Girl at the Rock Shows

After a wacky and wild weekend, I was ready to decompress at a show or two. I feel like everything here in Minneapolis has been a bit tense over the past forty-eight hours, and I just needed to feel a sense of peace and safety. It’s not that I ever felt unsafe or anything like that, but it was more that everyone just seemed a bit frantic, a bit nervous, and a bit on edge. I needed to get away from that. I needed to feel a beat thumping through my soul and see strangers smiling because, at the end of the day, life is too short to be constantly stressed and looking over your shoulder. I knew just where to go, and that was one of my many homes away from home- First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry. Let’s start by discussing what was happening in the legendary main room of First Avenue.

Kicking things off in the iconic venue was Band of Skulls from England. This is a band name I have seen time and time again but have never taken the time to dig into. Honestly, I figured this was just another metal band. I mean, come on, that name is brutal and just screams blackened death metal from across the ocean, right? Well, I was completely off on that assumption. What this band actually is is a gorgeous rock band with lush layers sewn together to create a patchwork kind of sound of tones and vibes, both familiar and unfamiliar. Okay, that doesn’t give you much to go off of. I know. But let me explain.

When Band of Skulls kicked into their eleven-song set, starting with “Sweet Sour,” I was taken aback by this almost indie-pop kind of easiness behind their music. Although I was hit with a wall of sound the second they started playing, it was calm and easy to get lost in without feeling any resemblance of aggression or angst. As the set progressed and the band expanded on this sound, I was treated to a slight feeling of angst at times, but at other times, I was delighted to hear something close to birds singing in a Disney movie. Okay, I’m being dramatic, but there was something almost whimsical about some of the moments during Band of Skulls’ set that had a carefree innocence attached to it, whereas others had a mature “I’ve lived a million lives” kind of vibe. The way that this amazing and highly talented band could bring all of these feelings together in such a way that every song felt perfectly crafted in a setlist that was brilliantly curated was all I needed to become an instant die-hard fan of this band.

Unlike Band of Skulls, I felt like I knew everything I needed to know about the headlining band- JET (spoiler alert: I was wrong on that). Formed in 2001, JET quickly became a hit-making kind of band with their 2003 album ‘Get Born.’ This iconic album was made up of hit after hit, including “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” and “Cold Hard Bitch” (among many others). Although I loved that album and distinctly remember blaring it in the first car I ever owned as I drove to and from marching band practice. Truthfully, that’s where my knowledge of this band stops, and I was okay with that. Although they released a few more albums after this iconic one, I feel like they were never quite able to match the genius that was on that initial album, so I let the band fall to the wayside and really only came back to them on the days I was feeling nostalgic. What a shame because, when it came to their set on Sunday night, they absolutely killed it and proved to me (and a packed audience) that they are so much more than just those few songs and that one iconic album- this is a band that, sure, hit it big, but never quite got the recognition they deserved.

I watched in awe as JET powered through their nearly twenty-song set, complete with songs from that fateful 2003 album and beyond. Although I only knew the songs that had soundtracked my drives to and from marching band (I honestly don’t know why that’s the memory I have of this album but I’m going with it), I was absolutely enamored by every song that this band performed. Some songs felt like a heartfelt Oasis track followed by explosive numbers that had a bit more AC/DC flare to them. Between those were tracks that leaned into a bit more of a retro, vintage sound, giving me Led Zeppelin vibes. Regardless of the era this band seemed to be drawing from, their original songs all had two things in common: talent and energy.

Vocalist Nic Cester danced around the stage with a sense of fun rather than intimidation. I guess that could kind of go without saying because JET’s music, overall, is a bit more positive than it is aggressive, but I feel like most of the bands I see these days have a front person who wants to intimidate the audience to pull them in– not JET. Between Nic’s dancing and the way the rest of the members would make nods to the audience while pulling off dazzling solos and powerful notes, there was something just straight-up fun and unassuming about JET’s performance that I could not get enough of. I wouldn’t call them has-beens after seeing them on Sunday night, but I definitely had that thought before the show. I loved the way their carefree and passionate performance put that thought to bed really quickly and allowed me to see this band for what they are —a group of musicians who clearly love what they do and love sharing it with the masses.

The more I read about this band and everything they have done over the years and everything they continue to do, the more I fall in love with them. This band has been through it– the highs, the lows, the triumphs, the break-ups but they have never given up, and, even during the lowest of lows, the band has continued to perform to audiences across the world while also shining a light on many campaigns including PETA and The Fred Hollows Foundation (a non-profit that focuses on treating and preventing blindness and other vision problems).

I may have walked into this show on Sunday night just to add another concert to my list for the year and knock another band off my bucket list, but I am realizing now that it was so much more than that. Both Band of Skulls and JET gave brilliant and heartfelt performances worthy of a BRAVO! and worthy of me wanting to see both bands again sooner rather than later.

Line Up:

Band of Skulls

JET

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 37

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 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)-

Band of Skulls – 0

JET – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9.3 out of 10

Show on Deck — Samantha Crain / Quinn Christopherson

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