Girl at the Rock Shows

My show on Sunday got postponed. This was after Saturday night, when I just could not decide what show to go to, so I ended up staying at home out of frustration. By the time Monday rolled around, I needed a show. I kept waiting for an email to come through saying I was approved to cover the show happening at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. One o’clock, two, three… nothing. I started to get in the mindset that it would be another night off, and I tried to get my head in the game. I wasn’t just going to sit around the house and wallow in the fact that I didn’t have a show; I was going to get stuff done. I got home from work, took my usual nap, woke up, and there it was. I was approved. At first, it was sheer panic. I wasn’t prepared. Although I do this night after night, I’m an anxious person, and I hate last-minute changes, but after scarfing down some weird microwaveable dinner, I shot out the door and raced to the venue. I was a bit stressed, but I was also excited. Again, I hate last-minute changes, but I needed a show, and I knew this was going to be a good one.

Unfortunately, due to the last-minute approval, there was some confusion about who I could photograph and who I couldn’t. Sadly, I was not approved to photograph the first two bands, but I was there to witness them in all of their magic, and like I always say, I’m a writer with a camera, not a photographer with a pen, so let me give you the lay of the land when it came to the two openers.

First up was Combat. I fell in love with this band when I saw them open for Pinkshift last November. Well, actually, I was in love with this band before that. I had stumbled across their single “Stay Golden” a while ago, and it was love at first listen, but seeing this band live adds a little extra something-something to their sound. This band is a fast-talking kind of group. I mean that quite literally. Vocalist Holden Wolf sounds like he has nerves and anxiety when he talks. His words are fast and furious but also come with a sense of fun as he typically introduces the group’s songs as “brand new” when, in actuality, they are not. It’s that charm and the way this band can fly through a set while hitting you with an intense sense of emotion and raw vulnerability that makes them a stand-out act. Although they didn’t have long on the Varstiy Theater stage, I felt that punch and then some on Monday night. I got to hear “Stay Golden” but also got to hear other tracks from the band. Some of them may actually have been new, some had definitely been out for some time, as I recognized them from the rabbit hole of Combat that I had gone down the first time I heard “Stay Golden,” but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that this band left their hearts on that stage, and it made for a truly explosive and perfect opening set.

Following Combat was Teen Mortgage. For a duo, this band has an insane amount of energy. The only other time I’ve had the honor of seeing this band was at Punk Rock Bowling in 2024. Although I liked them there, I just felt that their set wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted more, so I was excited to see if a more intimate setting could give me that. It did. Maybe it was being able to see this duo absolutely destroy the stage up close and personal, or maybe it was the way the audience had turned into a sweaty mess of flying limbs, whatever it was, something finally clicked between this band and me as they powered through their quick set on Thursday night. Like Combat, their set felt rushed but not in a bad way. It was as if these two musicians just had so much energy, and they wanted to get it all out before their time was up. With that being said, they were tight. The sounds coming through the speakers throughout the venue matched what I know of this band from recordings, but it just had that extra sparkle of chutzpah that can only come from a live performance.

After seeing Militarie Gun, the next band to take the stage on Monday night, open for Knocked Loose at The Armory in Minneapolis, I never, in a million years, thought I would have the chance to see this band on a smaller stage again. The Armory is huge with a capacity of over 8,000 people, and although they were an opener for that show, they killed it and controlled the room with ease. Going from seeing them in such a giant room like that to the more intimate space of the Varsity (which has a capacity of around 750 was truly shocking and something that I knew was truly special. Even though it was a much smaller space, Militarie Gun did what they always do– they killed it.

With a hardcore-infused alt-rock-punk kind of sound, Militarie Gun instantly had the audience back in a frenzy of flying limbs and bodies. The thing I love the most about this band is that they are real. No matter how big or small a stage is, you feel like you really get to know the members of this band when they play. Although their set was intense on Monday night and definitely full of angst that riled up the packed audience in a perfect way, I loved the fact that they found time to be a bit more tender and let us all see just how versatile this band can be. Whether it was one of their punk anthems or one of the more tender tracks, everything this band did on Monday night was perfect, but you could tell that’s not what they were trying to do. They kept passion and fire at the forefront of their set the whole time. It just so happens that this band is so good that everything they do feels and sounds so perfect. It was shocking to see them on this stage, and I know I said it last time, but I highly doubt that I will ever get to see Militarie Gun in such an intimate setting again. I hope I’m wrong again, but truly, this band deserves the world, and it’s absolutely in their grasp at this point.

The last time I saw Joyce Manor, the headliner on Monday night, was all the way back in August of 2019. It was literally a different world then. It was pre-COVID, pre-the mess we are all in now. It was honestly a simpler and just straight-up better time. Somehow, seeing them on Monday night brought me back to that time. I’ll be honest, I fell off the Joyce Manor train. There was a time when I was obsessed with this Torrance, California-based band. Nothing really happened other than the world kept moving, and new music kept on grabbing my eye. I wouldn’t say I forgot about them because that sounds harsh but, really, seeing their name on the banner towards the back of the stage throughout the night was sending shockwaves of nostalgia up my spine and, when they took the stage and instantly started playing my old favorites like “Heart Tattoo” and “All My Friends Are So Depressed,” I was lost in all of the right ways.

Joyce Manor’s sound is definitely punk, but it has this subtle, almost singer-songwriter kind of vibe hidden behind the angst. Vocalist Barry Johnson has this way of seeming like he is not even trying. It’s like he just opens his mouth and emotions fall out without him having to think about it. Compared to the other bands on this tour, I felt like Joyce Manor didn’t have the same kind of in-your-face energy, but don’t get it twisted, this band was full of life. It was a no-nonsense kind of set where, again, it was clear that the band was just trying to get through as much music as they possibly could during their short time allotted. Being the headliners of the night, I was a bit surprised when their set was over in just around an hour, but it makes sense and tracks with that no-nonsense kind of energy that always comes from Joyce Manor. Although I would have loved to hear more and get more out of this band, what they gave me was perfect and I hope that it doesn’t take me another seven years to see this band live again.

Earlier on Monday, I had come to terms with the idea of having the night off from a show. Honestly, I kind of warmed up to the idea, and when I got the last-minute approval to check out this show, I was a bit frustrated and bummed. How silly of me. Missing this show would have been a mistake. I needed the sense of energy, life, and love that all four of the bands that performed gave me

Line Up:

Combat

Teen Mortgage

Militarie Gun

Joyce Manor

Venue: Varsity Theater

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 32

Crowd Surfers- Lost count around 23

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 7 out of 10

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

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Bodies and Cans

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Celebrity Sightings – Paddy of Dillinger Four / Christy Costello

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

Combat – 1

Teen Mortgage – 1

Militarie Gun – 5

Joyce Manor – 3

Show on Deck – He Is Legend / A Lot Like Birds / Lost In Separation

Shameless Self Promotion:

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)

Check out my playlist HERE!