Twin Cities Real Estate Blog

'The Presets' (w/ 'Dragonette') @ First Avenue

2013-05-16 15.27.29 Two bands with similar sounds, but very distinctive stage shows.  This was the scene at First Ave for Dragonette and The Presets. First up was Dragonette who were incredibly poppy and personable.  They easily got the sparse Wednesday night crowd dancing and engaged for a quick 1 hour set.  Martina Sorbara, Dragonette's lead singer, was incredibly entertaining to watch as she jumped and danced the entire time.  She even highlighted the bands venture out to Target Field that day for a Twins game.  The highlight for me was to hear 'Hello' live, even if it is a few years old, it's a really fun song. After what was a very refreshing and lively set, The...

'Black Moth Super Rainbow' (w/ 'The Hood Internet') @ Fine Line Music Cafe

2013-05-14 16.53.53 For a Monday night, this was a really great show to see. First up was The Hood Internet. These guys have been around since 2007 releasing some really awesome mixtapes. They've even been through Minneapolis a number of times, but I've missed them every time, so it was great finally catching them live. Tonight manning the decks was just one half of the Hood Internet...

'Marijuana Deathsquads' (SLAM DUNK) @ Icehouse

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The 2nd night of a 5 night Marijuana Deathsquads residency at Iceshouse was a who's-who of local Minnesota music, and I didn't even know who everyone was.  The Icehouse Twitter said the show would kick off at 10ish.  In reality it was almost 11:30.
Lizzo (ft Cliff Rhymes and Lazerbeak) blazed through a quick and energetic 30 minute set called LIZZOBANGERS.  And bang, it did.
Next up, the main event, Marijuana Deathsquads performing something dubbed SLAM DUNK.  Although their equipment had been setup the whole time, and Lizzo finished before midnight, MDS didn't start until after midnight.  But hey, who needs sleep on...

'DJ Shadow' @ Mill City Nights

2013-05-03 07.03.42 Last December DJ Shadow was booted off the stage at Mansion Miami after only playing 20 minutes. He has since gone on tour promoting that mix called the 'All Bases Covered' tour. He stopped at Mill City Nights this time around to do a traditional DJ set, as oppose to the last time he was here at First Ave for the 'Live from the Shadowsphere' tour which had some pretty impressive production. He started off the night by letting the audience know that he's basically going to play what he thinks is good music and...

'Justice' @ Epic Nightclub

Poster DJ Set or Live set, that is the question.  Depending on your preference you may or may not have had a good time at Epic Friday night.  A live set consists of the trademark Justice stage setup, which is a giant wall of speakers and the white cross, with them playing all Justice tracks or remixes (Check out their new album All Access Areas for a perfect example of a live set).  A dj set on the other hand is what we got, which was the duo behind a nondescript table with a couple of laptops and some mixers, playing mostly other peoples music.
That's a pretty big difference, although you wouldn't know...

'STS9' @ First Avenue

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I've been to a number of festivals with STS9 on the bill as well as in the same city they've passed through, but this was my first time officially catching them.
When I arrived at First Ave and saw the size of the line to get in, I was pretty surprised.  I realize STS9 has been around for over 10 years and probably has a pretty loyal following, but I guess I just wasn't expecting a crowd that big.  Needless to say it was packed inside and the crowd was really excited and energized waiting for the 5 members to take the stage.
I assumed I was in for quite a show with this sort of buzz and anticipation....

'Modestep' @ First Avenue

2013-04-07 23.03.30 I knew very little about Modestep before attending their show at First Ave on Sunday night.  After giving them a listen and learning they were a dubstep-rock band however, it sounded like it could be an interesting show to see.  And interesting it was. If you've ever attended an electronic or EDM show before and wondered what it would be like if the songs were performed by actual musicians, well, that's a Modestep show.  I enjoyed their song selection in their quick 60 minute set, and I just couldn't get over the fact that this was all live.  Along with their own songs, they performed 3 Prodigy songs, a Major Lazer song, a Porter Robbinson song, a Coldplay song(crazy right?!), and...

'Major Lazer' @ First Avenue

Major Lazer Somewhat surprisingly this show only sold out just as Major Lazer went on at 11:00 Wednesday night and not any sooner. When the Major Lazer intro cartoon ended and the screen at First Ave went up, you could feel the anticipation and energy in the crowd.  The group entered to a low key Rhianna - Stay x Major Lazer mashup, but that quickly kicked into "Mashup the Dance" from their new album, that shot the energy through the roof where it stayed almost the entire time. Fans of Major Lazer may have been disappointed that there were only a smattering of Major Lazer songs, but you couldn't tell by the crowds reaction.  They happily danced, jumped, shook, and stripped whenever the group requested it.  It was more of a DJ set with 3 hype-men...