Girl at the Rock Shows

Sure, nostalgia-filled shows where you are overcome by emotion and lose your voice from screaming along to words that mean everything to you are great but my favorite kind of show is the kind where you walk in, know nothing about what you’re about to get, and walk away completely exhausted and lost for words. The latter is exactly what happened on Tuesday night at The Turf Club in Saint Paul.

Kicking the night off was JACK. JACK’s set was short but it was perfect. They took the stage and instantly drenched the sold out audience with their peculiar sound. I only say peculiar because their sound was truly all over the place. There were moments where I was get a very Green Day pop-punk era vibe, others where I was getting something that had a bit more of a groove to it, and even moments that had a very grungy DIY garage-punk feeling. On top of that, there were certain songs and parts of songs that I felt were worthy of a glam-pop drenched Fitz and the Tantrums album. Like I said, it was peculiar but also a great way to kick the night off. There’s very little about JACK online and I honestly had to dig for the groups socials this morning but that kind of makes sense. There was an air of, not pretentious energy, but something that felt a bit “we really don’t care what you think of us” that came from this band that was just the icing on the cake when it came to their sound and vibe. All in all, it truly was a flawless set and already had me a bit more interested in the night than I had been when I walked in.

Please bear with me while I try to put what happened next into words. The Velveteers are a Denver, Colorado-based trio that, as soon as they took the stage, had me absolutely enamored, confused, excited, and just all around feeling like I was about to witness a top set of the year. The three musicians took the stage and instantly gave the audience everything they had. The amount of power that radiated from the stage as this band powered through their set was just about as deafening as the two drummers hitting the crap out of the drumsets.

Yes, that’s right, those are plural words because The Velveteers features two drummers who share two different drum sets. Again, that’s not me messing up the wording– the drummers share two drumsets. Although vocalist Demi was absolutely amazing, my eyes were absolutely glued to Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig. The way the two of them hit the drums with such a sense of ferocity while being completely in sync left my jaw on the floor. I honestly wish I could have asked them how many drumsticks and drumheads they typically go through on one tour because I’m sure the number is huge. There was something equally satisfying and mesmerizing about watching these two behind the kits. Even when Baby would shift to play the guitar next to him that was set up like a keyboard (no, again, that’s not a typo– it was literally laying slanted on a keyboard stand), there was something just absolutely captivating about it all.

Clearly I was enamored by this band and could go on and on about how lost for words I was as they left the stage but the best part of the set was when Demi’s guitar stopped working. I’m sure this wasn’t her favorite part of the set but it was for a solid song that she was left to her own devices yet never skipped a beat. Honestly, had you not been watching the stage and not seen the stage hand come up to try and remedy the situation, you never would have known the guitar had gone out. The way that Demi’s voice continued to ring through the audience while the other two members just continued to bang on the drums as loud as possible made it a much smoother event than when it happens to most other bands.

The Velveteers’ music is a little bit of The Kills with a wee bit more chaos and glam behind it. Even if that doesn’t seem like quite your cup of tea, I highly urge you to check this act out live. I know I just said it last week about the K. Flay set I saw but I am calling it now– The Velveteers will be in my top sets of the year and may just take that number one spot.

I definitely felt like the audience had gotten more than their money’s worth by the time The Velveteers were done with their set but we still had the headlining performance from The Blue Stones. The Blues Stones are a bluesy rock duo from Canada that has gained quite the following over the years and now I know why. Although their set definitely didn’t hit me the way The Velveteers’ did, the two men of The Blue Stones took the stage and instantly had the entire audience singing along to their infectious tunes. With blinding lights behind them, it was hard to see the members play through their set but that’s okay– their music did the talking for them.

From a super traditional blues rock vibe to moments that had a bit more of a psychedelic rock vibe and others that almost had a hint of lo-fi space rock, The Blues Stones’ set was dynamic and powerful but in a different way than what had manifested on stage just before them. My favorite thing about this closing set on Monday night was the way the songs were all clearly well put together and thought out but there was still a sense of organic musicianship throughout the set. It was something that was subtle but definitely made this band shine as bright as the lights behind them.

The Blue Stones were seriously super solid on Monday night and I wish I had more to say about their performance but the fact is that The Velveteers left me completely blown away. Even this morning, as I get settled into work for the day, I find myself telling everyone around me about The Velveteers. I know they probably won’t do anything about it because they aren’t quite as musically inclined as I am but at least I feel like I am doing my duty of spreading the word of this truly ridiculously amazing band.

Songs where I can sing along to every word and cry my eyes out to are amazing but it’s shows like Tuesday night’s that really give me life.

Line Up:

JACK

The Velveteers

The Blue Stones

Venue: The Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 28

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 2 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out Kids- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 2

How Irritated I Was With The Audience – 0 out of 10

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

JACK – 0

The Velveteers– 0

The Blue Stones – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score – 10 out of 10

Show on Deck — Kinda Fonda Wanda / Reverend Horton Heat

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