Girl at the Rock Shows

I’m a huge believer that concerts can fix almost anything. Having a crap day at work? Try a concert! Having some relationship issues? Let out your frustration at a concert! Going through a rough patch with your best friend? Clear your head at a concert! I truly believe I am only still on this planet because of concerts, but on Friday night, I realized there is one thing concerts can’t help. I’ve never had a migraine, but my Friday was plagued with something that I believe was a migraine or a bout of cluster headaches, and I was miserable. My first instinct was to go to a concert, but, folks, let me tell you, that was the wrong call. Before I get into the show, I want to apologize to all of the bands that played. Not only did I not feel like fighting my way to the front of the stage to get stellar photos that really documented how amazing the show was, but my head just wasn’t in the game. It was stuck in a line of cymbals, where my head was being smashed between them one after another. I tried to stick it out; I really did, but apparently concerts can’t cure nasty and unbearable headaches. Truthfully, it just made it worse, but I stuck around as long as I possibly could and, although it didn’t help the nasty headaches that came and went in waves across my entire body, it was a hell of a show that I was so glad I didn’t miss completely.

Kicking the show off at the Uptown VFW was a local band that I hold near and dear to my heart – Space Monkey Mafia. This band is actually my sixth most-seen band of all time, and there’s a reason for that. Not only is this group’s brand of ska the perfect mix of ska bounciness and political angst, but they are also just a super fun band to watch. Typically, this band has about an hour on stage to lay it all out for the audience and really get people hooked. On Friday night, they only had a half hour, but I feel like I almost liked this short set from them more. The band was all business and, instead of trying to fit in passionate, typically politically leaning tangents, it was a mad dash to the finish line of how many songs they could fit into their set. I got to hear my favorites like “Chicago (You Don’t Have To Go)” and their newish anti-ICE anthem aptly named “Fuck ICE,” but I feel like they played one song that I hadn’t heard before, which got me super excited. Vocalist and sax-extraordinaire Dante mentioned that this was going to be the band’s last show for a hot minute so they could come up with some new music and, as much as that hurt my heart to hear, as this is a live band I could see day after day and not get bored with, it has me so excited to see what comes next for this fantastic local ska band.

I know I just mentioned that one of my favorite tracks from Space Monkey Mafia is titled “Chicago (You Don’t Have To Go),” which features the anthemic chorus line of, “You don’t have to go to Chicago,” but, in the case of Devon Kay and the Solutions, it has felt like that is the only way you’ll be able to catch this band live if you live in the Twin Cities. I’m not sure why this band seems to be avoiding Minnesota, but I hope the warm and excited reception they got on Friday night changes that and that they come up here again soon. Like Space Monkey Mafia, Devon Kay & The Solutions has a very unique brand of ska. Sure, it’s ska, and you can leave it at that, but there’s so much more to offer here, from an alt-rock influence to something a bit more punky and more aggressively in your face. Their set was highlighted by a super fun cover of Liam Lynch’s “United States of Whatever.” Not only was this a perfect song for this group to cover musically, but it also let you see the super fun personality behind each member. Unfortunately, it was during Devon Kay & The Solutions’ set when my headaches started coming back, making it hard to concentrate enough to take notes or even really remember what songs the band played, so I don’t have specifics for you, but when you are watching a band as fun and flawless as this, do those details even matter? Headache or not, Devon Kay & The Solutions had the Uptown VFW feeling like an absolute party, and it was absolutely perfect.

Closing out the Friday night show was the one and only Mustard Plug. I’m starting to think that this band and Devon Kay & The Solutions are in cahoots against the Twin Cities, as the last time I had the honor of being in the presence of Mustard Plug was all the way back in 2017 at The Triple Rock (RIP), but I will say that they absolutely made up for lost time with their set on Friday night.

Formed in Michigan, Mustard Plug is one of those classic ska bands that I feel never really got the attention they deserved. They have been doing their thing since 1991 and have released nine albums since then, and I feel like we got a little taste of all of them with their set on Friday night. Again, with the headaches coming and going, I didn’t have the attention span to write down all the songs, but I know I heard some spanning the entirety of the catalog. Regardless of what songs they were playing, this band was tighter than tight. That could have been said for all three bands that played Friday night, but something was different about it with Mustard Plug. They made it look and feel so easy, like they’d been doing this for decades, but that’s because they have. Even though every note was perfectly placed and every glance between band members seemed to have oceans of meaning behind it, and that only comes from a band that has not only been playing together for decades, but also clearly loves what they are doing and performs every note and beat with an unwavering sense of love and passion.

I wish I had more to say about this show and better photos to share with you from the evening, but it took almost everything out of me just to be there and stick around. I hate that I didn’t get to fully enjoy the night and skank out some leftover stress from the work week, but I am so glad I got to witness the magic and feel the joy that comes from a solid ska show. Concerts can fix a lot —nasty headaches are not one of them. You learn something new every day, I suppose.

Line Up:

Space Monkey Mafia

Devon Kay & The Solutions

Mustard Plug

Venue: James Ballentine “Uptown” VFW Post #246

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 43

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Skank-ability- 7 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

Celebrity Sightings – None

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

Space Monkey Mafia – 12

Devon Kay & The Solutions – 1

Mustard Plug – 1

Show on Deck – Maygen & The Birdwatcher / Rich Mattson & The Northstars / Emmy Woods / Ross Thorn

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