In Concert This Week - June 17, 2014

Tonight, Wednesday, June 18, doom/folk band Agalloch from Portland will play Minneapolis at the Triple Rock Social Club in support of their new album The Serpent & The Sphere. Joining them will be psychedelic black metal band Obsidian Tongue from Massachusetts and Blood And Sun. Local brewery HammerHeart (yes, named in honor of the Bathory album!) will also release Serpensblod tomorrow, an ale inspired by Agalloch and described as “a dry, smoked red ale, including beechwood, cherry wood, and oak smoked malts, chocolate malt and a generous portion of rye with a mild hop presence, 8.34% alcohol by volume.” Tickets are $15 at the door, and it’s an 18+ show with doors at 8:00.

Fargo’s Egypt plays the Triple Rock Social Club on Thursday, June 19 with Witchden, Wicked Inquisition, and Flintlock. This is an 18+ show that starts around 8:00, and it’s $8 at the door.

Things then get insane over the weekend with a ton of shows in all manner of heavy musical styles. First, Extreme Noise Records in Minneapolis is celebrating their 20th anniversary with the second of three weekend’s worth of shows. The events start Friday, June 20 with a Twin Cities punk art show at the store, and Teenage Moods, Animal Lover, Miami Dolphins, and Rabbit Holes playing a free show at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis. Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22 Extreme Noise takes over Memory Lanes in Minneapolis for record swaps that run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, followed by all ages shows in the parking lot at 3:00 pm for $5 each day. Playing Saturday afternoon are Los Crudos, Organism (from Japan), Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Mean Jeans, Banner Pilot, and Kontrasekt, and Sunday afternoon has Iron Lung, Lebenden Toten, Radioactivity, Frozen Teens, and Condominium. Saturday night (10:00 pm), Question, Gas Rag, Pillage, and Varix play a free show in the bowling alley. As if that’s not enough, Extreme Noise also has free shows at the Hexagon Bar Saturday and Sunday with Arms Aloft, Boilerman, The Crash Bandits, and The Okerlunds on Saturday, and Bad Sports, Real Numbers, Joust, and Hot Rash on Sunday.

Friday, June 20 also has Impaler, Exiles, The Regenerators, and Fatal Kaliber playing at the Amsterdam Ball & Hall, Lockgnar, Plagued Insanity, Invidiosus, and Time Destroyer at Big V’s Saloon in St. Paul, The Rope, Maledicere, Prostate, The Funeral And The Twilight, and Begrime Exemious at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, and Mommy Sez No and Jolly Roger Bandits at the Red Carpet Keller Bar in St. Cloud.

On Saturday, June 21, the Terminal Bar in Minneapolis has a night of underground black metal billed as The Devil’s Coven II with Nyogthaeblisz and Hellvetron from Texas along with locals Masshu, Bestial Whore, and Volkeinblucht. This starts around 7:00, and it’s a 21+ show that’s $15 at the door. Also on Saturday, you can catch Nuisance, Dead Horse Trauma, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and Ghost Hook at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, and 32Headshots, Left In The Lurch, and Dark Side at the Red Carpet Keller Bar in St. Cloud.

RED DRAGON CARTEL Cancels Fridley Concert

Sad new indeed, for those of us looking forward to seeing guitarist Jake E. Lee playing live once more. Yes, Red Dragon Cartel has canceled their appearance at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley on Saturday, March 22, but the show goes on with Hessler, The Regenerators, and Impaler still playing.

I'm not certain exactly when this was announced, but the Vital Culture page for advance tickets sales now simply states: "Jake E. Lee's Red Dragon Cartel has canceled." Various online postings as recently as March 15 still indicated Red Dragon Cartel was playing, and the band's Facebook page still has the Fridley date listed, but it is not to be.

Assuming ticket sales were okay, I'll go out on a limb and guess that the band canceled the Fridley show once the reality of their crappy tour routing hit them. Red Dragon Cartel plays Friday in Janesville, Wisconsin, then would need to backtrack to the Twin Cities on Saturday before a 10+ hour haul to East-Central Indiana for a show in Richmond on Sunday.

