Two Letter words for Words with Friends

A: A D E H M T X Y
B: E I
C: -
D: A E I O
E: D H L M N S X
F: A E
G: O
H: A E I O
I: D F N S T
J: O
K: A I
L: A I O
M: A E I
N: E O
O: D N R X S
P: A E I
Q: I
R: E
S: I H
T: I O
U: N P S T
V: -
W: E O
X: I
Y: E
Z: A

Words With Friends Strategies

• save your larger points for tiles, especially JQZX
• unless you are playing a plural word that gets a DW or TW, attempt to save S for making a plural word and a word in the perpendicular direction
• when you don't have a lot going on, add suffixes/prefixes or attempt to place tiles that connect multiple words already on the board
• attempt to build in adjacent rows and columns, learning two letter words as you go
• use google to find words with no vowels or all vowels, etc.
• be careful not to build too close to TW tiles while you are behind
• if there is a tile within 3 or 4 spaces, guess possible words with your higher pointed letters
• when playing on facebook, you can check if a word works before submitting to compare options

I do not believe there are any two letter words that start with C.

Two and Three Letter words Starting with Q
qi     qat     qis     qua     suq

Four Letter words Starting with Q
aqua     quad     quag    quai      suqs  
quay    quey      quid     quin
quip     quit       quiz      quod

Four Letter Q without U words
qadi     qaid     qats     qoph     waqf

The only two letter J word is Jo

An expansive list of words Starting with J

The only two letter Z word is Za

An expansive lift of words Starting with Z

2011 TOP 10 LIVE PERFORMANCES

1. Kimya Dawson and Aesop Rock at the Triple Rock Social Club (MPLS)
      
        I've waited a quarter of my short life to see Kimya and the emotional energy of this show was indescribable. Never in my life have I experienced a combination of artists like this.
   
   
2. Mountain Goats at the Varsity Theater (MPLS)
   
        Emotional and humorous, sitting in my favorite couch spot at the venue.
   
   
3. Robyn at First Ave (MPLS)
   
        Third Robyn show and best one yet!
   
   
4. tUnE-yArdS at the Cedar Cultural Center (MPLS)
   
        Merrill is quirky and fun. I love live looping.
   
   
5. Animal Collective at Pitchfork Festival (Chicago)
   
        Crowd energy, light show, just a good closer for the day.
   
   
6. Girls at First Avenue (MPLS)
   
        It's cool to see a band's live performance improve through the years.
        Love love love Girls.
   
   
7. Bon Iver - Bon Iver at the Orpheum (MPLS)
   
        Everything you hope for in a theater show.
   
   
8. Gang Gang Dance at Pitchfork (Chicago)
   
        They were great at the Entry, too.
   
   
9. Shabazz Palaces at Lincoln Hall (Chicago)
   
        Great pitchfork after show.
   
   
10.  Das Racist at Blue Moose Tap House (Iowa City)
    
         Although disheartening, an experience for sure.

Honorable Mentions: TV on the Radio (Chicago and MPLS), G-Side at Pitchfork (Chicago), Prince Rama with Girls, Nobunny with Girls, Diamong Rings with Robyn

2011 TOP 10 ALBUMS

1. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
2. Danny Brown - XXX
3. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
4. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
5. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
6. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
7. Kurt Vile - Smoke Rings for My Halo
8. James Blake - James Blake
9. G-Side - One Cohesive
10. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Saw eight of these ten bands live in 2011 and had tickets to see all of them at some point. Good year!

Honorable Mentions: Kimya Dawson - Thunder Thighs, Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues, TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light (all of whom I also saw)

It's That Time of the Year

Did this 85 percent on my own :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

CANCELLED: Kimya Dawson

Kimya Dawson cancelled her 12/5/11 show at the Cedar Cultural Center the day after I finally bought our tickets. I had really been looking forward to this show after how great her performance at the Triple Rock was and how satisfied I have been with her newest album Thunder Thighs. I had sent Chris a message saying that her Twitter bio had changed from something like "aka that Juno lady" to "single mama" something something something. Then one of my followers on twitter responded to one of my tweets saying the Cedar had just announced the show was cancelled. According to the website it was cancelled for unforeseen family issues and refunds are being issued. Her twitter has only a few vague tweets along the lines of sorry guys and change of plans. Our speculation is that she might be going through a divorce?


UPDATE:
Kimya's Message

Streaming G-Side's New Album

I loved G-Side at Pitchfork Fest this summer. Check out their new album 'Island.'

