Girl at the Rock Shows

I did not have starting my 2025 off with the plague on my bingo card but here we are. After the show on Tuesday night, I got hit with the nastiest bug I have ever experienced. I was down for the count and only came back to life after sleeping for nearly three days straight. It was rough because, as a workaholic, being unable to work is the worst thing to deal with. On top of that, I missed some truly amazing shows but knew that I would never get better unless I took a legit break. No shows, no work, no nothing. Thankfully, after days of sleep and more episodes of old-school Supermarket Sweeps than I would like to admit, I’m back and ready to catch up on both work and shows.

My first show back after my sleeping beauty era couldn’t have been more perfect, and that’s partially thanks to the opening band, Like Drive, at the 7th Street Entry on Sunday night. As this band kicked into their set, my first instinct was to start judging them. They were giving me pop-punk tones, but the young appearance of this band had me wondering what these kids actually know about pop-punk music. Speaking to ‘My American Heart’ like ‘A Thorn In Every Heart (okay, disregard my tortured play on words and band names but also shout out if you remember those gems from the early 2000s scene), Lake Drive instantly had me sold. Their perfectly emo-tinged pop-punk sound, delivered with a sharp edge, was not what I was expecting, but it was what I needed. Their sound was cohesive and flawlessly executed. Sure, there was a raw element to their set, much like the sets to follow, but that just added a sense of charm to what they were doing.

It’s been a couple of years since I had seen the next act, Pullstring, live, but I remembered them as soon as they hit the stage on Sunday night. This is the kind of band that grinds, and they grind hard, but they never seem to lose the spark and passion that made me fall head over heels for them the first time I saw them. With their most forward rock n’ roll sound, Pullstring gave the audience a set that was as catchy and energetic as it was chill and controlled. I loved how, although overall, their set was just a good old-fashioned rock n’ roll set, we got to see a few other sides of the band. From a southern-rock version of their track “Spring Is Here” to a super fun cover of “Year 3000” from Busted (this is the second time I’ve heard this cover lately– is this song going viral?!), I just loved that Pullstring could show multiple sides of their craft while keeping the energy and passion high. On top of it all, it was truly flawless. Pullstring has something that I feel a lot of bands only dream of, and that is sheer perfection when it comes to playing together as a cohesive band. I love the fact that all of the members of this local group were clearly having a great time playing together and getting the much-deserved praise from the audience while making sure that there wasn’t a single note out of place, a single beat sped up or slowed down.

Much like I hadn’t seen Pullstring in a hot minute, it has been a few years since I saw Motherwind perform. In the lifespan of a typical band, a few years could mean next to nothing. Some bands just settle into a routine, in a performance, into a schtick, and, as good as it may be, they never expand on it. Not Motherwind. This band has aged well beyond their years in my absence from their lives, and it both made my heart soar and my jaw drop as I watched them absolutely destroy the intimate 7th Street Entry stage on Sunday night. Sonically, this band is not for me. Their retro-tinted rock n’ roll feels a bit more Greta Van Fleet-inspired than I’m typically willing to go, yet something about this band had me absolutely floored. Much like the previous two acts, they brought a sense of flawlessness to the stage, but there was something about how Motherwind pulled that flawlessness off while making sure every hair on stage was whipping around on stage at the same time that was truly something special. From the energy to the sound, I was just genuinely lost for words but also a bit confused as I swear that this is not the same band I saw back in December of 2023. I wish I had more to say about Motherwind’s set, but, truthfully, the only note I took about their set (which ended with their vocalist/guitarist climbing onto a tiny bar ledge in the middle of the room and then monkey-barring his way back to the stage using the rafters of the dark club) was “Holy shit” and, truthfully, I think that’s all that needs to be said here. Keep your eyes on Motherwind this year.

Clearly, I was not only loving being back at a show after being super sick, but I was head over heels for all of the bands that had taken the stage on Sunday night, and the headlining act, Mayfly Moon, is no exception to that. Sunday night’s show was a celebration of the release of this headlining act’s new album, ‘Let Me Be,’ and it was a perfect way to celebrate such a fantastic group. As the band played through the entire album, the audience got lost in Mayfly Moon’s world. I loved hearing the many sides of this band, from their poppy and infectiously boppy side to a side that was a bit more tender and a bit more emotional, but what I loved, even more, was seeing the packed audience effortlessly change moods with the band. On the slower tracks, you could see couples in the audience swaying to the slow and steady beat. On the quicker, more danceable ones, you could see people getting into it with their feet ever so slightly leaving the ground in time with the beat. Whether it was a sensitive track or a more pump-up kind of jam, Mayfly Moon delivered every song they played with a sense of perfection and charm, making it the perfect ending to an already perfect night.

Being at an all local-band show (and yes, I understand that Motherwind is actually from Eau Claire, WI but I will go ahead and claim them as a Twin Cities band) is always the best choice to make for a chilly Sunday night. Being at an all local-band show is the best choice for any night– especially when those local bands are Lake Drive, Pullstring, Motherwind, and Mayfly Moon. After you check out all of these amazing bands, make sure to check out ‘Let Me Be’ from Mayfly Moon. You may have missed this show, but you don’t have to miss out on this amazing album.

Line Up:

Lake Drive

Pullstring

Motherwind

Mayfly Moon

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 25

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)-

Lake Drive – 0

Pullstring – 1

Motherwind – 1

Mayfly Moon – 1

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.5 out of 10

Show on Deck —Dead By 50 / Blame The Witness / Waar Party

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