Girl at the Rock Shows

Shows have been great lately, but my soul was missing a good ol’ fashioned punk rock show. Thankfully for me, the always lovely Hook & Ladder had one for me on Thursday night. Sure, I could have gone to the Pantera show happening in downtown Minneapolis but spending my night at a cute local non-profit venue with people who were clearly there for the music, not for the show, was more my speed so to say I was bright eyed and bushy tailed as my boyfriend and friend pulled up to the South Minneapolis venue would be an understatement.

Local garage-punk rockers The Cobra Jets were first up. I knew nothing about this band before they took the Zen Arcade stage (the smaller of the two venue rooms that are in The Hook & Ladder), but I was excited to see what they would give me. Their sound was raw and gritty. Some of that grit definitely came from the fact that the vocalist was losing or had lost his voice. I felt bad watching him struggle with his vocals throughout the set, but at the same time, I liked the grit that it brought. It felt like Bad Religion meets The Mighty Mighty Bosstones vocally, but instrumentation-wise, The Cobra Jets had a very down-and-dirty, no-frills kind of punk vibe. All together, it worked. The set felt a little rough around the edges, but that absolutely could have been due to the struggles with vocals, and, quite honestly, I loved the charm that it brought to their sound.

It was a fight against time for the second act to take the stage. The Slow Death sped through the set changeover and blasted into their set with minimal warning. About halfway through, vocalist Jesse Thorson explained that the taco food truck parked outside the venue was only open until 9, and he was hungry. They had to finish their set in time for him to get some delicious tacos, so they powered through, leaving no survivors. The sound of The Slow Death is absolutely my jam. It has the tenderness of The Gaslight Anthem mixed with the intensity of Dillinger Four, and it’s all presented with more of that no-frills kind of energy that The Cobra Jets had laid out. Although I’ve only been able to catch this band one other time, I spend a lot of time with The Slow Death’s recordings so being able to hear those songs live was absolutely a highlight of my Thursday night that was only enhanced by Jesse’s signature brand of comedy that, beyond the race for food, touched on the fact that, yes, he was wearing shorts and, yes, he knows that’s not cool, but it was hot and he doesn’t care if you hated him for it or not.

I don’t get to see Bad Idea as much as I want to, so I was stoked since they were the next and final opening act to take the stage on Thursday night. Their sound, like the rest of the bands that graced the stage, was straight-up punk rock. There’s no way around it. Heavy chords, intense vocals, slamming drums– everything I love, but what sets this band apart is the severity that comes with their set. Okay, maybe “severity” is a bit of a strong word to use, but I can’t think of a better one this early in the morning. Whereas The Slow Death had all of the jokes and all of the hair (seriously, the three guys in that band have so much freaking hair), Bad Idea brought a more serious tone to the night (and a slight lack of hair– sorry guys, love you!). Even with that serious vibe cast over the room, there was something so fun about seeing this band plug away at their songs. Their sound is classic and definitely pays homage to the bands of years gone by while giving a personal twist to the sound.

Closing out the Thursday night show was The Strains. Hailing from Detroit Rock City, The Strains fit perfectly in the Twin Cities scene that had been showcased throughout the evening. Their sound was energized and intense, but they stayed perfectly situated in the punk rock vein of things without stepping out of bounds. Like Bad Idea, I was struck by the way this band could pay homage to eras gone by while giving their sound a fresh spin. It was like The Stooges meets Zeke, but with a Replacements haze that is so easy to get lost in. Long story short, The Strains were the perfect ending to a perfect night.

Although I really liked the music and sheer energy that these rockers brought to the stage, it was the stories from frontman Paul Grace Smith that really had me in love. Of course, I loved hearing about his time spent living in the Twin Cities and how he talked about the wild times he had living with a bunch of wild punks out of the Podany’s building in Saint Louis Park, but it was more than just that one story that had me struck. Every time he talked, he had a different wild thing to say. Things that seemed almost too wild to be true, but just based on the conviction with which this band performed, you knew that it was all 100% true. It wasn’t just Paul; everyone in The Strains clearly has been doing the punk rock thing for years, and seeing it all transformed into a cohesive set was terrific, but I would have loved to just sit around a giant table and hear the stories from all of them.

There weren’t any flashing lights other than the constantly rotating disco ball, creating a frenzy of activity on the floor. There wasn’t any smoke and absolutely no mirrors. Thursday night at The Hook & Ladder was a down-and-dirty kind of night where it was just about the music, and, truthfully, that’s why I do this. Although giant shows are fun and I love a little drama mixed with pomp and circumstance, sometimes it’s nice to just get down to basics and see some bands take a stage and do what they love- make music with a sense of passion and heart. It’s exactly what I needed, making this the perfect way to spend my Thursday night.

Line Up:

The Cobra Jets

The Slow Death

Bad Idea

The Strains

Venue: The Hook & Ladder

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- 0 Spotted

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)-

The Cobra Jets – 0

The Slow Death – 1

Bad Idea – 2

The Strains – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Tim of Loss Leader

Overall Score – 8.7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Pitbull / Neon Union

Shameless Self Promotion:

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)

Check out my playlist HERE!