Saturday, April 25, 2015

Return to Hipps Pub

After having so much fun with my buddy at the American Head Charge show at Hipps Pub in Eau Claire last Saturday night, I decided to return last night for the Seasons After show with a friend. Turned out to be great night of music and conversations!

I got off work at 4:30 p.m. and navigated my way to the Twin Cities suburbs where I was carpooling with another fellow metalhead friend. Despite the usually busy Friday rush hour traffic, we both got to our meeting place at a decent time, and I drove us to Hipps on a cloudy afternoon.

No sooner  had we arrived at the club when the first person we saw was my good friend. He's been a fan and friend of Seasons After for a while now, so we knew we were in for a good time. We spent some time catching up and meeting some new friends before the first band, Chippewa Valley natives Frantic Antics opened the show. They mixed in original songs with covers of songs by Rage Against the Machine, Green Day and a punk rock cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom County Blues" that was outstanding!

The next band was Chicago natives Romantic Rebel. I'd heard the band live at Pov's in Spring Lake Park, MN last month, so I knew to expect an energetic set. It was good to hear them play an extended set of songs from their self-titled album. I also got to congratulate singer KT Paige and bassist Danny Rebel on a great show after their set.

Before Romantic Rebel's set, I wandered over to Seasons After's merch table to buy their CDs and have the band members autograph them. I was a fan of their current single "Lights Out," and before long I saw firsthand why my buddy liked this band. My traveling friend and I were in the front row to witness the powerful musicianship of this Wichita, Kansas-based quintet. The band had the crowd's full attention from the first note of the first song to the very end, as guitarist Jim Beattie played a cover of "In the Air Tonight" and a killer version of the Van Halen classic "Eruption." 

My friends and I were duly impressed by the show. My only concern that there weren't more people at the venue to experience such an amazing show. Tickets were only $8 apiece in advance for three great bands - how can you NOT go to this show? 

If you're a Seasons After fan, they will be playing at Pov's on 65 in Spring Lake Park, MN with MN rockers Arrows At Dawn and headliners Flaw. I'll see you there! Until next time, have a great week, everyone!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

A Minnesota Metalhead and a Wisconsin Metalhead Walk Into a Bar...

I felt like my head was a little sore when I woke up this morning from a little too much headbanging last night, after a great show featuring Aeous, Fifth Hour and American Head Charge at Hipps Pub in Eau Claire, WI. It was a fun night of  Minnesota music in Wisconsin!

I made the three hour drive to the venue yesterday afternoon, arriving about a half-hour after the doors had opened and just in time to visit with other friends who'd just arrived. I was glad to catch up with an old friend that I hadn't been to a concert with since the acoustic Sevendust show in Madison, WI almost a year ago.

Shortly after 8 p.m. the first act, Twin Cities rockers Aeous took the stage. I hadn't seen this band since they opened for American Fangs, Monster Truck and Sevendust at the Myth in Maplewood, MN a couple of years ago, but it felt like they kept improving and refining their sound. I was impressed by their set, and made a point to buy a copy of their new album The Light You've Always Had after the show.

The next act was Minneapolis band Fifth Hour, who I'd just seen at the Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis with friends a few weeks ago. I had a nice chat with a friend who's in the band before the show, and it was great to hear choice cuts from their latest album The Line Between Love and Hate live in concert again.

The crowd had been building during both opening acts, and with just a couple of metal chains seperating the audience from the stage, I wondered how the reaction to American Head Charge's performance would be. I hadn't seen them live in over a year, but they kicked off their set with the usual energy and enthusiasm that I remembered.

Despite a couple of technical problems (singer Cameron Heacock asked for a new microphone early in the set, there were recurring front monitor problems throughout the night and guitarist Karma Cheema stormed off the stage during a song after his guitar cab had been dropped and damaged, only to return for the next song after some jury-rigging), the band put on a very cohesive performance. About halfway through their set, Heacock asked for the barrier to be removed, which brought those of us fans in the front up to face level with the band.

I made my way out of the front row after the show with a couple of American Head Charge guitar picks in my pocket, and got to thank guitarists Chad Hanks and Ted Hallows for a great show. Everyone was still buzzing as I wandered the merch tables and caught up with my friends before heading home in the rain for the evening. It was a different venue layout than I was expecting, but it worked surprisingly well for the bands on stage. I'm already looking into going to another show with my Sevendust friend next Friday.

Well that's all for now, have a great week, everyone!

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Minnesota Music at the Fine Line Music Cafe

Happy Easter, everyone!

I just got back last night from my fourth concert of the year, this time I got to see four Minnesota bands at the Sin City Escape album release party at the Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday.

I haven't been to this venue since the Nonpoint concert there last September, but I arrived in Minneapolis in enough time to talk to a friend from the band Fifth Hour as his band was setting up before the show. I was looking forward to hearing the music from all the bands, even though there was only one that was brand new to me.

At 7:30 p.m. the new band to me, Arson River, took the stage. I was just friend requested by the lead singer on social media that afternoon, so I looked up some of their music online before the show. I thought they did a good job of entertaining the growing crowd with their original songs and covers of Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" and Black Stone Cherry's hit "White Trash Millionaire." I made a point to pick up a free copy of their CD sampler towards the end of the show.

I found a friend who I'd been rocking with at the Nonpoint concert in Rochester the weekend before just as Fifth Hour began their set. I'd heard the band open for 10 Years at Pov's in Spring Lake Park, MN last August, so I knew to expect a solid, energetic set. The band is a local favorite, and I saw many people in the venue grooving along to every note. I got to chat with some of the guys after their set and had a few of them autograph their latest album for me.

The next act, Cold Kingdom, was another one I was familiar with, having seen them open for Nonpoint at this same concert hall last September. I liked the female vocalist's range and their diverse songs, so it was good to hear them play an extended set for once. I walked back to the merch table after their set to pick up a few albums, said goodbye to my friend for the evening after posing for our usual selfie together, and even thought I'd noticed a fan in a Batman costume during the set.

The final act, Sin City Escape, was another band I'd seen open for major headliners, this time it was for Black Stone Cherry and Theory of a Deadman at the Myth in Maplewood, MN last September. I'd picked up a copy of their 5-song EP at the merch table before they went onstage, and found myself stage right trying to get a good view of their performance. The remaining crowd seemed to be dedicated fans, and I liked seeing the crowd interaction during their set.

After taking what seemed like an eternity to get out of the parking area and onto the freeway, I found myself smiling again, realizing how glad I was to have gotten to hear four local bands in the company of their followers and some of my friends. I plan on hearing some of these artists again later this year, and am hopeful that some of them might even find their way up to the St. Cloud area sometime.

Well that's all for now, so until next time, enjoy your holiday, everyone!