Holy crap: Delicate Steve

By Greg Swan, on January 18th, 2011%

So this 23 year-old kid from New Jersey is apparently some kind of multi-instrumentalist wunderkind (plays 40 instruments) with an instrumental project that I believe is going to blow up.

Steve Marion is Delicate Steve, and he put together his 12-track instrumental debut drawing from influences are diverse as Ravi Shankar, Yes and Vampire Weekend (uh-huh).

From up-tempo ear candy (see below) to muddled sonic freakouts (“Source (((Construction)))”) to Nancy-Wilson-style finger acoustic (“Attitude/Gratitude”).

This was a good surprise today. Holy crap, indeed.

Check out the video for “Wondervisions” – a one-on-one basketball game between Marion and Dirty Projectors.

Video is slow and boring, but . . . → Read More: Holy crap: Delicate Steve

Kaiser Cartel to play intimate house show next month

By Greg Swan, on November 16th, 2010%

Brooklyn-based Kaiser Cartel will be making a stop at the Cake Shop for a Monday night house show on December 13. The night before, they’ll be rockin’ the Cedar Cultural Center for a show with Romantica, but this one is a bonus.

Via Cakein15:
This concert will be limited in capacity, so reserve your space today. Reservation cost is $10, and to reserve space, please log into PayPal and send your payment to . Please mark your payment as a “GIFT” in order to avoid PayPal fees. This is money going to the artists, so please don’t short-change them!

Your reservation to this special . . . → Read More: Kaiser Cartel to play intimate house show next month

Modern Guitar Festival at Cedar Cultural Center, Oct 9

By Greg Swan, on September 29th, 2010%

Gregory Pepper opens for Islands at Cedar Cultural Center, July 11

By Greg Swan, on July 6th, 2010%

Montreal’s Islands hand-picked Gregory Pepper and His Problems to open a string of tour dates in mid-July, including the Minneapolis show on July 11th at the Cedar Cultural Center.

Here’s a track off With Trumpets Flaring:

MP3: Gregory Pepper – “7ths and 3rds”

If you dig this, check out Pepper’s new collaborative project with producer Factor called Common Grackle and their forthcoming record, The Great Depression, dropping July 27th, 2010 on Fake . . . → Read More: Gregory Pepper opens for Islands at Cedar Cultural Center, July 11

I'm jumping for White Rabbits

By Greg Swan, on October 9th, 2009%

White Rabbits are coming through Minneapolis on November 9, playing Cedar Cultural Center in support of It’s Frightening. I actually quite like this album. The band calls their sound “honky tonk calypso,” and I suppose that’s fitting. It’s reminiscent of Tapes N’ Tapes, Wolf Parade and that band I once saw that one time.

Here’s a bunch of links to get you up to speed:

KEXP Song of the Day: “Percussion Gun”
NPR Song of the Day: “They Done Wrong / We Done Wrong”
Live On NPR’s World Cafe
Live On KCMP’s The Current

Here’s “Percussion Gun” from Letterman (double tom toms for . . . → Read More: I'm jumping for White Rabbits

BLK JKS at Cedar Culture Center last night

By Greg Swan, on September 25th, 2009%

South African psych-jazz rock band BLK JKS made their first appearance in Minneapolis at the Cedar Cultural Center last night.

Video via Above . . . → Read More: BLK JKS at Cedar Culture Center last night