Girl at the Rock Shows

Tuesday night at Amsterdam Bar & Hall in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was all about intensity. You could feel it as soon as you stepped into the building. Although the show took over only half the venue, leaving the bar and restaurant portion open to the public, I saw no public. Nearly everyone in the building was there for the show, and everyone seemed to be just a little bit more excited than the last person. If you didn’t know anything about the bands playing, I get how this could have been a bit of a surprise, but if you knew who was about to grace the stage, the excitement was well warranted. We were about to be treated to a couple of bands that are true legends of the scene.

I knew the two co-headlining acts of the night but had never heard of the opening act, Soul Blind. I waited for them to take the stage, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Given the two headliners of the night, I knew this opening band wasn’t going to suck, but I’ll be honest: I was full of anticipation and so ready to see the other acts. Soul Blind made me slow down. This band instantly had me hooked. Their sound was very grunge, with a little Silverchair-meets-Helmet vibe. The band didn’t just make a wall of sound; they made a crushing wall of sonic bliss. Okay, the distinction between those two things is very fine, but there was something so powerful yet so intentional. I’ll be the first to admit that grunge isn’t my first choice when it comes to music, but Soul Blind had me sold. There was an intimacy to the sound that made it so easy to fall into, yet there was an insane power that came from their delivery of said sound that made you feel like you were watching true superstars at work. Some songs felt volatile and uneasy, while others felt a bit more traditional and even commercial at times. Soul Blind was all over the place when it came to all aspects of their quick opening set, and it was perfect. I’m not sure where this band has been hiding or if I’ve been living under a rock, but Soul Blind definitely caught my attention and stole my heart on Tuesday night.

The last time I saw Bane, the first of the co-headliners to take the stage, was back in 2016 at The Triple Rock Social Club (RIP). Although I’ve been to hundreds of shows (if not thousands) since that night, it is a show I’ll never forget. It was intense both when it came to the music and when it came to the crowd. I remember seeing a girl get her nose absolutely crushed by a rogue boot to the face. Injuries at shows happen, but there was something just so dramatic and honestly heartbreaking about this one. It shouldn’t have happened, and I remember Bane taking the stage briefly after this dramatic scene unfolded and them scolding the owner of the boot. That person was out of line, and everyone knew it. He pushed the boundary of a pit, and that’s not something you do. I won’t dwell on this story, but I feel like I formed a connection with Bane that night that I never expected to have with this legendary hardcore band. Sure, they are an intense band full of angst and anger, but this moment showed the softer side of Bane, and it had me singing their praises from there on out. Again, this was ten years ago, and I haven’t had a chance to see Bane since, so I was excited to pay homage to the kings and dads of the hardcore scene- a scene that means everything to so many people, including myself.

Bane was on point on Tuesday night. Every note hit straight to the core, and every word seemed to have an important and meaningful message attached to it. This band does everything with intention, and that was in the spotlight on Tuesday night as much as the energy was. Although Bane has been doing this since 1994, and even though they have definitely had their ups and downs, lineup changes, and everything else that comes with being a band for decades, it quickly became clear that nothing has changed. Sure, they love the intensity. You could see vocalist Aaron Bedard feed off the crowd every chance he got, and you could see the rest of the band follow suit, but that wasn’t the only intensity in the room as they played. There was an intensity in the audience that was magnetic. Maybe it was noticing someone shouting along to every word like their life depended on it, or maybe it was the aging hardcore kids that were ferociously stalking the pit while also being very cognizant of those around them. No matter where you looked or what you tuned into, there was a level of intensity during Bane’s set that made it irresistible in all of the right ways.

Closing out Tuesday night at Amsterdam Bar & Hall was another absolutely legendary act- Quicksand. To say that this group is a supergroup would not be a stretch. Vocalist Walter Schriefels comes from Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits. Bassist Sergio Vega used to play bass for Deftones. Drummer Alan Cage has been in a bunch of notable post-hardcore and hardcore bands like Beyond, 108, and New Idea Society —the list goes on and on. Long story short, Quicksand isn’t a band that comes to mess around. They take every stage with a purpose, and much like during Bane, that purpose and intention were in the spotlight.

Although just as intense and just as perfect as Bane, there was definitely a shift in the room when Quicksand kicked into their set. There was still an insane amount of energy in the room, but it wasn’t as obvious as during Bane’s set. Quicksand turns the focus more to instrumentation and sound. This band is truly one of the best-sounding live bands I have ever seen. You can tell that the trio puts thought into their sound rather than just slapping some notes around through a PA and calling it good. From the tuning to the tone, the sound coming through the speakers was nothing short of record-quality, adding the perfect amount of dazzle to an already stunning set. Going to see Quicksand live isn’t just going to a concert; it’s like watching a masterclass on post-hardcore music.

Quicksand’s set mostly focused on their newest album, ‘Bring on the Psychics, ‘ which was released earlier this year. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t spend much time with this band outside of seeing them live, and I only noticed this because I checked out this new album the other day. One of the things that makes Quicksand such a stellar band is that those new songs blended so perfectly with some of the older jams they performed on Tuesday night. Really, if I hadn’t just checked out the new album, I probably would’ve assumed all the songs they played on Tuesday were throwbacks because they all had the same vibe, but in reality, that’s just more proof of the legend that is this band. Quicksand has a sound. When you hear a song by them, there’s no question who it’s by, and I love how that has continued throughout their career all the way to this latest release.

Feeling an insane amount of energy in a room is nothing new for me. Truthfully, it happens nearly every night since I’m at a show nearly every night, but there was something different on Tuesday that I can’t quite put my finger on. All I know is that Tuesday night’s show was perfect and, like usual, I was so happy I’d picked the perfect show to spend my evening and night at.

Line Up:

Soul Blind

Bane

Quicksand

Venue: Amsterdam Bar & Hall

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 41

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 4

Mosh-ability- 9 out of 10

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

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

How Many Pennies Charlie From Crash Cuddle Picked After Claiming He Was Going To Pick All of Them – 0

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Sausage-Fest Meter – 12 out of 10

Celebrity Sightings – Charlie of Crash Cuddle / Eric of Pilot to Gunnar

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

Soul Blind – 0

Bane – 1

Quicksand – 4

Show on Deck – Musiq Soulchild

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