Full Darkness Day Band Schedule Announced, EXHUMED Added to Bill

Exhumed playing way back in August 2000 at the Showcase Theater in Corona, California.

I posted last week that local doom/sludge band Vulgaari would be playing at Surly Brewing's Darkness Day in Brooklyn Center on Saturday, October 26, but no other details were available beyond that. Now, the full band schedule for Darkness Day can be revealed and it's a monster! Joining Vulgaari will be death/gore masters Exhumed alongside Rivers Of Nihil, local shock kings Impaler, God Came From Space, and Fallen Empire. All bands will be playing outside, and here's the itinerary:

11:00–11:30 am - Fallen Empire
12:00–12:30 pm - God Came From Space
1:00-1:30 pm - Rivers Of Nihil
2:00-2:45 pm - Vulgaari
3:15-4:00 pm - Exhumed
4:30-5:15 pm - Impaler

This is the sickest lineup for Darkness Day yet! Exhumed and Rivers Of Nihil will be doing two shows on Saturday - after Darkness Day ends you can head down to Skyway Theater Studio B in Minneapolis to catch them with Dying Fetus.

I'm sad that Powermad will not be playing this year; it could be due to logistics—drummer Dirk Verbeuren happens to be in Soilwork. Surly's Head Brewer and Powermad guitarist Todd Haug also now plays with Vulgaari.

Vulgaari guitarist and Surly Head Brewer Todd Haug ripping it up with Powermad at Darkness Day 2012.

Thanks to Zack from Vulgaari for all of the information! You can see Vulgaari tonight at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis as they support English stoner masters Orange Goblin with thrashers Holy Grail and Lazer/Wulf. This is an 18+ show, and Vulgarri goes on first around 7:30.

From The Vault - GREEN JELLY

If you were alive during the early 90s, it was hard to avoid the phenomenon of Green Jellÿ. Originally known as Green Jellö until they were forced to change the name, this costumed group could be viewed as a more comical, light-hearted take on GWAR's stage show. What brought widespread attention to Green Jellÿ was the awesome video for "Three Little Pigs" from their 1993 Cereal Killer Soundtrack album (check it out below)—drummer Danny Carey from Tool was a member of Green Jellÿ at the time. I never got to see Green Jellÿ during the height of the popularity (they cancelled at the last minute a show opening for Testament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1994), but was fortunate to catch them in San Diego on January 31, 2000 at Brick by Brick. Despite being out of the limelight for a while, a decent crowd turned out and the band put on a fantastic show. As you can tell from the pictures in the slideshow above, the band employs a ton of costume changes and actors to keep the show entertaining, but musically these guys bring out the metal in a heavy way. Sure, there's a lot of other shows going on tonight, but getting out to see Green Jellÿ is well worth your time.

Green Jellÿ performs tonight at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis with support from Impaler, Screaming Mechanical Brain, Iguana, and Rock And Roll Whores.

Concert Announcements - April 5, 2013

As announced last night, Limp Bizkit plays at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday, May 14. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, April 5 at 10:00 am.

Local shock/gore kings Impaler have a show with Eldergaad and God Came From Space on Saturday, June 1 at Cause Spirits & Sound in Minneapolis.

Sublime With Rome comes to Myth in St. Paul with Iration on Saturday, June 29.

The husband and wife team of Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo play the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater in Apple Valley on Sunday, June 30. Reserved seat tickets go on sale Saturday, April 27 at 10:00 am.

Cheap Trick plays the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater in Apple Valley on Saturday, July 6. Reserved seat tickets go on sale Saturday, April 27 at 10:00 am.

Progressive rock icons Yes play the Mystic Lake Showroom in Prior Lake on Friday, August 9. Tickets go on sale Saturday, June 1, and presale tickets for members of the Mystic Email Club go on sale Friday, May 31.

Tonight - AS I LAY DYING; SUM 41 in Minneapolis, IMPALER in St. Paul

Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying headlines at First Avenue in Minneapolis tonight, March 30 with support from The Devil Wears Prada, For Today, and The Chariot. Tickets are still available for this all ages show, and it will cost you $25 at the door. Get there early - showtime is 5:00.

Check out As I Lay Dying's video for "No Lungs To Breathe" from their latest album Awakened.