A Very She & Him Christmas

A facebook conversation between me and my boyfriend:

Me: I loved the Xmas album. Were ppl giving it bad reviews??
Chris: yea
Me: How come? I didn't like the first song, thought the rest was good.
Chris: generic and not enough use of M Ward.
Me: Couldn't you say that about any She & Him album?
Chris: lol yeah, I think that is the point.

Take it or leave it, I guess. I'm taking it!

Jeff Mangum Tickets 11/11/11

Today I woke up at 4AM, called my boyfriend to make sure he was up too, laid in bed anxiously for another half hour and then got out of bed to make toast. He picked me up ~4:50 after trying to pick up a friend that didn't wake up. We parked in our regular park & shop only a block and a half away from the State Theatre and got to the building around 5:30. When I called they said it opened at 6 AM so we expected to be outside for a little while. I jokingly said, "what if I hit the handicap button?" Chris encouraged it and it turns out the building was open. We sat down where the signs told us the line started and began the wait as first in line. Another guy, Brian, showed up at about 5:50 and was super prepared. He had a nice foldout chair which is a great idea in retrospect. The next person arrived around 8 AM and I would guess about 8 people were there by 10 AM. We finally got a hold of our friend and he joined us around 9:30. Around 11 AM I heard from a girlfriend who had said she would be there but who didn't wake up. In the last half hour before the tickets went on sale at noon  probably 30/40 more people came in. Chris got tickets for row 1 seat 1-4 out of 10 in the pit for the two of us and two of his friends. Before Chris even finished his purchase someone in the line announced from their smart phone that the ticketmaster tickets were sold out. The show is at the Pantages which has a small capacity compared to the two other theaters in the area and First Ave, so it's not surprising how quickly it sold out.The friend that didn't make it in tried to get tickets on ticketmaster but didn't make it in time. We rushed off and later today Brian found me on twitter and I found out he got seats 5-8. After our ticket victory we enjoyed some Noodles & Co. and discussed how unbelievable that Jeff Mangum tickets are waiting in our name. It'll be damn near impossible to scalp a ticket for this show after what happened on the East Coast.

Pillow Pets

For months I have admired Chocolate Moose at the many stores (mainly Walmart) that sell pillow pets. I have spent at least an hour online looking at pillow pets and pillow chums. This summer I got a St. Bernard pillow chum peewee from a game at the MN state fair. After loving the moose for so long and expressing how I couldn't wait to ask someone to get me one for Christmas my wonderful boyfriend bought me Choco! He had hoped having a pillow pet might stop the frequent googling and chatting about pillow pets, but no. I just want everyone to have one. All ages pillow pet fun. I could still use a Cinnamon Bear for my apartment to go with the woodland theme! haha

A Conversation with Despot

@despotroast : Finally watched those gaddafi videos. Rouch. The word "despot" is in the news a lot again. Complicates my self googling routine.

@jettingjessica: @despotroast can I Google myself in your office? #30rock

@despotroast: @jettingjessica are you coming onto me?

