How Do You Afford Your Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle?

There are a few things that signal the start of summer for me. One of those events is Punk Rock Bowling, which took place last weekend. The other was my first outdoor show in Minneapolis, which took place on Thursday night. Although I loved being at Punk Rock Bowling, it was incredibly hot out in the Las Vegas sun, so it was refreshing to be at an outdoor show and not be dying from the heat. Thursday night was a perfect setting for a perfect kick-off to summer here in Minneapolis at Surly Brewing Festival Field in Saint Paul. The sun was fighting against the clouds, and a light rain had just fallen, giving way to a cool and just sunny enough kind of night. The grounds of the outdoor field were packed when I arrived, and you could just feel the excitement in the air. People were ready for summer, they were ready for their first show outside of the year, and they were more than ready to experience the magic of CAKE.

CAKE is a good old-fashioned alternative rock band (with influences that span genres, but more on that later) from Sacramento, California. Like I was telling my mom on the way to the show, this band is one of those acts where, even if you don’t know their name, you know their music. They hit it big with many songs, including “The Distance” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” among others. For me, that’s what this band is– those numerous hits that lived on the airwaves in the late 90s and early 00s, but, for many in the sold-out audience, this band is so much more than just those hits. Getting lost in the atmosphere where people were traveling back in time to their youth or just getting to see a band that doesn’t come to town enough was more than enough to make this the perfect show to help me get back into the swing of things after my whirlwind weekend.

There are many characteristics to CAKE’s music and sound that set them apart from other standard alt-rock bands. For me, the one that stands out the most is the vocals. Vocalist John McCrea has a very dry delivery to his vocals. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are monotone, but they just don’t flow as easily as the almost jam-band-like instrumentation happening behind them, creating this sense of tension that I found oddly charming and perfect. When you add in the often sarcastic words that John is singing, you are left with a sound that feels almost parody-esque but is far from a joke. I loved that, although there were lines of words that definitely got a chuckle out of me, this band was all business, and they were there to get the sold-out audience a sense of perfection throughout their two-set performance.

Although I wouldn’t call CAKE a jam band (although they do have tendencies at times), being in the audience felt like being at a jam-band show. People were calm and just standing there, taking in the magic of the night. There was no real drama, and instead, just an audience full of people who didn’t seem to have a care in the world. All that mattered was the gorgeous weather, the friends they were with, and the cold drinks in hand. I know that this is something that could be said for many outdoor shows, especially up here in the Twin Cities, but this was different. I wish I had the right words to describe it, and I realize that I have completely backed myself into a corner by even bringing this up. However, I felt that it was something worth mentioning despite not having the right words. With the constant hustle and bustle that is life, it was nice to be in a space where nobody seemed to care about anything and where stress didn’t exist.

From more country-inspired tones to slightly jazzy little numbers, CAKE’s nineteen-song set seemed to span a super wide array of styles and vibes while staying perfectly situated in CAKE’s world. Every song that this band performed felt like entering a whole new world, and although the overall feeling in the audience stayed the same, the background of the setting seemed to be always evolving. As I mentioned, I was only familiar with the hits from this band (which were played at the end of the night), but that didn’t stop me from getting lost in each world as if it were my new favorite. It helped that everyone around me was singing along to every single word as if they had been waiting decades for this moment, and, in the case of some people, I’m sure that’s exactly the case.

Thursday night at Surly Brewing Festival Field with CAKE was the perfect kick-off to summer, and it has me excited for more nights like this, spent outside in a field of strangers, enjoying the one thing that brings us all together: good music.