First Avenue representatives promised the city of St. Paul and Twin Cities music lovers a steady string of shows at the newly renovated Palace Theatre, and so far they're more than keeping their end of the bargain. In fact, some fans are already starting to complain about the new old venue tapping heavily into their budget.
New shows announced this week include the Pixies, At the Drive-In and rootsy favorites Old Crow Medicine Show, in addition to the July 29 gig by Ryan Adams that goes on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for $45 through eTix.com and First Ave outlets.
The Pixies (Oct. 11): Thirteen years since their first reunion gig (2004 at the Fine Line in Minneapolis) and four since Paz Lenchantin took over Kim Deal's bass/vocal duties, Black Francis & Co. are back on the road with a so-so new album, "Head Carrier," and about 80 other songs they're promising to pull out on this tour. Those tickets also go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for $50. Brooklyn-via-Japan singer Mitski opens.
At the Drive-In (July 17): The experimental art-punk band from the wilds of El Paso broke up in 2001 but gained more widespread fame in the interim as an influencer of many younger bands, à la the Velvet Underground. They started playing reunion gigs last year and are carrying on without original guitarist Jim Ward to release a new album and play more dates this summer. The date here might present a conflict for fans also hoping to attend the Eaux Claires festival that weekend. Tickets are on sale March 3 at 10 a.m. for $43. Mexican rockers Le Butcherettes open.
Old Crow Medicine show (June 10): An added incentive for Minnesota music lovers who haven't yet gotten into these bluegrassy Nashville pickers, they are going to perform Bob Dylan's entire "Blonde on Blonde" album at this show along with plenty of their own tunes. Tickets go on sale Friday at 11 a.m. for $35-$40.
All told, 15 concerts have been announced so far for the Palace, also including the inaugural concerts with Atmosphere, the Jayhawks and Phantogram, plus Jason Isbell, the XX, Regina Spektor, a two-nighter with the String Cheese Incident, Greensky Bluegrass, Tycho and Slowdive.