How Iowa Almost Broke My Spirit

I had big plans for this weekend. My boyfriend and I are huge Das Racist fans. We missed them when they came to Northfield last winter because of a blizzard, but caught them at Lincoln Hall this summer while we were in Chicago for Pitchfork Festival. Recently we have become big Danny Brown fans. This fall Das Racist is going on their Relax Tour. This tour features Despot, Danny Brown, and Das Racist playing with Lakutis. The tour went through Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, but not Minnesota. The Wisconsin show was on a Wednesday night and I have class Thursday, so we decided to go to Iowa City Friday night. We knew Das Racist was playing a similar set to what we saw this summer so what really tipped the balance about the show was Danny Brown and Despot being there too, since they all collaborate. The ticketfly and venue sights both said that Danny Brown would be at the show. Doors for the Blue Moose Tap House were supposed to be at 7 PM and the show at 8 PM. We arrived around 7:45 and the doors were still closed because the band got there late. They began to let people into the show at 9 PM and music started at 9:30 for a show that legally had to end at 11:59 PM. A rap group of 4-6 Iowa college students opened with four generic songs. After they left the show really picked it up, though. Despot came out and fucking rocked it with his typical stage routine of asking the crowd who'd ever been to a rap show (Yes, I Have! At least three times! haha) and having the crowd do "aerobics" synchronized with the music. Lakutis was on stage as the DJ for Despot and for Das Racist. They were playing with an HP, unlike the Mac Book we saw them with over the summer. Das Racist played a similar set to the one we saw this summer with new tracks like "Michael Jackson" and "Brand New Dance" along with old hits  like "Rainbow in the Dark," "Rapping 2 U," and "Amazing". I was front row with no barrier in front of the stage. Victor tried to crowd surf unsuccessfully a few times and finally made it around a little bit, Lakutis pretended like he was gonna crowd surf and ran straight into my face (the fat lip lasting over 2 days), and Dap demanded that the crowd pass all pain killers to the stage. At one point in "Amazing" Heems held the mic up to my face and I totally blanked on the words. Chris and I both got noogies from Vic plus a variety of high fives from the whole band. After the show Heems said anyone could meet him at the back to talk. I went to the merch table to ask why Danny Brown wasn't with for this show and Heems told me he had to be in NYC for some CMJ shit and that they had told the venue promoter 3 weeks earlier (note that would have been prior to when I bought tickets). The venue claimed Das Racist had told them that day. They had show posters saying Danny Brown still, but the billboard outside the venue said the Iowa student rap group's name, so they had time to book an additional opener. Regardless to say the venue wouldn't do anything for us because Danny is a "supporting act," despite the 6 hours we drove to get there under false pretenses. After talking to the manager we went back and caught up with the band. We chilled for a minute with Lakutis and the tour manager, talked to Dap, got locked out of the venue, bought the white shirt they're always selling, and then ended up walking with everyone to a nearby bar. I've never just chilled with a band like that. We didn't act like they were super important people we idolize, and they just acted like the regular people they are. I'm not 21 so after a minute at the bar we decided to dip set. We left the people in the booth alone and I said bye to Victor and Lakutis by the jukebox on the way out. Vic hugged me and kissed my forehead! They were grateful we came all the way from Minnesota to see them. Actually getting to know them for a second made up for extra hours standing in heels waiting for the late show and Danny Brown not being there. It still feels like we missed a once in a lifetime opportunity and should have gone to Wisconsin. Somewhere on the internet we could have figured out Danny Brown wouldn't be there and we missed it. Will we ever get to see Danny Brown open for Das Racist? Will we see them play "Power" together? Would Despot be there to play "Huzzah" with them? In my dream world Heems, Victor, Dapwell, Lakutis, Danny Brown, Despot, El-P, and eXquire would all come to Minneapolis and play a magical show for me at someplace like the Triple Rock Social Club, where I was front row and danced my ass off in sparkly tights all night. But that probably won't happen and I need to move out East before I lose all hope! Life happens and we made a great night of it anyways. The next day we had fun plans. The two big excitements of this trip were day one seeing everyone together on the Relax Tour and day two going in this giant wooden maze. Chris had been to this maze as a child and has told me how wonderful it is for years. We drove past it on the way to Cedar Rapids/Iowa City and I got super pumped when we saw how expansive it was. The maze is on two acres and has four towers in a center square that all have different entrances. The goal is to go through the maze, get stamps at all four towers, and then find the exit. It even has doors in case you have a freak out inside and need to leave. Saturday morning when we woke up we called and found out the maze is only open memorial day to labor day and by appointment for groups of 10 or more. Are you fucking shitting me? All our plans fell apart. We gave up on anything in Iowa and headed home. For lunch we stopped at McDonald's, still in Iowa. The day before we'd stopped at one in Albert Lea MN and Chris had regretted not getting a large meal for the monopoly pieces, so he got a large this time. Then what happens? This McDonald's doesn't have monopoly pieces on their cups or french fries even though they should through October 24th. Nothing was going our way. One of those day you just go to bed and hope for better luck tomorrow. The ultimate solution? Mall of America! I bought myself some pink corduroys and Chris bought a new jacket, a pair of jeans, and ordered some sneakers. We ate Noodles for dinner and visited my cat, Linkin. We can't change anything, we can only enjoy what we have. I have memories with Das Racist I will never forget! I have a brand new pair of pants that make my ass look great and a new Das Racist shirt. I have desperate desires to see Danny Brown perform in Minneapolis. And I have hopes of exploring that maze with my friends someday, although I'm not sure, fucking Iowa. "Why do ducks fly upside down over Iowa." "Because there's nothing worth shitting on!" Too much corn, too little Panera Bread. Did I mention the place where the trailer park was adjacent to the high school football field and that was pretty much the whole town? It was creepy.

