Girl at the Rock Shows

I took a much-needed weekend off. Going through Friday and Saturday without shows felt weird, but it felt nice. I was able to spend some quality time with my boyfriend and his kids, along with a fun cookout with some neighbors that I don’t get to see enough. As I said, it was nice, but I was ready for a show by the time Sunday rolled around. I needed a show, and the concert Gods seemed to know that, so they gave me a banger of a show.

Kicking things off at a packed Turf Club in Saint Paul was the local punk band Los Outsiders. Although this was a new name to me, the faces of this band were familiar. Unfortunately, I can’t place them, but that really doesn’t matter. I instantly fell in love with this band and their energy. It was old-school punk but had a fresh sound. Everything they played came off as clean and perfected, which, I know, is very un-punk, yet somehow this band didn’t lose sight of that angsty feeling that screamed punk attitude. From what I can tell, Los Outsiders are a relatively new band in the local scene, with just two singles out there and a smattering of posts on their socials. I often fall in love with new local bands just to have them fizzle out on me, but based on what I saw and heard on Sunday night, Los Outsiders will not be in the category. This local four-piece is here to stay, and I can not wait to catch them again and see them grow into the giant name I know they are capable of.

Following Los Outsiders was a quick set from local alt-rock band Strange Daze. Strange Daze is a name I have seen time and time on flyers and other promotional materials around town and online, but Sunday was my first time experiencing their magic live. I was supposed to see them perform back in August of 2018 when they opened for the same headlining act, but due to a string of events and me just starting this concert blog journey back then, I didn’t make it in time to see them. This made their set on Sunday that more special. I’ll be honest: Strange Daze isn’t quite my thing sonically. It was very Pearl Jam, very 90s, which, I know, sounds like it would be right up my alley, but I just felt that some of the tracks were almost too close to Pearl Jam for me. Whether it was the vocals or the instrumentation, something about Strange Daze screamed cover band material to me. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as everything Strange Daze did on stage was flawless, but, as my dad always says, they’re good at what they do; I just don’t like what it is that they do. That being said, Strange Daze was a perfect fit on this bill. They split the difference between the punk sensibilities of Los Outsiders and the nostalgia factor of the headlining act.

We all love a one-hit wonder- if we can remember who sang that one hit. Many people would consider California-based Alien Ant Farm a one-hit wonder. They hit the stars with their excellent nu-metal cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” in the late 90s/ early 2000s. They instantly fell into the one-hit wonder world because of this, but this band was far from just a flash in the pan for a small sect of people from back in that era. Thankfully for me, I fall into this category, which made them playing such an intimate club on a Sunday night in sleepy Saint Paul, Minnesota, such a treat. Sure, I know that many people will judge me for my love of this band, but when it comes down to it, I feel like they were doing some true magic on their recordings, and they have never let me down when it comes to their live show.

The room was filled with anticipation as the stage was set for the band. I was honestly a bit nervous that I would be the only one excited for this set, but I was quickly put at ease as conversations regarding just how amazing this band is swirled around me. As the band took the stage and instantly jumped into their opening track, “Courage,” the audience erupted in a way. It wasn’t your typical… “and then a pit opened up”… or anything like that, but it was more like an outpouring of passion and heart that spread through the venue like wildfire. From the first night of “Courage” to the final notes of that famed “Smooth Criminal” cover that closed out Alien Ant Farm’s set, there was no denying the amount of passion radiating from the stage to the crowd and from the crowd to stage.

Alien Ant Farm’s setlist mainly consisted of old songs, which made my heart sing, but I also really liked that they slipped some new tracks in there as well. Sure, we were all there to hear the hits and relive our youth, but at the same time, it was so comforting to know that even after all these years, this band is still putting out music and staying true to their sound. They don’t care if their sound is hip or cool right now. They just want to make their own music, and I feel like that “stay the course” mentality has worked out better for this band than when compared to others. I also feel like that mentality reigned supreme throughout the audience, adding to the magic of the night. People in attendance didn’t care if their friends were there or if people would judge them for enjoying this show as much as they did; they just wanted to enjoy it themselves. There was no such thing as being “too cool” to sing along or “too cool” to move to that signature and flawless bassline that Alien Ant Farm does so well. All that mattered on Sunday night was seeing this giant band and realizing that, no matter what people said about them or continue to think about them, they are still hitting stages night after night and leaving their hearts on display for all to see.

Line Up:

Los Outsiders

Strange Daze

Alien Ant Farm

Venue: Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 38

Crowd Surfers- 1 Attempt

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 4 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 People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

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

Los Outsiders – 0

Strange Daze – 0

Alien Ant Farm – 4

Celebrity Sightings – Eric of Amarak / Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score- 8.7 out of 10

Show on Deck — The Burkharts / Chutes

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