This Weekend at the 400 Bar

Conor Oberst returns to Minneapolis this weekend for 2 shows at the 400 Bar - Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th. If you don't have your tickets already, be prepared to be holding a sign outside the 400 Bar with the words: "I Need Tickets!"
Last time he was here with Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst had no problem selling out the State Theater. In fact, he hasn't had much difficulty selling out a show since he was about 18.
This time around he isn't going to be performing any of the Bright Eyes songs that made him famous - the performances this weekend are going to be showcasing his new, unnamed side project (which is rumored to be with musician and friend M. Ward!!!!!!!!!)


M. Ward


Conor Oberst


Conor Oberst plus Nik Freitas @ The 400 Bar; 400 Cedar Avenue South

December 29th and 30th - Doors at 8pm, Showtime at 9.

See you there!

Evan Dando is Awesome

Last night was the Lemonheads show at the Varsity Theater. What I thought was going to be an almost empty concert (there were only about 100 people when I got there) ended up being a really hard ticket to find. By the time Evan Dando hit the stage there was not an open place to stand in the place. The concert by far exceeded my expectations - in their hour and a half set, they flew through their extensive catalog. What surprised me was all of the old material that they played - the opening song was "Hospital" off of 'Car Button Cloth' - and "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You" "The Outdoor Type" off of that album as well. And they pretty much played all of 'It's A Shame About Ray' including "Drug Buddy" "Rudderless" "Bit Part" "It's A Shame About Ray" and "Alison's Starting to Happen" just to name a few.

The crowd was interesting - the age of the crowd ranged from 21 to people in their forties. They guy standing next to me was even a little over than that - he had a cane! I was only a few inches away from the stage so I was able to snap a few pictures:







After their first set, the drummer and bass player left the stage and Evan Dando played a few solo selections. What came as a total surprise (and one of my favorite concert moments ever) was the his cover of Gram Parson's "A Song for You" - it was so unexpected and the cover met the expectations of the crowd. There were few people other than myself that sang along to the tune, but regardless, I hope I find a version of the song on YouTube.

I can't wait until they're back again!

Past Shows at the Varsity

A few years ago when the Quest Club in the Warehouse district closed and a lot of the scheduled shows were moved to the Varsity and a few were sent to Station 4 in St. Paul. This worked in my favor because one of my favorite bands who was supposed to play at the Quest, were sent to the Varsity. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club played there on February 7th, 2006 - it's hard to believe that was almost 2 years ago! The Varsity usually has small tables and cool couches all over the place, but this time they didn't have a single one due to the oversell of tickets. There were far more people that wanted to go than could, the size of the Varsity is much smaller than the Quest was. The Varsity is a little bigger than the Ascot room, so there were a lot of fans that couldn't see the show that night. BRMC has only been back a twice since then and I can't wait until they are back - they're one of my favorites!



This reminds me - I still have to get my Lemonheads ticket!

Varsity Tickets for The Lemonheads

After a lot of local acts and local parties playing at the Varsity Theater this month, December 10th brings a 90's legend of sorts back to Minneapolis. 90's rocker Evan Dando brings his Lemonheads back to the metro area at the Varsity. As a follower of the band since my early teens it's easy to note the ever changing line up of the band. Last time Dando brought his touring band through Minneapolis he took the stage at the 400 bar, another U of M area hotspot. It was a solo effort, but this time at the Varsity Theater he will be playing with Bill Stevenson and Karl Alvarez, both from Descendents fame.



Varsity Theater, December 10th @ 8pm, 21+

Varsity Theater

I am posting this from my email – I just wanted to say the Varsity Theatre Rocks!

Varsity Theater Location

The Varsity Theater is located in the University of Minnesota Dinkytown neighborhood. Located at 1308 4th St Se Minneapolis, MN 55414 - it is less than 10 minutes from Uptown and 5 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.