Tonight: Wavves and Vampire Hands at the 7th St. Entry

*MP3: Wavves - "So Bored"

Wavves are playing with Vampire Hands tonight at the 7th St. Entry. Doors of this 18+ show open at 8pm and admission is $8.

MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

Vampire Hands Announce Tour Dates

*MP3: Vampire Hands “Opium Typhoon”

Minneapolis' Vampire Hands will be hitting the road pre and post SXSW with Wavves, which is awesome. Check out the impressive tour below:

03.16 St. Paul, MN: Turf Club
03.17 Lawrence, KA: Replay Lounge
03.19 Austin, TX: SXSW
03.22 Dallas, TX: SXSFlesh
03.23 Knoxville, TN: The Piolt Light
03.24 Chapil Hill, NC: Nightlight
03.25 Harrisonburg, VA: The Blue Nile
03.26 Baltimore, MD: The Zodiac
03.27 Philadelphia, PA: The Marvelous Music
03.28 New York, NY: Cake Shop
03.29 Brooklyn, NY: Market Hotel
03.30 Rochester, NY: The Bug Jar
03.31 Toronto, ON: Sneaky Dee’s
04.01 Detroit, MI: Magic Stick
04.03 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
04.04 Milwaukee, WI: The Project Lodge
04.05 Minneapolis, MN: 7th St. Entry
04.06 Fargo, ND: Aquarium
04.08 Olympia, WA: The Northern
04.09 Seattle, WA: The Funhouse
04.11 Portland, OR: Holocene
04.12 Davis, CA: DAM House
04.13 San Francisco, CA: Bottom of the Hill
04.15 Los Angeles, CA: The Echo
04.16 Irvine, CA: Acrobatics Everyday
04.17 San Diego, CA: Casbah

(MySpace)

STNNNG To Have A Summer Bummer in 2009 (Plus: A Shit-Ton of Modern Radio Updates)

(STNNNG)

In a post yesterday, the Modern Radio label announced a flurry of activity for 2009 including, but not limited to, a re-release of Vampire Hands' excellent sophomore album Me and You Cherry Red (a sure contender for local best-of lists) with the out-of-print EP Cuz Its A Beach Funeral. Furthermore, a new spring tour is in the works, and will release material in March 2009 on the Secretly Canadian imprint St. Ives.

As far as other new albums are concerned, the debut from His Mischief will see release in February. The label doesn't give anymore information, but says that details will be forthcoming. With STNNNG's new 12" though, we get a completion date and a tentative title: "late Spring/early Summer" and Summer Bummer, respectively. The label also promises amazing artwork, which, you have to admit, is something for which there is at least a precedent.

At the risk of neglecting the other details mentioned, we direct you to the Modern Radio mainpage to read more.

Vampire Hands Announce Two New Records

A single sentence over at the group's MySpace blog informs us listeners that the psych-pop quartet Vampire Hands are in the studio recording not one, but two new records. They're currently recording them at the band's studio, Friendship Road. And that's pretty much it, aside from a series of live dates at the end of November. The two new albums will be the follow-ups to this year's excellent Me and You and The Cherry Red.

Vampire Hands MySpace Page

Reminder: Radio K's 15th Anniversary Show

Download: Low - "Murderer"
Download: Dosh - "If You Want To, You Have To"
Download: Vampire Hands - "No Fun"

The University of Minnesota's radio station Radio K is a veritable underground institution, one deserving of all the celebration it can get, not only for introducing the world to many great, left-of-the-dial bands, but for the fact that, after 15 years, the station is still going strong. So, in order to celebrate, the station has put together some of Minnesota's best acts to play a show at First Avenue. Slow, steady hush-rockers Low, electronic collage-maker/god of multi-tasking Dosh, Doomtree member Sims, and house-of-mirrors psych-rockers Vampire Hands are all coming together tonight for an 18+ show to celebrate the station and, presumably, play some awesome music.

Here are the deets:

Low + Dosh + Sims + Vampire Hands
Wednesday, October 8
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
8 pm | $12 | 18+.

