFAI’s Krista Wax, and Jazz88’s Sean McPherson.

We’ve seen a few of these artists, for example She’s Green from 27 Sep 2023, “Local shoegazing band she’s green, featuring Zofia on vocals, Teddy on bass, Liam on guitars, Raines on guitars, and Kevin on drums, opened the show. Although, according to Zofia, the group is from the area, but it was their first time playing the Turf Club. We’ve previously mentioned their Minneapolis shows, such as in August 2023 or January 2022 … but never mentioned they’ve played St Paul. The group is still relatively new, so they’re introducing some new songs, such as “Clobber”. At least that’s the title they currently agreed on. Their debut EP, Wisteria came out in June 2023.”

Bands on the bill:

 

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to vu@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time. Thank you.