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| The XYZ Affair - Photo by Stacy Schwartz |
The North Star Roller Girls (the scrappier, less corporate sponsored of the two) held their fourth bout of the year at the Minneapolis Convention Center. After making our way through throngs of cheerleaders in prom dresses (a surreal sight in and of itself), the cavernous exhibition hall seemed a strange place for such a gathering of anarchic competition. A far cry from previous bouts at Cheap Skate in Coon Rapids (four-dollar pizza slice? You’re in the big leagues now!), the ringing echo of skates and thuds had an impersonal feel about it.
Still, filling up the space with sound was not a problem for half-time entertainers The Falls. This young Minneapolis quintet has mastered LOUD. Their amped-up rockabilly style makes poodle-skirts and maryjanes fly off, as do the pompadoured good looks of singer Matt Walsh. Most of what Walsh actually sang was lost in the roar of John Malmskold’s lead guitar and Chooch Walsh’s upright bass, but it didn’t matter. The constant percussive drive and wail of their songs builds off the hum of a re-furbished ’59 Cadillac, and they’ve got that same drive.
At some point, once the adrenaline gets up that high, their music is almost cathartic. It comes from a bygone era of rock and roll and Americana, but the dark joy with which these boys play makes it integral to now, and a perfect complement to the women on skates doing what they want.
After The Falls wrapped up and Delta Delta Di went back to their battle against Killmore Girls, we slipped out of the airy hall, ears ringing and headed to the Nomad for a decided shift in tunes.
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| The XYZ Affair - Photo by Stacy Schwartz |
The XYZ Affair are an up-and-coming band, one of those “Brooklyn” bands that actually come from all over. The quartet met at NYU and have been playing together for several years. This should tell you a couple things: they are nerds (their name comes from a diplomatic scandal between post-revolutionary America and France), they are tight, and they are talented. They also have Minneapolis roots; it is drummer Sam Rockwell’s hometown. Many of his family members were in the audience that night; it looked like a family re-union of aunts and grandparents all there to cheer on their boy.
All smiles, The XYZ Affair took the stage, Alex Feder on lead guitar and vocals, Chris Bonner on bass and vocals and Russ Maschmeyer on keys, guitar and vocals. Instead of immediately tearing into what their MySpace describes as “arena rock by music school kids,” they sang a barbershop quartet harmonization of “Sweet Adeline.” And then tore into rock and roll. The first part of their set was an ebullient, if mid-level exposition of contemporary rock stylings. The shift came in the middle of a cover of Sophie B. Hawkins’ “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” a cover whose cheekiness was elevated in the breakdown that Feder blew open with his impressive guitar skills. They may just make that song come back in a whole new way.
Tapping perfectly into the zeitgeist of a generation that will unite around Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” The XYZ Affair’s tongue-in-cheek fun with their many talents was a bouncy and infectious take. Blonde and grey heads bobbed and Feder danced, Bonner nearly decapitated several restroom-bound patrons with the neck of his Fender he was grooving so hard.
At the end of the night, the band continued smiling and talked to the crowd, showing the same poise they had on stage. The XYZ Affair are on a zig-zagging tour of the United States, which wraps up later with shows at South by Southwest in support of their A Few More Published Studies release. Like The Falls here in Minneapolis, keep an ear peeled for this band, another group doing what they love, and doing it themselves.
North Star Roller Girls: northstarrollergirls.com
The Falls: myspace.com/minnehahafalls
The XYZ Affair: thexyzaffair.com
Location Info:
Nomad World Pub
Artist Info: The Falls, The XYZ Affair
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