Check out Radio K sessions featuring the artists playing tonight here:

Doomtree
Dosh
Vampire Hands

(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Note: This post contains previously published content

Show Announcement: Radio K 15th Anniversary Party

The University of Minnesota's radio station Radio K is a veritable underground institution, one deserving of all the celebration it can get, not only for introducing the world to many great, left-of-the-dial bands, but for the fact that, after 15 years, the station is still going strong. So, in order to celebrate, the station has put together some of Minnesota's best acts to play a show at First Avenue. Slow, steady hush-rockers Low, electronic collage-maker/god of multi-tasking Dosh, Doomtree member Sims, and house-of-mirrors psych-rockers Vampire Hands are all coming together on October 8th for an 18+ show to celebrate the station and, presumably, play some awesome music.

Here are the deets:

Low + Dosh + Sims + Vampire Hands
Wednesday, October 8
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
8 pm | $12 | 18+

In other Radio K news, the station will be holding its Fall Fund Drive from October 1st to October 10th. So, while you're celebrating the station, throw it some bones too.

Check out Radio K sessions featuring the artists playing on the 8th here:

Doomtree
Dosh
Vampire Hands

(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Tonight: Vampire Hands 7-Inch Release Show

Image and text taken directly from More Cowbell:

Vampire Hands Variety Hour/7″ Release Show in the Clown Lounge
Tuesday September 9th, 9 PM
FREE
This is the official release of our tour 7″ “A Bigger Splash”,
a song that has been a staple of our live set for the last year and a half or so.
This may be the only chance you have to pick the little vinyl disc up locally.
Invisible Boy
Peppermint Coffins
Ryan Harris (solo)
+1 TBA

In addition to tonight's show at the Clown Lounge, the band will be beginning a North American tour this coming Friday, the 12th. The trek has the Minneapolis-based psychedelic quartet starting out in solidly midwestern states like Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, before heading to the East Coast, where their shows will surely be attended by tea-drinking, arugula-eating damn, dirty elitists. From there, the band heads back to the mid-west, where they'll cap things off with a date in Chicago (yay!).

While on tour, the band will be keeping a diary that will be posted on the Modern Radio Message Board. We'll keep you updated as to when the band posts an entry.

Here are the tour dates:

SEP 12 2008 9:00P
O’LEAVER’S PUB OMAHA, NEBRASKA
SEP 13 2008 9:00P
THE REPLAY LOUNGE LAWRENCE, KANSAS
SEP 14 2008 9:00P
THE BRICK KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEP 16 2008 8:00P
CAMP CONCENTRATION @ APOP RECORDS ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
SEP 18 2008 9:00P
SPRINGWATER SUPPER CLUB NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SEP 19 2008 10:00P
THE PILOT LIGHT KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
SEP 20 2008 10:00P
THE PHILBOG CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
SEP 21 2008 10:00P
THE SPAZATORIUM GALLERIA GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
SEP 23 2008 8:00P
THE BLUE NILE HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA
SEP 24 2008 8:00P
THE LIGHTHOUSE WASHINGTON DC, WASHINGTON DC
SEP 25 2008 10:00P
TBA PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
SEP 26 2008 10:00P
TBA BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
SEP 27 2008 10:00P
ROSE’S CANTINA-BACKSTAGE BAR GROTON, CONNECTICUT
SEP 28 2008 10:00P
PIANO’S NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SEP 30 2008 9:00P
THE TALKING HEAD BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
OCT 1 2008 10:00P
TBA PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
OCT 2 2008 10:00P
TBA YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
OCT 3 2008 10:00P
THE CARABAR COLUMBUS, OHIO
OCT 4 2008 10:00P
NEED SHOW CHICAGO, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Help some brothers out, Chi-town!

Vampire Hands MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

This Weekend: Liberty Parade

Via More Cowbell

Vampire Hands Need Your Tour Help

Download: Vampire Hands - "Paradise Knife Fights" (via KEXP)

Via the band's MySpace bulletin:

Hey Y'all, yes indeed, we are heading back out on the road this fall. Unfortunately, we're having a few trouble spots and would greatly appreciate any and all help people are willing to give. Please take a look at these dates and see if there's anything in your town or region that would be down to host a show that evening. Just contact us if you have any ideas (either through myspace or vampirehands@gmail.com), thanks again!

