If I Were In Minneapolis Tonight: Surprise Chef

Of course, my two favorite bands from Australia have to be touring here in the U.S. at the exact time, with no overlapping stops.

So, if I weren’t down in Tennessee to catch King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard underground at The Caverns, I’d be underground err in the basement of First Avenue, catching Surprise Chef play at 7th Street Entry.

Tickets are surprisingly still available here. I say, surprisingly, because, not only are we talking about Surprise Chef, but because the venue holds less than 250 people. 250 lucky motherfuckin’ people.

This funky, jazzy and psychedelic bunch of instrumentalists begin their 11-show North American tour (with one stop north of the border in Toronto) tonight in Minneapolis. Luckily, the band also announced another North American tour in August and September (man, it would be cool to catch them in Vancouver on Sept. 1).

Check out their bandcamp page here. They blends a lot of different styles of music into their sound, which is like a mix of funk, blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop. It has that vintage 70s feel that sounds as if it’s coming off turntables. One day, probably long in the future, hip-hop producers will sample the shit out Surprise Chef, and other bands from today that are curating these precious sounds.

They just put out a new album, the EP Friendship on Big Crown Records yesterday.

Man, I sure hope that small room in the basement of First Avenue is packed for them.

They move on to Chicago’s Empty Bottle (click venue hyperlinks for tickets) Sunday, June 4; Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, Mich., June 7; the Magic Bag in Ferndale, Mich., June 8; Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, June 9; Photo City Music Hall in Syracuse, N.Y., June 10; No Fun in Troy, N.Y., June 11; Brighton Music Hall in Boston, June 14; Jonny Brenda’s in Philadelphia, June 15; Metro Gallery in Baltimore, June 16; and lastly Bowery Ballroom in New York, June 17.