Weekly Concert Update - June 2, 2014

Now that the Twin Cities area Concert Calendar (bottom of the page) has been extensively updated, I'll be doing regular, weekly updates on Fridays as I have in the past. Here's all the latest good stuff!

Local punk heroes Dillinger Four have revealed the details on their annual Fourth of July shows at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. The first show on Friday, July 4 will feature support from Masked Intruder, The Brokedowns, Canadian Rifle, Direct Hit!, The Priceduifkes, and Lutheran Heat. The second show on Saturday, July 5 is a heavier bill with Night Birds, Neighborhood Brats, Vulgaari, War/Plague, and Architects Death Spiral. These are usually the only shows Dillinger Four plays all year, and they always sell out in advance. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketfly (July 4, July 5), and both shows are 18+ and are $15 in advance.

Slough Feg, out on the road support their new Metal Blade album Digital Resistance, storms into the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Friday, July 11 with Bible Of The Devil, United Teachers of Music, and Nightosaur. This 18+ show is only $10 in advance, and tickets are available through Ticketfly.

80s hair metal act Faster Pussycat returns to the area on Friday, August 1 for a show in Fridley at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park with support from Metal Witch and Harsh Reality.

Another 80s band returns for a show at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley when Bulletboys roll into town with Wayward Boyz Klub and The Goodbars.

Japanese metal experimentalists Boris, play with The Atlas Moth, and Subrosa on Tuesday, August 12 at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. Tickets for this 18+ are $15 in advance and available now through etix.

Blues-based rock band Black Stone Cherry is back again, this time for a concert in Minneapolis at Mill City Nights with support from Kyng. Get tickets now for only $9.37 through AXS; this is an 18+ show.

Everyone’s favorite alternative funk rock band, Primus, will make an appearance at Myth in St. Paul on Friday, September 12. This is an all ages event; tickets are $42 through AXS.

If you don’t mind a little drive, ZZ Top plays the Grand Casino Hinckley Events & Convention Center on Friday, October 10. No ticket information is currently available other than they go on sale on Sunday, August 10.

Concert Announcements - March 1, 2013

The concert calendar is starting fill out more as shows for the summer season start to filter in. First up with the new announcements are concerts for which tickets go on sale today, Friday, March 1 at 10:00 am:

Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, and Wake The Dead will play an 18+ show at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 16.

Kvelertak returns to the area for an 18+ headlining show with support from Cancer Bats on Saturday, April 27 at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis (tickets on sale for this one at 12:00 noon).

Papa Roach comes to the Mayo Civic Center Auditorium in Rochester for an all ages show with Escape The Fate and Otherwise on Tuesday, May 21. Tickets purchased today are only $14.99 - advance go up to $23 thereafter and $25 at the door.

The ever-bizarre Primus will play an all ages show at Myth in St. Paul on Saturday, June 1.

As mentioned in the presale announcement a couple days ago, the legendary Alice Cooper will play an all ages show at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on Sunday, July 14.

There's plenty of other recent metal concert news:

Heathenfest 4 featuring Einherjer, Sig:Ar:Tyr, Vanir, Ashaena, Trelleborg, Hammer Horde, Vesperia, Minos, Battlesoul, and Winterhymn on Saturday, March 9 at Station 4 in St. Paul has been CANCELLED. A FREE 16+ show is being lined up in its place with Minos and other bands to be announced. A February 13 post on the Einherjer Facebook page blames the cancellation on the promoter: "Ok, it seems we need to clear up any misunderstandings regarding the cancellation of our performance at Heathen Crusade. We are not able to perform because we didn't get any money from the promoter. No money for flights, no money for visas. We've tried our best to find a solution, but the deadline for the working visa application left us no choice but to cancel. We're really sorry it came to this....and we are just as pissed off as you are!!!" There's always two sides to any dispute like this (every band I've talked to loves working with SwordLord), but my guess is that it all comes down to weak advance ticket sales.

(hed)pe returns to St. Paul on Sunday, March 31 at Station 4 for an all ages show with Nuisance, Strate-Jak-It, and Angry Room.

