In support of his new critically acclaimed album, God’s Favorite Customer, American singer/songwriter Josh Tillman (known to many as Father John Misty) brought his headlining 2018 tour to Milwaukee’s beautiful Pabst Theater.
Performing for a sold out crowd, Father John Misty was all music and little talk on Thursday night, singing a number of cuts from his latest LP, as well as his Grammy nominated 2017 album, Pure Comedy and more. Originally recording under his J. Tillman moniker, the Maryland native has consistently released albums for the past 15-years (four as FJM), so Tillman had plenty of songs to choose from for his roughly 20-track set.
Following a opening performance from his Sub Pop labelmate, King Tuff, it was soon time for Father John Misty to step on stage for the packed general admission crowd.
And despite touring in support of God’s Favorite Customer, Father John kicked off Thursday night’s set with his 2012 song, ‘Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sing’, from his first Father John Misty LP, Fear Fun. But his Milwaukee fans didn’t fear fun last evening, because despite Tillman’s often cynical and sarcastic demeanor, the entire theater was set to enjoy a memorable night.
Lucky for the crowd, Tillman delivered. Not only did Misty perform the majority of his new album, but he also performed the majority of singles and fan favorites from Pure Comedy. From start to finish, the crowd was in awe watching FJM perform. Despite having a complicated and cynical relationship (if you can even call it that) with religion, Tillman has a god-like presence on stage.
While tackling topics like religion and politics through his songs, what’s most interesting about Tillman’s take is his especially unique perspective on music and the above topics. Growing up in an Evangelical Christian household, Tillman was not allowed to listen to secular music until he was 17. This very religious and sheltered upbringing shaped Tillman and his music, and as an artist he is perhaps better for it.
Stand out performances from Thursday include ‘Ballad of a Dying Man’, ‘Mr. Tillman’, ‘Pure Comedy’ and his closing performance with ‘I Love You, Honeybear’, but highlights from the evening certainly were not few and far between.
Fans came to have a good night and Mr. Tillman made it happen.
Check out our photos from last night’s sold out performance below and get your tickets for the remaining date of Father John Misty’s tour here.
Milwaukee was treated to a very rare and special performance on Wednesday night as Wilco frontman, Jeff Tweedy, kicked off his North American solo tour at the city’s beautiful Pabst Theater.
Delivering a very intimate acoustic performance, in support of his debut solo album Together At Last, Tweedy reflected on his massive career with stripped down renditions of tracks from Wilco, Uncle Tupelo (his alt-country group from ’87-’94) and side projects from throughout the years.
As fans began to find their seats, the evening began with an opening performance from guitarist and Jeff Tweedy-collaborator, Jame Elkington. In addition to his work with Chicago’s “Eleventh Dream Day”, Elkington (like Tweedy) also released his first solo album in 2017 with Wintres Woma. And while the majority in attendance weren’t completely familiar with the English-born artist’s music, his sound perfectly complemented Tweedy’s and set the mood for the rest of the night.
With the mood set and anticipation levels high, Jeff Tweedy stepped on stage to greet his Wisconsin fans. The singer/songwriter’s local fans weren’t the only ones to fill the seats either, as the Belleville, IL native had fans who made the 90-mile drive from the Windy City, evidenced by the crowd’s reaction to Tweedy’s performance of Wilco’s 1999 track, ‘Via Chicago’ to help kick off the set.
Through Tweedy’s roughly 20-track set, the Grammy-award winning musician put on intimate performances from his three-decade-long catalog. Dating back as far as his time with Uncle Tupelo with tracks like ‘New Madrid’ and ‘Acuff-Rose’ and spanning as recent as 2017 with his new song ‘Bombs Away’, the show had a little bit of everything while also focusing on Wilco’s best records, the band that made Tweedy a household name in alt-rock.
Whether your favorite song of the night was Tweedy’s solo version of Wilco’s hit single ‘Jesus, Etc.’ or one of the many songs Tweedy recorded for Together At Last, the night was full of highlights to choose from.
Tonight was just further evidence that Jeff Tweedy is a jack of all trades and a man of many talents. He’s best known for being the frontman of Wilco but he’s kept his career fresh with side projects like Loose Fur, Golden Smog, Tweedy (with his son, Spencer) and even with his fictional band “Land Ho!” during his cameo on NBC’s Parks and Recreation.
