If there’s one show fans of psychedelic and improvisational music shouldn’t miss this week in Minnesota, it’s King Gizzard’s gig tonight at the Armory.
The band is just past the half-way point the on the first leg of their U.S. tour, which included 23-shows starting in Washington, D.C. and ending in at the Gorge in Washington Sept. 14.
Gizz is hot off a three-plus-hour marathon show in Chicago, and the last time they played in Minnesota, which was Oct. 14, 2022, they played an absolute ripper at The Palace Theatre in St. Paul and mind-fucked my brain, changing the course of my life.
Tonight will be my 30th show.
Their shows currently check certain boxes, and then some, but you can guarantee they will be highly psychedelic, will have a section of thrash metal, a section of highly progressive rock, will cover some electronic, techno-sounding music, will likely cover several songs off their latest LP, Flight b741 (their 26th album) and there will be heavy doses of improvisation mixed in, potentially via whatever genres of music they decide to dabble with.
For those looking for something to do after the show, head over to Gluek’s, also in downtown, where my friends Will Effertz (TWINE) and Jon Miller (Feed the Dog) will be heading up a jam at this historic old former brewery turned brew pub.
Effertz and Miller are some of the finer improvisational musicians on Minneapolis’ jam scene, and there is no cover.
There’s two other shows I’m going to note happening n the area and both are Friday: the Minnesota String Gathering at Hook & Ladder Friday, featuring Brotherhood of Birds and Pot Luck Strings Band; and the Outlaw Music Festival at Somerset Amphitheater with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp.
There’s three shows worth mentioning that were recently announced.
First is Hermanos Gutiérrez, the amazing psychedelic desert music duo, which will be played Armory on Oct. 22.
The second is Neal Francis, who just announced a gig at Fine Line on Nov. 15.
Lastly, Frankie and the Witch Fingers are playing Underground Music Venue in Minneapolis on Oct. 3.
As always, to see what other live music shows are coming up, head over to my calendar, updated weekly at www.jaminthestream.com/calendar.