Girl at the Rock Shows

This has been an oddly light week. I’m not complaining at all. I feel like I’m still recovering from Punk Rock Bowling in Vegas and then the following weekend at Front Row Paul Fest here in Minneapolis, and I needed some nights off to just get back to normal. That being said, it felt weird to have only one show so far this week, so when Friday night rolled around, I was ready to feel the vibrations of live music in my soul. There was a perfect show happening at The Hook & Ladder in Minneapolis to break my dry spell.

Friday night’s show was hosted in the courtyard of The Hook & Ladder as part of their ‘Under the Canopy’ summer series. Seriously, people, if you have a free night and there’s an Under the Canopy show happening, go. There’s something so refreshing about not only being at a show outside but also this space in general. From the Sequeerity that welcomes you into the very chill yet organized space that comes complete with a couple of chairs, tables, and a few “ultra-fancy” cabana areas, there are many ways to enjoy one of these shows and, regardless of where you choose to stand or sit, you will enjoy it. My friend and I opted to hover around some of the small round tables placed throughout the space in front of the stage, but as the music started, we couldn’t help but inch closer and closer to the stage with every passing note.

Friday night’s three-band bill kicked off with Virginia’s Basement. I know it’s been just about a year since the last time I saw them, but this is a band that I haven’t stopped thinking about. They moved me to near tears when I saw them last June due to the sheer amount of emotion and passion they brought to the intimate Cloudland stage, so I was excited to get that feeling again on Friday night. They didn’t hold back. Virginia’s Basement started with a gorgeous poem written by Jonathan Mendoza and read by keyboardist Nen G Ramirez. It was a heavy but beautiful way to start the set and definitely laid the groundwork for the emotion that was to come from the rest of their time on stage.

To say that this band spent their time on stage is a bit of a lie. Vocalist Santana “Santi” Vigil spent most of their time out in the audience, trying to get people to move and stalking a path between the audience and the stage. Although the audience didn’t seem overly keen on moving around so early in the evening, I feel that having Santi out in the audience rather than on stage really broke down a barrier that felt almost non-existent throughout the night, thanks to moments like this. It added a very intimate vibe to an already super tender yet explosive sound. There were a million things that I loved about Virginia’s Basement’s set, from their Grandaddy cover to a performed poem written by Nen about their time spent at an Anita Velveeta show. Virginia’s Basement may be a local band, but their sound is so much more than that, and the message behind many of their song mixed with their performance had their quick opening set feeling larger than life.

Hailing from Milwaukee, Rat Bath was the next band to take the stage and the only non-local act on the bill, but truthfully, I could have been fooled into thinking they were local. This band was welcomed to the stage with open arms from the modest but excited audience. Like Santi of Virginia’s Basement, Rat Bath vocalist Fred Kenyon refused to stay on stage and, instead, opted to spend the majority of the set in the audience. Again, I can not explain the level of intimacy and community that this brought to the show. I know that bands (and vocalists in particular) are nothing new, but there was something special about this time. It wasn’t a gimmick or “just part of a show.” I truly felt that Fred was so in love with the audience and the scene that had shown up at this show that they just couldn’t resist getting closer. That may or may not be true. All I know is it added that razzle-dazzle to Rat Bath’s set.

All that being said, the music of Rat Bath stands on its own. It’s a powerful punk sound that’s full of heart and this odd and subtle sense of whimsy. Overall, it has a very DIY feel to it, but as you lose yourself deeper and deeper into the world of Rat Bath, you realize just how perfect everything about this band is and how, although that DIY sound and style clearly comes naturally to them, they have perfected it in a way that other DIY bands could only dream of. The way bassist Cora Bequeaith’s vocals cut through the air was gorgeous, but the way the tone of Cora’s vocals matched the tone of Fred’s and the rest of the band was one of the many highlights for me when it came to Rat Bath on Friday night.

I loved how VIAL, the headliners of Friday night at The Hook & Ladder, started their set off by reminding the audience that they are, in fact, local. Although I knew that and have known it for a long time, I understand how it can be hard to truly grasp the fact that this trio is local. They have been making waves for a few years now, and, truthfully, the last time I saw them was all the way in Las Vegas for Punk Rock Bowling last year. They killed it there and definitely made the Twin Cities scene so proud with their performance that fateful day. Although it was fun to see them across the country, something special was going on on Friday night with the energy radiating from the stage. It’s not that they didn’t bring energy to the Punk Rock Bowling stage; they absolutely did; it was more that I was seeing them in their element. In their hometown with their people and their air, and that seemed to really highlight an already dazzling set.

VIAL laid it all out on the stage on Friday night. Their quick and punchy punk songs cut through the air with ease as the audience pushed and shoved their way through the set. One of the many things I really like about VIAL is how they can come off as so aggressive at first take, but as you really start to watch them and listen to their sound and lyrics, you realize the tenderness and care that they have put into every song they have out there. The members of this band are clearly much younger than I am, yet I felt I could relate to the majority of their songs. Even the ones that had a more playful and slightly adolescent vibe behind them hit me right to the heart in the perfect way. From their bratty-styled songs to the ones that focused more on the sensitive side of this trio, VIAL put on one hell of a show on Friday night.

My dry spell is over, and I am diving headfirst into a heck of a show bender. I couldn’t have asked for a better show or a better setting to kick it all off with.

Line Up:

Virginia’s Basement

Rat Bath

VIAL

Venue: The Hook and Ladder

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 21

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 6 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

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)-

Virginia’s Basement – 1

Rat Bath – 0

VIAL – 3

Celebrity Sightings – Members of Supportive Parents / Space Monkey Mafia

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — The Dalmatian Club / Unstable Shapes / Gramma’s Boyfriend

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