Girl at the Rock Shows

Monday night’s show didn’t do it for me. It lacked grit and heart. Maybe that’s why I felt a bit off on Tuesday. I just wasn’t motivated to work because I think that’s because I didn’t get that sense of fiery passion from the stage on Monday night. I didn’t put that together until I walked into Cloudland on Wednesday night. I had felt weird all through the day. Lazy and a bit depressed, but that all went away when I walked into this small and intimate club. It’s one of my favorites in town, but I don’t spend much time here anymore. I couldn’t tell you why, but I can tell you that, after experiencing the top-notch show I did there on Tuesday night, I will be back sooner rather than later because I was reminded of just how beautiful and how supportive this little venue is of all kinds of music, from local to obscure.

A local favorite of mine kicked things off. There was a time when I felt like I was seeing Unstable Shapes every couple of weeks, and I fear that I kind of took it for granted. Then, out of nowhere, their announcements stopped. My schedule stopped lining up with the few shows they did play, and I could feel the hole in my heart grow a bit bigger with every day that passed when I wasn’t able to see them live. I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true. This band is more than a band; they are a feeling, and it was a feeling that I was beyond appreciative to get on Tuesday night.

To call Unstable Shapes emotional would be an understatement. Their songs not only speak to me lyrically, but their live shows speak to my energy. There’s a sense of panicked desperation that comes through in some of their songs and a feeling of more defiant power in others. It’s like riding the rollercoaster of a highly emotional day all in just about twenty minutes, and, at times, it becomes overwhelming. I felt like their set on Tuesday, for me, was overwhelming but in a great way. They were making me feel things during their set in my head and my heart that I didn’t know I needed to feel, but, instead of leaving me hanging with these feelings, they acted as a crutch. A sort of cathartic friend that I could release all of those feelings into. With vocalist Andrew Cahak situated on the floor in front of the stage rather than actually on the stage due to the intimate size of this club, I feel like there were no boundaries, no borders. It was just me, a sold-out crowd of around 150 people, and Unstable Shapes, and that is the way I wish I could start every single night of my life.

Had you asked me who I was most excited to see on Tuesday night prior to the show, I would have said Unstable Shapes and the headlining act, Mr.Phylzzz. It’s nothing against the second act, In Lieu, but more that it had been years since I had seen the band and, truthfully, I didn’t remember them. Move over Unstable Shapes (in the most polite way ever), I think In Lieu just became a new favorite of mine. Before I go further, I want to explain that I still adore Unstable Shapes. They absolutely killed it and, up against any other local, they would have remained the kings in my head, but their set on Tuesday was the same as it usually is, and, outside of one new song, it was the same songs. Again, that’s why I love this band, but their performance didn’t even hold a candle to that of In Lieu.

In Lieu started their set with vocalist/guitarist Nikki Post perched upon her amp. I don’t know why this stuck with me or why it’s an image I can’t seem to shake even the morning after, but it caught my attention and, after that, I honestly don’t have the words to explain what happened. At first, I picked up on an almost musical theatre kind of vibe. The contrasting dynamics performed within individual songs made each track feel like a bipolar episode, but in a good way. Nikki’s voice could somehow go from this sweet, bubblegum kind of vibe into some of the gnarliest snarls you’ve ever heard. It was fascinating to watch and even more amazing to feel. Although I didn’t have the attachment to the words as I did for Unstable Shapes, I felt connected to this band with every passing phrase. Maybe it wasn’t even the wording; maybe it was just the raw emotions that were laid out right in front of me. Regardless, I was attached. In Lieu seemingly saw my heart, and I saw theirs, and it has sparked a fire in me that I didn’t know I needed. Even waking up the morning after, with just five hours of sleep and a long day ahead of me, I have In Lieu’s performance repeating in my head, and it is breathing a sense of life into me that I didn’t know I could feel on an early Wednesday morning.

In Lieu was a hard act to beat, but if anyone stood a chance, it was Chicago-based Mr.Phylzzz. My first interaction with this band was at an outdoor show at Grumpy’s in northeast Minneapolis when they opened for the Melvins. I remember being beautifully confused by them. Their sound didn’t make sense to me. It read more like chaos than music, yet there was something comforting about it. Their presentation of the music was a bit peculiar as well. Okay, maybe that’s not the right way to put it, but vocalist/guitarist Clinton Jacobs would talk in this super high-pitched, almost childlike voice between tracks. It caught me off guard and, although that’s not what made me ultimately fall in love with this band, it was something that made them memorable.

Mr.Phylzzz was ready to kick some ass and take some names on Tuesday night. The duo wasted no time and quickly powered through a nine-song set followed by a quick, one-song encore. It was track after track of that pure chaos that I mentioned, but there was something different to their sound on Tuesday night that I didn’t get the previous two times I’ve seen this act. That “something different” was emotion. I think I had looked at this band as a bit of a joke in a way. From the funny vocal quips that you get from Clinton to the relentless drumming of Danny Sein, I just feel like Mr.Phylzzz has always been more entertainment to me than a cathartic release. Maybe it was because I was smooshed right up against the stage for the entirety of their set due to the intimate quarters of Cloudland, or maybe it was because of all of the emotion felt in the two opening sets. Whatever it was, I was here for it and, as I had felt in the previous two sets, I spent Mr.Phylzzz’s set clearing my mind in a way.

I should probably give you more details here. I should probably talk about the songs that all three of the bands played and how the audience responded with deafening cheers, but I was lost throughout the night. I was lost in my own head. I was lost, letting go of some pent-up angst and energy that had been plaguing me. I was lost in the beauty of a local venue that actually gives a damn and supports music like this. I was lost in the strangers around me who seemed to be just as captivated as I was. I was completely lost, and that was exactly where I wanted to be on Tuesday night.

Line Up:

Unstable Shapes

In Lieu

Mr.Phylzzz

Venue: Cloudland

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 39

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

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)-

Unstable Shapes – 9

In Lieu – 1

Mr.Phylzzz – 2

Show on Deck – The Body / BIG|BRAVE / Scaphe

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