Girl at the Rock Shows

I’ve never been one to do much for Friday the 13th. I have a few friends who avoid the outside world on every Friday that lands on a 13. Call it superstitious, call it spiritual, whatever you want to call it, I don’t really follow it. That being said, I could celebrate every Friday the 13th (especially the one the day before Valentine’s Day) the way I did this Friday at The Turf Club in Saint Paul, I could see myself getting into this pseudo-holiday.

When I saw The Cobra Jets last August, I compared them to bands like Bad Religion and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I don’t know if this band has changed that much in just a few months or if what I picked up on changed that much but, their opening set on Friday night hit me like the most perfect Social Distortion set I’ve ever seen and I felt like I was falling in love with this local punk band all over again as they powered through their opening set. There was grit and swagger dripping from every note of their set. That grit and swagger were only amplified by the way this group presented their songs. There were no high-flying jumps or anything like that, but there was something super energized and perfectly infectious about watching this band play that seemed to amplify their already loud, perfect garage-punk vibe. The Cobra Jets are not new to the local scene, and they’re not in hiding or anything, but Friday night was only my second time seeing this group perform. My goal for this year —at least quadruple that — because I loved the feeling this band gave me on Friday night.

Following The Cobra Jets was a personal favorite of mine- Bad Idea. Bad Idea had the same kind of swagger-drenched vibe that I got from The Cobra Jets, but they added just a bit more of an East Coast kind of punk attitude to it. The vocals felt just a bit more severe, and the messages behind their songs just a bit more poignant. Add in their quick-paced, no-frills punk sound, and you were left with a set that not only gave you a sense of energy, but also an odd sense of purpose, like you were meant to throw your fist in the air and get involved with their set. I’ve had the honor of catching Bad Idea a couple of times now, and each time they seem to get a bit better while staying the same. I feel like I hear a few new songs every time, which means that this band is still hard at work adding to their repertoire, but those songs feel like Bad Idea songs. I know that should go without saying, but I can not tell you how many times I fall in love with a band just for them to take a turn into a new world. That’s not a bad thing, but I love knowing what I’m getting from Bad Idea while staying excited to see what they have up their sleeves.

Whereas Bad Idea seemed to take a card from the punk scene, Fret Rattles, the next and final opening act of Friday night’s show at The Turf Club, took a card from the oldies. There was something timeless and classic about Fret Rattles’ sound, yet every song felt fresh and exciting. I loved the fact that you could hear specific decades scattered throughout Fret Rattles’ set. Maybe it was a 60 ‘s-style guitar solo or a more ’90s-vibe beat mixed with a ’70s punk attitude. This band clearly draws on influences from all over the map, and the way they put them together to create electrifying, captivating songs is absolutely genius. The only downfall to this band on Friday night? Their set felt too short. Fret Rattles are legends of the local scene, and I have no doubt that they could have played for hours on end, and I wouldn’t have gotten bored with it. Like The Cobra Jets and Bad Idea, this is a local band that I am absolutely going to strive to see more of as we move through this year.

Closing out the Friday the 13th / pre-Valentine’s Day celebration was the almighty Impaler. Out of the over four thousand bands that I’ve seen live (according to my records), Impaler is my third most seen, which means that you’ve had to read my words gushing over this iconic local act many, many times before. I’m not going to spare you, because the truth is, I still find it amazing that I live in the same town as Impaler and that some of the band’s members even know my name. To call Impaler a legendary band feels so painfully understated. They are kings of the shock rock scene, and their name should be up among the likes of bands like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson. In my world, their name is in that sphere, and it’s because, after all of these years (nearly forty, I think I heard vocalist Bill Lindsey say), they are still doing their thing. Still chewing the neck off of a fake head to let the blood pour into Bill’s white beard, still disemboweling Dr. Corpse on stage, and still staging a full WWE-styled wrestling match. Like I said, legendary, but I wonder if they know it. Every local show they perform feels like just watching some neighborhood guys get on stage and do what they love, rather than trying to keep up a performance. I wish I could expand on that a bit more, but, truthfully, it’s just something you have to see for yourself (and it isn’t hard, as this is one of the hardest-working bands on the local scene, and they seem to be constantly performing).

Seeing Impaler as often as I do means they have an uphill battle as far as giving me something fresh and new to really catch my eyes and ears, but they nailed it on Friday night. I knew that this band had been in the studio working on some new songs because Bill Lindsey was kind enough to be a guest on the radio show I co-host. Hearing some of these new songs was absolutely my favorite part of Friday night. They felt and sounded like Impaler songs, no doubt about it, but some of the new songs had just a bit more emotional intensity. They seemed to focus a bit more on the heart than on Impaler’s typical glam-metal-meets-hard-rock sound. Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Maybe that’s because of everything happening around the world these days, or maybe it’s just the evolution of this band. Either way, I think those new Impaler songs that they performed on Friday night were just what we all needed to cap off a celebratory night of sorts.

I keep saying it, but I want everyone who isn’t here in the Twin Cities to understand —things are still far from normal. I know you’re probably hearing differently on the news or just not hearing about the Twin Cities at all anymore, but things are still very weird here. I want to thank all the bands and all the staff who worked last night at The Turf Club for creating a safe place where we could all get away from the insanity, if only for a couple of hours. I honestly don’t know when I last smiled as much as I did on Friday night, and it wasn’t just because of the music; it was because of the people around me and the sense of love that could be felt throughout the room.

Line Up:

The Cobra Jets

Bad Idea

Fret Rattles

Impaler

Venue: Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 52

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 6 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

Drunken Idiots Taken Out By Their Own Friends – 3

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

The Cobra Jets – 1

Bad Idea – 3

Fret Rattles – 3

Impaler – 13

Show on Deck —Ditchweed / The Gated Community / Kat and the Kodachromes / Matthew Thomas & Wounded Wing

Shameless Self Promotion:

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)

Check out my playlist HERE!