At the Entry with Gang Gang Dance

 I feel like I have seen a disproportionate amount of shows at the Entry this year compared to last year. I think I've only been to the Triple Rock once and the Varsity once in 2011! Last night was Prince Rama opening for Gang Gang Dance, who I was surprised was playing a small venue. I'd never heard of Prince Rama before and they blew me out of the water! From what I understand they are two sisters who were raised on a Hare Krishna commune in Florida. This definitely explains the foreign language they sometimes sing in and the strong Hindu vibes of their music. There is a third member in the band, but he produces and doesn't tour. The lead singer has super awesome hair, plays guitar, and keyboard. But the drummer is where it is at! I loved everything about her down to her bare feet. I have never appreciated percussion so much. The show went a little late but I manged to dance thoroughly up until the second to the last song Gang Gang Dance played. The bassist's mom was standing next to us in the crowd, which was pretty cute. There seemed to be a lot of band family at the show. Their songs are very long and they transition from one to the next, so it can be hard to tell them apart. They opened with Glass Jars and somewhere in there played Adult Goth and Chinese High, my two favorite songs off their most recent album "Eye Contact." I need to start remembering to bring ear plugs to the Entry, though. The music is always loud and I always end up under one of the two jumbo speakers, which generally makes for a great show but a grumpy Jesse in the car for my poor boyfriend.

OFWGKTA

I saw Odd Future like a week ago. My hip hurt so I missed out on the hardcore moshing, but managed to snag a platform spot so I could see over the 85-95% male crowd. Definitely wish I had been 21+ for this all ages show so I could have partied on the balcony. Syd went on with a DJ set after a local DJ and quite a few people went so hard they had to leave the crowd before OF even got on stage. The group was ridiculous, Jasper especially. He is the worst rapper in the group, short, chubby, I believe the youngest, and talked the most shit. They ragged on the crowd so much, it was hysterical. Some girl threw panties on the stage, which Jasper did not appreciate. Another girl screamed "DTF" multiple times, which Jasper also did not appreciate. Aubrey desperately screamed her name at Tyler and that ugly ass Left Brain pretended like some honey was checking him out. Mike G played a new song for us. They played "Loaded," my favorite Mellowhype song. Also got to hear a couple new things off Domo's album"Under the Influence," which I have yet to hear in it's entirety. They didn't play "Couch" like I had hoped they might, but the outro was Earl. I would pay incredible amounts of money to see Earl performing his songs. Check out the set-list for this show here.

I am electro-moron. (Pretty Lights!!)

I could not tell you the audible differences between someone using a Macbook and a synthesizer. I could not tell you the difference between dubstep and house music, if there is one. But what I can tell you is, Pretty Lights, woah my God, Pretty Lights! My boyfriend won tickets last minute from Radio K, we napped up, and got ready to party. We showed up a little late, maybe 10:30 PM but still caught part of an incredible DJ set by Bonobo. Some of the songs he remixed included 'All of the Lights' by Kanye West and 'Islands' by the XX. I have never danced so much in my life! Everyone in the crowd was moving, everyone in the crowd was happy, even the zombies. I don't have the words to describe this night, but I might use ones like exhilarating freedom or unquestionable acceptance. I have never loved a crowd so much. I left this show equivalently sweaty as Gogol Bordello, the sweatiest concert of my life, and as happy as Brand New, when I heard them play the 'No Seatbelt Song.' This concert, by a band whose music I have barely heard, has surpassed all concerts moments of my life.

On Saturday October 1st

and why this was one of the best days of my entire life.

Whopper Jr. with Cheese, No Pickles for Breakfast
Carlos Avery Harvest Howl
Diamond Rings live acoustic in-studio at Radio K
New boots from Macy's
Special Spring Rolls at Taste of Thailand
Girls/No Bunny/Papa concert
Twin Shadow/Diamond Rings concert

So yeah. Missed the encore of girls, 'Hellhole Ratrace' and 'Broken Dreams Club', which were two great songs I'd seen them play at Pitchfork '10 and caught the last two songs of Diamond Rings' set, 'Something Else' and 'All yr Songs', which I saw him play acoustic earlier that day. This was my first night ever going to a show in the 7th St. Entry right after a show in the mainroom. I bought tickets for Girls the day of and am incredibly happy that I did. I was taken aback by the two openers for this show, since I hadn't heard much of either of them. Papa is a band I would listen to on record, where as No Bunny is a band I would see live any day for the energy. Girls has greatly improved their sound and stage presence since I saw them last summer. While I was sad to miss most of Diamond Rings, whom I'd seen before opening for Robyn, it was well worth it to see Girls touring their new album 'Father, Son, Holy Ghost.' I was even able to run from the mainroom and get a first row spot for Twin Shadow. Not to mention the Girls poster, Twin Shadow tank top, free Diamond Rings poster, and Twin Shadow set list we went home with! Best half birthday of my life.

