Every so often, the entertainment opportunities in this city really put you into some tough spots, and the choices I had to make last Friday (April 10, 2009) were some of the hardest I’ve had to make in a while. Throughout the week I wrestled between going to one of several shows on 4/10, and in the end I decided to attend the return to the Twin Cities for the progressive rockers in Dredg at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown featuring highly acclaimed support from the likes of Torche and From Monument to Masses (forgoing the Acid Mother’s Temple set at 7th St. Entry as well as several other local shows that would have definitely been worthy of attendance). Luckily, the open-minded acts playing at the Varsity weren’t short to impress.
I hadn’t seen Dredg in nearly 4 years before their performance on Friday (since Rockstar Mayhem), and despite spending nearly a year off the road, the 
band was on point that night and ready to impress their ecelectic audience. With everyone from heavily bearded metalheads to formally dressed females in attendance, Dredg had to know that their opening acts and their dynamic catalog would be sure to attract a such a undefinable mix of people – which probably is why the band chose to spend fair amounts of time playing songs from all of their albums, including several songs from their forthcoming album The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion. Songs from the recent Catch Without Arms and El Cielo were sounding more impassioned and intimate this time around, and against the back drop of the Varsity their performance was even grander. Even Leitmotif got acknowledged with a performance of “Yatahaze” (video below) that ended with the band proclaiming, “whoa that felt good! We need to do that more often.” Throughout their performance, the entire crowd often sang above the band, and as anyone there would likely agree, we all agreed it was an amazing return.
Honestly, Torche was the band that I came to see, and even as a trio they’re still as massive as you might imagine. The band’s melodic stoner metal was perhaps a little heavier than most fans at the show had expected, but for those in attendance who knew what was up, the show was incredibly intense. Mostly playing songs from their recent instant-classic Meanderthal, the band charged through an energetic set of free-spirited doom rock that theatrically transitioned between mammoth sludge, doom-pop, noise rock, and good old fashioned heavy metal jams. By the time the band left the stage, their set surely won over more than a few people.
From Monument to Masses opened the show, supporting their recent On Little Known Frequencies album. Like Torche, FMTM is a trio that sounds much larger than you’d expect; the post-rock they play is a swirling, entrancing, heavy style of psych-rock that is layered with samples, effects, and multiple instruments by all three members as they push the unrelenting crescendos further and further. More like GY!BE than EITS, From Monument to Masses introduced the night with a beautiful, authentic, organic presentation that had all fans of the guitar quietly attentive.
To cap off the coverage of the show, we are lucky enough to present you with a whole mess of media we captured that night. We’ve got over 40 photos, video from Dredg (“Yatahaze”, “Same Ol’ Road”, and “Bug Eyes”) and Torche, so there’s no reason to stop reading now! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of our recap of the stellar Friday night show at the Varsity…
VIDEO: Dredg, “Yatahaze”, (live at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN 4/10/09)
(Dredg)
(Dredg)
(Dredg)
(Dredg)
(Dredg)
VIDEO: Torche, (live at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN 4/10/09)
(Torche)
(Torche)
(Torche)
(Torche)
(From Monument to Masses)
(From Monument to Masses)
(From Monument to Masses)
VIDEO: Dredg, “Same Ol’ Road” (live at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN 4/10/09)
Like always, keep reading because we’ve got many more awesome photos from this show after the jump (and even another video from Dredg’s set for their song “Bug Eyes”!). Just click the link… Continue reading
It wasn’t just the fact that Andrew Bird’s encore seemed endless, it was everything leading up to that which was perfection as well. The way the man is able to create music, and piece together different violin lines or whistling sequences is astounding. Most of this has all been said before, it seems to be common knowledge that Bird is amazing live, but to finally see it in person I feel like I have to rave about it. How crystal clear he is able to keep his sound and the way his voice commands so much energy throughout the entire set also surprised me. Though he changed the tempo of delivery on a few lyrics, the way his voice actually sounds is just as beautiful as it is on record. He had a great rapport with the crowd, joking intermittently between nearly every track, somethings that few artists are able to capture. Of course I could gripe about what songs he did or didn’t play (just to note, I would have loved to have heard more Bowl of Fire and Armchair Apocrypha tracks) but I won’t get into that too much. I feel truly grateful and honored just to see him perform, Andrew Bird has a great gift and to be able to share that amount of time with him is a great feeling. The show was a spectacle of all that is concert going: perfect weather, an above awesome venue, an anxious and diverse crowd, an opening act that is surprisingly awesome, and most of all a great set from the big performer. Oh, and did I mention the encores too? I thought so. 
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Andrew Bird)
(Haley Bonar
(Haley Bonar)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Fucked Up)
(Bring That Shit)
(Bring That Shit)
(The Nina! The Pinta!)
(Totally Harsh)
a thing) drunk band played an awesome set of some of their best tracks. “I’m going to jail Mom! Just kidding, my parents are out there tonight” the keyboard/drum/vocal extraordinaire pronounced before the first song. The charismatic front man also had a bit of a malfunction half way through the set, with the legs to his drums falling off, boldly claiming after the song was over that “fuck it, I don’t need them.” A big thanks to everyone who suggested these guys, as their music an antics lived up to any and all hype.
(Wavves)
(Wavves)
(Wavves)
(Wavves)
(Wavves)
(Wavves)
(Wavves)
(Vampire Hands)
(Vampire Hands)
(Vampire Hands)
(Vampire Hands)
On what turned out to be another snowy April evening, 
(Friendly Fires)
(Friendly Fires)
(Friendly Fires)
(Friendly Fires)
(White Lies)
(White Lies)
(The Soft Pack)
(The Soft Pack)
his overly boyish dance moves, insanely paced tracking, and random plethora of instruments, Max Tundra was just as much the headliner of Friday night as Junior Boys were. Opening with the fresh “Which Song” which I had mentioned a few days back, Tundra got the floor grooving and laughing, the perfect opening act. 
(Junior Boys)
(Junior Boys)
(Junior Boys)
(Max Tundra)
(Max Tundra)
(Max Tundra)
(Max Tundra)
(Lookbook)
(Lookbook)
The thrash legends in 
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I’m a total 
French black metallers 
MIND INVERSION 