Girl at the Rock Shows

Monday was another night where I may have overdone it just a little bit by trying to cover two shows. The nice thing about it was I got two completely different atmospheres. In the First Avenue Mainroom, I had Killer Mike spitting into the microphone with a sense of a ferocity and passion that left my jaw on the ground. In the more intimate 7th Street Entry I had a slew of local acts that had everything stacked against them yet somehow left me beyond impressed and low-key a bit bummed that I had to miss some of the show to cover up in the mainroom.

First, let me say that I will acknowledge that the local bands down in the Entry had an uphill battle with me. Not only were their sets already short at just thirty-minutes a piece, I was only able to give each of the bands about fifteen minutes of my attention as the timing between the two rooms was in synch most of the night. That being said, all four of the bands down in the Entry had me lingering a bit longer than I had wanted to just due to being so dang good. I honestly think my time down in the Entry was my favorite portion of Monday night. That’s not to say that Killer Mike and the rest of the line-up upstairs wasn’t amazing, because it was, but more that the talent and obscure sounds I was getting from the Entry were that good.

Drug League was the first band to perform and I was instantly hooked. To say that these guys were electric as they played through their quick set would be the understatement of the year. The self-proclaimed “best bad band in Minneapolis”, had me hooked within their first song with their energy but also their sound. It was intense and, at time, chaotic but it reminded me of bands like PUP and Joyce Manor in a way but with a bit more of a punk edge to it all. One of the only bands to promote their LinkedIn profile rather than an Instagram, the quirkiness of their music and overall stage presence was definitely a highlight of the night for me and made them an act that I will absolutely be catching again soon.

Up next was d’Lakes. Although they were absolutely another fun band to watch, they didn’t seem to have the quirkiness that I got from Drug League. What they did have was infectious beats and a super intriguing sound. It was still just ever so slightly punk but d’Lakes’ style seemed to lean a bit deeper into the indie-pop vein of things. That being said, I loved the groove and funk that came with their sound. d’Lakes just finished recording an album and it sounds like it may be out next month so keep your eyes peeled for that. After seeing them for the short time I did on Monday, I can easily say that I expect big things from this local act.

Although I just caught shrimp olympics (the next band to play) back in March, that honestly feels like a lifetime ago so I was excited for the chance to catch them again. Just like they did back in March, this group had me hooked with their interesting compositions and unlikely instrumentation. Keys, a flute, a hoedown vibe that came out of a lo-fi elevator music styled thing– yeah, this band is clearly only getting better with age. Unfortunately, the band’s drummer was sick and had to cancel on this performance last minute but, thankfully, the band was able to recruit the drummer of d’Lakes to help them out. shrimp olympics kept on joking that said drummer (who I did not catch the name of and I am so sorry about that) only had about two hours to learn the songs. Although there were moments where you could definitely tell that, the majority of the set felt flawless to me so mad kudos to that drummer for stepping in and stepping up!

After a quick set changeover and a quick false-start, Chairman Chair and the Chairmen had started their set which would round out the night. Can we take a second and marvel at the name of this band? I mean, come on, Chairman Chair and The Chairmen. If I’m being completely honest, that’s the main reason I found myself at The 7th Street Entry on Monday night. Their name had me intrigued and although I was beyond disappointed in the lack of chairs that were on stage and in the venue in general, I was beyond honored to be able to celebrate the release of this group’s ‘An Infomercial Cruise’ album.

Just like the three previous bands to grace the stage at The entry on Monday night, Chairman (Okay, I’m sorry, as much as I like the band name, I’m not typing that out every time.) brought a distinct sound and vibe to the show. Call it folk-punk, psych pop, alt-pirate, Gypsy-inspired-drinking-anthems– whatever you want to call it, this band’s sound is freaking funky and fun. Even with Killer Mike playing upstairs, I found it hard to pull myself away from Chairman’s set. The energy they brought to the stage was flawless but also organic. It was as if the band wasn’t really trying to have that much fun but it was just happening whether because of the connections on stage or the banter with the audience.

I feel like I breezed through this article and I am so sorry about that but, as mentioned, each of these four bands only had about fifteen minutes to impress me. They absolutely did that and then some but it made taking notes difficult as I didn’t want to spend any of my precious time in the Entry on my phone and risk missing an amazing moment. Little did I know, every second I spent down in the Entry was amazing and I truly regret doing the two show thing on Monday night.

Line Up:

Drug League

d’Lakes

shrimp olympics

Chairman Chair and the Chairmen

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 23

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 4 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)-

Drug League – 0

d’Lakes– 0

shrimp olympics – 1

Chairman Chair and the Chairmen – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score – 9 out of 10

Show on Deck — Gogol Bordello / Puzzled Panther

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