Tonight also marks the return of pop-punk band Sum 41 with Hollerado with a show at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis. This is a 16+ show that gets underway at 8:00; tickets are still available for $25 at the door.

Here's Impaler on July 17, 2011 opening for Lizzy Borden. Click on the picture to see more photos of Impaler (10).

Local shock-gore masters Impaler top a local bill with Mordwolf, Mastiff, and Compassion Dies at Station 4 in St. Paul. This is a 21+ show and is only $5 at the door.

In Concert This Week - March 1, 2013

Didn't find out about this one until recently - Survivor vocalist Jimi Jamison is playing a solo show with The Dean Weisser Band tonight, Friday, March 1 at the Minnesota Music Cafe in St. Paul to promote his November 2012 solo album Never Too Late. Jimi was the frontman for Chicago rock band Survivor during its arguably most successful period in the mid-80s, singing smash US hits such as "Burning Heart" (#2), "The Search Is Over" (#4), "High On You" (#8), "Is This Love" (#9), "I Can't Hold Back" (#13), "First Night" (#53), and "The Moment Of Truth" (#63). Prior to joining Survivor, Jimi sang for the heavier bands Target and Cobra. Survivor's Vital Signs album is revered by AOR/hard rock fans, with Jimi's voice being a major reason. Jimi was even supposed to replace Ian Gillan in Deep Purple instead of Joe Lynn Turner in 1989, but it was not to be. There's a great account of this in Martin Popoff's excellent book A Castle Full Of Rascals: Deep Purple: '83–'09 (2009):

"In fact, Jamison, of Survivor fame, had done more than auditioned. He had recorded with the band in September of 1989 and as far as Purple was concerned, he had the job. But Jamison had just recorded his first solo album, and, as Jon Lord tells the story, the record label had strong Italo-American family connections, and they strongly advised Jamison not to join Deep Purple.

'We auditioned Jimi who had been the lead singer in Survivor and he wanted the gig so much,' adds Lord, leaving out the mafia reference. 'He sounded fantastic and we had some wonderful rehearsals but then his management told him that he couldn't as he was going to be big on his own. He really would've been great in the band, I can tell you. You want to hear him sing Highway Star - it was absolutely marvelous. We did things like Sail Away with him and a couple of others like Maybe I'm A Leo that he did brilliantly. I think he would've been just brilliant for us. I didn't want Joe in the band. I thought he was totally wrong and that's not with hindsight. I fought against it.'"

Back to this week's shows, tonight also has Impaler, Black Rainbow, Ripsnorter, and Regenerators playing at Neisen's in Savage.

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 2, classic hard/boogie rockers Foghat are paired with Head East at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina. That same night locals Nuisance are doing a video at their show Killwire and Strate-Jak-It at Station 4 in St. Paul.

The only other show on tap this week is Cleveland metalcore band Affiance with support from Glamour Of The Kill and Adestria at Station 4 in St. Paul on Tuesday, March 5.

In Concert This Week - July 12, 2012

This week is a little quiet on the concert front, but the rest of the month is booked solid with shows of all kind.

There’s two rock shows tonight, Thursday, July 12. At Famous Dave’s Blues Club in Uptown Minneapolis you can catch guitar legend Edgar Winter (most would recognize the instrumental “Frankenstein”) with Blatant Youth starting at 7 pm. In the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis, Hoobastank is playing at the Varsity Theater.

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th, and what better way to spend it than with the area’s own Impaler at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. Opening the show are Revengeance, Rivkit, and Mördwölf. Also on Friday, The Casualties, Nekromantix, Down By Law, Lower Class Brats, Flatfoot 56, and The Sheds play in St. Paul at Station 4.

Local industrial metal band Screaming Mechanical Brain has just wrapped a string of tour dates and return home to Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14 with Brothers Loyalty, If I Ran The Zoo, Molly’s Worst Enemy, Our Judgment, We Follow One, and Pierre.

Kid Rock gears up for a headline show at Rock Fest next week with a sold-out show at Mystic Lake Casino Amphitheater in Prior Lake on Sunday, July 15. Also on Sunday, you can catch punk band The Dopamines with Lipstick Homicide, The Slow Death, and The Manix at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, while Oh, Sleeper, A Plea For Purging, The Great Commission, Rest For The Weary, and Royal Ace play Station 4 in St. Paul.

