Girl at the Rock Shows

When there’s not a show in town that I know the performers of, I have a habit of judging and picking shows based on the flyers I see, a band name, or just the venue that a show is being held at. Friday night’s show was chosen due to it being at one of my favorite venues in the cities- The Turf Club. Unbeknownst to me, this show was quickly moved from The Turf Club to The Fine Line. I only knew this because of mentioning how stoked I was to have a chill Friday night at The Turf to a friend who works for First Avenue (the legendary venue that owns all of the aforementioned clubs) and she quickly told me that it had been moved. I’ll be honest, I was bummed. No longer was I going to have free parking or a quiet bar in the basement to hide away in between acts. It’s not that I don’t like The Fine Line. Honestly, I love any place that hosts live music. It’s more that I’m way more comfortable at The Turf Club than anywhere else. It was too late to back out of covering the show so I scarfed my dinner down and made my way to downtown Minneapolis to see what this show was all about and see just why it had been moved from the intimate Turf Club to the larger Fine Line.

It was clear to me why it had been moved the second I got downtown. Although doors had been open for nearly forty minutes (there was still twenty minutes before the show started), a line stretched down the block from the doors at The Fine Line. I may have not known anything about the bands performing on Friday night but everyone else did and it was obvious that this show had been moved due to demand. I loved this. Although I get annoyed with sold-out shows and a sold-out show at The Fine Line means there’s no way I’ll get good pictures of the band as they don’t have a photo pit and there aren’t great sightlines, it means that people are getting out and enjoying live music and that makes my heart so full.

Kiernan got the night started off the only way Kiernan could. I had never heard of this local band before but I was instantly struck by the raw energy that the whole band was giving me but, more particularly, the heart-on-sleeve style of Laura’s vocals. They weren’t perfect and I felt like there were times throughout the forty-five minute opening set where you could almost hear Laura’s nerves jump in and out of particular words. Although I’m not sure if that is part of their particular brand of music, I loved the innocence and real-life vibe that this gave to their set.

Overall, Kiernan’s sound was super quiet. There were no epic drums or even wailing guitar solos from this band which is fine but, unfortunately, the audience seemed to be more in the mood for something a bit louder and more intense. The majority of Kiernan’s set was spent with me straining to hear the music over the chatter happening around me. It could have been the fact that I was standing towards the back of the room but I quickly got annoyed by how seemingly rude the older audience was. The only time during Kiernan’s set where the chatter around me seemed to come to a simmer was when Vinnie Donatelle (fiddle player for the headlining group The Last Revel) came out to join in for a song. This said volumes to me.

Although this was a completely sold-out show, the majority of the audience was only there to see the headliner and they really couldn’t care less about anything else. Although I don’t agree with this attitude as I am always a bit more excited to see openers than headliners because, from experience, they seem to have more to prove therefore giving a more organic and powerful set, I understood it. It was a Friday in December. The brunt of winter has yet to hit us up here in the Twin Cities and that means people are feel festive and still willing to leave the house but, when they leave, they treat their nights out more like social hours than anything else. I hope Kiernan wasn’t discouraged by this. They truly put on a lovely set that set the tone for the night in a perfect way.

As mentioned, I may have never heard of The Last Revel prior to this show but I was alone in that. As the stage was turned over for this headlining act, you could feel the level of excitement throughout the sold-out Fine Line rise and really come to a head as the band took the stage. Their walk out onto stage wasn’t dramatic or even that eye catching yet I found myself wrapped up in the excitement that was floating through the air just like everyone else. I didn’t know what I was about to get but, with this many people excited to see you, you must have something about your sound that is at least catchy.

The Last Revel is billed as a three-piece band from Minneapolis but came in the form of a four-piece on Friday night. When I say four-piece, your mind probably goes to a classic instrumentation line-up, doesn’t it? You know, vocals, drums, bass, guitar. Well not The Last Revel. This group came in the form of banjo, fiddle, upright bass, and then a guitarist that also was in charge of the beyond-minimal drumset that consisted of just a bass drum (I also think there was a cymbal up there but don’t quote me on that).

Even though this band came in an almost barebones form compared to the rock and metal bands I’ve been covering lately, the amount of power they brought to the speakers of The Fine Line was staggering. All of these members were clearly masters of their instruments but it was the four part harmonies that sent chills up my spine multiple times throughout their set. Stylistically, The Last Revel seems to bounce between indie and folk seamlessly while keep a consistent undertone of bluegrass sensibilities. Take all of these things, put them in a pot, and let them boil over and you have the makings for a great, albeit chill, Friday night show.

I thought I had been in the mood for something intense and angsty just based on how my week went and the fact that I had already done two metal shows previously this week. It was just the mood I was in and what I thought my soul was craving but it was clear that the concert Gods knew what I needed more than I did. I felt the stress of my week and the quickly growing to-do list for my weekend falling away with each song that The Last Revel gave me. I may not have thought I needed something chill like this but I clearly did and it was a great way to close out my week and usher in the weekend.

Line Up:

Kiernan

The Last Revel

Venue: Fine Line

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- None

Mosh-ability- 0 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 – 7 out of 10

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

Kiernan – 0

The Last Revel– 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Robert Jon & The Wreck / Ty Pow and The Holy North

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