November 2024 Recap
Showvember highlights included Dirtwire, Pretty Lights, Dogs In A Pile, Neal Francis, a major milestone for the Shotgun Ragtime Band, and hometown hero Cory Wong.
Former Minneapolitan Cory Wong at the Palace Theater:
11.1 Dirtwire at First Avenue
A friend was here from out of town to go to this show and though I‘d never even heard of the band, I decided to give Dirtwire a whirl on his recommendation. The duo were described as a combo between acoustic bluegrass and EDM and I was intrigued.
They use various world music wind and string instruments for an organic sound alongside electronica style beats. Harmonica and banjo were played most throughout the night but there was jaw harp, plenty of percussion, fiddle, and synthesizers involved also. The pair were joined at one point by a Native American woman dancer. An excellent show!
11.6 Twine at Bunker’s
A smokin' “Sissy Strut” that included a sweet bass and sax riff off and a dynamite drums breakdown with the two drummers and Doug C on percussion started out the night.
Now in it’s second month, Twine’s residency was gaining steam and this week featured Art Begley back as a guest on guitar. A highlight of the evening was a dynamite “Liz Reed”!
Sissy Strut
Steam
Althea
Dark Timber
Fishwater
Lou and Luna
Squirms 3
Sneakin’ Sally
Honeybee
11.9 Pretty Lights at The Armory
Pretty Lights is DJ/producer Derek Vincent Smith, accompanied by a drummer, guitarist, and keyboards. This was the second night of a three show stand and all three were reportedly well attended if not sold out. “Closing Time” from Minneapolis’ Semisonic was weaved in at a few points during the first set, as PL takes online requests in each new city prior to the show and mixes in samples of local artists.
Second set featured some “Purple Rain” quotes
Etta James and Brother Ali were featured for walk out music.
11.10 Shotgun Ragtime Band at Driftwood
#699! With Mike C sitting in for a few on Brian G’s week.
II
Scarlet >
Fire
New Speedway Boogie
Bird Song>
Drums>Space>
Don't Let Go>
Bird Song>
GDTRFB>
11.13 Dogs In A Pile at Fine Line Music Cafe
Fun show from the young band that’s only been here once before, at the 7th Street Entry. The whole show was posted to youtube by the band:
11.13 Twine at Bunker’s
with an unknown guest keyboardist?!
Snowman on “Sneakin’ Sally”:
11.15 Neal Francis at Fine Line Music Cafe
New Jersey’s Neal Francis and his band brought their retro soul/funk vibe to Minneapolis for this Friday night show at downtown’s Fine Line. His big hits such as “Can’t Stop The Rain” and “Changes, Parts 1 and 2” were played and he finished the evening with “Waiting For My Man” from the Velvet Underground. Before this he’d played the Amsterdam in 2023 and 7th Street Entry in early 2022, when he graciously took photos with fans including myself when we all all clad in masks.
11.17 Shotgun Ragtime Band at Driftwood
This marked the 700th consecutive Sunday that SRB has played at South Minneapolis’ Driftwood Char Bar, having persevered through the early days of the pandemic by playing in the back parking lot on livestream and later in an empty bar. It was a packed house on and off stage for this significant milestone, with both GR and Jazz on keys and sit-ins from Demitri Rallis and Jim Hinkley.
TN Jed
Iko Iko
Cassidy
Ramble on Rose
Truckin' >
Loose Lucy
II
Hey Pocky Way w DM and JH and Dom
St Stephen w AH >
Music Never Stopped >
St Stephen>
Estimated Prophet >
Eyes of the World ,>
NFA >
Drums>Space>
Morning Dew
US Blues
Built to Last
Shakedown Street
”Morning Dew”:
“Shakedown Street”:
11.21 WE Collective at 56 Brewing
with Scott Yonke on bass, Nate Anderson on melodica and a guy on guitar. Setlist included:
Fiyo on the Bayou
Born Under A Bad Sign
After Midnight
Curtis Lowe - WE and SY duo
Lou and Luna - WE and SY duo
Liz Reed w NA
Big River w NA
Changes
Funky Bitch
Keep on Moving
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes
Nate Dogg on melodica:
11.23 Cory Wong at Palace Theatre
Cory Wong grew up in Minneapolis and attended the University of MN and McNally Smith College of Music. He played around town for years before hitting the big time, including a stint with Bunker’s Sunday night house band, Dr. Mambo’s Combo. Still, somehow I was unfamiliar with him until I saw Vulfpeck play Red Rocks in 2017, when they opened for Trey Anastasio. Cory is a sometime member of Vulfpeck and they have a song that is simply his name. I was somewhat surprised to discover that Wong plays rhythm guitar rather than lead, but he is definitely a band leader. Wong’s touring band had the amazing Yohannes Tona on bass plus five horns, drums, percussion, and keyboards. The band’s matching tracksuits were a nice touch and added to the simple but organized theme of the stage. There were a couple of guest singers but I didn’t catch their names.
11.24 Shotgun Ragtime Band at Driftwood
no photos but great show with the following for a setlist on Grateful Sunday #701:
Deep Elem Blues
Cold Rain and Snow
Dark Hollow
West LA Fadeaway
Peggy O
El Paso
Tore Up
II
China Cat>
I Know You Rider
Ain't No Bread in the Breadbox
Bird Song
Drums
Space>
Bird Song>
Ain't No Bread In The Breadbox
Black Muddy River
After Midnight
11.27 Dylan Salfar Band with Nur-D at Green Room
Snowman and keyboardist Jordan Hedlund taking solos on “Born Under A Bad Sign”:
And Jose James Sr. taking a turn on sax during the Jon Cleary jam “When You Get Back”:
11.27 Alex Rossi and Friends at Gluek’s
The night before Thanksgiving always offers an array of music options, so after Green Room I popped on downtown, about 3 miles north, to see Alex Rossi join forces with Maxaphone on sax, Heatbox on vocals and beats, Sonny T of New Power Generation (who purportedly taught Prince how to play bass) on bass, along with a drummer and guy on keys I wan not familiar with.
And that’s the end of Showvember, with a total of 13 shows at 9 venues. One month to go in this epic year!