Girl at the Rock Shows

I was bummed when I couldn’t make it to the Chiodos concert in March. I had too many other shows going on that night where I just couldn’t swing it. Apparently, just a couple of songs in, one of the members of Chiodos got violently ill, and they ended up canceling the rest of the show and promising a return. That return came on Thursday night, and although I was expecting a night off so I could finally get caught up on some things, I was thrilled that I would have a second chance to celebrate 20 years of their pivotal album, ‘All’s Well That Ends Well.’ Sure, I was bummed that I didn’t get to see opening acts Emmure or Hawthorne Heights (who had been on that first March show), but I was about to get treated to something even better– two local bands getting their chance to shine in the Fillmore spotlight.

The first of those two local bands was The Motion Mosaic. These locals had already proved to me that they could hold their own against a national act when they opened for Norma Jean last September, but something about their performance on Thursday night hit a bit harder than that show. Maybe it was the bigger stage, the bigger audience, or the energy that comes from celebrating a monumental anniversary of an iconic band; regardless, The Motion Mosaic was on point as they chugged through their quick opening set. Stylistically, this local group was definitely a bit more metal-leaning than the other two bands that took the stage, but that didn’t stop them from providing everyone with a blistering performance.

Every time I see The Motion Mosaic live, they feel familiar because their sound is such a flawless one, but, at the same time, they almost feel like a new band. I’m not sure why that is, but I think it’s most easily attributed to the fact that this band will never go stale. Their sound is always evolving as they bring in new elements while staying with their metalcore roots. Even the songs I have heard from this band for years seem to evolve every time I hear them. The Motion Mosaic has been around for a hot minute, and they have been grinding since day one. It’s so nice to see that grind finally start to pay off, and it was truly an honor to be able to see them tear up the stage for such a big-for-a-certain-scene band.

Following The Motion Mosaic was Popstar. My only other interaction with this band was back in November of 2023 when I saw them open for $iah at the 7th Street Entry. I have to be honest, they didn’t leave me with the best impression. Although I found their sound to be unique, creative, and energized, something was off with me that night, and I walked away from that show without being super hooked. I’m a dumbass. No other way to put it. Truthfully, I don’t think much has changed with this band other than their sound evolving and getting a bit crisper. I also think that my head was just in a different spot when it came to Thursday night. Whatever it was, this trio absolutely killed it on Thursday night, and, in the case there were any big wigs at this show or maybe some management looking for a new act, Popstar will absolutely be the next big thing to come out of the Twin Cities.

Popstar’s music and overall performance are perfectly abrasive. From the recording that kicked off their set with a bunch of famous people introducing the band to the way that, as the trio left the stage, was recording was left repeating their social media handle, there was something almost cocky about the performance. This is what kind of turned me off from this band the first time I saw them but, in a room this big and for a show as huge as this one, it made sense to me and, instead of finding it to be a bit “too much,” I found it to be not enough on Thursday. Nothing would have been enough when it came to this band and my Thursday night. Their set moved quickly, giving the audience only small peaks into their unique world of industrial meets metalcore meets pop-punk meets nu-metal meets alt-rock meets… okay, you get it, but, really, there was not enough time for Popstar to lay out their entire sound on Thursday night. I just really hope (and honestly think) that nearly everyone left the show on Thursday night with either a love or a sense of intrigue regarding these local rockers.

It’s hard for me to believe that it has been 20 years since ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ came out. This is the album that put Chiodos on the map for me. The aptly named “Prelude,” which kicks this album off, is some of the most gorgeous piano playing I’ve ever heard, and the way that it flows seamlessly into the controlled chaos that is “All Nereids Beware” has always given me chills. The fact that I got to see this transition, along with all of the other songs from this album, performed live on Thursday night was enough to set aside my current exhaustion and stress levels.

Although this iconic album came out in 2005, this group has existed since 2001. They broke up around 2016 but then reunited in 2024. This band has been plagued with line-up changes, including losing but then getting back their original singer (and arguably the voice that makes this band as amazing as they are), Craig Owens. For me, Chiodos is Craig Owens. It’s his insanely talented voice that can go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows without so much as a stutter or breath, so I honestly couldn’t tell you much about the band backing him on Thursday night. From the little research that I’ve done, it looks like it was members of Craig’s other project, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, but I can not confirm that. All I know is that, regardless of who was playing what instrument on Thursday night, between the iconic songs and Craig’s stellar voice, I was instantly transported back to my angsty teenage years.

Chiodos flew through the ten-song album and then treated the audience to some other tracks from their storied career at the end. For me, it was all about the album playthrough. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going to miss a single beat of anything this band wanted to give me, but there was something just so perfect about hearing their album from front to back. I was not the only one who seemed to be lost in perfect nostalgic bliss. The entire audience was in the same boat. You had some people screaming and moshing their way through the set, and then other people, like me, just standing in the back with giant smiles on their faces while they were quietly dying on the inside as they realized the weight of this being the twentieth-anniversary tour of this album. It’s a weird thing. I was so excited to hear these songs and see this band, but as I drove home, I realized what this really meant. It meant it had been over twenty years of seeing and listening to this band. Twenty years since Chiodos’ sound was booming through my dad’s house as I cut up magazines to staple on my wall while I watched my Myspace page for any new friend requests or comments. Twenty years was a long time ago, and I don’t know if I loved or hated Chiodos for reminding me of that time, but I do know it was an absolute thrill to go back to that time, if only for a night.

**Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding among security, I was unable to photograph Chiodos**

Line Up:

The Motion Mosaic

Popstar

Chiodos

Venue: Fillmore

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 36

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 5 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)-

The Motion Mosaic – 4

Popstar – 1

Chiodos – 3

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.4 out of 10

Show on Deck —Season To Risk / Unstable Shapes / Upright Forms

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