Streaming Girls' New Album

Are you listening to this yet?

Girls : Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Enjoy.

TV on the Radio Set Lists (8/30 & 8/31 @ First Ave)

Second Night - They played DLZ, not A Method.

Both nights!

TV on The Radio 8/30/11 @ First Ave

Phone Photo

Set list!

Super Late Pitchfork Pics

I lost my cell phone about a week after pitchfork, here's what I recovered.

tUnE-YarDs

How To Dress Well

DJ Shadow

TV on the Radio

2011 Releases: A Half Year Recap

 It's a little late, but here it goes.

 Albums
tUnE-YarDs - w h o k i l l 
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Cut Copy - Zonoscope
James Blake - James Blake
Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

 Honorable Mentions
Kurt Vile - Smoke Rings for My Halo
The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Panda Bear - Tomboy
G- Side - The ONE.. COHESIVE

 Some Things to Listen To
Cults - Cults
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
The Antlers - Burst Apart
WU LYF -  Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
The Weeknd - House of Balloons

Some Things I'm Looking Forward To
Kimya Dawson - Thunder Thighs
Das Racist - RELAX
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Moonface - Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

Remembering 2010

35W North

Swampwalking

The Roy

Pitchfork After-Parties

FRIDAY 7/15/2011
Official Pitchfork After-Party
Das Racist/Smith Westerns/ Pitchfork DJs
Doors 10 PM - Lincoln Hall - 18+ - SOLD OUT

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Sun Airway/ PS I Love You
Doors 11 PM - Schubas Tavern - 18+ - $12/$6 with wristband

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Gang Gang Dance/Nguzunguzu
Doors 10 PM - Empty Bottle - 21+ - $15

SATURDAY 7/16/2011
Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Moonface/Shabazz Palaces
Doors 10:30 PM - Lincoln Hall - 18+ - $15

Official Pitchfork After-Party (all DJ sets)
Deerhunter/Twin Shadow/Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti/Pitchfork DJs
Doors 10 PM - Beauty Bar - $5

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Kurt Vile and the Violators/Woods/Arc in Round
Doors 9:30 PM - the Subterranean - 17+ - $15

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
John Maus/Twin Sister
Doors 11 PM - Schubas Tavern - 18+ - $14/$7 with wristband

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Cages/Anatomy of Heart
Doors 7 PM - Empty Bottle - 21+ -$5/FREE with wristband

SUNDAY 7/17/2011
Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Yuck/Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Doors 10:30 PM - Schubas Tavern - 18+ - $14/$7 with wristband

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Fresh & Onlys/Brain Idea/Paperhead
Doors 9:30 PM - Empty Bottle - 21+ - $10

Unofficial Pitchfork After-Party
Real Estate/Dent May
Doors 9:30 PM - Subterranean - 17+ - $12

See also this three day event at the Cobra Lounge
-----------------------------------

I am personally attending Das Racist/Smith Westerns and Moonface/Shabazz Palaces.

Check back later for more updates!

Pitchfork Picks

Pitchfork is less than a week away and it's time to finalize some of these decisions. I am under the assumption that Green is the main stage, Red the second stage in the main arena, and Blue the back stage.

My main plan for Friday is to paint my face like Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs when she was recently in Minneapolis. Getting established at Blue stage early means no EMA or Battles, but we will likely see Battles this fall in Minneapolis. I am a big fan of Das Racist and James Blake, but I'm not sure a short festival set is how I want to see them for the first time. Instead we're gonna transfer to Green stage and watch Thurston Moore from a distance. From there we can either camp at Green and get decent spots for Guided by Voices and Animal Collective or move between the two main stages to get closer to Neko Case. Animal Collective should have a great light show from anywhere and be playing mostly new music. If we work our way back gradually we can get out and get to the Das Racist/Smith Westerns after-party while the intro DJs are still playing.

Saturday is a bit more of moving around, starting off relaxed with some Woods at Red stage. With the recent set switching of No Age and Gang Gang Dance, we can now see G-Side at Blue and have plenty of time to watch the end of No Age from a distance and get established at Green for Gang Gang Dance, who I have very high hopes for. Following the dance outside in the summer vibe, we're gonna watch Destroyer at Red and get a good spot for DJ Shadow's set, which I have high hopes for. If the mood hits us we can catch a glimpse of Zola Jesus at Blue, then head to Fleet Foxes, who should be good from any distance.