Long-running death metal band Suffocation brings Exhumed, Jungle Rot, Rings Of Saturn, and Adimiron to Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, April 8 for a 16+ show.

Within The Ruins and The Contortionist co-headline an all ages show with support from I Declare War, Reflections, and City In The Sea on Tuesday, April 9 at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Punk band The Casualties will be playing at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 20.

Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy comes backs to Station 4 in St. Paul on Tuesday, May 7 with Krisiun, Aborted, Arsis, and Starkill.

Des Moines-based death metal band Amass The Grave plays Station 4 in St. Paul on Sunday, May 26 with The Curse Of Hail and Climactic for a 21+ show.

Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno will hit Neisen's in Savage on Wednesday, June 5.

Bang Tango plays the Hi 5 Bar in Burnsville on Thursday, June 6 with support from Metal Witch and Black Rainbow.

Former Guns 'N' Roses drummer Steven Adler brings his new band simply called Adler to Buster's in Mankato on Sunday, June 30.

PRIMUS From The Vault

The ever-entertaining Primus is back together and hits the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis tonight. I dug out an old flyer and ticket stubs from a few of times that I've seen Les Claypool and crew.

First up is a flyer from Primus' first national tour right around the time that their debut album, Suck On This, was released in 1989. Believe it or not they played Gabe's Oasis in Iowa City, Iowa with fellow San Francisco transplants from Iowa City, Sonic Disruption Theory (SDT, Suburban Death Trip), and the beautifully named Iowa Beef Experience. Despite only holding about 200 people in the middle of nowhere, Gabe's used to get some great shows. I remember seeing all kinds of cool alternative metal and punk bands there such as Smashing Pumpkins (before they had released anything), Melvins, Das Damen, Bullet Lavolta, The Four Horsemen (with glam band Wildside!), Swingin' Teens, House Of Large Sizes, Babes In Toyland, L7, Animal Bag, Rights Of The Accused, Helios Creed, Voodoo Gearshift, Sludgeplow, The Cows, Helmet, and many others. I actually helped Wildside load their gear for a free pitcher of beer. Nirvana even played Gabe's on the Bleach tour. Anyways, I had a couple friends that were really tuned into the underground metal scene, and we went to check out Primus solely because they had a couple guys from Blind Illusion. This show might even have been before Suck On This was released. This is no doubt a legendary Gabe's show, and Claypool has been known to randomly shout "Gabe's!" during other, later shows they played in Iowa.

Of course, Primus went on to great things, and I didn't see them again until the end of the Pork Soda tour when they opened for Rush on the Counterparts tour in Moline, Illinois at The Mark of the Quad Cities in 1994. An odd pairing to be sure, but it worked. Despite having a population much larger than Iowa City, the Quad Cities (two cities each straddling the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois) didn't get many shows. Other shows I remember going to in the Quad Cities from 1987–1994 include Grim Reaper/Armored Saint/Helloween, Billy Squier/Blue Murder/King's X, Flotsam And Jetsam/Prong/Butt Lynt, Faith No More/Helmet, Jane's Addiction, and Megadeth/Stone Temple Pilots.

Probably the best Primus show I saw was on the Tales From The Punchbowl tour in 1995 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City. Former fIREHOSE frontman Mike Watt opened the show. The band was at the top of their game and played a great selection of songs.

The next time I saw Primus was on the Ozzfest in 1999 in San Bernardino, California. They really seemed out of place there, but it was still a great show. I have some great pictures from that show, but I haven't had the chance to scan some in yet. Which brings me to the last time I saw Primus in 2004. I was in Washington, DC on a business trip, and a friend (who had recently moved to Virginia) and I caught this show together. This was a cool show because there was no opening band, and after a brief set they played Sailing The Seas Of Cheese in its entirety. Primus always puts on a great show, so get to their concert tonight if you have the chance.

Primus plays tonight, Friday, October 1 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Supporting Primus will be Portugal The Man and Split Lip Rayfield.

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