The Power and Mystique Of Minneapolis
On the fourth song into their set in the Main Room at First Avenue last night, Tom Chapman, lead singer of Battle, East Sussex’s Keane, realized he was going to have a personally transformative evening. It was during the devastating and tender track from their 2004 debut, Hopes and Fears, entitled “We Might As Well Be Strangers.” I saw him look out into the audience during the peak of the song and his face visibly changed.
The mystique that is the club First Avenue wrote its fire in the sky long ago, even before Purple Rain. It used to be a cool place to hang out even when it was a Greyhound Bus Station back in the 1930s, with its art deco vibe, air conditioning and floor checked terrazzo (which is still there today and serves as foundation of the pit). In 1970, the club opened with a two set performance by Joe Cocker and his Mad Dog Englishmen. Fitting, really, that a Brit Rocker should christen what was to become the musical mecca of the Midwest.
Over the years and as seen by the many stars painted on the exterior of the building, god-like geniuses from rock mythology have played the Main Room and the glorified closet known as 7th Street Entry, located in the same building. Clearly, the weight of this history overwhelmed Chapman, keyboard player Tim Rice Oxley, drummer Richard Hughes and bass player Jesse Quin. But they didn’t fail under the weight of it all. Instead, they rose to the occasion played a 21 song set that heated up the hearts of the 1500 strong audience in from the below-zero temperatures outside.
After each song, I turned to my show companion, Todd (an Essex man, born and bred for musical mythology just like me) and found that his jaw was nearer to the floor than mine. We were bearing witness to yet another legendary performance at First Avenue being born. It was a shovel to the head stunning show with Chapman’s choir boy voice at the center of it all. Keane prides itself on being flawless during performances and last night was no exception. They were greatly aided by the addition of a new sound system (and a wider pit area…so long, spirally staircase with forbidden step!) and the magnificent crowd that became immediately connected to the band early in the evening.
It was this synergy that created something quite magical last night and the emotion was evident on Tom’s face, growing stronger with each song. The set list was a nice collection of their now 10 year history. Highlights for me were “My Shadow,” “She Has No Time,” and, of course, “Bedshaped,” one of the top ten most romantic songs of all time. Their new album, Strangeland, is a return to the feel of their debut and contains many fantastic songs, the title track being one of my favorites. The first cut on the record, “You Are Young,” is a wonderful testament from parent to child and has now become the show opener. I recommend picking up the deluxe edition as it has four extra tracks.
With each song, I gazed around and looked at the denizens of the Ave and saw it all wash over and comfort them. Lovers snuggled, arms were raised, several thousand photos were taken and every word was sung by a chorus. Before the traditional show closer, “Crystal Ball,” Tom let his feelings on the evening be known. He was humbled by the connection that was made between band, venue and audience. He struggled to find the words to describe the nature of the relationship between music and Minneapolis and it was in this moment that I realized how deeply honest he was being.
Words don’t come easily when the power of the heart and soul drives the light that is within all of us.
Here are the rest of Keane’s tour dates in the United States. Here is the link to my photos of the evening.
This House Is A Circus, Berserk As Fuck
In what now has become a bi-annual tradition, The Arctic Monkeys descend on First Avenue and remind the Twin Cities why they are the Colossus of UK Banks. Last night’s show was unique in several ways.
To begin with, First Ave recently installed a high capacity roof air conditioner (announced on their Facebook page to much rejoicing) so the sold out show would be cool and comfortable. This proved to be extremely beneficial as the pit became insane about a third of the way through the Monkey’s set.
This was also the first time I had ever seen the Monkey’s before they released their new album. Suck It and See is not due out until June 6th in the UK (June 7th stateside). I had only heard one new track (“Brick by Brick”) so the rest were going to be new to me. I was pretty amped to hear the new songs for the first time AND live!
They also brought a support band with them that has blown up quickly just like the Monkeys did when they released their first album. The Vaccines took the stage a little after 7pm and played a fantastic 35 minute set which included many tracks from their debut disc, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? Check out their video for the instant and hilarious classic “Post Break Up Sex.”After The Vaccines left the stage, the pit began to swell with humanity. My buddy Paul and I camped out underneath The Forbidden Staircase which has an excellent view of the stage from the right side of the pit. The Premier League like crowd started to get rowdy and sweaty when the announced set time (now posted on Facebook (mega!) for each show) came and went. I quietly blessed the owners of First Ave as I felt the soft wisps of cool air coming down on my head and shoulders.
Finally, the Monkeys took the stage and, without playing a note, the crowd went berserk. As all of us sang “O-lay, O-lay, O-lay, O-lay” as the lads led off with “Library Pictures” from their new record. A fast tempo surf punk diddy, the song impressed me immediately as being (yet another) departure from their previous work. After that was “Brianstorm” and that was pretty much it for any sort of control in the pit. Bodies flew everywhere as the set progressed through songs from all four of their releases.
