Girl at the Rock Shows

Things at the 7th Street Entry on Tuesday night with Foreign Fields and Matthew & The Atlas were ridiculously chill, but it was a completely different story at the First Avenue mainroom. Up there, it was a complete party where, although the room wasn’t quite as full as I’m sure the three bands performing would have liked, everyone was clearly having the time of their lives.

Getting the party started was local group Bugsy. Bugsy is quickly becoming an unstoppable force in the local scene, and their performance on Tuesday night made it obvious why. Just like every other time I have seen this band perform, they took the stage with a subtle sense of power. What I really like about this band is how, at times, the members come off as oddly timid on stage, but as soon as they kick into one of their tracks, they turn into a powerhouse of a band with a sense of stage presence that will instantly blow you away and a powerful sound that will knock you on your butt. Like the previous times I have seen Bugsy perform, I couldn’t take my eyes off of vocalist Emily Schoonover. The way this talented human can distort their voice into so many different octaves and styles without ever showing a sense of strain is something that will never get old to see or hear live. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no ignoring the amazing musicians behind Emily as they definitely make Bugsy what it is, but there’s just something about Emily that will never cease to amaze me. Bugsy’s time on stage wasn’t super long as they were first in a three-band line-up, but they made every second count. If you had walked into First Avenue on Tuesday night, having never heard of this band before, you absolutely left a fan.

For me, Bugsy was the only band I knew on this line-up, but I became an instant fan of the next band that took the stage- Friday Pilots Club. I am really not one for a pop-styled boy band, but that’s exactly how Friday Pilots Club’s set felt to me, and I loved every second of it. I watched as the members of this group danced and played their way through an infectious set that must have lasted around twenty songs. Although that’s super lengthy for an opening act, it wasn’t enough. The energy that these guys were giving me was infectious, to say the least. It was a perfect contrast to the more serious nature of the other show I was hopping between at the 7th Street Entry.

Personally, I didn’t feel a lot of depth to Friday Pilots Club’s music, but that’s okay because they aren’t my band. Sometimes, you need a show where you don’t get a deep connection to the band. Sometimes, it’s okay to just dance and be silly to music you don’t know because that’s how it hits you. Sometimes it’s okay to admit that a band is super super amazing live but, overall, they aren’t your band. That being said, they were the band for many people in the audience. I watched in awe as some of those in the audience went absolutely hysterical for this group. From people screaming their lungs out to people dancing their butts off, the energy that was floating off of the stage from this band matched the electricity floating through the audience perfectly. I may not have had an emotional connection with this band at any point of their set, and their music may have been a bit too poppy and commercial for my personal taste, but when the band’s set was over and done, I couldn’t help but feel the need to see them again sooner rather than later.

All those things I just said about Friday Pilots Club could also be said for the night’s headlining act- Circa Waves. This English indie rock band is another band that, like Friday Pilots Club, I knew very little about but instantly fell head over heels for them based on their live performance. Again, their sound was a bit too poppy and slightly mainstream for my personal preference, but the energy that they gave me from the second their set started until the very end of it all was more than enough to have me sold and already anxiously awaiting another chance to see them live.

Full disclosure: the venue was not full. In fact, it felt oddly empty if you were hanging towards the back of the club like I was, but it was clear that those who were in attendance on Tuesday night were not going to let a single second of this show pass them by. Those same people I was watching screaming their lungs out to Friday Pilots Club’s set were not screaming and dancing like their life depended on it to Circa Waves’ music. I don’t know why this struck me so much at this show when it’s something I see and feel often at poppier concerts, but there was just something so genuine about all of the electricity floating in the air as Circa Waves performed. Whether it was the energy from the stage to the audience or vice versa, it was hard to not get wrapped up in the positive atmosphere and fun, carefree aura that seemed to take over the entire venue.

Sometimes, there’s a lot to say about the musicianship at a show, or I spend a lot of time talking about the intensity of a performance. There are some posts where I talk about how hard a show hit me or how I felt emotionally drained after seeing a performance. Truthfully, those were not the takeaways from Tuesday night at First Avenue, and I loved that for me. Tuesday night at First Avenue with Bugsy, Friday Pilots Club, and Circa Waves was one of those shows where it just felt good to be there. It felt good to smile and it felt good to even dance a little bit. It was one of those nights where, just for a couple of hours, I was a carefree kid again who didn’t care about anything other than the smile on my face and the sound that was creating that smile.

Line Up:

Bugsy

Friday Pilots Club

Circa Waves

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 22

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Dance-ability- 8.7 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

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)-

Bugsy – 3

Friday Pilots Club – 0

Circa Waves – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck —Laura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals / Alex Lahey / Rodeo Boys

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