Girl at the Rock Shows

To say that the sky was looking dark and ominous as I drove downtown on Monday night would be an understatement. Honestly, I don’t think I have seen such a concerning sky since I lived in Iowa, but it wouldn’t stop me from getting to the show. The sky only got worse as I hopped lanes to get into downtown, and that’s when it happened- a complete and utter downpour. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an Iowa girl– I know how to drive in storms – heck, I know what to do when driving through a tornado- but there were moments on my quick drive on Monday night where I really thought I was going to have to pull over and wait it out. No. I wasn’t going to miss this show. I preserved, got to my usual parking lot, put my car in park, and finally stopped white knuckling it as I took the biggest breath I had in days. My boyfriend and I were safe, and outside of a quick jaunt from parking to the venue, we were out of the rain and ready to take in what would turn into an absolutely fantastic (and quirky) night of music.

Although I’ve reviewed some music from The Right Here before, Monday night was my first time seeing this local band live and they did not disappoint. This band’s unique blend of twangy punk, infused with Southern sensibilities, is a musical experience like no other. It’s the kind of music that makes you want to shotgun a beer but also slow dance at the same time. There’s heart behind everything this band does, and to see that translate into a live show was beyond perfect. The audience may not have been the largest to hit the 7th Street Entry on a Monday night (probably because of the epic storms) but The Right Here didn’t hold back and gave those brave souls that weathered the storm all that they had.

I wish I had the right words to describe what happened next with Jaw Knee Vee, but, truthfully, I don’t. Jaw Knee Vee is a one-man band from just outside of the Twin Cities. That fact in itself shocked me because it came off as such a Vegas or Los Angeles kind of act, but it made me so happy to know that Monday night probably wouldn’t be my last chance to catch this amazing musician. Sitting behind a drum set that looked like it had been created by Sid from Toy Story (complete with multiple doll heads and other Frankenstein’d parts), and with a guitar strung around his neck, Jaw Knee Vee hit the room much like the storm that had just raged outside.

It was an assault of crashing cymbals, heaving bass drum, and wailing guitar work as more surf-punk echoed vocals soared over it all. I was in love as I watched this musician do anything and everything that didn’t make sense but worked. That’s the magic of Jaw Knee Vee. Looking at his set-up, you don’t expect much. There’s not much to the Frankenstein’d drum kit and he just kind of sits there with his guitar in his lap and a suitcase full of pedals to his side yet he was making sounds and tunes that were catchy and perfectly crafted while having creativity be the center of focus throughout the set. I was confused and, honestly, wanted to hate it and call Jaw Knee Vee’s set nothing more than a schtick, but at the end of it, I found myself wanting so much more and craving another quirky performance from this man.

Speaking of quirky, I don’t know that it can get much quirkier than the night’s headlining act- The Pentagram String Band. This Kansas City, Missouri-based band had me hooked by their name alone. I mean, come on, “The Pentagram String Band,” doesn’t that make you wonder what they are? Well, they had me hook, line, and sinker with that name, and I knew this wasn’t a show I could miss as I read more into the group. They are a satanic bluegrass band. Yes, that’s a real thing, and naturally, I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to see what that actually means. Come to find out– it means precisely what those words say- they are a bluegrass band (complete with an insanely good washboard player) that performs songs that have a gothic folk punk flare and have lyrics that revolve around cannibalism, murder, death, and, yes, Satan.
There was nothing clean about The Pentagram String Band’s set, and that’s what made it so charming. The four humans that make up this band were clearly loving every second of what they were doing and, although they definitely had a set list and composed songs, there was something just so free about their set.

From the banter between the tracks to the dark and sometimes creepy lyrics, there was something threatening about this band, but, at the same time, the music was so fun and upbeat that it was hard to keep in mind that this group was supposed to have this kind of dark side. After each tequila shot donated to the band by audience members (and, most specifically, members of The Right Here), the band seemed to get quirkier and quirkier. It was a bit like a train wreck, but without the wreck, it appeared that the more quirky the members of this group got, the more into it they fell.

By the time the show had finished, the first wave of the epic storms that rolled through the Twin Cities on Monday night had passed but there was now a storm in my soul. Monday night was one of those shows that was just amazing through and through and it definitely sparked something in me in all of the right ways. What a brilliant night and the perfect way to kick the week off.

Line Up:

The Right Here

Jaw Knee Vee

The Pentagram String Band

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 36

Crowd Surfers- 0

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)-

The Right Here– 0

Jaw Knee Vee – 0

The Pentagram String Band – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9.3 out of 10

Show on Deck — Ludacris / T-Pain

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