Girl at the Rock Shows

I honestly thought that Monday night was just another show for me, and with my current level of exhaustion and the feeling of a slight sickness slowly taking over me, that was just what I needed. That’s when I started hearing names like Nirvana, Melvins, and Off! being tossed around. I may have been naive about what I was about to witness at The Turf Club on Monday night, but I was the only one. The vibe in the air was excited but subdued in an odd way. It became clear to me that I was about to see some legends take the intimate stage in this home away from home of mine, but, at the same time, it was clear that everyone in attendance wasn’t going to make a big deal of it.

Dale Crover opened the show with a half DJ, half acoustic set. Don’t worry if the name doesn’t sound familiar. As I mentioned, I had no clue who this man was… until I started digging into his history. Dale is the drummer for Melvins and has been the drummer for Men of Porn, Shrinebuilder, Crystal Fairy, and, yes, Nirvana. Kinda wild, right?! The craziest thing about this is that none of this came up during his quick opening set on Monday. Instead, he just got up there, played a mix of some songs, and then proceeded to play a few acoustic tracks. I didn’t mind his DJ portion of the set, but, honestly, it was a bit weird as he just sat behind the drum kit and played a couple of songs through the speaker, but he definitely caught my attention when he shifted to the guitar and microphone.

Dale’s sound is very much in the 90s alt-rock vein of things. There are hints of everything from grunge to punk hidden in his songs, but what really stood out to me was the passion with which he played all of the songs. It felt like he had something to prove when, given his history, this man had already proved his worth. I stood there in awe with the rest of the packed-for-a-Monday crowd, completely in disbelief of the chill nature of this megastar’s set, and left Dale’s set with a heart full of love for this man. Obviously, he knows his past and knows of his fame (whether or not it comes with his name or the name of those groups he has performed with), but that didn’t stop him from laying his heart on the stage on Monday night in a way that felt so genuine and real.

That whole feeling didn’t stop as headlining act Redd Kross took the stage. Like Dale, the members of Redd Kross and this band in general are legendary and I feel like that is even an understatement. Names like OFF!, Melvins, and Circle Jerks surround this band, but don’t limit them. I had these epic punk bands in mind as the band started their set but was treated to a more chill, almost retro-rock vibe than the hardcore punk one I expected. I loved this about Redd Kross. Sure, I could have done my research and listened to a couple of their songs on the way to the show, so I wasn’t surprised, but this surprise added an undeniable sense of charm to the night for me.

Although their music didn’t strike me with a sense of intensity like I had expected, their performance did in this strange way. You knew you were watching legends on that stage as they performed, but not because of what they were doing, but more because of what they were not doing. Although all of the men on stage have been doing this for literal decades, you could tell that the magic had not worn off and they made it feel like this still wasn’t a job to them. I had the most fun watching bassist Steven McDonald. There was just something so fun and carefree about his performance, but, at the same time, there was something very professional and put-together about it. This is something that only comes with time and genuinely loving what you are doing so to get that from this man who is one of the founding members of OFF! and the bassist of Melvins told me all that I needed to know. This band loves music, and they love performing.

Much like the band, the audience probably had some stories behind them that I would have loved to hear. What I mean by this is that the demographic of this crowd was a bit older than my usual and you could just tell that they have been with these legendary musicians since the beginning and surely have stories that I could only dream of. Throughout the twenty-song set, I saw a couple of people singing along, but overall, the vibe of the room was people just taking it all in and reliving their younger years. This attention to detail and feeling of excitement and adoration just added to the flawless perfection of the night.

My head was in a bit of a haze throughout the night due to the amount of DayQuil I had pumped into my body throughout the day, so I truly don’t remember the small details of the night. However, I can tell you that seeing such seasoned and famed professionals on the intimate stage of The Turf Club was a truly special thing.

Line Up:

Dale Crover

Redd Kross

Venue: Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 61

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 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)-

Dale Crover– 0

Redd Kross – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Limp Bizkit / Bones / N8NOFACE / Corey Feldman/ Riff Raff

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