Lastly, metal band God Forbid returns to play Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, July 18 with support from Battlecross, Devilsex, Climactic, Reaping Asmodeia, Deretia, and Purified.

Crypticon Minneapolis 2011

With Halloween just around the corner, it's that time of year again for horror movie fans to gather for the 6th annual Crypticon being held at the Double Tree by Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota on November 4–6. This event brings together movie stars, paranormal experts, special effects wizards, and music for 3 days of interactive events such as panels, a dealer room, an indie film contest, and a costume contest. The musical lineup is as follows:


Friday, November 4: American Head Charge, Wrecking Day, Impaler, Tepetricy, and Burn Fetish
Saturday, November 5: Michale Graves (ex-Misfits), Screaming Mechanical Brain, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Pinwheel, Nuisance, and Terror Overising


These events are all ages, and the tickets for the concerts are $13 in advance, $15 at the door, and $20 for an advance two-day pass. Tickets for the festival can be purchased separately or together with the concerts. The impressive list of non-musical guests includes:


Sid Haig
Doug Bradley
Tom Towles
Camden Toy
Barbara Nedeljakova
Troy Holbrook
Alex Vincent
Joe Knetter
Sarah French
Geretta Geretta
J LaRose
Michael Bodine
Annie Wilder
Beverly Washburn

CRYPTICON Minneapolis 2010 Bands Announced

The Crypticon Festival in Minneapolis has released the full lineup of 14 bands scheduled to perform at the horror movie festival held November 5-7 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel. Here is the band list for each night:

Friday, November 5 - Jack Havoc, Impaler, Tennessee Murder Club, The Clincher, Alation, and Solution 13

Saturday, November 6 - Mushroomhead, Wrecking Day, Black Food Diesel, Dead Bundy, Souless Affection, Caustic Vision, Pinwheel, and Gabriel And The Apocalypse

Mushroomhead will also be doing a meet and greet on Saturday at the convention. There are a variety of ticket packages available, including tickets for all events, only the convention events, and only the concert events. If you're only interested in seeing the concerts, tickets for Friday night only are $13, and tickets for Friday and Saturday are $23. It doesn't appear that concert tickets for Saturday night only are available. If you are coming from out of town, Crypticon has arranged special room rates at the Sheraton if you reserve your room by Friday, October 15.

Among the guests that are scheduled for convention events are:

Jeffrey Combs - actor (Re-Animator, Star Trek, more)

Bruce Abbott - actor (Re-Animator, The Last Starfighter, more)

Kathleen Kinmont - actress (Halloween 4, Bride Of Re-Animator, more)

Walter Phelan - creature actor, makeup and effects artist (House Of 1000 Corpses, Watchmen, Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight, more)

Jake McKinnon - actor, effects artist (House Of 1000 Corpses, Halloween II, more)

Dee Wallace - actress (E.T., The Howling, Rob Zombie's Halloween, more)

Tom Sullivan - makeup and effects artist, props, animator (Evil Dead, more). Tom will bring along his museum of movie props and illustrations.

Troy Holbrook - Bodybag Photography and FX (Crave, Cyrus, more). Tory will be conducting a hands-on, 2-day class on the making of silicone appliances.

Brian Krause - actor (Charmed, Tales From The Crypt, more). Brian's new film, Cyrus: The Mind Of A Killer, will be screened Friday night.

Jason Lively - actor (European Vacation, Night Of The Creeps, more)

William B. Davis - actor (The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, more)

Joe Knetter - author and script writer (Twisted Loneliness, Strip Club Slasher, more)

Scarlet Salem - actress and writer (Killer Biker Chicks, Terror Overload, more)

Sean Clark - producer and writer (The Black Waters Of Echo's Pond, Horror's Hallowed Grounds, more)

Dr. Ivan Cryptosis - Kooky Spooky Theatre

This is the 5th year of Crypticon, and it promises to be an interesting experience for horror buffs. View the trailer from last year's event below.

Share Tweet