Bandwidth: My first Twin Cities concert in a long, long time
by Reed Fischer
November 12, 2021
Welcome to Bandwidth, The Current digital team’s weekly roundup of news, music we like, and upcoming concerts. (Got a local topic you think we should include? Hit up localshow@mpr.org.)
Getting back out there
For the first time in 18 months, I stepped inside a Twin Cities concert venue. We saw some outdoor music this past summer, but going to the Fine Line on Wednesday night very different. This time, it was the joint headlining tour of Hamilton Leithauser (of the Walkmen fame) and Kevin Morby with opener Jess Williamson.
What felt familiar: I have lined up outside a club, gotten my wrist stamped, and walked into a dark room with a stage hundreds of times.
What felt less familiar: all the pandemic stuff. Stage announcements between songs referenced the hard year-plus everyone has experienced. Leithauser wondered if a guy who had apparently mailed him a bunch of booze was in the crowd. (He wasn’t.) Some of us were wearing masks. It looked really clean in there. With all the pent-up anticipation for the night I found myself a little more bothered than usual with people who weren’t paying attention. I also heard myself hoping that they all stayed healthy and could finish their tour.
After witnessing so much that felt outside of control and reason over the past couple of years, in a very bad way, it felt great to have little control of how the night played out, but in a very good way. Concert-wise, Leithauser and Morby shared a ripping backing band, and Williamson made appearances throughout the night with supporting vocals. Clearly there was economy in this arrangement, but all of the shared artistic DNA (Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen vibes aplenty), and tasteful saxophone, in the two songwriters’ catalogues made it a treat for the room. They got together onstage for their new collaborative single “Virginia Beach” and closed with an encore featuring a song from each of the night’s performers. Hearing Morby’s meditation on gun violence “Beautiful Strangers” with all three vocalists taking a turn was a somber and powerful final note.
Beach House recorded in the MN woods
Like Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and the Breeders before them, Baltimore’s dream-pop royalty decided to capture some studio magic near Cannon Falls at Pachyderm Studios. The results show up on the band’s forthcoming Once Twice Melody, which will be released in four parts between now and February. Here’s the first installment.
New local holiday tunes
It’s [checks calendar] mid-November, so the holiday music embargo has officially been lifted in some households. If that’s yours, you could be listening to A Minnesota Holiday Volume 13. There’s HALEY, Jeremy Messersmith, Sisqó, Dan Wilson, and plenty of others toasting (or roasting) the annual spectacle. It’s on streaming platforms now and the CD is available for purchase on Monday, November 15, with proceeds going to Second Harvest Heartland.
Libianca’s Voice journey ends
The 20-year-old singer from Roseville put in several memorable performances on The Voice this year. Here she is performing Doja Cat’s "Woman." We’ll be watching and listening closely for what’s next locally. “In a month or so, I WILL be releasing projects and a lot of entertainment for you,” she said on Instagram this week. “Until then, we vibe and connect.”
Read on
An in-depth Mpls.St.Paul profile of Caitlyn Smith tells why the singer-songwriter has moved back to her home state of Minnesota.
The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn on this weekend’s shows in Minneapolis: “I'm afraid it might get a little too emotional.” You’ve been warned.
More from The Current
Read the latest edition of the local team’s Scouting Report for takes on the top new local music from Corbin, Tabah, Allan Kingdom, and more. And, dig into Julian’s profile of the ferocious live act Killusonline. Finally, a fresh Friday Five hits with new videos from Night Moves, Liz Draper, Ka Lia Universe, and two more at this link right here.
Check out fresh interviews with Sting and Tears for Fears.
Album of the Week: The War On Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore.
Spankin’ new music! Beach House, Dijon, Charli XCX, Raffaella, Foals and Mitski (written by Dan Wilson)
Rock & Roll Book Club: Aaliyah biography Baby Girl.
ICYMI: A local “Baby It’s Cold Outside remake possibly got copied and pasted into a Netflix holiday drama with no credit to Lydia Liza. Talk about cold.
Weekend Gig Lists
