Hinder and friends at the Park

Last Tuesday, I attended the Hinder concert at The Park (formerly known as GB Leighton's Pickle Park) in Fridley. I'd seen Hinder play at the casino in Walker, MN a few years ago with Saving Abel. I wasn't a huge fan of their music, but I decided to go to hang out with some friends that I hadn't seen since last year. I ended up having a very memorable evening!

I got there on a snowy evening just as the first band, local rockers Skywynd, began their set. I caught up with a few friends as I waited by the door with the concert ticket I had bought for another friend who drove several hours from out of state just for this show. She arrived a little later than planned due to a taxi driver who got lost, but our gang quickly got together to enjoy the show.

The next band, Ages Apart, was one I'd never heard of before, but was impressed by their catchy tunes. I managed to snag a T-shirt that the drummer had thrown into the audience during their set, and had a great time catching up with them after the show. I also bought a couple of their CDs to enjoy on the drive home.

The third band, Alabama natives Within Reason, was one I'd heard of but hadn't seen live yet. I enjoyed their set, and thought they were an underrated band that could make it big with enough promotion and publicity.

I'd heard a lot of good things about the final opener, McAllen natives Sons of Texas, and I have to say that they were all true! They thoroughly impressed the crowd, which I was surprised had reached towards the end of the bar. Not bad for a midweek show!

Before long, new singer Marshall Dutton and the rest of the band Hinder took the stage with their song "How Long." While their set was definitely geared more towards the females in the audience, I found myself bobbing my head along to their songs with a few other guys I saw in the front row. They ended the night with their first hit "Get Stoned," and my friends and I scrambled to catch guitar picks that were thrown out by band members as the evening's show drew to a close.

Not ready to leave yet, my friends and I wandered over to the merch tables and had some great conversations with the members of Ages Apart and Within Reason. We were surprised when we were invited to join Within Reason on their tour bus to hang out and listen to them play a few acoustic songs for us! A very unexpected but enjoyable close to a fun evening!

I didn't get much sleep that night after the drive home, but  that was okay. I could rest later in the week, until the next show, anyway!