Girl at the Rock Shows

Friday night was a busy night for me. Two shows, eleven bands, five hours. Yeah, it was a lot, but it was so worth it. Part of my night was spent in the First Avenue mainroom for First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2023. The other part of my night was spent in the more intimate 7th Street Entry to celebrate the release of The Silent Treatment’s new album, ‘Suplex in 10!’. Although both shows were solid, the show at the Entry won the night for me.

Kicking the festivities off in the Entry was Loki’s Folly. Loki’s Folly is one of those bands with a distinct sound. It’s one of those love or hate kind of sounds, and luckily for me, I love them. Comprised of siblings from South Minneapolis, Loki Folly’s sound dabbles between punk and rock. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but that adds charm to this band. The vocals are primal at times but, at others, have an almost indie-rock quality of them. All these things come together to form a sound you will remember. Another thing about this band is the energy that they bring to the table. It’s fun and youthful (they are a young band) but has such a sense of heart and fire that, even if you don’t like their sound, they will pull you into their world and leave you with no exit.

Following Loki’s Folly was Spit Takes. Friday night was my first introduction to this band, but they instantly became my favorite performance of the whole night. They made a little jab at the show happening up in the main room, declaring themselves as the best new band of 2023, and, honestly, they were not wrong in saying that. Much like Loki’s Folly, Spit Takes brought an incredible sense of energy to the stage, but their sound struck me more. It was DIY punk through and through, yet somehow, it felt polished, well-rehearsed, and composed.

Spit Takes’ music was angry but in the best way. Vocalist VansAnn had such a way of conveying this zero fucks given energy. Helping that vibe was the lyrics in the tracks. Most of them came off as anthemic protest songs about things like sexuality and misogyny. There were moments of crudeness and other moments of humor all sprinkled throughout the set, creating an atmosphere that was perfect for a Friday night. Although I would have loved to see a little more movement from the packed audience throughout Spit Take’s set, I understand that people were trying to take it all in because that’s exactly what I was doing throughout their performance.

The Mood Swings was another band that I knew nothing about when walking into the 7th Street Entry on Friday. Still, within their first song, I wanted to know everything there was to know about this band. They had a classic garage rock sound that reminded me a bit of The Arrivals. I know that comparison may be a bit obscure, so if you don’t know who The Arrivals are, check them out; second, understand that this band rocks– plain and simple. Although I call them rock, many other elements crept in and out of their stellar set. One of those elements that happened over and over again was this almost fuzzy pop sound. It kept the set from feeling too harsh, giving it an almost accessible pop vibe. That being said, The Mood Swings are far from a pop band. Again, like the previous two bands of the night, the energy from The Mood Swings was on point. Unfortunately, this meant that their set seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, the night’s headliners were taking the stage.

I was left entirely speechless when I first saw The Silent Treatment when they opened for Venus deMars at The Turf Club last May. Their sound had me caught, and their energy had me in love, so I was beyond honored to be celebrating the release of their new album, ‘Suplex in 10!’ on Friday night. Although I had only seen them once, I had The Silent Treatment pegged as a bit of a nostalgic 80’s punk band, but the songs they played from the new album on Friday night changed that for me. These new songs came with a new set of teeth. There was a sense of angst and aggression in these new tracks that I wasn’t quite expecting, but I fell even deeper in love with this band.

Just like all of the other bands, the energy that The Silent Treatment brought to the stage was the best part for me. It had been a long night already by the time they took the stage. I still had another act to go up in the main room before I could finally go home and crawl into bed. Still, The Silent Treatment’s performance had me feeling like I had just gotten downtown and that I hadn’t been panic-running between the two rooms as if to avoid missing a single second of anyone’s set.

The music was great, and the energy was on point, but what really made the night as unforgettable as it was was the sense of love for the local scene throughout the night. The door between First Avenue’s main room and the 7th Street Entry was open, and crossover between the two events was free. If you did it right, you could see eleven bands from the local scene. Each band brought something different to the table, and each performance proved that Minneapolis has the best music scene in the country. I felt more at home at the 7th Street Entry with the punk-based music and crowd. Still, I loved that you could have such contrasting music going on and see so many of the same faces on either side of the door.

Sure, the 7th Street Entry show wasn’t billed as “First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2023,” but in my heart, it was easily billed as “Some of the Best Punk-Tinted Bands of Minneapolis.”

I hope you made it out to one or both First Avenue/ 7th Street Entry shows on Friday night. If not, don’t worry; it won’t be the last time this happens. Keep your eyes open for local shows, and go out and support these local bands. Yeah, you could pay hundreds of dollars to see some pop superstar, but you will never leave that kind of show feeling what I felt as I left the 7th Street Entry on Friday night.

Line Up:

Loki’s Folly

Spit Takes

The Mood Swings

The Silent Treatment

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 34

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- None

Dance-ability- 6 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 – None Spotted

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)-

Loki’s Folly – 1

Spit Takes – 0

The Mood Swings – 0

The Silent Treatment – 1

Celebrity Sightings – Andy of Whiskey Rock N’ Roll Club MPLS

Overall Score- 8 out of 10

Show on Deck —Wrestlepalooza feat. Dillinger Four

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