Wisconsin's I-94 corridor generally consists of a lot of prairies and farmland, but not much else. But for Madisonians, one of the benefits of living along this long stretch of concrete is the fleet of bands who stop in Madison while travelling between Minneapolis and Chicago. This weekend one of the Twin Cities' top acts will roadtrip down our favorite interstate when Tapes ‘n Tapes stop for a show at the High Noon Saloon Friday at 9 p.m.
Tapes ‘n Tapes first hit it big in 2005 with the release of their debut album, The Loon. Since then, the band has become a mainstay of alternative rock in the upper Midwest. With the release of their third album, Outside, this month, Tapes ‘n Tapes is ready to bring their new act to the stage, with a sound frontman Josh Grier describes as more subdued.
""One of my friends when they first heard it said, ‘Yeah, this record's pretty breezy,'"" Grier said. ""That definitely is intentional, we wanted things to have space because that fit the songs. It seemed to make sense to let them be able to breathe a bit more.""
This contrasts considerably with the band's previous album, Walk It Off, which took a more aggressive tone. This might be attributed to some new influences Grier encountered in his time off between recording sections.
""Since we recorded Walk It Off … a buddy of mine exposed me to a bunch of world music ,and I kind of got down the rabbit hole on that for a while. I'm still down that rabbit hole, actually.""
The rabbit hole went pretty deep for Grier, extending to the likes of '70s Nigerian funk and Turkish psych rock. It adds up to an album that is much more easy-going with an almost vacation-like feel at points, as if Grier and his band mates spent their time off lounging on a tropical island.
Along with some new international vibes, Grier says the band will look to experiment with some non-traditional formats as well on their 2011 tour. The band recently played an entirely acoustic show in Minneapolis and intend to incorporate elements of that show into their performance at the High Noon Saloon. And of course, Tapes ‘n Tapes will be bringing along plenty of new material from Outside.
Grier, for one, is looking forward to it.
""Now that we're on our third record we have more songs to choose from and people are coming to a show for the second time, so we figured we might mix it up a bit,"" Grier said. But he assured fans that they won't be forgetting to play some of their popular hits from the first two albums, adding, ""I don't think we're planning on neglecting anything; we like to mix it up.""
Whatever direction the set list takes, Tapes ‘n Tapes should feel right at home bringing their new songs and new influences to Madison. Having played in the city multiple times before, they are no strangers to the area or the college environment. Formed in Northfield, Minn. on the Carleton College campus, the band always enjoys returning to a college atmosphere and playing for the crowd that comes along with it.
""We definitely always have a blast playing in college towns or at colleges because it is a younger group of folks and everybody likes to get down,"" Grier said.
Madison serves as Tapes ‘n Tapes' first venue of 2011, so that college crowd may be a good way to kick off their year. It's a year that Grier thinks will be good for Twin Cities music—though he admits he thinks every year is a good for Twin Cities music. Hopefully Grier is onto something, but one way to see if he is correct would be to check out Tapes ‘n Tapes show on Friday. The 2011 music flow down I-94 has started, and it begins with Tapes ‘n Tapes.
The show starts Friday at 9 p.m. with Oberhofer opening. Tickets are $12.