While some artists find what works and stick to it from album to album and tour to tour until the venues get smaller and fans stop showing up, Tweedy keeps his fans coming back by switching things up in every way possible, but with basic staples like a guitar and great live music staying consistent.
If you’re a fan of Jeff Tweedy, Wilco or simply a fan of good music, do yourself a favor and catch Tweedy on his new fall tour.
Check out our photos from Tweedy’s North American tour opener below.
Following her track ‘Mariners Apartment Complex, which debuted last Wednesday, Lana Del Rey has released her second new track of the month, which comes in at just under 10-minutes.
Titled ‘Venice Bitch’, the new record (like ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’) also comes with a new music video. The songs are expected to be on Lana’s forthcoming studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell, which will be an 11-track LP, according to Lana during her interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe.
Who cares if summer music festivals have come and gone this year, Chicago will host a number of amazing concerts in November as part of the Red Bull Music Festival.
Kicking things off with a stacked music showcase from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music label, which boasts performances from Nas, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Valee and more at the Wintrust Arena, the festival will also host concert from Vic Mensa, Cupcakke,Jamila Woods and more.
Tickets for the festival go on sale Tuesday, September 25th at 10:00 AM (CT) and fans can visit RedBullMusic.com/Chicago for more info.
Check out the Red Bull Music Festival Chicago lineup below.
We’re hoping this one isn’t another troll, because it looks as if Kanye West’s next studio album will be a sequel to his critically acclaimed and highly influential album, Yeezus.
Tentatively titled Yandhi (Ye + Gandhi), similar to Yeezus (Ye + Jesus), the new album may be previewed later this month, as Kanye is set to perform on Saturday Night Live on September 29th.
If you ask us, we would much rather have Kanye’s next studio efforts sound like Yeezus than his recent collaboration with Lil Pump…. *Kanye shrug*
Since replacing the RCA Dome in 2008, Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium has hosted a number of great concerts since breaking ground. While Kenny Chesney held an informal monopoly on concerts for the venue’s first eight years, One Direction and U2 have also delivered memorable shows at Lucas Oil for their Indiana fans. Concerts at the stadium are rare and reserved for the biggest names in music.
Saturday night was no exception to this trend as Taylor Swift delivered arguably the best concert in the stadium’s decade-long history. As part of her critically acclaimed Reputation Tour, the 10-time Grammy winner not only broke domestic records with her new tour but now also holds the attendance record for Indy’s downtown stadium, with her thirteenth ever performance in the city (13 of course being Swift’s lucky number).
Numbers don’t lie either, because Saturday night’s performance was deserving of the massive number of fans who passed through the turnstiles to watch music’s biggest pop-star perform. From the tour’s grand set design to the delicately organized set list, you can call it what you want but the performance was beyond comparable.
And if Taylor Swift wasn’t already a big enough name to fill the concert’s marquee, Swift brought along Charli XCX and MTV’s VMA Artist of the Year, Camila Cabello, along for the ride.
Up first for the night, as fans began to fill the $720 million dollar stadium and find their seats, English singer/songwriter Charli XCX put on a 7-song performance to reward fans for showing up on-time. The set was short but sweet, as practically every song the 26-year-old singer performed was a hit. Opening up with 2014’s ‘Boom Clap’ (from the movie “The Fault In Our Stars”), hits like ‘I Love It’, ‘Break The Rules’ and ‘Fancy’ kept the crowd moving.
Up next to the stage was an artist who will be headlining stadiums of her own in no time. Despite years of experience from her time with Fifth Harmony, the newly solo Camila Cabello has hit the ground running after announcing her departure from the pop group, which has since announced an indefinite hiatus in pursuit of solo careers.
In just about a year’s time, Cabello delivered the song of the summer with her breakout single ‘Havanna’, released her self-titled debut album and recently took home MTV’s Video Music Awards for Video and Artist of the Year. While pop stars typically grind for years before experiencing massive success, Cabello’s notoriety with Fifth Harmony and addictive tracks have helped her grow at an unprecedented speed.
The sky’s the limit for the ‘Never Be The Same’ singer and Saturday night was evidence of just that. Performing the majority of tracks from her 2018 debut, Cabello’s vocals and talented displays of dancing are what stood out the most, all making for an A-list pop-star.