The dates that the psychedelic revivalists need help with are:

9/12- Omaha, NE
9/17- Bloomington, IN
9/22- East Coast Need Help
9/23- East Coast Need Help
9/24- East Coast Need Help
9/25- East Coast Need Help
9/28- East Coast Need Help
9/29- East Coast Need Help

And here are the dates that the band has confirmed, or will most likely confirm in the near future:

9/13 - Lawrence, Ks Replay Lounge
9/14 - Kansas City, MO TBA
9/16 - St. Louis, MO Apop Records
9/18 - Nashville, TN TBA
9/19 - Knoxville, TN The Pilot Light
9/20 - Chapel Hill, NC Philbog
9/21 - Greenville, NC Spazzatorium Galleria
9/26 - New York, NY Glasslands
9/27 - New London, CT TBA
9/30 - Baltimore, MD TBA
10/1 - Philly, PA TBA
10/2 - Youngstown, OH TBA
10/3 - Columbus, OH Carabar
10/4 - Chicago, Il TBA

Having just picked up the band's excellent Me & You & The Cherry Red, I can easily say the band's combination of John-Lennon-on-Helium vocals and menacing-but-ethereal soundscapes should be quite the combo live. So help some brothers out!

Buy Me & You & The Cherry Red here.

Vampire Hands MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Vampire Hands - Me & You Cherry Red

Vampire Hands
Me & You Cherry Red (Modern Radio, 2008)
Grade: B+

Download: Vampire Hands - "Statuette"

It’s always fun to watch a great local band grow in popularity and start to become recognized outside of the city they come from, not due to excessive buildup and overexposure (that was another Vampire band), but because they’re actually incredibly good at what they do. Ambient-rock quartet Vampire Hands have dominated the local scene for a few years now, with beats resembling Sonic Youth and a falsetto that echoes a funkier, acid-rock version of Frankie Vallie if he had been placed in a time machine.

Vampire Hands’ March release Me And You Cherry Bomb doesn’t differ from the trippy, hypnotic sound showcased on Virgin Dust American Lips and 2007’s Cuz It’s a Beach Funeral, but rather skims the edge off their sometimes rattling and raucous sound and cleaning it up with echoing vocal harmonies and catchy melodies. Songs like "No Fun" have a mellow, retro flavor that are soaked in electric guitar solos that would be complimentary in sound to Jefferson Airplane; "Statuette" taps into the roots of Vampire Hands’ older tunes with haunting hymns and modern heavy beats that somehow manage to tap into a sound not entirely unlike Portishead. Me And You Cherry Red is staying in touch with its psychedelic roots, but definitely proves you don’t have to sacrifice melody and conform to one standard sound. And as far as live gigs are concerned, Vampire Hands earned recognition for a reason: they put on one hell of a show.

Vampire Hands are wrapping up a US tour, ending tonight at 7th Street entry with Dead Meadow and First Communion AfterParty.

Download: Dead Meadow - "I'm Gone"
Download: First Communion Afterparty - "The Ebb"

Dead Meadow MySpace Page
Vampire Hands MySpace Page
First Communion Afterparty MySpace Page

(Tara Rogan)

Vampire Hands, Gospel Gossip, Skoal Kodiak Win Best-Of City Pages Awards

Download: Vampire Hands - "Statuette"
Download: Gospel Gossip - "Shadows Are Bent"

Some of our favorite local acts, including Gospel Gossip and Vampire Hands, have cleaned house in the City Pages's Best Of The Twin Cities' Poll. Vampire Hands won Best Rock Band, while GG took Best New Band. Additonal winners included Baby Guts's Laura Larson winning for Best Female Vocalist, Brother Ali for Best Hip-hop artist, and Skoal Kodiak for Best Live Artist.

Read more here.

(Jonathan Graef)

Download Two Tracks from Vampire Hands' New Album (Plus CD Release Party Info)

Not from us, unfortunately. But those of you who want to download two songs from MPLS psychedelic band Vampire Hands, whose new album Me & You Cherry Red will be released tomorrow at the Turf Club, can do so by heading over to RCRDLBL. The website has two Vampire Hands offerings: "Queen Juno" and "No Fun."

Also playing the CD release party are rappers MC/VL, STNNNG-offshoot Private Dancer and MFR favorite Gospel Gossip.

The March 21st show is 21+ and starts at 9 p.m.

Directly below is a video of the band performing "Queen Juno" at the Turf Club last year.



Me & You Cherry Red is out tomorrow.

