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Local Gig List: October 8-14

by Andrea Swensson

October 09, 2012

A pair of sprawling, multi-venue festivals top the local show calendar this week, with Sound Unseen kicking off Wednesday and Zombie Pub Crawl taking over the West Bank on Saturday. We've compiled the info for both of those events along with a handful of other highlights here. Get your calendars out, it's time to hit the clubs.


Tuesday, October 9

France Camp
Turf Club, St. Paul
9 p.m., $5, 21+
Howler bassist France Camp left the group earlier this year to focus on his own lo-fi garage project, which he'll be showcasing every Tuesday in October for this Turf Club residency. Sample a track on the Local Radar.
 

Wednesday, October 10

Sound Unseen Festival
Trylon Microcinema, Harriet Brewing, and Ritz Theater, Minneapolis
Schedule and prices
The 13th annual Sound Unseen movies-about-music festival kicks off this Wednesday and runs through the weekend, with screenings at two different Minneapolis theaters and free music from bands like Apollo Cobra (Wednesday), LaLiberte (Thursday), and Strange Names (Saturday) at Harriet Brewing. 

All Eyes
Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St. Paul
9 p.m., free, 21+
Guitarist Jake Hanson seems to be active in about a dozen bands at any given time, so the Amsterdam decided to create an entire residency around his multi-faceted career. For this installment, Hanson's "Colonization" series will feature brooding piano-driven pop band All Eyes, the new vehicle for songwriter Alicia Wiley.
 

Thursday, October 11

Big Cats! Album-Release Show
Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis
7 p.m., $10 adv/$12 at the door, all ages
It's been a big year for Big Cats!, who just completed an evocative instrumental hip-hop album, For My Mother, between making beats for MCs Truth Be Told and Guante. For his show at the Cedar, he'll bring a whopping 15-piece band to the stage to recreate the songs live. If the session he recently recorded for the Local Show is any indication, this will be an unforgettable night. With openers K.Raydio and The Chalice.

The Lower 48
7th St. Entry, Minneapolis
8 p.m., $8, 18+
This trio of Minneapolis natives now live in Portland, but they seem to make their way back to the Cities a few times a year to share their songs with the hometown crowd. Their first full-length album, Where All Maps End, was just released earlier this year. They'll be joined by Vita.mn Are You Local? winners Prissy Clerks, who'll have their own full-length on the way soon.
 

Friday, October 12

Fathom Lane Album-Release Show
Icehouse, Minneapolis
10 p.m., $5, 21+ 
The last time we heard from Michael Ferrier, he was leading inventive electro-jazz improv group Electropolis. After a few years of incubation, he is re-emerging with a completely different sound; his new album, Down By Half, is plush with pensive, lyrically driven folk-pop and features contributions from Ashleigh Still, Ben Glaros, Pete Sands, and his onetime Electropolis bandmate Brian Roessler. 

The 4onthefloor
First Avenue, Minneapolis
7 p.m., $12 adv/$15 door, 18+
Blues-rock stompers the 4onthefloor return to headline the Mainroom for the second time this year, this time with a new split-7" in tow featuring a new song, "Howl for Me" on the A-side and a song from Heartbeats, "Ocean Green," on the flip. Heartbeats will open along with Retribution Gospel Choir and Filligar.

Tungsten
331 Club, Minneapolis
9 p.m., free, 21+
When Hildur Victoria parted ways last year, the three backing musicians -- drummer Jeremy Hanson (also of Tapes 'n Tapes), guitarist Joe Clark, and bassist Jef Sundquist -- continued playing together as Tungsten. On Friday night they'll share the bill with frequent collaborator Andy Elwell and Mages.
 

Saturday, October 13

Mark Mallman Album-Release Show
Ritz Theater, Minneapolis
7 p.m., $10 adv/$12 door, all ages
Fresh off his Marathon 4 jaunt from coast to coast, Minneapolis piano man Mark Mallman will celebrate the release of his new studio album, Double Silhouette. He'll be joined by openers Van Stee.

Zombie Pub Crawl
West Bank Minneapolis and Midway Stadium, St. Paul
4 p.m., $22.99 adv/$40 day of, 21+
The very random music lineup for this year's Zombie Pub Crawl includes headliners like the Gin Blossoms, DMX, Exodus, and Big Freedia, plus a few dozen local acts spread out at bars throughout the West Bank neighborhood as well as the St. Paul Saints' baseball stadium near the State Fairgrounds. Full schedule here.

 

 

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.