Setlist
Hey Hey Hey
Stay Human (All the Freaky People)
Hello Bonjour
All I Want Is You
The Sound of Sunshine
Love Will Find a Way
All People
Crazy, Crazy, Crazy
Ganja Babe
Yell Fire!
11:59
Closer to You
Life is Better with You
Let it Go
Say Hey (I Love You)
I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like)
Once a Day
Tour Dates
06/18/15 Grand Rapids, MI Frederik Meijer Gardens
06/20/15 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
06/21/15 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
06/24/15 Atlanta, GA The Buckhead Theatre
06/25/15 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte
06/26/15 Asheville, NC New Mountain Theatre
06/30/15 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
07/11/15 Santa Cruz Mountains Sol Fest
07/17/15 Wanderlust California
07/24/15 Hillside Festival
08/01/15 Wanderlust Whistler
08/03/15 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
08/04/15 Boise, ID Idaho Botanical Garden
08/07/15 Flagstaff, AZ Pepsi Amphitheater
08/09/15 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/18/15 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery
08/20/15 Jacksonville, OR "Britt Festivals"
08/21/15 Troutdale, OR McMenamins Edgefield
08/22/15 Woodinville, WA Chateau Ste.
08/23/15 Bend, OR Les Schwab Amphitheater
08/26/15 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
09/17/15 Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival
09/20/15 Del Mar, CA "Kaaboo"
02/11/16 - 02/15/16 Sail Across the Sun Cruise
Read MoreMichael Franti
Funk/reggae/rock band Michael Franti & Spearhead will be in town at the Cabooze next Friday, June 12th, as part of his "Once A Day" tour this Summer 2015.
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Michael Franti is all about heart—
From the large stage banner of the organ’s drawing amidst a Rastafari and rainbow colored background, to the current Once A Day Tour poster showing hearts dropped out of an airplane into waiting hands, to the many songs that passionately preach unity, togetherness, and the spirit of living – Franti’s concerts are transcending interactions and lessons in positivity.
Australian newcomer Nattali Rize opened the show with a similar vibe of reggae-influenced, cross-cultural conscious-raising music. Her current collaboration is with Jamaican live production duo Notis, and Rize showcased their current collaborative single, ‘Rebel Love’.
Cabooze marquee
Franti and the latest incarnation of his band, Spearhead, then took to the stage for a two-hour set that found him more offstage and playing somewhere in the crowd, than actually front and center (though at 6’ 6” with dreads, he was easy to spot).
Held at Cabooze Plaza, the area is actually just an open parking lot wedged between two indoor venues- The Cabooze and Whiskey Junction. Add a few makeshift bars and a stage, and you have a venue akin to a slimmed down version of the Basilica Block Party.
Franti and children
Franti and co. made the most of it though, inviting children on stage, and playing to (and inside) all parts of the rowdy crowd, opening with immediate crowd favorites, ‘Hey Hey Hey’, ‘Stay Human’ and ‘Hello Bonjour’. “It’s a beautiful night!” he exclaimed to the capacity crowd. ‘The Sound of Sunshine’, a song written after a life-threatening bust appendix episode, began with only minimal guitar and soft vocals, before it ballooned into the anthemic season song it’s become.
With Franti still in the crowd, Nattali Rize came out to help end ‘Love Will Find a Way’ as the band segued the song into Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’. Though his later work has been more about positivity, social commentary is still present in recent songs like ’11:59’, from 2013’s All People (Capitol Records). ‘Closer to You’ ended with the refrain from U2’s ‘One’ complete with Edge-like guitar work from guitarist, J Bowman.
Michael Franti
Nigerian percussionist Manas Itiene took a solo turn at the end of ‘Life is Better With You’ and Franti brought up more than a dozen kids up from the audience to sing and dance to the peppy ‘Say Hey (I Love You)’.
New single ‘Once a Day’, about both the beautiful and the challenging unexpected moments in life, closed the set relatively early, due to the city’s 10pm curfew for outdoor shows. Franti prefaced the song by speaking humbly about his eldest son’s medical issues before turning the story and the tune into an upbeat appreciation of life and its journey.
unity, togetherness, and the spirit of living
Want to relish the present day and the spirit of being free and alive? Want to experience a shared community vibing to hopeful songs that truth-tell the issues, but have a light at the end of the tunnel? Want to just dance to good uplifting music? – it’s all there, because Michael Franti delivers it with heart.
Michael Franti and Spearhead at Cabooze Plaza, Minneapolis (12 June 2015)
john (johnc@weheartmusic.com)
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