There’s a sinking feeling you get when you walk into a venue and you are literally the only person there. Not only do you feel terrible for the bands, but you’re almost embarrassed because you feel like all eyes are on you. I mean, you’re the only one in the place that isn’t an employee of the venue or a member of one of the bands. It’s awkward and terrible. But what’s worse is when you realize that nobody wanted to take time out of their day to support these people that make music and just want to share it with the world.
I was the first one in the venue last night and felt that sinking feeling. I took my spot in one of the couches and patiently waited for the show to start. I wasn’t expecting much. It was a Monday night and it was raining. Who would really want to go out in this. But I still thought, for a touring act, people would find it in themselves to peel off their couches and get their butts to a show. Oh how wrong I was.
Sure, a couple people straggled in here and there and when it was all said and done, there were maybe twenty five people that came to the show but I still had that sinking feeling and felt awful for the bands that were performing. I’ve seen situations like this ruin bands. They cop an attitude and feel like the world owes them a sold out show but none of the bands last night acted like that. Sure, some jokes were cracked because of the small crowd but each band still got up on stage, gave it their all, and enjoyed just being able to play in front of some new faces.
Grand Canyon was the first band to play last night and although, they are a brand new band without much internet presence (I had to ask them how to find them on Twitter and Instagram), they definitely won’t stay that way for long. Their sound was southern ish but still in the realm of the indie pop world. The slide guitar helped give it a interesting twang but also didn’t make it sound like straight up country music. The singer’s voice helped steer it away from the country genre as well. His voice was powerful but beautiful and not heavy like you would think it would be because of all the power behind it.
The singer made a few jokes about the low attendance including how when we are older, we will be able to reminisce about this show with our grandchildren because it was obviously the best show of our lives. So maybe that was a bit of a stretch… okay, it would be a huge stretch to say that last night was the best show of my life, but it was far from the worst. It was nice to see him have such a sense of humor about the terrible turn out last night instead of letting it affect his attitude and, more importantly, his music.
The second act to play was Sky White Tiger who brought a little dance party to the show. Think Har Mar Superstar if he was a bit younger and was still working on developing that protruding gut. That picture in your head is pretty much Sky White Tiger. The music is a bit more techno than that of Har Mar Superstar but the stage presence was extremely comparable and just as entertaining.
The music, as I said was a bit of a dance party. It was definitely electro-pop but at the same time, it didn’t follow a formula. It was kind of all over the place but it was fun and a nice way to mix up the night. You couldn’t help but move around a little bit and a few people even decided the music was worthy of getting up and getting a bit closer to the stage. Louis, the singer who was only joined on stage by his drummer Fred, was trying his damndest to get people to move and enjoy themselves. He walked through the empty room while singing, danced on stage, and just looked like he was having a good time. So maybe I didn’t feel compelled to get up and dance last night but the music was great and again, even with so few people in the crowd, Louis didn’t let the energy or talent fall down.
Compared to Sky White Tiger, headliner Alberta Cross seemed extremely tame and almost boring… but then I really started to listen. At first, Alberta Cross comes off as just your average indie pop band with a bit of a country twang mixed in. Then you notice the keys, and you start hearing the pumping drum rhythm behind everything and then the horns hit you right in the face and eventually you notice that this is anything but boring and generic.
Singer Petter Ericson Stakee has one of the most unique voices I have heard in awhile. It’s high in pitch but not forced and not awkward sounding. This band ended up being a bit of a collective of the other bands that had played earlier in the night. You had two members of Grand Canyon and Louis of Sky White Tiger as part of the band. This was interesting because you could really hear the influence of each of the other bands. The music of Alberta Cross is far from having a techno feeling behind it but because of Louis’ keyboard parts, you got a bit of Sky White Tiger in the mix. It wasn’t quite country music but because of the slide guitar that was featured in Grand Canyon being a part of this band as well, you got a bit of the opening band. It was truly a perfect way to end the night.
There weren’t many people at the show last night and it broke my heart. I tried so hard to get a friend to go with me but nobody budged. I don’t get it. How is sitting at home more fun than going to a show? Whatever. I had a great time, met some new friends, and found some great new music.
Hey people… get off your asses and get to a show!
Line Up:
Venue: Skyway Theatre- Studio B
Sausage Fest Meter- 2 out of 10
Average Age of the Crowd- 30
Crowd Surfers- None
Stage Divers- None
Danceability- Depended on the Band
Broken Bones- None
Drunkards Taken Out By Security- None
Celebrity Sightings- None
Overall Score- 4 out of 10
Show on Deck- Amon Amarth/ Entombed A.D/ Exmortus
May 11, 2016 at 1:08 am
The only person I feel sorry for is you. . . For attempting journalism but forgetting the research part! Alberta Cross have opened for everyone from oasis to Neil Young, headlined tours across the country and world for sold out clubs and theaters over the last 8 years. They’ve always been signed with major labels or indies that run through majors, have had their music in pretty much all the tv shows you can think of, have been featured in a Ketel One campaign and that’s only a sliver of their achievements. Their ability to not be fazed by an empty room and hit the stage and perform how they do for their usual full rooms is further proof of their experience and professionalism because in the overall scheme of things that show makes no difference to them. That’s very sweet that you eventually discovered that they are actually a phenomenal band and in fact the only embarrassment is on Minneapolis’ head for having a population of lazy music fans . . . For god’s sake it managed to give us Prince, what happened?! If you take journalism seriously then you should also learn that research is 50% darling. Better luck next time 😉
May 11, 2016 at 1:15 am
I appreciate your comment but encourage you to dig into my posts a bit more. My whole angle is that I don’t do research on the bands I go see. I like to be pleasantly surprised as I was last night