Vol.3 Episode 6.5

Veronica Falls with Opening acts Bleached and Cate Le Bon at the 7^th Street Entry in Minneapolis MN 2-17-2012.

I had never been to the 7^th Street Entry before. It is a secondary club to the famous First Ave in Minneapolis MN. I got there with my wife only to find that the doors were yet locked. I waited with five other folks who were waiting to get in. They were easy to talk to and we made jokes while we waited to get in. One of the couples waiting to get in had also been to see The Pains of Being Pure At Heart at The Triple Rock last year. I went to that same concert. I don’t recall seeing them there but small world. We reminisced about that concert for a minute before the doors finally opened.

I had imagined that the Entry would have been at least half the size of First Ave. I was completely wrong. It was actually about half the size of The Triple Rock. I wasn’t mad about this but taken aback by the size. This was the ultimate intimate venue, at least the smallest that I have ever been in. The bar was condensed too. I had a Colorado Bulldog for my drink that night. It was made with coffee creamers. It did not take away from the drink that much. I also know that First Ave has a full bar. I just want to illustrate how small of a venue this really is. The stage was just big enough to fit a four or five member band with a full drum kit. The spectator area was not much better. The venue for the most part is standing room only. The back part of the room is up a bit higher than the area in front of the stage. There is a waist high wall in the middle because the front part, in front of the stage is two steps down from the back part. I sat on a stool in front behind the wall so I could take notes as the concert went on.

The first band, Cate Le Bon, went on at 9:30. I had never heard of this group before so I listened with an open mind. They are a four piece group with a female lead. She also played the guitar and keyboard depending on the song. The members, except for the drummer, switched instruments depending on the song really. The music that they played was in two different genres, experimental and psychedelic. It was a very interesting set and I am glad that I was there to hear it but I don’t think that I will be running out to get any of their music any time soon.

 

The second band to play was named Bleached. They are another girl fronted band. The drummer and the bassist were both male but the two vocalists/guitarists were female. They played some great 90s style pop/punk music. To some folks it is 70s punk references but it still reminded me of the 90s group Go Sailor that Slumberland Records just put out a repressing of six months or so ago. My wife liked what they played so much that she quickly ran over to the merch table and bought the 7” record that they were selling. The group only has a few 7” records that have been released so they did not have a very long set. The songs that they did play were very enjoyable, so much so that I scoured the internet to find the other two 7” records. They will be on their way some time next week. Expect reviews of the Bleached 7” records in the near future!

 

The headliners, Veronica Falls, were on next. They got on the stage a little after 11:30. When they started playing they hit the nail hard on the head with some of their lead singles. The first track that was played was a fast paced track called Right Side of My Brain. It sounded just like the recording. I was amazed and excited that they could play well in a live setting. This was also a relief because I hate going to concerts when a given act just can’t come close to what they have recorded in the studio. Right after that first song they slowed it down dramatically with the song Steven. They then picked it right back up again with Beachyhead. Later, they did their first slumberland released single, Bad Feeling. They also played a couple of songs that I have only heard on the internet recently, Bury Me Alive and My Heart Beats. These two songs are very interesting and I hope that they release them in a physical form soon. They also played two songs that I had never heard until that night, Last Conversation and Teenage. The concert flew by with new songs old songs and even songs that they had yet to record and release. It was so cool. The crowd was actually quite full at this point. There were a few folks dancing and some hard core fans right in front of the stage bobbing their heads almost to the point of moshing. The songs are very fast but really?

I got a couple of items from Veronica Falls at the merch table too. I bought a copy of their Covers EP, which had only been released as a 12” record through Rough Trade records. I patiently waited to have each member of the band sign the copy of the Covers EP. They were at the pub next door so I did not catch them all at once. I had to keep my eyes pealed to see when they each came into the venue and run over to them and interrupt them in what they were doing to get a signature. I really feel bad about doing this but there isn’t really any other way to get the job done. On the other hand, I am probably the only person in the venue that did do this. It lets them know that they do have fans to though. Six of one half a dozen of the other I guess. I also bought a copy of the Veronica Falls/Brilliant Colors split on cassette; this is the only way to get it. The cassette was not mixed well but I will let it go considering that I did not have some of the tracks on it and that it was hand numbered and limited to 100 items. I got number 83/100. There is no track listing on the cassette or on the paper sleeve in the cassette case. When I listened to the cassette the following day I could figure out all of the Veronica Falls tracks but I don’t know anything about Brilliant Colors.

All in all I had a great time. Thanks to all three acts, in particular Bleached and Veronica Falls for for signing the items that we bought and for doing this concert. Thanks to First Ave/7^th Street Entry for the space and time. Come back soon and put more music out!

Veronica Falls set list:

Right side of my brain
Steven
Beachyhead
Bury Me Alive
Bad Feeling
The Box
My Heart Beats
Found Love In A Graveyard
Last Conversation
Wedding Day
Teenage
Come On Over

Encore:
Starry Eyes (Rory Erickson cover)