Girl at the Rock Shows

There was a pretty epic little thunderstorm happening as I was getting ready to head to The Turf Club on Wednesday night. I was completely drenched from the extremely short walk from my house to my garage and it honestly had me feeling a bit pessimistic. It’s not that I wasn’t excited for another show that I knew nothing about because, honestly, that has been the theme of my week and it had surely been paying off based on how many amazing acts I’ve seen already, but it was more that the cold rain made me want to just cuddle up on the couch for the night while binging terrible TV shows that I have fallen super behind on. I pressed on and worked on changing my attitude as I made my way to Saint Paul. I was almost back to my normal and excited concert-going self as I pulled into the parking lot at The Turf Club but it wasn’t until I was inside and greeted by the sweet sound that is Halfloves that I really felt like I had made the right decision with my night.

Formerly known as The Olympics, Halfloves is an indie-rock band from Iowa City, Iowa. Although I felt like their set lacked the sense of excitement and angst that I really wanted for my Wednesday night, it was full of heart and passion which is something that works just as well for me. Sure, their music was poppy which is definitely not something I always fall for, but the way this band drenched every word and note with a sense of care and passion really stood out to me. There was this sense of catchiness about their sound that had me instantly tapping my toes to the beat but, at the same time, there was also this feeling of atmospheric ambiance throughout their set which had my head in the clouds in all of the best ways.

It was a bit strange to have an opener who was from out of town on a show at The Turf Club. The venue and promoter, First Avenue, is known for putting locals on as openers at the intimate space but it became clear very quickly why one was not needed for Wednesday night. Although the crowd was still growing as Halfloves played through their opening set, everyone that entered seemed to be instantly drawn to the stage. It was something absolutely magical to watch. It was hard for me to tell if people knew of Halfloves prior to coming to the show or if the band was just that good and impactful that people couldn’t resist jumping right into the night of music but, regardless, it made for a super solid (yet chill) opening set on Wednesday night.

The room was buzzing as the stage was turned over for headlining act, Lime Cordiale. Per usual and, as mentioned, I had walked into this show completely blind so I was a bit confused by the excitement in the air from the fairly large audience that had gathered just in front of the stage. It was obvious that I had no clue what I was about to get into but everyone else did and they were ready for it. Australian pop-rockers Lime Cordiale took the stage and I instantly understood the hype. The band took the stage with an understated sense of energy but then, within the first song, had shown the audience just what they were all about.

With a thirteen song set followed by a three song encore, I loved the way this band never let their energy falter. Whether it was the way they interacted with the crowd or interacted with each other, there was just something so fun and electric about their set. Their music seemed to match this. Much like Halfloves, Lime Cordiale’s sound was definitely a bit more poppy than I tend to go for but the addition of a trombone, a clarinet at one point, and even a kazoo solo had me lost in the overall presentation of the set rather than the actual sound. There was something truly electric about watching them that had me hooked and, when one of the members jumped into the crowd to salsa dance with one lucky fan, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of a jealousy towards that particular fan.

Lime Cordiale seems to be one of those bands suffering from an identity crisis but in the best way possible. From their 70’s look to their poppy sound, everything about the band just felt a bit all over the place but I was there for it. Musically, I would say there were moments where the band reminded me of The Libertines (and I promise that’s more than just because of their thick accents that came through in some of the songs and when they spoke between tracks) and others where they were giving me pop diva vibes like Maroon 5. Regardless of the vibe being given off through the speakers, the band had the audience begging for more as they sang and danced their way through the electric set.

As my friend who I was with always says, every band is somebody’s favorite band and that was clearly the case on Wednesday night with Lime Cordiale. I don’t know what rock I have been living under where I had never even heard of this band but they have my attention now and I hope it isn’t too long before they come back to I can show all of my friends my new favorite band.

Line Up:

Halfloves

Lime Cordiale

Venue: The Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 34

Crowd Surfers- None spotted

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 – 0

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)-

Halfloves– 0

Lime Cordiale– 0

Celebrity Sightings – Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score – 8.8 out of 10

Show on Deck — late night drive home / benches

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