Girl at the Rock Shows

Wednesday night was one of those nights where it would have been so lovely to stay in the house. It was cold and rainy. On top of that, it was a weird day with a lot of drama in my personal life. The drama doesn’t include me directly, but I somehow got wrapped up in it all, and it consumed me throughout the day. By the time I had to leave the house to get to Cloudland for the show, I was dragging my feet. Would anyone even care if I skipped the show? Would you care if you didn’t have a review to read this morning? Honestly, the answer to both of those questions is probably light a “no,” but, to me, I knew that I would remain in a funk and continue to be consumed by the drama if I didn’t find a release and, for me, the only release that works is live music so I got in the car and headed to Cloudland in hopes of escape the day and my own head.

My trick worked, and as soon as opening act Big Salt kicked into their perfectly angsty set, all of the worries, stress, and drama today melted away one note at a time. I adore this local band. Although definitely aggressive and with some things to say, there’s something approachable about their music and also something jaw-droppingly stunning about it. Wednesday night was this group’s first show in a hot minute, but you wouldn’t have known that. Their set came off as well-rehearsed and perfectly curated song-wise. Each song came with a message that was driven home by the powerful vocals of vocalist Sally. Although this entire band is amazing, Sally’s vocals get me every time. There are times when it’s clear that she belongs in a punk band, but there are other moments when I couldn’t shake the Janis Joplin influence I was feeling. Fierce with a side offering of fire, Big Salt was the perfect way to kick off the otherwise dreary and cold Wednesday night show.

Up next, by mistake, was Christy Costello. I only say by mistake because the second act that was supposed to play on Wednesday night was Gay Witch Abortion. I was super excited to see this quirky band for the first time in a long time, but sadly, they had to drop off the bill. They canceled due to one of the members having to put their fur baby down, and I get it. I couldn’t even imagine going through that again, as I already did it twice on the same day in April (yeah, not a good day for me). My heart goes out to this band member and their entire family. Luckily, the Twin Cities music scene supports each other, and after what I’m sure was a frantic flurry of calls, texts, and more conversations than I can even fathom, the one and only Christy Costello stepped up to take the vacant spot on the bill.

This was a true treat only because it was like catching a band off guard. It was like seeing a performance that you maybe shouldn’t have seen. Even Christy Costello mentioned that she didn’t quite know what was happening as this was supposed to be a band practice. She welcomed the packed venue to their band practice and she and the band jumped into a set of their classic with fresh feeling rock ‘n’ roll music. The band may have claimed to be a bit unprepared for this performance, but you could have fooled me. Like the set from Big Salt, there was something perfectly rehearsed about Christy Costello’s set. The music seemed to take over my body one limb at a time, and by the end of it, I couldn’t resist the urge to dance around to their high-energy yet super boppy sound.

Closing out the Wednesday night show was a personal favorite of mine- Dead History. As soon as this local post-punk band started performing, any sign of stress, exhaustion, or drama that I had lingering after the two sets were gone in a flash. Much like drama seemed to consume my day, Dead History’s sound consumed my heart and oddly gave me a sense of solace even though their music, at times, can be a bit aggressive. When I say it’s aggressive, I don’t mean it in the same way I would with metal music. I more mean that the emotions that radiate from the stage while Dead History is playing seem to invade your space. They get into your bubble and seep deep inside your soul and bones whether you want it to or not. This is both due to the heavy yet perfectly composed instrumentation and then the raw and a bit too real vocals. The way those two elements swirl around you is one of those feelings that many bands try super hard to pull off but typically fall short of. Not Dead History, it doesn’t even seem like they’re trying to make that atmosphere, but the power and conviction behind their music does it for them.

Wednesday night’s show at Cloudland was part of the 25th Annual Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival, which is taking over Minneapolis through Sunday. From live music to movies to panels and everything in between, Minneapolis is being taken over by a perfectly curated series of events. Get out there and enjoy it! I plan on being at a few more of these Sound Unseen shows before the weekend is over, and I hope to see you there!
Line Up:

Big Salt

Christy Costello

Dead History

Venue: Cloudland

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 39

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 out of 10

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)-

Big Salt – 1

Christy Costello – 2

Dead History – 2

Celebrity Sightings – Front Row Paul / Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score – 9.8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Low Cut Connie / Sweat / Fimone // Finesse / Spun out / True Lust

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