Girl at the Rock Shows

Daylight saving time is never fun in the spring. It leads to feeling a bit more exhausted than you probably should and, for me, leads to a feeling of frustration about being so tired. That was my mood when I was driving to First Avenue on Sunday night. Don’t get me wrong, it was a pretty good day from the radio show I co-host to spending some time celebrating International Women’s Day out at a rally and march, but I was exhausted, and the small nap I took after the march to try and prep for my show on Sunday night just didn’t feel like it was enough. Nothing was going to be enough. But I’m not one to miss shows, and although I would have loved to stay on my couch for even just a few more minutes, there was a show happening that I was not willing to miss.

Opening up the Sunday night show was Bray Radbury. I had never heard of Bray’s name, but I did know that he was the drummer of the headlining act. Did this mean that the opening set for Sunday night was just going to be one epic drum solo? When I looked at the stage and noticed a small table set up on the edge of the stage with a computer on top of it, I knew that was not going to be the case. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super stoked about what I saw. I was at this show because the second band is a band of legends (but more on that in a minute) and not to see DJ’s that not only perform music that does very little for me, but also leave me very little to do photo-wise. Bray took the stage and I almost reluctantly made my way into the photo pit to get to work. I wasn’t bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I had hoped for, but as soon as he started performing his solo-electronic tunes, a flip switched.

Bray Radbury isn’t just a DJ, he’s a weaver of tones and emotions. The music he was pumping through his computer and into the air spanned not just generations, but genres. There were moments where his quick opening set felt like an EDM show, but then there were these moments of tenderness that felt almost like a pop performance. It was a cool blend and one that instantly caught my ears. Although there wasn’t much to see (until the bubble machines started producing tiny little bubbles that floated over the first few rows of the audience), there was a lot to hear, feel, and digest, making this so much more than just a DJ set.

I honestly don’t know if I have the right words to describe what happened next. I caught Too Many Zooz when they opened for Primus and Coheed and Cambria in July of 2024. I’m not going to say that their set changed my life, but I will say that they instantly became a band that I was determined to catch live again. They had me hooked, but then didn’t announce another Twin Cities-area show until now. I didn’t care who they were playing with or where the show was; I was going to be there, and I was going to dream of the moment until it happened. It finally happened on Sunday night. Joy is a lot of things for a lot of people. For me, joy is watching Too Many Zooz perform.

Too Many Zooz is a trio from New York City who got their start playing in subway stations throughout the city. This sounds cool, I know, but, honestly, it’s not a super unique story. I’ve heard it a few times over the years and, although I’m always impressed with these stories, it’s just not enough to make a band unique to me. That being said, to say that Too Many Zooz is unique would be the understatement of the year. Made up of a drummer, baritone saxophonist, and a trumpeter who could also be classified as a stunning pianist, Too Many Zooz plays “brasshouse” music. What is “brasshouse”? It’s basically a mix of EDM and house music with a brass band feeling. It’s boisterous and bombastic, but it definitely has a sense of sheer and pure musicianship behind it. I really can not even begin to describe the talent that can be heard from Davis “King of Sludge” Parks on drums (it’s not even a real drumset– more of a marching bass drum with a slew of other things attached to the top of the drum), Matt “Doe” Muirhead on trumpet and keys, and then Leo P on baritone saxophone.

The sound of this trio is more than enough to hook anyone, but it’s their show that will low-key change your life. Obviously, I found a thrill watching all three of these musicians do their thing, but it’s Leo P on bari sax that will instantly catch your eye (and steal your heart). The way this human can dance and shimmy across a stage with this giant saxophone hanging from his neck is insane. From high kicks to moonwalks, Leo seems like the type of person who was never able to sit still and has turned it into art. It’s not just his moving or his dancing with his giant baritone sax like it was a dancing partner; it’s what he’s able to do while frolicking across the stage. The complicated rhythms, the non-stop movement– I just can not even imagine how much strength, stamina, and sheer power it takes to do this night after night, and the fact that he is able to do it without noticeably running out of breath or sweating will just leave you speechless.

I’ll be honest, I was done with the show after Too Many Zooz. Although there was still one act to go, and it was an act I knew nothing about, I knew that there wasn’t a band that could hold a candle to what had just happened, and I was right. Don’t get me wrong, The Floozies were great. This electronic-funk duo felt like the Phish of the EDM scene. Their tracks felt more like lengthy and organic jams than EDM-inspired bops, which definitely caught my attention, but when it came to their stage set-up, there just wasn’t much there. Brothers Matt and Mark Hill were situated at the very back of the stage, and they just stood and sat back there and performed their tracks. I was a bit surprised that they were situated so far back on the stage. I mean, this was the headlining act of the night. Many of the people in the audience were here to see them (although, clearly, a lot were there for Too Many Zooz as the crowd thinned ever so slightly after that set), so why didn’t they take the spotlight they deserved?

It ended up that stage was empty for a reason, and that reason was Too Many Zooz. This is when everything about this show made sense to me. The organic electronic vibe of The Floozies matched the bombastic and thrilling sound of Too Many Zooz so perfectly. I would never say that Too Many Zooz’s sound was hollow or anything like that, but having Matt and Mark Hill back the horns up added just the perfect amount of power, spice, and chutzpah to the night. Although I stand by the fact that Too Many Zooz stole this show with their middle-slot set, there’s no denying that the ending of this show, when it all came together, was anything short of fantastic.

It’s the Monday after daylight savings, and it’s safe to say that we are all dragging just a bit more than usual, but the energy I got from Sunday night at First Avenue is absolutely going to help me get through the day a bit easier than others.

Line Up:

Bray Radbury

Too Many Zooz

The Floozies

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Jazz Cigarettes

Average Age of the Crowd: 40

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

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

Bray Radbury – 0

Too Many Zooz – 1

The Floozies – 0

Show on Deck —Hawthorne Heights / letlive. / Creeper

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