Girl at the Rock Shows

I took a few days off from shows after returning from Riot Fest. Honestly, I thought I would for sure have strep throat because I’m the queen of strep and had spent all day Sunday in the rain at the festival, but, surprisingly, it still hasn’t hit (knock on wood). By the time Friday night came around, I was ready for a show, and a good one at that. I had a lot of options for where to go, but my heart knew I also wanted to be around some friends, so after putting some feelers out there, it became clear that all of my friends were going to be at the Uptown VFW in Minneapolis so that’s where I would go.

I just shared a new single from local act Portside Dive the other day (you can read that here!), so it almost felt like fate when I got to the show on Friday and realized that Portside Dive was opening the show. A solo act but coming in the form of a trio, Portside Dive dove into a set full of nostalgic pop-punk sounds. Full disclosure: their set was a bit rough around the edges as far as the performance went, but the power and energy that they brought to the stage were on point. Matt Reed, the vocalist, and mastermind behind the project, has one of those typical pop-punk voices. It’s one part nasally and one part emotional with an extra serving of angst. Matt begged for the audience to stop being silly and get closer to the stage as that typical “Minnesota Moat” had formed right near the front of the stage. The moat was cleared for a hot minute, but this was one of those shows where the first couple of hours were spent catching up with old friends and reliving old memories, so it didn’t last long. Although I think that Portside Dive has some work to do as far as cleaning up the set with a full band, I heard and saw the potential and can not wait to keep seeing them grow and become what I see in them.

Toilet Rats is another band that is technically a solo project but came in the form of a full band on Friday night. Their name is one that has been floating around town quite a bit lately, so I was stoked to get a chance to see what all of the hype was about. I really liked Toilet Rats’ sound because not only was it unique, but it also brought a spice of something different to the bill. One of the many things I like about the Twin Cities local music scene is that line-ups are bipolar. We started the night off with a classic pop-punk sound, but Toilet Rats’ brought a more 80’s 80s-inspired mall-pop sound to the show. Although their sound wasn’t super dark and moody, there was something about their tracks that was just that- dark and moody. With songs about zombies, monsters, werewolves, and other themes in that same vein, I liked the almost Halloween-y vibe I was getting from the lyrics but also how that’s not at all the presentation I got.

I felt that everything about Toilet Rats’ set was tight. Although their name seems to have just begun popping up around town, it felt like this group has been playing together for years. They may have been, and I’ve just been blind to it, or maybe this group is just full of seasoned musicians (I recognized Zaq Baker behind the keyboard, and he’s such a rockstar in the local scene). Regardless of what it was, I thoroughly enjoyed Toilet Rats’ time on stage on Friday night and can’t wait to catch them again sooner rather than later.

Following Toilet Rats was Jordan Carr & The Boys– that’s right– the boys are back in town. My history with this group is brief, as the only time I ever heard them was when I reviewed their ‘Rail Vodka’ release. However, I knew that I was in for a treat as this band started loading onto the stage. I knew that this was going to be another curve ball as far as the genre offerings of the night went, and I was ready. Jordan Carr & The Boys’ sound is very Bruce Springsteen meets Bleachers with a touch of The Gaslight Anthem sentiment. There’s something classic and oddly simple sounding about their offerings, but there’s also something full of heart and passion behind everything they do, which creates such an easy atmosphere to get lost in.

Why was this more laid-back local band opening for the power that was to come from the headlining pop-punk legends? Jordan Carr is a super good friend (if I remember correctly, Matt Webster, the vocalist of the headlining group, referred to him as a brother) of the headlining act. Why do I bring this up? Because I feel like that was the name of the game on Friday night. Sure, we were all there for the music, but as mentioned, we were also there to catch up with old friends and relive those angsty years of our youth. Although I didn’t know many people or have as strong of a connection to the headliners as everyone else around me, it was so easy to get lost in the feeling of the night.

I’m not sure why Gloria was never “my band.” All I can think of is that I was fresh to the Twin Cities when they were having their moment in the scene, and I was still lost in the local scene I left behind in Des Moines, Iowa. Gloria is the Twin Cities’ Stuck With Arthur. It’s their Enkido, their Rosefield Rivals, their George Lasso’s the Moon, and, much like if any of those bands announced a reunion show nearly twenty years later, everyone was there and ready to relive their youth.

“How many people had to hire a babysitter tonight?” joked vocalist Webster. Honestly, not as many hands shot up as I thought they would, but I think that moment was a defining moment for Gloria’s time spent on stage because it showed how much everyone had grown over the past couple of years. There was power, emotion, and fun as Gloria’s punk-leaning pop-punk offerings blared through the speakers for well over an hour and late into the night. I wasn’t singing along like everyone else around me, but I was lost in their sound. Again, I don’t know why they were never “my band” because their sound was so clearly “my sound.” It’s a little bit ragey but comes with infectious hooks and boppy breakdowns that make you want to move.

I wish I had more to say about the show on Friday night, but honestly, it was a bit of a haze due to trying to get my concert legs back after being out of the game for a couple of times (it’s crazy what a couple of nights off will do to your stamina) and because of just wanting to be lost in the amazing feeling that was the atmosphere of the room. I want to thank everyone for letting me be part of the night even though, at times, I felt like a bit of an imposter as I had been sleeping on Gloria for so long. I know I’m about twenty years late and a buck short, but I plan on spending my Saturday digging into the few releases Gloria put out and getting lost in their nostalgic and perfect sound.

Line Up:

Portside Dive

Toilet Rats

Jordan Carr & The Boys

Gloria

Venue: James Ballentine “Uptown” VFW Post #246

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 39

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 3 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None Spotted

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)-

Portside Dive– 0

Toilet Rats – 0

Jordan Carr & The Boys – 0

Gloria – 0

Celebrity Sightings –Mikey of Den of Thieves

Overall Score – 9 out of 10

Show on Deck — Ratas En Zelo / Fierro / Butter Boys

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