Girl at the Rock Shows

After a couple of nights off, I was happy to be back at a show. Having a couple of days off was great and I was finally able to not only spend some time with friends, but also go meet my best friend’s new baby. It was a thrill but a quick reminder that that’s just not the life I want for me. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond happy for her and her husband but as I stood there trying to figure out how to use the sanitizing machine for all of the bottles and other various baby things, I couldn’t help but be thankful that that’s not the way my life went. Okay, I’m ranting but, long story short, I needed a show and, thankfully for me, First Avenue and 7th Street Entry both had some amazing shows going on on Monday night.

Up in the iconic mainroom was a two-band show that kicked off with Bonny Doon. Bonny Doon is a duo that hails from Detroit, Michigan. As I do some research this morning, it seems as if this is actually a trio but, the quickly growing crowd at First Avenue was treated to the band in duo form. Musically, this group is very very chill. Their sound is soft and sweet but comes with an raging sense of energy that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It wasn’t the guitarwork as that too seemed fairly chill, or even the beat that came in after a couple of opening tracks as, again, that was lowkey. The vocals were calming rather than energizing yet I was getting this sense of fire and passion from the performance.

The audience was attentive and sweet to this duo as they played through their opening set. There was no large roar of applause or anything like that between songs yet you could feel that the audience would have stood there for hours on end being treated to the sounds and energy of Bonny Doon. I’ll be honest, I was in the mood to freaking rock on Monday night. I blame the pent up energy that had grown inside of me after a couple of nights off. I definitely didn’t get a rockin’ vibe from Bonny Doon but their set was the perfect way to kick off my Monday nonetheless.

The audience finally started to voice their appreciation and excitement for the music as headlining act Slaughter Beach, Dog took the stage. I’ve had my eyes and ears on this band for some time. I was drawn in by their quirky name but stayed for their sound. There was something super familiar about the overall tone of this band the first time I saw them so when I realized that this band had been formed by Jake Ewald (of Modern Baseball) I wasn’t all that surprised and fell in love with the band even more.

Much like the set from Bonny Doon, there was this powerful energy that radiated from the stage as Slaughter Beach, Dog played through their fifteen song set followed by a four song encore. The biggest surprise of the night was when the group started their encore off with a cover of Modern Baseball’s “Intersection”. Okay, surprise maybe isn’t the right word but I just feel that this project has such a different vibe from the angsty tone that is Modern Baseball that I had gone into the show never expecting to hear a cover. It was great and had a classic Slaughter Beach, Dog spin on it.

What is that spin? Chillness. Slaughter Beach, Dog, like Benn Doon, is a very very chill band. Although it’s music that could easily just be classified as background sounds as there is very little angst or aggression in their songs, it commands your attention in a very strange way. That vibe was put in the spotlight on Monday night and I had just as much fun watching the audience get completely lost in the music as I did watching the band play through the set with a sense of enthusiasm without being over the top.

I may have been in the mood for something a bit more exciting and aggressive but what both Bonny Doon and Slaughter Beach, Dog gave me on Monday night was perfect. It’s as if the concert Gods knew what I needed more than I did and that’s exactly what they gave me.

Line Up:

Bonny Doon

Slaughter Beach, Dog

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 33

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

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 – 1 out of 10

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

Bonny Doon– 0

Slaughter Beach, Dog– 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score –7 out of 10

Show on Deck — The Hotelier / Foxing / Emperor X

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