Monday was one of those days where everything just went right. I woke up on time, got a lot of work done, and even cleaned some of the house– just one of those days where everything was coming up Girl at the Rock Shows and I knew that was a sign that my Monday night show was going to be amazing even if it wasn’t my typical rock show.
Colorado-based Tejon Street Corner Thieves took the beautiful Palace Theatre stage promptly at 7:30 and instantly catapulted me and the rest of the audience into a world that I have only ever dabbled in. Their bluegrass vibes and lack of drums felt a bit foreign to me but their overall feeling was comforting. I had the honor of catching these guys back in May of 2019 and it was instant love but back then it was a full band and on Monday night, Tejon Street Corner Thieves came in the form of a trio. Although a bit bummed to not have the thrill of seeing the elaborate and intriguing drum set up, the trio made it clear that they don’t need a full band to have a fun time. The overall mood of their set was still the same. Light-hearted and fun as they played through the quick opening set of their unique bluegrass-folk-punk sound, Tejon Street Corner Thieves was the perfect back to ease everyone into what would turn into a truly dazzling night.
It has been a couple of years since I’ve been able to catch Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band live so I was anxiously awaiting their arrival on the stage as things were being turned over and when they finally did take the stage, the smile that stretched across my face literally hurt. If you have never seen this band live, I truly suggest that you change that immediately. This three-piece band from Indiana is straight-up fun and unique with a super great sound that can only be described as theirs. Call it country, call it blues, call it bluegrass, call it hick— whatever you want to call it, there’s no denying the power of this band musically. It’s the type of music that makes you want to stomp your feet and clap your hands and that’s exactly what the large audience was doing all the while keeping giant smiles on their faces. Urging people to finish their drinks quickly (and even telling a gentleman towards the front to chug) and put their phones down, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band wanted you to get lost in the audience and, with a sound and the stage presence that they have, it’s not hard to do.
I seriously can not praise the grind that this band does enough. Playing literally hundreds of shows a year, all three members of the group always seem thrilled to be on whatever stage they are on in whatever state they find themselves in. There’s something accessible about this band from the way that Reverend Peyton smiles as he banters with the crowd to the way Breezy scrapes away at the washboard while making funny faces at the audience. The feeling from the stage is just always so genuine and although the Palace Theatre stage was definitely the largest stage I’ve seen them play, they had no problem conquering it and making sure that everyone in the audience felt seen, appreciated, and was having a good time.
If you want my honest opinion, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band should have headlined the show. They just had such a flawless set and such a good vibe about them but, alas, we still had one more band- The Dead South from Canada. Don’t get me wrong, I was captivated by The Dead South the second they took the stage but they just didn’t seem to have the same crowd interaction and fun banter as the first two bands. All of that being said, I was stunned as the band played through their nearly twenty-song set. Sure, their folksy-bluegrass sound is far from my normal listen but they had me sold within their first song. Featuring dizzying strings of notes from the many stringed instruments on stage to the bone-chilling vocal harmonies that were left hanging in the air at times as if giving you a chance to just take it all in, I found their sound to be super powerful. Add the stage set-up with stained glass behind each member which illuminated and gave a super cool visual effect and you were left with an amazing show that, although not as full of personality as the other sets, was truly enjoyable until it was all done and the packed audience was being ushered out into the streets of Saint Paul.
Although the entire show was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the acts that took the stage, it was Keith who really made my night special. I somehow bumped into Keith and started talking to him. The older gentleman explained that he had come all the way from Los Angeles to experience tonight. He went on to explain how much he hated Los Angeles and how his next step was somewhere else in the midwest to find a new place to put roots down. Why am I telling you this? Because his words about being able to go to a show like Monday night’s really stuck with me. He kept on mentioning how special this was and how lucky we all are that we are able to do things like this. I absolutely get jaded a bit being that I get to do this whole thing night after night and I would be lying if I said there were nights where getting out of the house and to a show is like pulling teeth for me. The next time I have one of those moments, I will absolutely have Keith’s voice in the back of my head. We truly are blessed that we can go out and have moments like all of the moments that made up the show on Monday night and, on top of that, we get to do it in the Twin Cities where people generally do not suck. What I’m trying to say is just get off the couch and go to a show to remember just how good things are when it comes down to it.
Line Up:
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Venue: Palace Theatre
Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable
Average Age of the Crowd: 37
Crowd Surfers- None Spotted
Mosh-ability- 5 out of 10
Sausage-Fest Meter- 7.4 out of 10
Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0
Broken Bones- None Noticed
Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing Noticed
Fights- None Witnessed
Pukers- 0
Randomly Shirtless Men – 0
Passed Out Kids- None
Idiots Taken Out By Security- 0
How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-
Tejon Street Corner Thieves – 1
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – 3
The Dead South – 0
Celebrity Sightings – None
Overall Score- 8.2 out of 10
Show on Deck- Flip Rushmore / Friend Dog / Lazenlow
Shameless Self Promotion- Join My Patreon Here!
Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)
Leave a Reply