Vampire Hands MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The AV Club Reviews Secret Tapes N Tapes Show

(via the A.V. Club)

Download: Tapes N Tapes - "Hang Them All"
Download: Vampire Hands - "Wolf Skin Pose" (Live at the 7th Street Entry via Schedule Two)
Download: The Blind Shake - "Calling All Horses"


The fine folk over at the AV Club posted a review a few days ago of the secret Tapes N Tapes show at the Turf Club. Here's what writer Christopher Bahn had to say about the show:

the new Tapes songs are pretty clearly moving somewhat away from the quirky jangliness of The Loon toward a more intense, harder-rocking sound. I'm not sure if that's a good thing; I didn't hear anything that grabbed me with the immediacy of "Insistor" or "Cowbell" from The Loon. But there were still a lot of interesting angles in what I heard, and I'm guessing that hearing the disc itself will bring that out even further; Tapes have always been a better-in-the-studio band for me.

Additionally, Bahn had some kind words for Minneapolis bands VIP and Harems Vampire Hands and The Blind Shake, whom he called his "favorite Minneapolis bands"

Vampire Hands have a heavy psychedelic vibe, a little like Syd Barrett backed by the Stooges, with dual vocalists trading off between a spacey falsetto and a punky rasp, and a pair of drummers that both attack with relentless energy....The Blind Shake are a punk power trio fronted by two brothers, Jim and Mike Blaha. They made a terrific collaborative record with criminally unknown underground guitarist Michael Yonkers last year called Carbohydrates Hydrocarbons. On their own, they create a furious, squalling wall of noise.

Read the rest of the write-up here.

Tapes N Tapes MySpace Page
Vampire Hands MySpace Page
The Blind Shake MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Surprise! Tapes N' Tapes Tonight at the Turf Club

Download: Tapes N Tapes - "Hang Them All"
Download: Vampire Hands - "Opium Typhoon"
Download: The Blind Shake - "Midnight Scream"


Tapes N Tapes sent this email out to their newsletter subscribers fifteen minutes ago, literally. It's a surprise show at the Turf Club!

Here be the details:

that's right kids, we're playing a show tonight (thursday 2/21) @ the turf club in st. paul. we can't tell you how excited we are. it's true that we're always talking about how excited we are about things, but we're REALLY excited about this show. it's with two of our favorite MSP bands, vampire hands and blind shake. and it's gonna rule! we hope you can come on down. we're gonna be playing all of "walk it off" (minus one song), and just straight rock-rock-rawkin!
be there or be square,
tapes 'n tapes

show details:
where: turf club, st paul, mn
when: tonight, 9pm
who: 21+
with:vampire hands and blind shake
how much: $5

I would assume that tickets are first come, first serve, so get there ASAP! Opening are Vampire Hands and Blind Shake, both of whom put on a raucous live show. This should be an excellent rawk show.

Tapes N Tapes MySpace Page
Vampire Hands MySpace Page
The Blind Shake MySpace Page

Tonight: Dan Deacon's Ultimate Reality At First Ave

Download: Dan Deacon - "Totally Boner Eat Shit"
Download: Vampire Hands - "Paradise Knife Fights"
Download: Gay Beast - "I.D. Politic"

Dan Deacon's "Ultimate Reality Tour" comes into Minneapolis tonight at First Avenue. Opening are Minneapolis' own Vampire Hands (who were recently featured on KEXP's Song Of The Day) and Gay Beast.

The 18+ show costs $10 dollars and doors open at 6.

Buy tickets here.

Gay Beast MySpace Page
Vampire Hands MySpace Page
Dan Deacon MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Saturday Night: Vampire Hands, STNNNG Show At the Beat and Big V'S

Download: Vampire Hands - "Aaroo Piano"
Download: Vampire Hands - "Paradise Knife Fights"
Download: STNNNG - "Dubbed Warehousing"
Download: Gay Beast - "Id Politic"
Download: Daughters Of The Sun - "4am Astral Projector"


Go see STNNNG at Big V'S in Saint Paul. The band will be opening up for Vampire Hands, who will be headlining to celebrate the release of their new record, called Virgin Dust, American Lips. Gay Beast and Daughters of The Sun open as well. The show is 21+ and starts at 8 p.m.

Vampire Hands will also be throwing an all ages release party at the Beat (28th and Hennepin) at 5pm.

(Jonathan Graef/Ian Anderson)