Sunday we're setting up for How to Dress Well, which might be hit or miss, and then heading straight for Kurt Vile, who is playing an after-party Saturday night that we aren't going to. Depending on the energy of the crowd, we're gonna try to move in on Odd Future. They're a group we'd love to see, but the crowd will likely be rough at any venue. I would recommend seeing Shabazz Palaces at this time, but we're catching him at the Moonface show Saturday night. I have seen both Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Baths live, and think that Baths will put on a better show at the small stage. From there we're gonna move to Red in hopes of being close for Cut Copy, since we are also seeing TV on the Radio this fall.

A complete list of our tentative schedule follows. Any bands listed as "from a distance" are bands we plan to watch while camped at the other main stage. Make sure to have time to enjoy the incredible food and, of course, Flatstock!

FRIDAY

3:20 - Gatekeeper - Blue

4:30 - TuNe-YarDs - Blue

Eat & Move to Green

5:30 - Thurston Moore - Red from a distance

6:25 - Guided By Voices - Green Stage

7:20 - Neko Case - Red from a distance

8:30 - Animal Collective - Green Stage

AFTER-PARTY

Das Racist/Smith Westerns/P4K DJs

Doors 10:00  Lincoln Hall

SATURDAY

Lunch @ gate open & Move to Red

1:00 - Julianna Barwick - Green from a distance

1:45 - Woods - Red

2:50 - G-Side - Blue
Shopping

4:15 - Gang Gang Dance - Green

5:15 - Destroyer - Red

Eat & Move to Red

6:15 - Dismemberment Plan - Green from a distance

7:25 - DJ Shadow - Red 

8:10  - Zola Jesus

8:30 - Fleet Foxes

AFTER-PARTY

Moonface/Shabazz Palaces

Doors 10:30 Lincoln Hall

SUNDAY

Lunch @ gate open & Move to Blue

1:00 - Darkstar - Blue

1:55 - How to Dress Well - Blue

2:30 - Kurt Vile - Green

3:20 - Odd Future - Red (3:45 - Shabazz Palaces - Blue)

4:45 - Baths - Blue

Eat, Shop & Move to Red

6:15 - Deerhunter - Green from a distance

7:25 - Cut Copy - Red

8:30 - TV on the Radio - Green

The Mountain Goats

Date: June 14th, 2011

Venue: The Varsity Theater

A local Minnesota band, Communist Daughter, picked up the show on short notice. I’d heard of them before, but never listened their music. The band is made up of 4 guys and 1 girl: a female vocalist, a male front man/guitarist, a keyboardist, a second guitarist, and a bassist. 

As soon as they started playing there was a clear connection between the front man and woman. He would jokingly dance and play guitar by her, and there was a lot of eye contact between the two. About four songs into the set he told us they’re recently engaged.

Their set list included Lady is an Arsinist, Soundtrack to the End (the name of their most recent album), Minnesota Girls, a new song he wrote while in Hazelden before becoming 6 months sober, a song for his dad who drove up for the show, and Northern Lights.

The set was a good length for an opener, 45 minutes. Although none of the songs stuck with me much, I did enjoy the comedic presence of the front man.

The switch over for this show was incredible! A mere 20 minutes. I’m not sure what everyone else is doing, but they should do it like those guys.

Que black metal and flashing strobe lights. Four men walk onto stage wearing suit coats.

After an intro like that you don’t expect to hear John Darnielle’s sweet voice opening with Liza Forever Minelli. Songs they played for us included a song about “two people picked to live through a divorce” (Southwood Plantation Road), a song about dealing with “what used to be communal property in your house” (Estate Sale Sign), and a song he wrote while stuck in Portland for 24 hours (Birth of Serpents). Someone told the band to take off their jackets and John responded with something along the lines of “first you take off your jacket, then it’s your pants, and you’re fucking pant-less on stage and everything’s terrible.” The next song they played for us was “like being pant-less on stage in a really broad metaphorical way” (Dinu Lipatti’s Bones).

Everyone but John and the keyboardist left the stage and they played Tyler Lampert’s Grave. John then played a couple songs solo, including a cover of The Chiffons’ One Fine Day and the emotionally charged Woke Up New, which he introduced by telling us that most people are really impressed when he tells them how large the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania is, but we “have that deal in Bloomington.” 

