I felt like I was back home again at the show last night. It was just a small local metal show to celebrate my friends’ band’s EP release. It was a crowd full of friends and family. It felt like a safe haven. It felt like a home away from home.
Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, I rarely had to pay more than $15 for a show. It didn’t matter who was playing, shows were just down right cheap. I moved to the twin cities back in 2007 to go to college and since then, I have become numb to high ticket prices. The Deicide show last week cost me $25. The Cage The Elephant show cost me $32. Last night cost me $5. Does paying more for a concert mean you are getting a better experience?
The crowd was laid back and just there to enjoy the show and support their friends and family. That’s how majority of the shows growing up would be. Other than one drunk guy who decided it would be a good idea to push the crowd around, there was really no movement. Everyone was just standing there, holding their $3.50 PBR tall boys, nodding their heads, and tapping their feet.
I know in multiple posts I talk about how boring it is to just stand around at a show but there is a time and a place. Last night was the time and the place to be chill. Talking to friends and meeting new people was much more important than getting all hot and sweaty in a pit. But that worked last night.
I remember hanging out in front of The House Of Bricks in Des Moines between bands and talking to random people about upcoming shows and new bands to check out. Last night I found myself hanging out front of The Triple Rock talking to random people about politics. So maybe the topics we talk about changed, but the idea of talking to random people has not and that’s the charm of local shows.
I feel safer at a local show like this, with one bouncer, than I do at a huge show with multiple security guards. You typically know half the crowd when you get to a local show and if you don’t, you know them within a couple of songs. It’s the small town charm that I loved growing up in Iowa but in the huge city of Minneapolis.
Side note: It’s amazing to think about how far Cantharone has come. I remember going to see them play at a basement in a small house in West Saint Paul just a couple of years ago. I remember being in their first music video shoot. I remember going to some of the worst local dive bars to see them play. Now, here they are, playing the stage at the Triple Rock Social Club in front of a good amount of people to celebrate their newest release.
Moral of the story? Just because the concert you are going to costs an arm and a leg does not mean that it will be a good show. Some of the best shows to go to are the $5 local shows. You can still find that small town charm in a big city if you just know where to look.
Line Up:
Venue: The Triple Rock Social Club
Sausage Fest Meter- 13 out of 10
Crowd Surfers- None
Broken Bones- None
Drunkards Taken Out By Security- None
Found in the Pit- N/A
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