Girl at the Rock Shows

Walking into Zhora Darling on Friday night, I thought I already knew what this article would be like. It would be praise for this intimate venue for bringing a band as legendary as Quicksand to town. It would be about the magic of seeing a larger-than-life band at a smaller-than-I-could-ever-imagine-venue, About how cool it is to live in a city where things like this happen, and how much of a treasure independent venues are. Although all those thoughts are swimming around my mind as I write this review, those things were not the biggest takeaway from the fantastic show Friday night at Zhora Darling.

One of my favorite local bands, Unstable Shapes, started the night perfectly, but that’s no surprise. Although I just saw this post-hardcore band about three weeks ago at this same venue, their set on Friday night hit me, and it hit me hard. I can not understate the amount of emotion this group of men can bring to a stage. It’s staggering, deafening, and truly leads to a cathartic experience. I attribute much of that to the emotion flowing through vocalist Andrew Cahek. Although this entire band is a thrill to see live, Andrew steals the spotlight most of the time. You can see him feel the weight of the lyrics in such a powerful way. Seeing him near the edge of what feels like a complete breakdown adds the raw edge to this band that keeps me coming back time and time again. Although I could go on and on about how amazing Unstable Shapes was on Friday night and how they continue to be a favorite of mine, I feel like I’ve written about them a lot lately, so let’s move on, but seriously, go see this local band live the next time you can.

As I mentioned, there was something beyond the magic of seeing a legendary band in a super intimate venue that I took away from the show on Friday night, and that was the set from Pilot to Gunner. Pilot to Gunner is not a new name to me. This band has been around since 1998, and I remember letting some of their albums play when I was working at record shops while I was growing up. Being able to say I saw this band so many years later was more than enough to get me excited, but the fact that bassist Eric Odness is also the owner of this amazing little venue situated in Northeast Minneapolis, the fact that this was his first time playing his own stage and the fact that his daughter was seeing him perform for the first time ever was truly what made Friday night such a special show.

Pilot to Gunner’s sound was on point throughout their set on Friday night. It was clear and crisp with an edge of emotion and passion that radiated through the speakers throughout the night, but it was those moments where I caught Eric, bass in hand, with a cheesy smile on his face as he looked down at his daughter who happened to be right next to me with his wife. It was the smile that said, “Yeah, kid, do what makes you happy, not what’s easy.” Eric did take a couple of moments in the set to talk about setting up this venue. He spoke of the blood, sweat, and tears that he and his partner put into this place and how amazing it was to finally get a chance to play on the stage that he created– a stage where everyone from the legendary Thursday to small indie local bands just trying to get a start have performed. Sure, the music of Pilot to Gunner was great, and I hope I have another chance to catch them perform live, but those moments and watching Eric truly made their set one to remember.

After a longer-than-usual delay, it was finally time for New York City-based trio Quicksand to take the stage. The packed audience had finally moved up closer to the stage, creating an almost basement-show kind of atmosphere just in time for this trio to kick into their set. I couldn’t tell you how many songs they played or what songs they were as I am honestly more of a passive Quicksand fan than a die-hard like many of those in attendance, but I can tell you that each song came with Quicksand’s unique brand of 90s feeling post-hardcore sound with a slight hint of grunge-inspired attitude and no shortage of fire. Something about Quicksand’s set on Friday felt more organic than my previous time spent with this band. There were moments when I thought the band members were almost riffing on each other, not just playing the music they have for years. I loved that about their set at Zhora Darling.

Seeing bands like this in such small and “unusual” spaces is such an eye-opening event. We all put acts and people on pedestals when they reach a certain level. Although Quicksand has been at that level for decades, with their name being a staple in the scene, there was something about seeing them right there, with no more than two hundred other people, that showed me that, even after all of these years, this band still thoroughly enjoys making music. Whether it was the moments that you caught the band members smiling and laughing at each other during and between tracks, or the moments that they interacted with the audience by doing nothing more than raising their instrument and nodding to someone, there was just something that almost humanized this larger than life band in a way that I never thought I would experience with someone like Quicksand.

I went to the show on Friday night for the novelty of seeing a massive band in a small space and partially because I just can not get enough of Unstable Shapes right now. It was just another show, another night spent in a sea of strangers while trying to understand the power of music and how, although I didn’t know many people at the show, we all had something in common, and that something runs deep. It ended up being the perfect example of the charm that you get from an independent venue made by and for musicians in a town where people actually give a crap about live music and music in general. Long story short, Friday night at Zhora Darling was perfect.

Line Up:

Unstable Shapes

Pilot To Gunner

Quicksand

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 39

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 2 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)-

Unstable Shapes – 3

Pilot to Gunner – 0

Quicksand – 4

Celebrity Sightings – Nick of Battery Eyes

Overall Score – 9 out of 10

Show on Deck —Dillinger Four / Home Front / Canal Irreal / Condominium / Buio Omega

Shameless Self Promotion:

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)

Check Out My New Playlist With All of My Favorite Songs HERE!