Bleached with opening acts The Hollow Boys and Ex-Cops on
4/28/2013 at The Turf Club In St Paul MN
The first time I saw Bleached was just over a year ago when
they opened for Veronica
Falls. My wife loved them
and we got their third single and had the band sign it. It was a great time.
This time around they were in a smaller venue, The Turf
Club. The actual size of the Turf Club is larger than the 7th Entry but, it
seemed, a lesser known venue. It is also just a standard bar with a few tables
and chairs scattered about the floor. The doors opened at 8 P.M. We got there
at a quarter to 8 and, because it is a normal bar, the doors were open for
patrons already. There were a couple pinball machines and a couple video games.
There was a photo booth too. The sound guy seemed a bit inept but I don’t think
I could have done any better. The opening act did not take the stage until
9:30. I was very disappointed with an extra half hour wait. I expected the
first opening act to start at 9.
This is the first time I had been there. Not having been
there I preordered tickets for fear of the show selling out. Was I ever wrong
there. The place was not even a quarter full even when Bleached went on at 11
P.M. I was a bit disappointed as I want Bleached to gain a healthy following
like some of the other bands that I follow regularly. We already had the album
on CD and Vinyl so at the end of the night before we left we bought a Bleached
tote bag. I have been, not on purpose, collecting totes from various bands over
the past few years. This is the first one that I have paid for. All of the
others have been free gifts with deluxe edition albums. I think my favorite one
is the quarter size tote bag from Violet & Claire for the Indie Pop Lesson
record and book set.
The first band to open is called The Hollow Boys. They
played six or seven songs. It was very noisy, distorted sounds. I like noise
but I guess I wasn’t ready for it considering bleached and Ex-Cops don’t play
that style of music. They are a three piece group comprising of a female
drummer, female bassist and male guitarist. The drummer also sang backup vocals
to the guitarists lead vocals. The drums were interesting as it was a cymbal, a
snare and a floor tom. All three drums were lined up next to each other and she
stood behind them instead of sitting. She kind of reminded me of a hip
librarian but when she played them came off kind of awkward looking. She kept
time great though. The bassist played something that looked like a fender but I
couldn’t tell because she faced the guitarist the whole time. The guitarist
played some kind of SG I think (The guitar that the lead guitarist for AC/DC
plays). I couldn’t tell for sure because he faced the drummer most of the time.
It doesn’t make for a very entertaining show when 2/3 of the band won’t face
the audience. I was not really happy with this group because of that.
Ex-Cops took the stage next. I had looked up some of their
music a bit after I bought tickets. I thought they were good but not exactly
what I was looking for. I was still excited to see them in concert though
because the music I had seen was very good. They are two guitarists, a bassist,
a drummer and a keyboardist. All of them except the drummer, that I was aware
of, added vocals in some way to the group. Also, all of them are guys except
the keyboardist. I am not sure if it was the sound guys fault or most of the band
was just not there mentally but the drums were lost through most of the set,
the lead guitarist didn’t seem to shine through. The rhythm guitarist had a
cool Dan Electro guitar plugged into a cool sounding fender combo amp. I loved
the sound but it seemed to get lost in the music at times. It was really the
bassist that drove through all of the noise that was on stage. I could hear his
playing the most. He was really awesome, all over that fret board making sense
of each song and so animated in his movements. I don’t usually go to concerts
just looking for what the bassist is playing but sometimes it is hard not to as
I am a bassist too. He was the highlight of the set. Of the songs they played I
recall hearing only one on the internet when I did a search of their music. I
can’t remember if Separator was the last song of the set but I do remember
hearing it.
Bleached took the stage at 11 P.M. and played thirteen songs
in a one hour set. I was very excited to find out that they had a new bassist.
They switched out the guy for a girl. I don’t know why but she did add some
much needed additional back up vocals to the group. She also played a clear
body bass that sounded very cool. I don’t know if she knows it but Jessica
can’t play and sing backup vocals in tune. I don’t really care but I do notice
it at the same time. I like the band and would see them any time they came to
the Minneapolis/St Paul area regardless. One thing I was disappointed with was
that Jennifer was not playing her Dan Electro guitar. I really like the sound
of that guitar. I think she was playing a standard Fender Stratocaster in red
for this concert. I had seen pictures on the internet of her playing it when
she first got it. It doesn’t have that unique sound of a Dan Electro but still
sounded very cool. The only points where I was disappointed in the music was
when parts of the recorded versions of the song had to be replaced with a bit
from the guitar. For example there is a three note run in the middle of
Searching Through The Past that is played on a piano of some kind. I can’t
really blame them as this is a key part of the song that needs to be done a
different way when on tour. Radiohead does the same thing with parts of their
music on tour and it is acceptable. Why shouldn’t it be acceptable with another
band?
I want to thank The Turf Club for having them and all three
groups, The Hollow Boys, Ex-cops and Bleached for making this night so much fun
for both me and my wife! Hope you will be stopping in the Minneapolis/St Paul
area again for your next album!
Set List:
Waiting By The Telephone
Dazed
Next Stop
Searching Through The Past
Think Of You
Dead In Your Head
Love Spells
Looking For A Fight
Outta My Mind
No Friend Of Mine
Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World (Ramones Cover)
Electric Chair
When I Was Yours
Sorry folks, I can't give another persons perspective on this show. Nothing is coming up in my searches. If you know of one please set a link in the comments.
Thanks, and that is all for now...
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