Girl at the Rock Shows

As soon as we got in the car Thursday night after the show at The Turf Club, my boyfriend asked, “Did you have your arm up at one point tonight?” I was caught. I had become so wrapped up in nostalgia and energy that, yes, I had my arm up at a few points throughout the night as I screamed along to the words from my teenage years. I couldn’t help it. I was listening to a band play through an album that I used to obsess over, and I wasn’t about to let my shyness or crippling anxiety keep me from celebrating. That was how my Thursday night ended up. Let’s talk about how it started before getting to the triumphant ending.

Los Angeles-based Good Terms was first up on this three-band show at The Turf Club in Saint Paul. Although I had never heard of this band before or their music, I was instantly drawn to and comfortable with their sound. It was a super nostalgic pop-punk tone that instantly took me back to my days spent attending shows right after finishing high school classes. Their songs were angsty but presented with no shortage of jumps and infectious melodies that spoke to my heart. Although their set was super nostalgic for me in terms of style, hearing a band take that sound and give it a fresh spin with new songs gave them a modern twist. Long story short, Good Terms gave me hope for the future of classic pop-punk. Beyond that, they definitely set the stage for what was to become a more powerful night than I had expected.

Up next was Have Mercy. I’ll be honest, this band was never “my band,” but I knew their name from back in the day. Hearing them play their melancholy emo-meets-indie rock songs made me wonder why I had never gotten into them. Their sound bridged the gap between bands like The Early November and something a bit harder (think some of Home Grown’s more tender songs). I liked the overall vibe, but I felt like this was a band I missed the boat on, and there was no catching up. With that being said, there was so much emotion that came from their set. That’s no surprise when you look into the background of this band. They have been through hell and back from line-up changes to the tragic death of their original drummer to Covid messing up what was supposed to be their final tour– hell and back, like I said. That didn’t stop them from producing a heck of a set on Thursday night, though. In fact, I think it enhanced it. There was a sense of desperation, a sense of fire that I hadn’t felt from a band in a hot minute. They honestly had nothing to prove to the audience that was full of people who had clearly been waiting for this moment to see Have Mercy again for the first time in years, yet Have Mercy made sure that, even if you weren’t at this show for them, you left completely enamored by their sound and hearts. Mission accomplished.

Have Mercy may not have been “my band” growing up, but Emery was– well, kind of. Honestly, I hid the fact that I listened to Emery as much as I did. Their 2005 album ‘The Question’ was a soundtrack of my life, but I didn’t want people to know how obsessed I was because, honestly, there was a stigma around Emery in my mind, and that stigma was Christianity. I know how many things are wrong with that statement– most notably, calling Emery a Christian band. Although the band never came out as a Christian band, only a band made up of Christian members, the truth was, they came up during the time when a lot of Christian bands were taking over, and they had some religious undertones to some of their lyrics if you read them in the right light. Being a Jew, I felt it was almost shameful to be so obsessed with a band like this, but clearly, I got over it and, again, this band and their 2005 album specifically ended up meaning so much to me.
Thursday night was a celebration of 20 years of ‘The Question,’ so yeah, I was excited. I knew that they were going to play the album in its entirety, and I knew I was going to be lost in a haze of nostalgia, but I underestimated just how much power this set would have over me. Saying I had a religious experience as I stood there watching them perform with all of their heart is a bit of a bad choice of words, given my past love affair with this band, but that’s the best way to put it. As soon as the downbeat of “So Cold I Could See My Breath,” I lost all control. I didn’t care who saw me screaming along to the words and really didn’t care if my boyfriend saw me raising my fists in the air to punch at the sky from time to time. I lost in Emery’s world, and it was truly a beautiful place to be.

After playing through ‘The Question’ in its entirety, Emery went on to play a few more songs from their impressive discography, including fan favorites like “The Ponytail Parades” and “Walls,” which they ended their set with. Honestly, I didn’t need to hear those songs. I had gotten what I came for and heard ‘The Question’ and all of the fantastic songs that come with it, but I also got so much more than that, and, truthfully, when that album playthrough was over, I was exhausted. I felt like I had gone through a million different emotions and lived a million lives while they were playing that album. Although they have been road warriors for decades, they have clearly not grown tired of it. Or, maybe they have, but you couldn’t tell. They performed with a grit and tenacity that would make even the most anti-early 2000s emo/post-hardcore human an instant fan. It was exactly what my heart and soul needed, but it was also more than I could have asked for.

Long story short, Thursday was amazing and one of those nights that had a profoundly powerful effect on me, which I truthfully wasn’t quite expecting. I knew I was going to enjoy this show and figured that the haze of nostalgia I got from the performance was one that wouldn’t wear off right away, but as I write this the morning after the show, I feel like an insane sense of emotion and power from the performance. I just don’t even know how to put it into words, but I know that Emery, Have Mercy, and Good Terms gave me a hell of a performance that is going to be pretty hard to beat as I move into a weekend full of shows.

Line Up:

Good Terms

Have Mercy

Emery

Venue: Turf Club

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)-

Good Terms – 0

Have Mercy – 0

Emery – 0 (but I’m sure a few times way back in the day)

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9.1 out of 10

Show on Deck — Scared of Chaka / Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops / Bermuda Squares

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