Girl at the Rock Shows

Something was off on Thursday. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Overall, it was a good day. It was busy, but it wasn’t manic. I got off work, took my daily nap (because that’s one of the tricks to doing all of these shows– there, you know one of my secrets), made dinner, grabbed a friend, and headed to The Turf Club in Saint Paul. It was normal, it was good, I was excited, but something in my gut was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but that feeling went away as soon as I walked into the legendary Saint Paul club. I was greeted by familiar faces, too many to list, and the sound of all vinyl DJ ddZ. Other than a small knot in my stomach, all felt right, and I settled into the night.

I was instantly enamored by the opening act, Side Saddle Sirens. This act felt like nature, but nature during spooky season. Their haunting vocals were definitely in the Americana side of things, but their set was so much more than just a cool, calm, and collected Americana set. Their words felt more like an Amigo the Devil song. They were oddly brash and quite dark in theme, and something about the way the style of the vocals blended with the guitar, violin, and drums added an eerie, almost shadow-like element to the words. That’s right, I was in love (and so ready for the impending spooky season to take over my heart). Their sound was an ambiance, a vibe, an aura– not just music. Flickering candles and small fairy lights highlighted the edge of the stage where the three performers of this group would sway and bend to the organic-feeling beats they were providing. The depth that their set provided was more than enough for me to dive in, and when it was all said and done, I felt exhausted from my journey, but it was one that I absolutely want to take again. Stunning and divine, Side Saddle Sirens have my attention.

Drew of d’Lakes had shown up to accompany Bryn Battani on her set Wednesday night at the 7th Street Entry. It’s not that I had forgotten about d’Lakes; in fact, I adore this band and have since the first time I saw them in July of 2023, but something about seeing Drew perform with Bryn sparked something in me, so I was stoked that Drew and his band, d’Lakes, were part of this Thursday night line-up at The Turf Club. Although it has been over a year since I experienced d’Lakes live, I instantly remembered why it was love at first sight with this band. d’Lakes is more than just an indie pop band with musical theatre sensibilities. Okay, at their core, that’s exactly what they are, but they bring more than just that sound to a stage; they bring a performance. On Thursday night, that performance included two people who hung out in the audience and got people to participate in the show. Whether it was having the audience “go fishing” (by throwing toy fish into a net), take part in a hat craft where you could make your own hat out of foil to save yourself from the alien that was running around, or the epic balloon party, where, although balloons were provided, you had to inflate your own, you could not just stand idly by and watch d’Lakes’ set, you were part of it whether you wanted to be or not and I loved that. Okay, I understand that all of these things seem bizarre, even maybe a bit insane, but, in the moment and looking back at the d’Lakes set on Thursday, it was straight charm, and that charm was just the icing on top of a super well-done and bombastic set from this local band that should not be ignored.

Remember that knot in my stomach? Something started happening with my camera towards the end of d’Lakes’ set. I would shoot a frame, and then I would get an error code on my camera. I would quickly turn the camera on and off, get another shot, and then it would give me that terrible code again. Eventually, I couldn’t even get a shot. I would try to capture a moment, only for my camera to do nothing other than give me this alarming error code, and I instantly had a panic attack. I rushed to the back of the venue, laid out all my stuff on a table, and started troubleshooting. I changed the SD card, changed the battery, did that about 87 different ways, and then even reset my camera. I did this for a solid 20 minutes until I texted a fellow photographer who has been a huge help and inspiration to me since I started this journey into the “wonderful” world of photography (shout-out Fantail Media!). All I did was send him a photo of the screen I was seeing. All he sent back was, “Ugh”. I knew what that meant. Not only was I dead in the water as far as getting photos of the last two bands of Thursday night, but I would now be going out on Friday to buy a new camera, which, if you know how much it costs, you know is like buying a car on a whim on a Friday. My heart broke and, truthfully, my night had been ruined. I got a drink, a shot, something to try and reset my mind, because I knew that this was not how I wanted to spend the last two sets. However, nothing seemed to do the trick —that is, until I heard Sally Linda’s voice and the sound of PARISHES.

PARISHES was started as the solo pandemic project of Taylor Carik (of Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roll Club MPLS fame), but has evolved into something so much more. Now joined on stage by a truly stellar set of other local musicians, PARISHES is one of those bands that doesn’t play out often, but, when they do and if you catch them, it will change your life. I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true. The group has a cool blend of, well, I honestly don’t even know what to call it. Every member of this group brings something to the stage and, somehow, they have mashed it all together to create one massive, cohesive, and brilliant sound. From soul to funk, rock to blues, pop to Americana, you get it all when it comes to PARISHES, which creates an ever-changing kind of atmosphere, but the one constant is passion. I cannot even begin to describe to you what it’s like to watch this band perform, or even start to find the words to describe the passion and fire that they bring to every note, every beat. This is a band made up of musicians, for musicians, and it’s truly a sight to see. Sure, I was crabby and my night was ruined, but the music and fire of PARISHES kept a genuine smile on my face.

Closing out Thursday night’s show at The Turf Club on Thursday night was Mortiholics. It almost felt a bit wrong seeing this band across the river from their “homebase” of Mortimer’s in Uptown Minneapolis, but, being that I rarely get to Mort’s, I was super excited to see what this band was all about after seeing them on flyers week after week for so long. Unfortunately, I was exhausted- both mentally and physically. By the time the band finally hit the stage (around 11 PM), I was ready to give in. I honestly just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and pretend that Thursday night hadn’t happened. I wanted to wake up and see that it was all just a dream, my camera was fine, and all was right. Long story short, I left the show after just a few songs from Mortiholics. Don’t get me wrong, this band was absolutely killing it. The power of their sound was impossible to escape, and any other night, it would have breathed life into me and had me engaged until the very end of the night, but not Thursday night. My sincerest apologies to Mortiholics. I promise to come out to Mort’s and catch you on your home turf one of these nights.

Thursday night was amazing and so full of insane local talent. Unfortunately, my mood was ruined by my camera breaking. No matter how many times I reminded myself that I am a writer with a camera, not the other way around, I couldn’t snap out of it. I felt bad for the bands that I couldn’t shoot, I felt bad for leaving early, and I felt bad for having a crappy attitude by the end of the night. I feel bad for all of it. That being said, my night would have been a lot worse had I not been in my happy place- experiencing local music in a great little local club surrounded by other familiar faces from this amazing music scene that I call home.

Line Up:

Side Saddle Sirens

d’Lakes

PARISHES

Mortiholics

Venue: Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- 0 Spotted

Stage Divers- 0

Dance-ability- 3 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Balloons

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)-

Side Saddle Sirens – 0

d’Lakes – 2

PARISHES – 1

Mortiholics – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Bryn Battani / Members of Crash Cuddle and Unstable Shapes

Overall Score – 8.6 out of 10

Show on Deck — McNasty Brass Band / Radiochurch / Green Line

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