Girl at the Rock Shows

It has been a pretty light week for me. This was by design. Not only did I have some personal things to take care of this week, but I also just needed a bit of a break. That break came to a screeching halt on Saturday which signaled the beginning of what is sure to be an epic (and exhausting) concert bender where I am going to try and cover twelve shows in about a week. If Saturday night’s show is any indication as to how amazing this bender is going to be, well, I’m ready for it.

My show of choice on Saturday night was at the unassuming yet perfect Cloudland Theater in South Minneapolis. I promise not to spend a lot of time telling you about how amazing this venue is but I have to put that little bird in your ear again. Cloudland is doing something different than a lot of venues in town. They are giving a space to all ages shows and that space is beyond inviting and comfortable. Every time I walk in here, I feel like royalty in a way. From the super nice bouncer to the owner of the club standing behind the bar, there’s just something so perfect about this place. Honestly, I could stand at this place watching a human play a didgeridoo for six hours, and I would love every moment of it purely because of the atmosphere they have created. Thankfully, I got more than just a didgeridoo performance on Saturday, but you get what I’m trying to say here.

Opening up the early show on Saturday was local band she’s green. I recently saw this band as part of First Avenue’s Best New Bands night in January, and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t overly impressed with them. Something changed as I got lost in their world on Saturday night. Their shoegaze fuzz hit me just right, and, being basically on top of the stage due to the intimate size of Cloudland, I could feel the passion that all of the members of this band bring to their performance and their music. Although I think the word “dreamy” would be the best way to describe she’s green’s sound, there’s something full of life about it at the same time. Zofia Smith’s vocals pull you into their world so beautifully, while the instrumentation provided by guitarists Liam Armstrong and Raines Lucas, bassist Teddy Nordvold, and drummer Kevin Seebeck keep you stuck there. Again, I may not have liked this band the first time I saw them, but after experiencing their set on Saturday, I understand the hype about this band.

Following she’s green was Phoenix, Arizona based Glixen. Like she’s green, I felt instantly stuck in Glixen’s world. It was another shoegazey and fuzzy world but with a bit more emphasis on the fuzz. There was so much power behind the instrumentation of this band that I almost forgot that there were vocals. Those vocals were buried in everything else going on, which I found to be a bit strange since the moments that I did hear the vocals were so beautiful, but, overall, it worked with their sound. Although Glixen wasn’t the night’s headliner, many people in the sold-out audience were treating them as such. I loved seeing young kids around me singing along to the words (even if I couldn’t hear them) and staring daggers into this band as if not wanting to miss a single moment of their set.

Clearly, I was already enamored by every act that had graced the stage at Cloudland on Saturday night, but we still had the headlining act to get through before the night was over. I ran into a buddy at this show who, before the show started, mentioned that he was confused by so many people wearing Title Fight t-shirts at this show. It’s not that it’s uncommon to see a Title Fight shirt out in the wild, but more that there were so many of them on Saturday night. He did a quick search and found out that the vocalist of the headlining act, Glitterer, is actually the vocalist of Title Fight. Title Fight came to an end in 2018, and I’ll be honest, they were never a band that I got super deep into, but I feel like this buddy pointing out this fact added to the excitement I was already feeling as the stage was set for Glitterer.

Whereas the two opening acts focused on a sound that was very fuzzy and almost abstract at times, Glitterer hit the stage with a more crisp and clear sound. With elements of everything from shoegaze to hardcore woven into their exciting and fresh sound, Glitterer had the young crowd, again, caught in the palm of their hands. From people singing along to the words to people in the back who were throwing their fists in the air as if trying to be seen by the band, there was something super exciting about the activity in the room but, at the same time, something super respectful. Glitterer’s sound was powerful and loud but never overwhelming. The band truly respected their craft and wasn’t just trying to turn the room into a sweaty mess of limbs flying everywhere. Instead, their focus was on giving the audience a sonic experience that wouldn’t be soon forgotten, and that’s precisely what they did.

Saturday marks the start of an epic concert bender for me, and although I’m low-key dreading the late nights and lack of sleep, if I can get even one show in this binge that hits me as hard as the show on Saturday night did, it’ll be a damn good bender.

Line Up:

she’s green

Glixen

Glitterer

Venue: Cloudland

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 20

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- None

Mosh-ability- 2 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)-

she’s green – 1

Glixen – 0

Glitterer – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Petey / The Slaps // Jhariah / PIAO

Shameless Self Promotion:

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)

Check out my playlist HERE!