Back Where It All Began

12 years ago, I celebrated the start of a new job by going to see Minnesota natives Soul Asylum play at the locally well-known venue the Red Carpet in downtown St. Cloud. The band made it big on the national market with songs like "Somebody to Shove," "Black Gold" and "Runaway Train" in the early '90's. Though their popularity has waned from that high point, they are always a treat to see live in concert. Last night I went to my fifth Soul Asylum concert at that same venue, back where my real love for live music really began.

The night began with a baker's dozen alternative rock songs from the Minneapolis group The Melismatics. Although the crowd didn't know too much about them, I thought they did a good job of warming up the audience on a typically chilly December day in Central Minnesota. I later bought a copy of the band's 2013 release Rising Tide and got to congratulate singer/guitarist Ryan Smith on a good performance.

Shortly before 11 p.m. Soul Asylum took to the small Red Carpet stage, launching into one of the songs from my college years' soundtrack, "Somebody to Shove." Even though singer/guitarist Dave Pirner is the only original member still in the band, the group's cohesive sound shone throughout their set. Original guitarist Dan Murphy left the band in 2012, but his replacement Justin Sharbono was quite capable on lead and rhythm guitar. He also plays guitar lefthanded, so he gets a thumbs-up in my book as a fellow lefty just for that! It's not easy to fill original bassist Karl Mueller's shoes, but I have to say Winston Roye is the best and most energetic person to fill that role since Mueller lost his battle with throat cancer in 2006. Gone but not forgotten, Pirner dedicated the song "Without a Trace" to his longtime bandmate and friend during the show.

This was the first time I've been front row center for a Soul Asylum show, and it was cool getting to interact with Pirner - he commented on the Minnesota Twins sweatshirt I was wearing and I got to shake hands with him after the song "The Game." I always marvel at his stage presence and guitar performances - he's been using the same "Holiday Inn" Fender electric guitar (it has a well-faded sticker of TV channel listings from a Holiday Inn hotel) and black Gibson acoustic guitar at every show. Just like the songs I grew to love, some things just never change!

The band whipped through 18 songs before taking a break. Although it wasn't on the setlist I grabbed at the end of the show, Pirner began an abbreviated performance of their hit cover song "Summer of Drugs" while the technical crew helped drummer Michael Bland adjust his drum kit a bit.

The band ended the evening with the Grave Dancers Union singles "Runaway Train" and "April Fool" before calling it a night. This was my 11th rock show of the year, and it was great to end the 2014 concert season with a bang! The show was an exclamation point on a great day connecting with friends and enjoying live music. That's all I have for now - still have a couple blogs for you this year though: my concert year in review and my favorite albums of 2014. Until then, have a great week, everyone!

Soul Asylum setlist - Red Carpet Nightclub Fri. 12/19/14
1. Somebody to Shove
2. Misery
3. Lately
4. All is Well
5. Can't Even Tell
6. Bus Named Desire
7. Can't Help It
8. Black Gold
9. Without A Trace
10. Never Really Been
11. New York Blackout
12. Gravity
13. Spinnin'
14. Shut Down
15. The Game
16. Morgan's Dog
17. Nice Guys
18. Oxygen
Encore:
1. Summer of Drugs (abbreviated)
2. No Time for Waiting
3. Runaway Train
4. April Fool