We All End Up Singing To Someone

Being a concert addict makes having a social life hard. I know that sounds so backward since going to concerts is a social thing, but think about it. When do you hang out with your friends? Probably in the evenings and nights, and that’s when you can find me out at a show. My friends have gotten used to the fact that if they want to see me, they have to go to a show with me. Thankfully, my friends like music, so it works out, but some nights the conversation is so good, and there is so much catching up to do with a friend, that going to a show feels a bit like a task. I’m not going to say that going to Saturday night’s show felt like a task, because I was super excited for the show at The 7th Street Entry, but I will say that ending the conversation I was having with my friend was difficult. Life has been lifeing us both pretty hard right now, and we were both just getting it all out there. Before we knew it, it was time for the show. It was like a two-part therapy session. A little talk therapy and then a little music therapy. Truly, it was what I needed, and it set the stage for a beautiful, cathartic show from some amazing young local talent.

Unfortunately, my friend and I were so deep in conversation that we didn’t realize that we had completely missed the opening act, Sylvia Dieken. My biggest apologies to Sylvia, and let this serve as a promise to catch her next set when she returns from her second home in New York City.

We made it inside the cozy, intimate 7th Street Entry just in time to catch Woodzen. Although I’ve known Woodzen’s name for years, Saturday night was my first time experiencing their magic live, and I was instantly impressed. Sonically, this band is a bluegrass folk band, but there is so much more to their complicated and unique sound. Some songs felt a bit Grateful Dead-inspired, with an almost jam-like quality that lifted you out of this world and transported you into a new, foreign one. Other songs blended funky grooves with an almost jazz-standard vibe, creating a silky-smooth atmosphere to get cozy in. When you were getting cozy, the band would hit you with a super infectiously fun indie rock vibe that would both bring you back to reality while leaving your head in the clouds. Truly, it was all over the place, but the one thing that remained the same throughout this young band’s set was the passion and intensity. The music wasn’t intense (well, it was at points, but not in the typical sense of the word), but the intent was. This band didn’t just want you to hear what they were playing; they wanted you to feel it, and they made sure that that’s exactly what happened to everyone who had come out.

I had never heard of Lone Rock Bride before they took the stage on Saturday, but, almost simultaneously, they stole a little piece of my heart. Like Woodzen, Lone Rock Bride’s sound was a bit all over the place, but it was mostly situated in a country-inspired world that I know very little about. I could relate vocalist Emma Fisher’s style to that of Loretta Lynn and Lucinda Williams, but really, those are just names I know in the genre. Emma was so much more than a name; she was an instant best friend. Something about the rawness in her world choice and the tenderness in her tone had me absolutely stunned and definitely stuck. Joined on stage by a stellar band which, like Woodzen, was clearly all talent, Emma’s voice danced lightly over a twangy sound. Although I would have loved to see and hear Emma get a bit more down and dirty with a sense of power, it all worked and created a soundscape that both let you drift away while keeping you engaged all at the same time. Lone Rock Bride is clearly music for the daydreamers and, being the daydreamer that I am, I plan on spending a lot more time with this band and everything I can find on them until I get a chance to see them again.

Kind of like the way Lone Rock Bride stole a part of my heart on Saturday night, FINICK (the headliner on Saturday) stole a part of my heart when I saw her last April, and I was excited to see if I could get it back on Saturday. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get that little piece back. Instead, FINICK stole yet another little chunk of my heart. FINICK (real name Josie Hasnik) is one of those women who is just too cool for words. I don’t mean that in a cocky or rude way. I mean that in the way that this woman is doing everything I wish I had the balls to do. She’s getting on stages and pouring her heart out for anyone and everyone who will listen. That’s the way her set felt last year, and that’s the feeling I got again on Saturday night.

From indie rock anthems to dreamy soundscapes, FINICK does it all and has a way of conveying a range of emotions not just through her voice, but through the music she and her band produce. Everything feels so structured and so well rehearsed (seriously, I don’t think there was a single note out of place on Saturday night) yet it all hits you as being painfully real. When Josie sings about painful topics, you can feel that pain all the way down to the tips of your toes. When she sings an angsty little number, you can feel your ears start to burn as you take that angst and relate it to whatever chaos is happening in your life at the time. When the band shifts into a more folksy singer-songwriter kind of vibe, you get lost in this vision of sipping coffee on the porch of a cabin in the middle of the woods. Cozy, calm, and perfect. Okay, maybe that last one is just me, but what I’m trying to say is that FINICK somehow makes you feel everything and anything, even on the nights where you feel like it’s just another night. FINICK doesn’t allow you to be a passive listener; Josie and her band force you on journeys, and they are journeys that you will never want to leave.

Although I was absolutely captivated by FINICK’s performance, something felt just a bit off. Josie has always come off as super shy and timid to me, but this was different. She seemed almost uncomfortable about halfway through the set. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I just felt that something was wrong. Since I had an early morning on Sunday and a long day ahead of me, I decided to skip out a couple of songs early to get a jump on editing photos and everything else I still had to fit into my day, but my friend stuck behind. She told me that shortly after I left, Josie had to take a seat on the stage because she wasn’t feeling well. Supported by the entire band, she left the stage for a quick break and then came back to the stage to play one final track. I don’t know what happened, but I just hope Josie is okay. I also feel that, as scary as I’m sure this moment was for the friends and family in the audience, this goes to show that FINICK is more than just a local band; they are an unstoppable force that is sure to be one of the next bands to put the Twin Cities music scene on the map.