How Was The Show - Battle Royale, Datarock, ZibraZibra at Triple Rock Social Club

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Datarock with The Battle Royale and ZibraZibra at Triple Rock Social Club on 6/6/07

Dancing at rock clubs on Wednesday nights isn’t really something that I do too often. But if you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend it. I didn’t know what to expect before walking into the Triple Rock on Wednesday night. The bill looked great, two local dance acts opening for one of the hottest up and coming dance bands in the world. But with almost no press, aside from the blog love that Datarock had been receiving this spring, I was unsure about how many people would come out to a late weekday show.

As I walked into the venue a few minutes before Zibra Zibra went on, I was not totally surprised to see only 10 people in the room. The guys took the stage and another 10 people filtered in as they started their set. Zibra Zibra are one of the premier young acts dominating the Twin Cities these days. With beats and synths stolen from the best of ‘80s dance pop fused with hair metal guitar riffs, Zibra Zibra have created a sound that is entirely their own. Lead guitarist Vanilla looks like the German foreign exchange student from a bad ‘90s sitcom. Huge and imposing while he shreds his short bridged Jackson guitar, he looks like he could bench 300 and play linebacker for an arena football team. Singing songs about intergalactic love and robots, front man Z shrieks and squeals the band’s vocals while writhing around the stage and striking powerful poses. He was sexual and intense, serving as the focal point of his band’s incredible level of energy. As they finished their set, Zibra Zibra left a permanent smile on everybody’s faces. Sure, they only played to a handful of people, but what a lucky handful we were.

Datarock by Stacy Schwartz

The Battle Royale, part of the Afternoon Records roster took the stage next. Sound-wise, the band was much of the same. Pounding dance beats and fuzzy synth sounds. The group’s vocals and bass player set The Battle Royale apart though. The band played about seven songs, all from their debut Sparkle Dust Fantasy, and was warmly received. They are a fun, youthful band, who writes solid songs and are full of potential. Unfortunately, they simply don’t have the chops or the “it” factor of the rising star that is Zibra Zibra.

Datarock hit the stage at about 11:30 to the sounds of Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like the Wind,” donning their trademark all red hooded jumpsuits, complete with large dark glasses on. The floor had filled in pretty nicely, about 75 anxious Triple Rock patrons made their way down for the festivities that were about to take place.

The Norwegian dance quartet blasted through 15 songs in about an hour. Most of their fiery tracks came from their new album Datarock Datarock, which comes out on June 11. The band consisted of acoustic drums (a first for the

Datarock by Stacy Schwartz

night), bass, guitar and keyboards—and three wailing vocalists. There was no time for breathing in between songs and it was sometimes hard to tell where one song ended and another started. Switching between dance rock, disco and electro influenced tunes—one thing that remained the same between every song on the set list was the level of body moving was high. Datarock songs are short and sweet, most clocking in at around the two-minute mark, but that doesn’t stop the guys from giving it their all, the amazing live drumming and solid bass grooves laid the groundwork for a night of flailing and pogo dancing. I don’t mean your run of the mill “sway back and forth” dancing either. We are talking full out “bust a move, sweat everywhere” dance party at the Triple Rock Wednesday night.

The highlight of the night was Datarock’s hit single “Fa-Fa-Fa” which set the place on fire as they tore through multiple choruses, enticing the crowd to shout along. After a short encore, the band left the stage to the sounds of another song from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, the hit single “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” While Wednesday night wasn’t the time of my life, it surely was the most fun I’ve had at the Triple Rock in quite awhile.

Location Info: Triple Rock Social Club
Artist Info: Battle Royale, Datarock, ZibraZibra

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