By: Andrea Myers
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Mike Watt w/ Golden Smog and friends at the First Avenue Bootlegs CD release Party - Photo by Steve Cohen (Steve's set of photos from this show.)
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A faint electric spark hung in the air as opening band The Mood Swings played the main stage at First Avenue and local music scene notables roamed the DEMO photo exhibit in the VIP room. It was clear from the beginning that this was going to be a good night. In honor of the 35th Anniversary of the club, key players from a myriad of notable Minnesota bands joined together to pay tribute to a music venue that continues to be a staple of the local community, and local photographers contributed to a diverse and memorable exhibit of shows in the main room and the Entry over the past three and a half decades. When the music started at 8 p.m. there was already a sizeable crowd in attendance, which only grew throughout the night.
The evening was packed with performers that included (in approximate chronological order of performance) The Mood Swings, Jessy Greene, XBoys, Aesma Daeva, Polara, The Mighty Mofo's, The Hold Steady, Rifle Sport, The Jayhawks, Dessa, P.O.S., Golden Smog, Curtiss A, Mike Watt, and Koalas. The bands played on both the main stage and in the Entry throughout the night, so seeing snippets of each act was fairly difficult and catching full sets neared impossible.
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Photo by David de Young (see David's full set of photos from this show.)
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Jessy Greene started off the night forcefully as she took the stage with a powerhouse band that consisted of JoAnna James singing harmonies, Steve McPherson playing guitar, and members of Heiruspecs providing a funky rhythm section. What impressed me most was the sound that the band created, a unique blend of alt-country violin and vocal harmonies, driving rock guitar, syncopated bass lines and an eletronica keyboard part. JoAnna James absolutely shined (and almost outshined) with her superb vocal abilities, while Greene commanded the stage with her smoking violin parts and sultry smile. The highlight of the set was a great song that I believe is titled “Always a Way Out,” which featured James and Greene trading off vocal parts in an emotional, wrenching ballad that continually crescendoed until they both appeared near tears.
Next up was X-Boys, a conglomeration of members from old local favorites like the Suburbs, Suicide Commandos, and the Wallets. I got the distinct impression that I was about 20 years late in understanding what this band was all about, as a wild group of aging fans glommed on to the front of the stage to sing along with every song.
An interesting element of the evening was that each act seemed to have its own group of fans present, and it made for an unique mix of aging local hipsters, young punks, rock stars, wannabes, drunken business men, and scenesters who all consider First Ave a home for parties and great music.
I caught the tail end of Polara as they wrapped up their set, and enjoyed hearing their unique brand of trippy art-rock, if only for a fleeting moment. The stage was cleared to make way for The Hold Steady, a band that I still consider local despite their departure to New York and high profile status. The band, led by Craig Finn, delivered a perfect blend of insightful lyrics, wailing guitars, soulful keyboard parts, unfiltered angst and streamlined rock celebration. My favorite part of their set was a song called “Stuck Between Stations,” which Finn explained was a tribute to John Berryman and featured amazingly sprawling, poetic lyrics about the life of a great writer.
By the time The Jayhawks were ready to take the stage, First Avenue had been converted into a full-throttle party, and an energetic, thriving crowd smashed together in anticipation for the band’s first show since their “retirement” earlier this year. Like old friends reuniting after years of separation, the band slid easily into their old roles and put out a great sound immediately, starting with “Better Days” and a round of wild applause. The group was made up of original members Gary Louris and Marc Perlman, veterans Tim O’Regan and Kraig Johnson and friend Ed Ackerson. At one point they invited Jessy Greene out to play violin on “The Man Who Loved Life” and “Nothing Left to Borrow,” recreating what Louris joked was “Jayhawks circa 1997.”
If any fans were disappointed by the brevity of The Jayhawks’ set, there was immediate relief in the fact that the next band was made up of members of Golden Smog, including Louris, Johnson, Ackerson, and Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum. When they were finished jamming the same group took the stage again along with Mike Watt, who traded off vocals with Kraig Johnson.
The super-group put out a sound that was impressively fine-tuned and unified, despite most songs being performed on the fly. At points the music was so tight that it was mesmerizing, as the musicians sat back and played with ease and big smiles. A highlight of the last part of the set was the song “Hurricane,” a whirling, raunchy, breakneck tune that featured Craig Finn of The Hold Steady bouncing around in his own personal mosh pit of rock stars.
After the majority of the crowd had cleared, the night was rounded out by badass local punk group Koalas. The band, led by the impressive vocals of Rita Puskas, delivered a great set and filled up the space of the main room surprisingly well with reverberated effects on Puskas’ vocals and an intense, animalistic drum beat from Lori Barbero.
By the time the last band cleared the Conrad started casually taking down the last of the equipment, it was clear: First Ave knows how to throw a great party, and the big black box that is full of so many memories will only continue to fill in years to come.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Aesma Daeva, Curtiss A, Dessa, Golden Smog, Jessy Greene, Koalas, Mike Watt, P.O.S., Polara, Rifle Sport, The Hold Steady, The Jayhawks, The Mighty Mofos, The Mood Swings, X-Boys
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