At the Fox Theater

Starting in 2024, we are pleased to have Robin back as concert reporter from California. She’s previously contributed, covering Blur in New York and in California (probably their the band’s last ever tour).



For this year, and beyond, we are entering an arrangement for her to write about these upcoming shows at The Fox Theater in Oakland.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Kills

with Heartworms

at the Fox Theater

thefoxoakland.com

We love The Kills. VV’s voice with Hotel’s guitar playing… the two are just unbeatable.

The Kills (03 June 2014)

We saw The Kills in 03 June 2014 and said, “Alison Mosshart (aka “VV”) stormed across the stage with so much attitude that you almost had to take a step back. She is a tall, slender, drop dead gorgeous woman with such an amazing set a pipes on her that she almost seemed too good to be true. She was mesmerizing to watch as she moved to the music. She had the crowd completely captivated by her movements and her gorgeous voice. There were a few brief moments where she would go to the back of the stage for a sip of water or to sit for a minute but even then, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her presence was just something that you cannot put into words. and it truly took my breath away. Her male counterpart, Jamie Hince (aka “Hotel”), was just as entertaining as he played the guitar with so much passion that it was clear he was loving being on stage and playing.”

While the British/American will be stopping by Minneapolis on 12 Feb 2024, that show The Paranoyds as opener.



For the remainer of the Kills tour, starting Feb 27, the support will come from South London auteur Heartworms (aka Jojo Orme).



Heartworms’ latest single, “May I Comply”, was produced by Speedy Wunderground head Dan Carey, and premiered with Lauren Laverne on the BBC Radio 6 Music Breakfast show.



Speaking about the single, Heartworms says: “When I wrote this track I just wanted to get over an ex and to tell my little brother he’s good enough… turned out to be a lot darker than I thought.”



Heartworms US Tour Dates

Friday, March 22, 2024

The Kooks

with The Vaccines and Daisy the Great

at the Fox Theater

thefoxoakland.com

Wow, what a lineup! This same tour is coming to Minneapolis, at the Fillmore on March 16, 2024.



We’ve seen all these bands and they are all amazing.

The Kooks (04 October 2014)

We last saw The Kooks in Minneapolis on 04 October 2014 and noted, “When The Kooks took the stage, it brought back memories of seeing them in Chicago in 2007. The band was new and fresh then, and although they’ve grown up a little, they’re still full of youthful energy and fun on stage.
It’s also worth noting that this is the first tour to feature new drummer Alexis Nunez, who previously drummed for London’s Golden Silvers.”

The Vaccines (10 Oct 2018)

We saw The Vaccines in 10 Oct 2018 and said, “After a short break, the lights dimmed and a weird medley of “Phantom of the Opera” and ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”, The Vaccines have finally arrived to the clean stage of the Fine Line Music Café. Singer Justin Hayward-Young mentioned after a few songs, “Weird, not being at Triple Rock for sure.” As Hayward-Young mentioned, this was The Vaccines’ fourth time in Minneapolis, and “Minneapolis have been very good to us.””



The Vaccines are touring in support of their new album Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations, available on Thirty Tigers.

Daisy the Great (16 Apr 2023)

Finally, Daisy the Great (Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker), who we saw in 16 Apr 2023, with the snow: “Despite the snow, Daisy the Great drew in quite the crowd. Everyone on the dancefloor were already super dedicated fans, knowing all the songs and have kept up with the duo’s misadventures on their tour. The 7th Street Entry was only their four show on this 2023 tour … yet they seemed like seasoned professionals, even though they’re often goofing and joking around.”



The Vaccines 2024 US Tour Dates with The Kooks

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Waxahatchee

with Good Morning

at the Fox Theater

thefoxoakland.com

Kansas City-based Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, is back on tour in support of her new album Tigers Blood on ANTI- Records. The 2024 tour kicks off at Kansas City’s Uptown Theater on April 18th and goes through September.

Plains (18 Nov 2022)

We saw Katie Crutchfield in Plains in Nov 2022 and said, “Plains is more of a duo and they are comprised of Katie Crutchfield who plays under the name Waxahatchee and Jess Williams. Both are established singers with indie labels that decided why not get together and play a bunch of country songs. If you listen to their debut album I Walked With You a Ways you would think they have been singing together since birth like musical twins, so similar but different enough to make their harmonization not too homogenous and prepackaged.”

Good Morning (11 Apr 2022)

Australian band Good Morning to open. We saw them in Apr 2022 and said they were popular with the teenagers: “Good Morning came on stage to a large group of young teenagers (even though the show is 18+, many of the fans seemed to be under 20) packed together on the dancefloor. Even though the band looked young, and even though it’s their first American tour (first time in Minneapolis, “as far as we know”), you never got the impression that the band was amateurish. They seemed well practiced, everyone knew their positions, everyone knew when to move about to other instruments… I’ve seen seasoned bands that goofed/not ready for prime time… so it’s refreshing to see this young Australian band take their live show so seriously.”



Tour dates:

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Belle & Sebastian

with The Weather Station

at the Fox Theater

thefoxoakland.com

You guys know we’re all massive Belle & Sebastian fans, right? Their new album Late Developers just came out on January 9, 2024. With all my CD purchases in the past few years, I’ve bought them all from Amazon, because the company offers instant MP3 downloads as a perk.



There’ll be a tour in support of the new record, and, yes, they are returning to Minneapolis on May 8th, 2024. We are definitely going to cover the First Avenue, as well as this Fox Theater show.

Belle & Sebastian (27 May 2022)

We last saw the band in May 2022 and wrote, “The return to the Palace on May 27th also marked another special occasion, as they celebrated one of their crewman, Johnny Lang’s 50th birthday. They actually even planned on having him sing The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (after a few shots of whiskey, of course). It was quite an eventful night. Also, it’s worth noting that Sarah Martin was absent in the band, due to contracting COVID. She’s replaced by violinist/backup vocalist Kristen, at least that’s what I heard singer Stuart Murdoch say on stage.”

Weather Station (08 March 2016)

The Weather Station to open. It’s been a long time since we saw her, in March 2016: “Opening up the show was fellow Canadians The Weather Station. Currently the live band was a trio, featuring singer/guitarist Tamara Lindeman and with help from drummer Matt (?) and guitarist Evan. All three band members would later resurface for Bulat’s backing band during her main set. The Weather Station’s set featured a lot of new songs from her latest Loyalty album, including “Way It Is, Way It Could Be”, which did not feature any percussions. Lindeman, who sounded like Joni Mitchell, described the song as a “quieter song… as if it could get any quieter.” That’s actually a pretty good description of the band, they’re a quiet, acoustic, and gentle.”



Tour dates:

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