“At the risk of pandering” the band played Minnesota for us. John clarified that we “could check the bootlegs” and they’d been playing it on tour. He told us that once you play a song on tour a couple times you really start to get into, to dissect it.

Leading into Broom People John said “you’re all lutherans here,” which got quite the laugh out of the crowd. His catholicism has always been apparent in his music.

He ended the set with a crowd favorite, This Year. And opened the encore with his most played, and possibly most well known song, No Children.

This was my first Mountain Goats show, and I’m mostly familiar with their four most recent albums, beginning with my personal favorite, Sunset Tree. I came into it knowing that he would play songs I didn’t know. But I was pleasantly surprised with the number of songs he played off All Eternals Deck, which has really grown on me. He played songs that any old fan would be glad to hear, and any new fan would love to learn.

A Night with Kimya Dawson and Aesop Rock

Date: May 22nd, 2011

Venue: Triple Rock Social Club

I’d been looking forward to this show since the instant I found out Kimya Dawson was coming to Minnesota. I’ve been a fan for over four years and was not at the Eyedea tribute she showed up at last year.

I had not heard of Aesop Rock before the announcement of the show, but began listening to Aesop Rock and Hail Mary Mallon immediately afterward. I saw a few videos online of new Kimya songs off her upcoming album ‘Thunder Things’ and Aesop and Kimya performing together on their upcoming collaboration, as well as some Hail Mary Mallon music videos. I had a general idea of the show layout from aesoprock.com, but had no clue what to expect for a playlist from Kimya.

The show opened with Kimya playing guitar and singing the new songs Delicate Cycle and Earthquake with Aesop. Kimya then played ‘Eleventeen,’ ‘Chemistry,’ three songs off of her children’s album Alphabutt, ‘Being Cool,’ ‘Loose Lips,’ ‘Tire Swings,’ a new song I posted a video of, ‘the Beer,’ ‘Year 10,’ ‘Giants,’ ‘Randy Savage,’ and the new songs ‘Walk like Thunder,’ ‘Teleprompters,’ and ‘Complicated’ with Aesop Rock.

A girl was hassling Kimya by yelling how she loved her and that she should be headlining and generally being loud. The girl was a little rude to Aesop as he came out for his second session with Kimya and then she called the girl onto stage to quiet her during ‘Walk like Thunder.’ I cried when I heard this song online and I cried again when I saw it live. 

Kimya’s set was everything I’d ever dreamed of. She played most of my favorites off ‘My Cute Fiend Sweet Princess’ and ‘Remember that I Love You,’ adorable songs I’d never heard off ‘Alphabutt,’ and emotionally charged new songs that give me high hopes for her upcoming album.

Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ BIG WIZ came on stage next. They performed Hail Mary Mallon songs off their recent debut album ‘Are You Gonna Eat That?,’ as well as a variety of Aesop Rock songs like crowd favorites ‘No Regrets’ and ‘Daylight.’ 

As Kimya warned us, Rob Sonic had the crowd fist pumping and dancing right off the bat. DJ BIG WIZ did an individual session to a welcoming crowd and at the end of their set Kimya came back out for a few new songs with Aesop Rock and DJ BIG WIZ, one of which was ‘Aquarium.’  They performed a song they played at the Eyedea tribute last November and then Kimya went backstage.

Rob Sonic came back out, he and Aesop considered some song requests from the crowd, and they closed with ‘None Shall Pass.’

The band came back out for a meet and greet in the bar after the show had cleared out. I have heard the lines for Kimya were quite long.

Sleigh Bells / CSS / Neon Indian / Princeton

Date: May 19th, 2011

Venue: First Avenue 

I arrived to a half full main-room filled with many groups of teenagers, a surprising number or which were boys. The first band, Princeton, had an early start time of 6:20 and I came in as they finished their set. 

Neon Indian’s front-man Alan Palomo came onto stage and began the set air humping rhythmically to the samples leading into their first song. The generally pink or orange fog captured the 80s vibe of the album and the set was almost a dance warm-up for the rest of the show.

As compared with their album, Psychic Chasms, their live music is louder and more distinguishable than many recorded tracks where Alan’s voice out-weighs the synthesizers and keyboards.

It was a little disappointing that Alan appeared to have played less than a minute of theremin in the whole set. I had my hopes up from our experience with Neon Indian at Pitchfork last summer, where there was a wonderful amount of theremin in the set that also lead up to Sleigh Bells.