While tracks like ‘Never Be The Same’ and ‘Havana’ (which opened and closed her set) of course had the crowd singing along, B-sides like ‘She Loves Control’ and ‘Inside Out’ were personal favorites. As an opener, her current show is perhaps better suited for a smaller stage, but Camila still delivered a great performance and is more than capable of entertaining huge live audiences.
Following Cabello’s performance, crew finished setting the stage for the night’s headliner and promotional videos displayed for fans to pass time and speed up the lulls between sets. Although these were just small touches on the tour, the videos put Taylor’s personality and her relationship with her fans on display.
You could feel the anticipation of fans heighten as Taylor Swift was set to deliver her biggest performance in Indianapolis yet. It wasn’t long ago when Swift sold out the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, just a half a mile northeast of Saturday’s concert, and fast forward three years later, Taylor Swift is still the biggest artist in the world, yet performing for an audience over three times the size of her sold-out Indy crowd in 2015. Where you’d expect diminishing returns, Swift continues to find ways to grow exponentially.
Then as Joan Jett’s 1981 track ‘Bad Reputation’ played throughout the stadium and set the theme for Swift’s performance, soundbites from reporters then supplemented a montage displayed on the stage’s giant 100+ foot screen. Comments like “she holds too many grudges” and “I felt like she was a little angry” serve as the fuel to the fire seconds before Swift steps on stage, keeping the singer motivated throughout her 53-date world tour.
Next, with echoes of past criticism filling the entire stadium, Swift was ready for a performance unlike any other that Indianapolis has seen. Fittingly, the video boards parted to the side and Swift then emerged to her Reputation single ‘….Ready For It?’, to which her Indiana fans emphatically answered “Yes”.
The concert’s opening moments are indicative of most of the night, as Taylor and her dancers move across the entire stage and it’s two catwalks while entertaining choreography and hit records keep fans on their feet. And while Swift checks all the boxes when it comes to the main components of a great stadium show, many smaller aspects of the tour serve as the cherry on top. Whether it’s the bracelets (which fans will remember from the 1989 World Tour) that light up the night or the Reputation Newspaper confetti that falls from the sky, the tour’s attention to detail is great.
With this go big or go home mentality, it’s no surprise that it takes nearly 100 semi trucks to move the tour from city to city, enough rigs to cause a traffic jam of their own.
After a strong start, with tracks new (‘Gorgeous’, ‘I Did Something Bad’) and old (‘Love Story’, ‘You Belong With Me’), the first big surprises for fans came during ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. During the bridge, as Taylor sings “I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me”, a giant king cobra rises to a height of 40 feet. With snakes serving as an informal mascot for Reputation Era Taylor, the Swifties in the audiences certainly loved massive prop.
A second “guest” (if you will) for the song came at the end of the bridge as the phone rang and actress Tiffany Haddish appeared on the video screen to sit in for Taylor for the tracks’ infamous line: “sorry the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Cause, she’s dead!”
Although the concert gets off to a great start from the very beginning, and ‘I Did Something Bad’ (her second track of the night) is a personal favorite among all the performances, the night’s momentum reaches a whole new level from ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ and beyond.
With strong tracks like ‘End Game’ and ‘King of My Heart’ following ‘LWYMMD’, Swift makes her first departure from the main stage via a floating platform while performing her current single, ‘Delicate’. As the track finishes, Taylor’s next stop is one of two B-stages. And it’s almost insulting to label them as such because although the stages dwarf in comparison to the main stage (her largest stage yet), they are both comparable to the size of her main stage on the 1989 Tour.
Despite selling out the biggest stadiums in the world, Swift covers as much real estate as she can in the venues, turning a huge production into an intimate show. There is literally no bad seat in the house for this one.
If you were closest to the stage-right B-stage though, you were in luck as this act of the concert is the best for many reasons. The first reason is that Swift kicks thing off with her mega-single ‘Shake It Off’ and she doesn’t do it alone either, as Camila Cabello and Charli XCX stick around to join in on the fun.
Next, Swift strips things down for an unforgettable acoustic portion of her set. Performing her Reputation track ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied’ and her 2008 song ‘Forever & Always’ (a song performed special on the tour for her Indy fans), Swift slows things down and shares some special moments with the crowd.
