Girl at the Rock Shows

Much like a show previously this week, Thursday night was spent seeing a band that has asked me time and time again to come out and check them out. Unfortunately, my schedule has never worked out when it comes to seeing Wayside live. I always feel bad when I have to turn the band down, so I was ecstatic to be able to tell them that, yes, I’m free on Thursday night and would be honored to come to their album release party at The Amsterdam Bar & Hall in Saint Paul. It was a pretty sleepy night downtown, but inside Amsterdam, it was truly nothing short of a party and a great celebration for this long-standing local band.

Phantom Fields was first up. Their sound felt instantly classic. It was a little Tom Petty feeling but with a Slobberbone kind of energy behind them with the swagger they gave off. The audience wasn’t big by the time this band kicked into their set (and, truthfully, didn’t really grow that much through the night), but, like the acts to follow, Phantom Fields didn’t let it stop them. Their set came off as professional and well-curated but also super free-flowing. This was a band full of guys who genuinely just liked making music and putting it out there for the world, and that was more than enough to have me sold on their set.

Combining comedy and live music doesn’t always work. In fact, half of the time, it doesn’t. I’m not sure that the quick set from local comedian MJ Matheson that happened next really did what it was supposed to for the night, but I do know that this John Stathom / Kevin James-looking comedian got some good jokes in during his short time on stage. I liked how he tried to relate some of his jokes to music, with a whole portion about going to see The Rolling Stones. I also found it interesting when MJ mentioned that all comedians seem to want to be musicians, and, in turn, all musicians seem to want to be comedians because that flowed so perfectly into the next performer.

If you’re in the know, you know Brynn Arens. Brynn is best known as the guitarist and frontman of Flipp. He also played in Zen From Mars and owns a company that creates amps from vintage radio consoles. This guy is a master of his trade, and it was truly an honor to be in his presence on Thursday night. Beyond this man’s legend was the charisma he showed on stage. Having seen Flipp before, I knew that Brynn is a true showman, but stripping away the band and leaving just this one man in the spotlight really showed you just how quirky and fun he can be. Brynn powered through a set of songs that were familiar to me because they were Flipp songs or felt familiar because Brynn has such a distinct voice and style. It was a truly rocking set but it was the stories he would tell between the songs that really hooked me. Here was Brynn Arens, a legend in the local music scene and beyond, telling us about getting his butt kicked in high school. I’m not sure why that struck me so much, but it stuck with me and made Brynn’s set dazzle.

After a few solo songs, we got our first glimpse at the headlining act, Wayside, as a few members joined Brynn on stage for a few songs. I won’t go super into it because I will talk more about Wayside when we get to their set (this was another marathon of a show with five acts crammed into just a few hours), but I will say that I loved this combination. Wayside guitarist Brian Dahlen took a second to explain what this partnership of sorts meant to him, and it made my heart sing. You could see throughout the time that these two acts spent on stage together that this meant the world to the members of Wayside. They were playing with the man who got them into music, a man who inspires them, a man who felt larger-than-life at one point or another to them, and here they were, on a Thursday night at The Amsterdam, collaborating without a care in the world. Much like Brynn’s storytelling, this wasn’t the biggest moment of the night, but it was one that really stood out to me as being nothing short of spectacular.

Consolation Champ was the final band before the headlining act. Their sound was a more straight-up rock n’ roll than anything else but I loved the little razzle dazzle moments scattered throughout their set that showed the true versatility and talent of this band. From a super fun old-school The Cars cover to a super organic feeling Black Crowes cover, I feel like the song choices this group made with the short time they had on stage really made them stand out. Beyond that, this was another band, like Phantom Fields, that was no frills. The members of Consolation Champ weren’t trying to be super innovative or even super fancy. They just wanted to give the audience a set complete of life and sounds that they enjoy in hopes of everyone else enjoying it too (which was definitely accomplished). Maybe I’m downplaying this band and, if I am, I am so sorry but I just enjoyed watching the members of the group enjoy themselves on stage.

Although everyone who played on Thursday night was great, I was relieved when the headlining act, Wayside, took the stage. I was ready to go home and go to bed due to exhaustion and the fact that, within twenty-four hours, I had seen and covered ten bands due to back-to-back marathon-styled shows, but as soon as Wayside kicked into their set, I forgot all about it. Thursday night’s show was a celebration of Wayside’s new album, ‘Dusk To Dawn.’ Being new to this band in general, I couldn’t tell if that’s all they played on Thursday night or if they treated their fans who had braved the rainy weather to older tracks, but I can tell you that I loved everything they performed. Their sound fit with the rest of the night with how it was just straight-up rock n’ roll. Sure, I could probably find some obscure references to give you to highlight certain peaks and valleys of their set, but overall, it was just rock music, and it was done well. I think so many musicians get so wrapped up in trying to be the most creative, the most innovative, and they get lost in the shuffle. Not Wayside. They know their sound, and they have clearly practiced it to perfection while keeping the magic of live music alive and well with their banter and stage presence.

Releasing an album is expensive. Not only does it take so much time, but it also takes so many resources, and that’s before you even start printing physical copies. For most bands, an album release party is a way to re-coop some of that loss, but not Wayside. This amazing local band donated all of the proceeds from this show to Avenues for Youth. This local organization provides support, housing, and resources to youth. I promise I won’t drag this on any longer than I already have, but if you take one thing away from this review outside of the bands to check out, please spend some time looking into this amazing organization and, if you can, throw them a small gift. They are doing amazing things, and it was such an amazing move on Wayside’s part to have Avenues For Youth involved in Thursday night’s show.

Line Up:

Phantom Fields

Brynn Arens

MJ Matheson

Consolation Champ

Wayside

Venue: Amsterdam Bar & Hall

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- 1 Single Piece of Confetti (does that make it confetto?)

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)-

Phantom Fields – 0

MJ Matheson – 0

Brynn Arens – 0

Consolation Champ – 0

Wayside – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Ben Nichols / Rick Steff / Colin Campbell

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