Girl at the Rock Shows

There are many things that signal the holiday season. For some people, it’s certain smells or foods. For me, it’s certain shows, and one of those shows is The Big Wu at First Avenue. That being said, I’ve never been able to attend The Big Wu show that always happens in December. Life just gets busy this time of year, but I love how, when I see it coming up, it signals the holidays for me. I changed things up this year, and although there were a bunch of other shows happening around town, I decided that this is the year that I turn the tradition of seeing this show on calendars into the tradition of going to The Big Wu winter show in real life, and I hate that it took me so long to do so.

Kicking things off in the legendary First Avenue main room was a personal favorite of mine – Kiss The Tiger. This band is a force, and there seems to be no stopping them. Fronted by the charismatic and oh-so-sweet Meghan Kreidler, Kiss The Toger provided the quickly growing crowd with a soundtrack that didn’t fit one particular genre or feeling. There were love songs that made you want to grab whoever you were at this show with and start slow dancing, and other songs that made you feel unstoppable. Like you could take on the world (or the audience members beside you) and conquer it all. I love how this band brings so many thoughts and feelings to the forefront, along with their ever-changing sound, yet stays true to themselves. You can feel that in every song. It’s not just the apparent passion that radiates from Meghan as she powers through song after song, with a feeling that is equal parts delicate and tender as it is powerful and gritty; you see it in the rest of the band, in the way they smile through every note and beat.

Saturday night was not my first experience with Kiss The Tiger. I’ve actually seen them a handful of times, dating back to May of 2018 when they opened for The Suburbs at this same venue. Here’s where I would typically tell you that I’ve seen this band grow and change over time. That is half true for Kiss The Tiger. They absolutely have grown, but they have not changed. That sounds like a bad thing, I know, but I promise I don’t mean it that way. This band has been blazing its own path since day one. They clearly make music that they want to make, not music that people particularly want to hear, and I can not find the words to really explain how much that means to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love innovation, but sometimes I like having a band that I know will leave me full of love, soul, and a slight kick of spiciness. The songs change with this band, but that feeling does not, and I just cannot thank Kiss The Tiger enough for being a positive, original, bright spot in this already dazzling local scene.

As the story goes, headlining act The Big Wu sold their souls for a case of Old Style beer. That must have been one hell of a magical case of Old Style because, holy heck, this band is nothing short of out of this world. Sure, the jam band rock n’ roll style of The Big Wu is definitely not my normal cup of tea, but there’s something about this band that always has me hooked. Maybe it’s the way they take standard rock n’ roll feeling songs and transform them into epic, almost Dead-like jams, or maybe it’s just the way that all of the members of this band play with a constant smile on their face as if they were born to be on stage. Either way, I adore The Big Wu and can’t believe that I haven’t spent a night with this band since August of 2021, when they opened for The Wailers.

The Big Wu are local legends. They are actually one of the few jam bands to make it big out of the Midwest, and, although they have calmed down a bit over the years, leaving this winter’s shows as one of the few times they seem to get together to perform, their legend is as bright as it always has been. The band formed in 1992 at St. Olaf College. They paid their dues in the local scene from headlining the Terminal Bar (if you know, you know) in 1995 to playing as the house band at The Cabooze around 1997. They celebrated their thirty-year anniversary in 2022 with a star-studded show at The Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul. Why am I telling you this? Honestly, because I just want you to know how important this band is. They may not be a household name like the Dead or Phish, but they have grinded for years and definitely have the same level of talent (in my humble opinion).

Saturday night at First Avenue wasn’t just a Big Wu show; it was a Big Wu celebration. The band played through two full sets, which meant the music went late into the night, almost bridging into the morning. Although I couldn’t tell you the songs they played or anything like that, I can tell you that their set ranged from barn-burning anthems to tender slow jams that made your heart flutter. Regardless of the mood the band was putting off, there was a sense of love radiating from the stage. I almost felt like an outsider when that feeling would hit me. I felt exposed, like the people around me knew this was my first Big Wu winter concert, but as I warmed up and got a bit more comfortable in the space, I realized it wasn’t the feeling of exposure; it was a feeling of acceptance. Sure, I wasn’t singing along, but by the end of the night, Big Wu had me dancing around like I was part of their family. Like I had always been part of their family.

Traditions are a huge thing around this time of year. I already have plenty of tried-and-true traditions, but am so excited to add a Big Wu concert to the mix. Although I hope it doesn’t take until next December for me to see this band again, I am already looking forward to next year’s December Big Wu show at First Avenue.

Line Up:

Kiss The Tiger

The Big Wu

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 47

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 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)-

Kiss The Tiger – 5

The Big Wu – 1

Show on Deck — Nuisance / By The Thousands / Ever north / VIA / Den of Thieves

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