After a few great performances, Swift then makes her way to the second of two B-stages for another huge single, ‘Blank Space’, as well as Reputation’s most risque record, ‘Dress’.
After her time at the B-stages, Swift floats on back to the main stage with a perfect mash-up of two tracks you would have never thought meshed so wonderfully, with 2016’s ‘Bad Blood’ and 2006 ‘Should’ve Said No’, a country record from Taylor’s self-titled debut. Although a decade and different genres separate these two tracks, it’s as if they were written and recorded as a pair.
With the final stretch of her set nearing, Swift kept her fans engaged with more songs from her newest album, including ‘Getaway Car’, ‘New Year’s Day’ and ‘Call It What You Want’.
Then, to cap off an already memorable night, T-Swift ends the performance with two especially strong performances, one old and one new, but both showcasing her tough, confident and sometimes unforgiving frame of mind. The first being ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ and the second being ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’.
Fireworks filled the Indianapolis skyline for the set’s finale and smiles spread across the Lucas Oil Stadium. There was no need to beat traffic that night, because enjoying every last second of the night far outweighed getting home as fast as possible. In fact, we’re sure the ushers had trouble herding fans out the door, as Swifties grabbed their final selfies to remember the record setting night.
It’s almost to impossible to imagine how Taylor Swift could grow after her beloved 1989 World Tour invaded Indianapolis a few years ago, and yet Swift managed to exceed even the highest of expectations.
We’re not sure how Swift can top herself with her next world tour, but we certainly know better than to doubt her.
Setlist
…Ready For It?
I Did Something Bad
Gorgeous
Style
Love Story
You Belong With Me
Look What You Made Me Do
End Game
King of My Heart
Delicate
Shake It Off
Dancing With Our Hands Tied
Forever & Always
Blank Space
Dress
Bad Blood
Should’ve Said No
Don’t Blame Me
Long Live
New Year’s Day
Getaway Car
Call It What You Want
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
It didn’t take years this time for Eminem to respond to Machine Gun Kelly, as Marshall dropped his highly anticipated MGK diss track, a response to Kelly’s ‘Rap Devil’ record.
Titled ‘KILLSHOT’, with MGK in the crosshairs of Em’s gun for the cover art, Eminem goes in on Machine Gun Kelly for four-straight minutes. “Here’s that autograph for your daughter, I wrote it on a Starter cap. Stan, Stan, son, listen, man, dad isn’t mad. But how you gonna name yourself after a damn gun and have a man bun,” Eminem raps in the new track.
Listen to Eminem’s Machine Gun Kelly diss track ‘KILLSHOT’ below.
Enjoy your Wednesday afternoon with Lana Del Rey’s brand new single, ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’. With production from Grammy-winning producer/singer Jack Antonoff, the two cooked up something special with the new track.
‘Mariner Apartment Complex’ is the first of two new songs that Lana Del Rey plans to release this month, the other titled ‘Venice Bitch’. Fans can likely expect Lana’s next album, the followup to her 2017 Lust For Life LP, to be released in 2019.
Watch the music video for ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’ below.
Iggy Azalea is back and today the Grammy nominated rapper shared the dates and locations for her headlining The Bad Girls Tour. With special guest CupcakKe, the new tour is Iggy’s first in four years and will support her new Survive the Summer EP.
The 21-city tour will kick off on October 27th in Hollywood, Florida and will make stops in Chicago, New York, Toronto, Los Angeles and more, until things wrap up on December 4th in Houston. Tickets will go on sale for the general public on Friday, September 14th at 10am via LiveNation.com.
Check out the tour dates for Iggy Azalea’s “The Bad Girls Tour” below.
From his upcoming album, expected to release in January 2019, Mike Posner has released his brand new single, ‘Song About You’, a track which Posner teased on social media this past week.
Totally unlike some of Posner’s biggest records to date (‘Cooler Than Me’, ‘I Took A Pill In Ibiza’), the Detroit-native and Duke graduate’s new single reflects over the passing of his father in 2017.
“Put all your stuff in a box in my room. I don’t wanna write no song about you, but you show up in everything that I do,” Posner sings in the new track.
Stream Mike Posner’s emotional new single, ‘Song About You’ below.
The Early Registration 