Girl at the Rock Shows

I don’t know how many times I have to tell people, but I am not a metalhead. I mean, I guess I listen to metal every once in a while, but when it comes to the daily playlists of my life, I’m a bit more situated in the indie-pop and pop-punk vein of things. That being said, people associate me with the metal scene. I get it. I spent a lot of time immersed in the local metal world, but that was more because of the people and the feeling I get from metal shows that I just can not find at any other shows. Since leaving that scene and only dabbling in it from time to time, I feel like I’ve come to appreciate it even more, and that’s what made Monday night’s show so special.

The two touring acts didn’t really need a local opener, but the fact that they are supporting local metal scenes across the country by adding local openers to their shows made me smile from ear to ear. It helped that they picked one of my favorites- The Motion Mosaic. Although I just saw this local band a couple of months ago, they felt like a brand new group as they took the stage at The Fine Line on Monday night. Their signature groove seemed to hit me a little harder, and their vocals pierced my soul in a fantastic way. Tight and perfect, the heavy instrumentation of this band flooded the venue so perfectly, giving those who had chosen to show up a little late the perfect entrance music. Mathcore, metalcore, groovecore– call The Motion Mosaic’s sound whatever you want– the power and intensity that this local group brought to the stage and the way they pulled off a flawless set is something that caught the attention of the touring groups. It surely caught mine.

I have not had the chance to catch the first of the two headliners since 2017. Yeah, it’s been a hot minute, and other than looking a couple of years older, it made me so happy to know that not much has changed with Darkest Hour. As they took the stage, my mind and spirit were swarmed with nostalgia and angst in all the right ways. Since 1995, this Washington, D.C.-based metalcore band has been putting out their songs of brutality, but what has already set them apart from others in the scene has been the way they can evoke such a sense of emotion out of the listener and their set on Monday night was no different. The band powered through their lengthy set that seemed to span the entirety of their storied, ten-album career and then some. Sure, it has been a hot minute since I have spent some quality time with Darkest Hour and their material but I loved how, even with that in mind, their music was able to hit me and hit me hard.

The audience felt reserved throughout Darkest Hour’s set. Sure, there was a small circle pit that opened up, but, much like the band members on the stage, we have all aged a bit over the years, and that, combined with the fact that it was a Monday night, led to an unsurprising “stand still” kind of audience. Although I got it and appreciated the fact that I wasn’t being jostled about as I tried out my new lens I got in preparation for Riot Fest this weekend, it bummed me out. Here was this band that was giving the audience an endless amount of energy just to have the audience stand there. Don’t get me wrong, it was obvious that everyone in the crowd was excited to be seeing Darkest Hour, and they were clearly hanging onto every note from the band, but something about the fans just felt a bit tired.

That tired feeling disappeared as soon as headlining act Norma Jean took the stage. Ah, the almighty Norma Jean. Full disclosure: this was never my band. Their Christian ideals were a turn-off for me, and there was one time I saw them decades ago, and I just really didn’t appreciate the sense of preachiness I got from them. I was young and dumb back then, and although a Christian band, that doesn’t change the fact that Norma Jean is one hell of a powerhouse. Their distinct metalcore is something that bands have tried to imitate for years now but nobody can do it quite like Norma Jean. To hear and see their power and strength on Monday night at a space as intimate as The Fine Line was a true treat for me, but even more so for those people who have been following this band since their inception back in 1997.

Norma Jean has been through a million and twelve changes since their start in 1997. They have been through numerous line-up changes and have played around with their sound, yet, somehow, they still have such a distinct sound and style that, even after all of these years, it’s easy to forget about all of those changes. This Georgia-born band took the stage on Monday night and truly left no survivors. Within the first track, the audience had gone from boring old people standing around with their arms crossed to a sweaty mess of limbs and bodies. I was on edge, but for all of the right reasons, as I carefully chose when to try to snap a photo or when to hide my camera from the flailing arms heading my way.

Norma Jean played a lengthy set that seemed to thrill everyone in attendance. Of course, the older songs got the most response from people, but there wasn’t a single moment throughout their set where I felt like the band or audience lost steam. Although both band and audience members have been doing this for decades, Monday night felt like we were all those angsty little kids again, and there was something oddly refreshing and cathartic about that.

I don’t regret leaving the local metal scene and getting into other scenes here in the Twin Cities but I definitely miss being immersed in it. I still dabble from time to time, and the familiar faces I see when I do remind me of so many things. Add the nostalgic sounds of Norma Jean and Darkest Hour and the pride felt as I watched The Motion Mosaic absolutely kill it– I was left with a truly amazing Monday night.

Line Up:

The Motion Mosaic

Darkest Hour

Norma Jean

Venue: Fine Line

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 41

Crowd Surfers- 1 Spotted

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 9 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $4.12

Broken Bones- None Spotted

Spotted Flying Through The Air- 1 Body

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 1

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 Motion Mosaic– 3

Darkest Hour – 2 (Although I’m pretty sure I saw them multiple times back in the day)

Norma Jean – 0 (This is another one where I’m sure I saw them multiple times back in the day)

Celebrity Sightings –Ryan of Unstable Shapes / James of Unstable Shapes and Lamaar / Mikey of Den of Thieves / Jeff of Derecho / Brent of Fate and Chaos

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Blues Traveler / Vanessa Collier

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