“You have a very special music culture there in the Twin Cities,” Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Weiner says. “You people there, you got heart and soul, and I feel it every time I'm on stage performing there.”

Weiner should know. On Thursday, Nov. 14, the Philadelphia-based band will perform at Minneapolis club First Avenue, one of Weiner’s favorite venues. And there’s nothing quite like a Low Cut Connie live show; in fact, that magic has been captured in a feature film, Art Dealers, and just last Friday, the album Connie Live was released.

Yet one Low Cut Connie show is not like another, and Weiner embraces the opportunity he has to curate a feeling every time the band take the stage. “When we put on a show, it ain't just me and the band,” Weiner says, “it's the audience and what they bring into the room that makes the evening magic.”

Adam Weiner recently connected with The Current’s Jill Riley to talk about all of that and more. Use the audio player above to listen to the interview, and read a full transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You are listening to The Current. I'm Jill Riley, and I'm excited to check in with a longtime friend of The Current. In fact, the last time I talked to him, we talked about, well, the latest record from Low Cut Connie. We talked about the concert film and documentary, Art Dealers. And now we've got something new to talk about: one, that Low Cut Connie is coming to town — that's not new news, but that there's a live album that's serving as a companion to the concert film and documentary. Adam Weiner, how are you doing?

Adam Weiner: I'm doing good, and even better now that I'm talking to my girl, Jill Riley!

Jill Riley: I'm so happy to check in with you and talk to you ahead of the show at First Avenue. You know, like I said, the last time we talked, we sat down and we really went into depth about the the album Art Dealers, and then you told us a little bit about the concert film and documentary. So you've got the show coming up at First Avenue. How about we start there? Because I feel like you have a really special relationship with Minneapolis.

Adam Weiner: I agree. It's like a love affair, I would say. And this is, amazingly, this is our fifth time headlining First Avenue. It just gets better and better. I mean, you have a very special music culture there in the Twin Cities. You people there, you got heart and soul, and I feel it every time I'm on stage performing there; people really, really, really respond to what I'm doing. And it's a collaboration. You know, when we put on a show, it ain't just me and the band, it's the audience and what they bring into the room that makes the evening magic. And I can't wait to see you guys on November 14.

Jill Riley: I'm glad that you said that, because I wanted to ask you, what you feel like are the ingredients for a Low Cut Connie show, and I know that the audience has something to do with that.

Adam Weiner: Open mindedness, open heart. And you know, it's like our shows are not escapism. Like, it's not like we're all gonna forget about all the troubles and things in the world and in our lives that we could all get depressed about every day. You bring it in the room with you, and we process it together. I think that's the beauty of live music, is there's a catharsis to it. And one of the things I've been doing lately Jill, that somebody said to me, is sort of like a mildly revolutionary act, is at a certain point in the show, I ask people to do something kind of crazy, which is just to put their arms around each other. Like, you've got a stranger to your right or to your right or to your left, I want you to put your arm around them for 20 seconds, and people get really awkward for a second, then they do it, and it's like they make a new friend. And in this day and age, it's like a somewhat revolutionary act. And there's so much that pulls us apart, but music brings us together. People come to our shows and people go to live music, and they connect with each other, and that's what I hope to do onstage at First Avenue November 14.

 Jill Riley: First Avenue, November 14. You said, what, the fifth time?

Adam Weiner: Yeah.

Jill Riley: Oh, my. Is this like a five-timers club, like when people host Saturday Night Live, I wonder if there's something you get when you do the five-timers club? I don't know.

Adam Weiner: It's really just amazing. Because, first of all, I feel lucky that I get to do this job in the first place. But after being in this industry for a long time and not succeeding in my 20s — as people could see in my film Art Dealers, you can see me bombing and bombing and bombing. And then in my 30s, for some reason, I just connected with people with my music, and it took me so long to get all you people into my life. Now I don't want to let you go. And so I love coming to the Twin Cities. Every time we play there, it's like, it's a different set list. It's a different feeling. The city, the state, the country is in a different frame of mind every time we come, and we try to tailor the show directly to that. And I'm excited to come there and just see what you got, you know?

Jill Riley: We're looking forward to seeing you. I'm talking with Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie. The show is at First Avenue on the 14th. There's the big news that you have your first-ever live album. And something to point out, like I said the last time we talked, we talked about the album Art Dealers, and then we talked about art dealers as the concert film and documentary, but this really is serving as a true companion to the live aspect of the film Art Dealers. So can you tell us about the live album Connie Live.

Adam Weiner: It just feels like sort of like a little capper to an amazing decade. You know, I started this band at the end of 2010, and things really, really started to kick off in 2015. We really started touring all over the country and all over the world. And it's just been a crazy decade. I've put out eight albums and now this film, and just built a really nice fan base, and I'm really proud of a lot of the work that we've done together, and I wanted to do this live album that sort of spanned my whole catalog, and a little taste of everything that I've done since 2010. So there's a little bit of everything from what I do on this live album, and it was just a collection of a couple different shows that just went magic. Like, once in a while you do a show that people talk about for 10 years. We all go to concerts, and we see concerts, and for the next couple days, we say, "Wow, that was a really great show." Once in a while, you see a concert and you talk about it for years.

Jill Riley: Yeah, like, "Remember that time?" Right.

Adam Weiner: And you remember how it made you feel. And we've had a number of those throughout the years, and we've had a couple of those in the Twin Cities, and I'm hoping that I can give people something to remember on November 14.