Highlights for me were, first and foremost, the new tracks. “Don’t Sit Down Because I’ve Moved Your Chair” and “Brick by Brick” were amazing. “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala,” aside from being a fantastic song title, recalled (of all bands) The Doors and late 60s/early 70s California.A very large highlight for me was the crowd. As the lads played their older songs, their ridiculously loyal fans sang (no, screamed) along with every word. I, of course, was one of them. In many ways, we were all part of the performance as they did “Still Take You Home,” “Teddy Picker,” “Crying Lightening” and all of the others.
Coming as the second to last song of the night, “The View From The Afternoon,” took on a whole new meaning. The first track on their first album, which sets up the journey that a late adolescent man takes as he imagines what sort of evening he is going to have round the pubs and clubs, seemed last night more like confirmation of a premonition fulfilled completely. In looking at their body of work, on full display at First Avenue, The Arctic Monkeys have managed to evolve past that young man while still maintaining that spark of anticipation of what will always be a fucking riot of a night if they are playing a gig.
For the full set list, click here.
For my photos from the evening, click here.
Here is a live performance of “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” from the Jools Holland Show.
A Bloody Rager: Arctic Monkeys at First Avenue
A few years back, a couple of guys on my tennis team were talking. Let’s call them Jim and John. Jim, the older brother of John, was talking about a party that John had recently while their parents were away. Jim was in his 20s and John had just finished his first year at UW-Madison.
“Mark, you should have seen what I came home to on Saturday night,” Jim said laughing. John started to chuckle.
“I come home to do my laundry and this kid,” Jim said pointing at John, “was having a bloody rager!”
He then went on to describe the large crowd that piled into the Eden Prairie, MN home of Jim and John’s parents. They drank, smoked, yelled, danced, and were basically all up in that bitch. I cracked up at Jim’s perfect and simple definition.
Over the years, I, too, have experienced many “bloody ragers” and have many fond memories from each one of them. Whenever I go to a show, depending upon the band of course, there is always a fair amount of raging that goes in the pit. The club smell always puts me right into the mood. It’s like vodka…perfume…sweat…red bulls…cologne…all mixed up in a glorious din.
It had been awhile since I was at a rager and, honestly, wasn’t expecting one when The Arctic Monkeys announced a show at First Avenue. Their new album, Humbug, sounds like…well…like they spent time with my 8th grade class in 1981 doing bong hits and listening to Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC. Alex Turner, front man of the band, in a recent interview in NME confirmed this by stating that he and the lads from the Sheffield band had been hanging out and listening to a lot of Black Sabbath whilst recording this record. “Hanging out,” mmm? So, that’s what the kids are calling it these days.
They looked every bit the part of my eighth grade class as they came out on stage and opened with “Dance Little Liar” from the new record…long hair…band t-shirts…jeans. What happened to those posh, Kinks-looking dudes, who sang of bigger boys and stolen sweethearts? Obviously, they were still there as they ripped into the second track of the evening, “Brainstorm.” This was the moment when the rager was born.
Cups of beer, sweaty bodies, and hair flew everywhere as the pit at First Avenue became a swirling mass of humanity. I was off to the side (right next to the forbidden staircase) and stuck my proverbial toe in the water a few times. It was fucking great. When they played “Still Take You Home” from the first record, we all shouted “YOU KNOW NOTHING!” when Alex, sporting a Vines T shirt (mega:)), asked us in the lyric, “What do you know?”
“I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor” was next which turned the rager into a bloody rager. I took an elbow to the ribs, spilled half my Smithwicks on my trainers, and received a lateral deltoid to the chops but I didn’t care. I was in that place…a place that I will be in until I’ve fallen and can’t get up. My home…
They played several songs from the new album which sounded great live. I’ve always found the remarkable bands to be the ones that have an album which becomes more vibrant when they play live. And then you go back, listen to the record and love it more! This turned out to be true for Humbug and I was pleasantly surprised. As they closed the set proper with the beautiful “Fluorescent Adolescent,” I started to move towards the exit. My friends looked at me and said, “What about the encore?”
“The Arctic Monkeys don’t play encores,” I chuckled. I had seen them two times before. Once in Chicago and once here and they always just played extra long sets. Alex has been quoted several times as saying that encores “were for wankers.” I got a couple of steps away and noticed that the lights had not come up. People were still cheering…raging…was I (gasp) the maniacal music guru (double gasp) wrong?
Happily I was. They came back out and played an encore comprised of “Red Right Hand,” “My Propeller” and “505.” The crowd went berserk again. And the rager…oops…sorry….the bloody rager was back.
Bliss:)
For another take on the show and some fabulous pics check out my friend (and fellow Brit Rock addict) Brody’s music blog. Check TicketMaster for the Arctic Monkeys show near you.
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Check out Humbug
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