I Have Not Yet Become All That I’ll Be

Night after night, I sit through tortured banter between the musician and the audience about Minneapolis being the musician’s favorite town in the country. I’m not naive. I know that they say this in nearly every town. Almost every audience is the best one ever, and every show has more energy than the last. Blah, blah, blah. That said, sometimes a musician will give a spiel, and you can feel that they mean it. That’s precisely what happened on Wednesday night at Amsterdam Bar & Hall in Saint Paul when Laura Jane Grace explained that, out of all of the cities she plays, she is so glad that her name is still relevant in the Minneapolis scene. There was something so raw and honest about the way she spoke about her appreciation for this scene and this state in general. When I go to my show on Thursday night, I will surely hear another band talk about how Minneapolis means the world to them, but it will not hit as heavily as hearing Laura Jane Grace say and mean it.

Before discussing the Goddess herself, let’s talk about the two openers, starting with Rodeo Boys. A four-piece rock band from Lansing, MI, I instantly became this group’s biggest fan within the first song. Their sound was rock and roll, with a slight Dirty Nil energy and an almost Gaslight Anthem, blue-collar worker vibe to their set, which felt relatable, honest, and raw. It was no surprise to me when I read up on this band on Thursday morning to find out that they have been grinding since 2019. You could feel that with their “nothing to lose, everything to prove” kind of attitude. Their music wasn’t the most intense music that I have heard or will hear all week, yet it felt larger-than-life, and the faces that singer/ guitarist Tiff Hannay was making while performing were just the icing on the cake.

Although I mentioned that this group had a “nothing to lose, everything to prove” kind of energy (which can sometimes come off as intimidating), there was also an undeniable charm behind Rodeo Boys’ set. From Tiff praising guitarist “Curly” for being so amazing to the way that Tiff was honest when mentioning their merch that was towards the back of the venue (“We have stuff for sale back there. You can buy some. Or not. I really don’t care. It’s the last night of tour and I’m checked out”), I just loved that you could feel that this band was a bit tired and thankful that this current tour was coming to an end but, at the same time, they hadn’t lost the fire in their souls. All of these things swirled around the sold-out venue to create a flawless and energizing set that I truly hope to see again soon.

For me, the energy of the room took a small hit as Alex Lahey took the stage. Don’t get me wrong, Alex Lahey was gorgeously perfect, but stylistically, her sound leaned a bit more pop than I was in the mood for, and I just felt that Rodeo Boys had already set the bar so high. All that being said, the audience was eating up every word of every song from this Australian singer-songwriter. With a stellar band behind her, Alex treated the audience to a lengthy set of songs about anything and everything. Although it was hard to pin down her lyrical content to just a few quick topics, I loved that this made her set one that everyone, regardless of their background, could relate to in one way or another. This was a super important aspect of Alex’s set on Wednesday night. Sure, I still had Rodeo Boys on my mind, but there were plenty of moments throughout Alex’s set where she and her band caught me with a specific line of words or a song in general.

Okay, let’s talk about the Goddess herself, Laura Jane Grace. Laura Jane Grace is an icon, a legend, a queen, and everything to so many people. Laura Jane Grace was one of the first punk musicians to come out as transgender (but let’s not forget the OG goddess and local legend, Venus De Mars) and has paved the way for many struggling souls to follow in her footsteps. She made it okay to be trans, okay to be queer, okay to gay, lesbian, bi, whatever you are– it was fine by Laura Jane Grace because, at the end of the day, all that matters is that you are true to yourself and those around you. That was the main takeaway for me on Wednesday night, just like every other time I have seen this powerhouse of a performer play.

I’ve seen Laura Jane Grace perform many times in different forms. From shows with Against Me! to Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers shows to solo shows– I’ve seen it all, and I love the fact that, although the music and supporting musicians behind her may change, Laura Jane Grace doesn’t. Wednesday night was my first time experiencing “Laura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals,” and truthfully, I think this may be one of my favorite forms yet. Although Laura has always had a slight folksy element to her music, this new form and subsequent album lean a bit more into the folk-punk side of her sound, and I’m absolutely here for it.

From new songs to old classics, Laura Jane and her amazing band (featuring a personal favorite of mine- Mikey Erg) powered through a twenty-two-song set followed by a four-song encore. Although those are massive numbers, Laura’s time on stage seemed to fly by, and, in the end, when she was joined on stage by everyone else who had performed earlier in the night to signal the end of this tour, I felt a bit disappointed. Not by what I had experienced over the past couple of hours, but more that it had to end. I’ve seen Laura Jane Grace multiple times, and like a fine wine, she’s only getting better with time. I will witness her genius again later this month when I make my yearly trek to Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas, and I am already counting down the days.