Jill Riley: Well, for the live album, now, did you capture — I'm guessing it's more than one show — there were a couple in in New York that you really felt like you wanted to capture on a live album. Can you talk about the locations? I mean, specifically, like, what was so special about that show, and what were you able to capture?

Adam Weiner: The main show, which is the main show in the film, is a place called Sony Hall. And Sony Hall is a 90-year-old theater that was a Broadway theater. It was initially a burlesque house, vaudeville, Broadway, then it was a porn theater, then it was defunct. And Sony purchased it during the pandemic and turned it into a music venue, and they invited me to do a show there so that they could film it for a commercial for the venue. And they hired 10 cameras and and surround sound audio recording. And I said, "I will do this for free if you let me use this footage for a film afterwards." And they said, "Deal." So you just, like, never know, though, if the show's actually gonna be all that, you know what I mean?

Jill Riley: Sure!

Adam Weiner: And man, when I walked in the room — it's this beautiful Art Deco, 90-year-old theater — when I walked in the room and I saw the crowd, and it was one of the first shows we did where people could take their masks off and actually touch each other; and one of the first shows in a couple years where I could walk out in the crowd to hug people, touch people. There was such a rush of emotion when I first walked out onstage, people actually had tears in their eyes. And I said, "Oh, we got this one. We got this one." And it was one of those shows that we just kind of rode the wave. And when I saw the footage afterwards, I said, "We've got a film. This is going to be like a capper to everything that we've worked towards." And when I heard the audio from the film, I said, "We've got to do a soundtrack album," like, it's just, it's too special.

Jill Riley: Excellent. Connie Live. And Adam, I love the background of that space and the way that it's been repurposed, because, as you were describing what those walls have seen over the years, it's kind of like, I think that's perfect for a Low Cut Connie show. I mean, really!

Adam Weiner: Yeah, everybody from like, Cab Calloway and Billie Holiday era, all the way through, like punky Times Square New York in the '70s to today, I try to sort of gesture to all of that in the film and in the music that we played at that show, and you get a little taste of all of it. It's just, I feel so lucky to get to do this job and be a performer 365 days a year, and I don't take it for granted, and I always just want to do a great show for people. And what your city and your radio station has given me in that part of the country, I will never forget, because we came to Twin Cities, we did the Turf Club, we did the Seventh Street Entry, we did the Rock The Garden for you guys. And then when we did that first First Avenue headline show, which was in 2018, and we filled First Avenue, and there were so many people that had never seen us before, it was just like one of those magical first dates, you know? And you just know you're going to be together forever. And so every time I come back to Twin Cities, it's like coming home. I truly love it.

Jill Riley: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait to see you when you're here. It's right around the corner, November 14, First Avenue. I've noticed that even watching the audience and the fan base that you've built here in the Twin Cities, I've noticed that people really like to go all out with what they're planning on wearing. I'm seeing more sparkly jackets, and I'm just seeing people bring, like, a side of themselves that — and maybe they can't bring that side of themselves everywhere that they go — but it feels like there really is this great kinship in the room. I just, I love the energy. I think I would cancel just about anything I had to go to to make sure that I can get to your show. It really is something special. And I think it's really something special that you have, really, like, locked in with this band that you have. The film Art Dealers did a really good job of capturing the band members, too; like, the people who are on this rock and roll journey with you.

Adam Weiner: Yeah, I mean, listen, Jill, like, just we're a working-class band. 

Jill Riley: Yeah.

Adam Weiner: And there's been a lot of films, music films, over the last few years, but they've all been like from the tippy top of the music business, showing big arena-type acts. And I wanted people to see, since we had this concert, I wanted people to see a peek behind the curtain of what it is to be in a grits-and-grime rock and roll band in 2024. You know, we're changing our clothes in a port a potty. We're carrying a 400-pound piano every day. One of the folks in my band, off the road, is delivering pizzas, another one is making burgers, another one works in a factory, another one works in a coffee shop. And, you know, we're a working-class band, and we're probably always going to be so. And I think our audience understands that and sees themselves in that as well. I wanted to show people that there are a lot of artists out there like ourselves who do this for reasons other than fame and fortune. You know, we feel called to do it. We have a passion, truly a passion for art and for performing art. And I love it. I love my job. But it's not always easy. Not every day at your job is the best day. But you know, when I think about the struggle and the difficulty of working in the music business for so many years, when I think of coming to First Avenue and performing for all these incredible people wearing all kinds of crazy sparkly things and expressing themselves, and it's such a crazy diverse group of people that show up at our shows. They're all crazy, beautifully crazy! You know, that's what keeps me going. That's what keeps me pushing forward to keep this band going.

Jill Riley: Can't wait to have you back. You are always, always welcome here, and you will always have a second or third home in Minneapolis, especially at First Avenue with the amount of times that you've been back. And here you are coming back again. First Avenue, November 14, right around the corner, there's the live album, Connie Live, serving as the the companion album to the concert film and documentary, Art Dealers. I mean, this is your first-ever live album. It's so great for you to capture that energy, and it's one thing to hear it, it's one thing to hear it on record, but it's one thing to hear it and experience it live in person. So Adam, looking forward to seeing you. Thank you so much for checking in with The Current. 

Adam Weiner: Thank you, Jill. Always a pleasure to talk to you. I'll see you at the show!

Jill Riley: Sounds good. You are listening to The Current.

Credits

Guest – Adam Weiner
Host – Jill Riley
Producers – Nilufer Arsala, Derrick Stevens
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor

External Link

Low Cut Connie – official site