Girl at the Rock Shows

I wonder what it would take to get a room made at the 7th Street Entry. I only ask this because I have spent the past three nights there and I’m starting to feel like I’ve spent more time there than at my own house. That’s not at all a complaint. Out of all of the venues in town, The Entry is one of my favorite. I love the intimacy of the small dark room and love the First Avenue staff that typically works there. That being said, I miss my house and my cats. That being said, home was the furthest thing from my mind as I stood at The 7th Street Entry on Tuesday night and witnessed some of the magic that the local Twin Cities music scene has to offer.

The night started off in a very quirky yet perfect way. Instead of just taking the stage like every other band, opening act Big Delicious set the stage for a Thanksgiving dinner. With a table taking up the majority of the already small stage, a couple members of the band sat down at said table while other members served a meal on bright silver platters. Okay, there really wasn’t a meal but the theatrics behind this opening were fun and perfect. After the band was served, Big Delicious hopped into their set which was full of as much fun as the theatrics.

Musically, Big Delicious is all over the place. My notes from their set ranged from funk to indie pop to, “I don’t know what this is but I love it!”. One thing is for sure when it comes to this self-proclaimed “Willy Wonkas of indie rock”, Big Delicious has a bombastic sound that comes served with a sense of attitude and fun that is absolutely infectious. Although the band stayed sitting at the table for all but one song of their set, they were still able to give high energy throughout their performance. There were moments where I was terrified that the vocalist was going to smack his head against the head of the bass next to him but this band is so in tune with what they are doing that it never happened. Long story short, Big Delicious got the Tuesday night show started off perfectly and I can’t wait to catch this local act again sooner rather than later.

After a quick changeover, it was time for Yonder. Tuesday night was Yonder’s first show and, having only been a band for about two months, that would make sense. Knowing this had me a bit nervous but as they started playing, that nervousness went away. Featuring members of Lapdogs, Yonder is a four-piece which sounds standard but is very far from the norm. This group doesn’t have a drummer. I’m a metal-loving kid so the absence of a drummer wasn’t my favorite thing about this set but, at the same time, it took me a second to catch onto the fact that there wasn’t a drummer. Although Yonder’s sound was soft, it came with energy meaning you really didn’t notice the absence of the snare or sparkling cymbals. This group gave you enough to watch and hear that, in afterthought, adding a drummer would have been too much.

There was something very cute and innocent about Yonder’s set. A perfect example of this was when the vocalist brought up the fact that their parents were in the audience. After an obligatory, “Hi Parents!” from the audience, the singer continued on to tell the story about that one time they didn’t get an oil change for a long time. They explained that they had to call their parents due to the after effects of not getting said oil change. This is such a small moment in that vocalist’s life, I’m sure, but that’s what added the magic to the track. Again, sweet and innocent but with a story to tell that we can all probably relate to more than any of us would like to admit.

The Dalmation Club, the next band to hit the stage, isn’t a new act per say as they have been around since last year but they were new to me which already had me excited to check them out. Their name has been around town and in my mind for some time but I couldn’t tell you what to expect or what I thought their sound would be like. Even when the five-piece took the stage, I couldn’t tell just by looking at them what I was going to get. What I ended up getting was beyond perfect and, honestly, one of the highlights of my night.

Sonically, The Dalmation Club has a sound that I can only really describe as Vampire Weekend meets Hippo Campus. It was fun and bouncy with an undeniable sense of heart and passion fueling every word and every beat. The band really didn’t do anything special or extraordinary throughout their set yet I was extremely captivated just watching them play. They seemed young (although I don’t know how young and, these days, everyone on a stage seems young to me) yet came with a very polished sound. I wish I had more to say about this band as their set was, again, a highlight for me, yet I just don’t have anything to add here that wouldn’t sound like rambling. The Dalmation Club was great and like all of the other bands that performed on Tuesday, I would love a chance to experience their magic again soon!

Closing out the Tuesday night show was NATL PARK SRVC. Although it wasn’t billed as such, Tuesday night was a bit of a celebration for NATL PARK SRVC’s new album, ‘MAGICIAN’ which recently came out. Even without the headliner of it being a bit of an album release show, there was a sense of excitement as the band took the stage. The Slipknot of the Minneapolis indie rock scene, this group is a nine-piece band which sounds overwhelming, I know, but they pull it off so perfectly. Although there are a bunch of members and the stage was beyond crowded, every member of this group fit their space perfectly both physically and musically. With nine different instruments and voices going on at any given time, it would be safe to assume that there would be moments where their sound is muddy but this group has such a perfect grasp on their compositions and just overall performance that you never get that and you can clearly hear every part throughout every song.

Musically, like the other acts of the night, I could see putting NATL PARK SRVC into the indie-pop box but that doesn’t do their sound or performance justice. As you would expect with having nine members, this band has a bunch of influences and personalities to fit into their sound and I feel like that is the best way to describe them. Whether you pick up on the clear indie-pop tendencies or the more hidden jazz licks and nods to something a bit heavier, NATL PARK SRVC has a fun and bright sound that will make you want to boogie regardless of how exhausted you are.

Out of the past three nights that I have spent at the 7th Street Entry, Tuesday night was definitely my favorite. Beyond the fun I had listening and dancing along to the music was the fact that all four of the acts were local and each one of them absolutely killed it. People often ask me to list off my favorite local acts which is a hard task to do but, after the show on Tuesday night, I have four new bands to proudly add to that list.

One last thing– I just have to say that as annoyed as I get with sold-out (or nearly sold-out) shows at The Entry just due to how small the space is, standing in a packed audience for a purely local show on a holiday week made my heart so full. Not only does the Twin Cities have the best music out there, we also have the best fans who always show up and support that music.

Line Up:

Big Delicious

Yonder

The Dalmation Club

NATL PARK SRVC

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 19

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 2 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 People- 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)-

Big Delicious – 0

Yonder – 0

The Dalmation Club – 0

NATL PARK SRVC – 1

Celebrity Sightings – Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score – 9 out of 10

Show on Deck — Cindy Lawson / Spit Takes / Surly Grrly

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