The crowd’s age was emphasized by the number of people singing and dancing to Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back,’ which I was surprised to even be hearing during the intermission.

I had listened to a little CSS (Cansei De Ser Sexy, Portuguese for “got tired of being sexy” ) and was surprised by the instant stage presence and energy of the band. Lovefoxxx (leadsinger) and the drummer had their faces painted in Dia de Los Muertos make-up.

Lovefoxxx danced vigorously, even provocatively and wore at least 5 outfits while on stage. Leather jacket with black capris, high waisted jean shorts with fishnets and short red sweater, sweater removed and short blue t-shirt, red t-shirt saying TRASH, and finally pink bridesmaid dress over the shorts that worked it’s way off as she danced for the last few songs.

The set included the appearance of a keytar and ended with ‘Let’s make Love and Listen to Death from Above’ where Lovefoxxx crowd surfed. I managed to touch her and a guy next to me held a patch of her fishnets, as I am sure many other people did. 

The energy of CSS was enough to head-line a show and got the crowd pumped up for Sleigh Bells. Three large banks of lights blasted the stage with color as leadsinger Alexis Krauss thrashed to the guitar of Derek Miller, and the crowd surged frantically.

This was my third time seeing Sleigh Bells live. I’d seen them first a year ago opening for Yeasayer on the same stage. The crowd was equally packed then, but not nearly as young and excited. Second was at Pitchfork Fest last summer in 90+ degree weather to another equally packed crowd that transitioned quickly from the rhythmic dancing of Neon Indian to the thrashing waves of Sleigh Bells.

The combination of the Sleigh Bells crowd and an indoor venue with a wall of amps and lights made for a better light show, more stage presence, and all around the best Sleigh Bells set I have seen yet.

I lasted about 3 songs in the wave of bodies and worked my to the side bar. The set was 6 songs and the encore 3. They played a new song ‘Holly,’ which will likely be on the upcoming album the band told Rolling Stone they plan to record this summer and release early next year.

After Neon Indian and CSS the mer 40 min set of Sleigh Bells seemed to bring the night to an end too early.

tUnE-YarDs / Buke & Gass

Date: May 8th, 2011

Venue: Cedar Cultural Center

First off, I love this venue. The wait between doors and the opener is always half an hour, and they don’t mess around when switching sets.

Buke and Gass is a two person band made up of a girl, Arone, who plays the baritone ukulele and man, Aron, who plays a modified guitar bass, hence their name. In addition to modified instruments, they build their own amplifiers. They had at least 3 of these on stage.

The girl was rather quirky; swaying on her stool, bantering with the crowd, and smiling profusely. The man, on the other hand, was quiet and composed.

Their music is filled with ups and downs, where the two glance at each other, as if awaiting signals. With the inclusion of Arone’s signing, you might never know that the band is only two people, since Aron plays a kick drum, and Arone has some kind of foot gear that wraps around her shoe with 5 little sets of symbols on it, as well as a band of bells around her ankle.

The real treat was tUnE-YarDs. It was immediately clear that Merrill has stage experience by the way she looked over the crowd. There was no awkward eye contact as was common with Buke and Gass.

Accompanying Merrill was a bassist, who also played percussion, an alto saxophonist and a tenor saxophonist. Merrill sings, plays the ukulele, and does percussion and some keyboarding.

Merrill plays with a double loop pedal in her socks. One pedal she uses for vocals, the other for percussion. At the beginning of each song the crowd went crazy when she came in with the percussion and the track became recognizable. This was one of the best crowds I have been in in 2011, there was plenty of dancing and little to no side chatter.

The show was photographer heavy, explain-ably so for Merrill’s stage presence. I did have to tell an inexperienced photographer that when we told her she could take pictures in front of us, we didn’t mean for 5 songs.

Before the last song we got a Q and A session with Merrill herself because the keyboard was not working. She told us that her favorite color is magenta, her spirit animal is a fox, she choreographed Real Live Flesh, and a friend, Sarah, choreographed the new Bizness video.

The band then came out for an encore, where instead of playing the two songs as planned, Merrill took a song request from a very emphatic gay boy adjacent to me.

I left the show with a set-list handwritten, presumably, by Merrill herself.

Set List

1. Door Step
2. You Yes You
3. Es-So
4. Powa
5. Gangsta
6. FIYA
7. Bizness
8. Riotriot
9. Hatari
10. My Country

——

1. Lions (as requested, replacing Real Live Flesh)
2. Party Can