January 22, 2011

89.3 The Current's 6th Birthday Party (Concert Review)


Over the past couple years, Minneapolitans (and you crazy St. Paulites) have become accustomed to The Current Effect. Ever since our beloved public radio station started pushing and promoting concerts a little heavier than in their infant years, those live performances have been selling out at a rapid clip, and it's created a lot of disdain in the local concert-going community that tickets have to be snatched up as soon as they go on sale. Boo-freaking-hoo. You can't have one with out the other, and I for one am thrilled with the amount of attention some of these bands & musicians have received on account of The Current. Last night at First Avenue, The Current continued to give back and be thankful for their success by presenting their [very affordable] 6th Birthday Party, which to nobody's surprise, sold out in about 22 seconds.

While it was a bummer that Cloud Cult had to bow out of the opening slot due to Craig Minowa's health, 11th hour replacements Trampled by Turtles filled in more than admirably...and provided fodder for some of the best tweets of the night (thanks to the #CurrentBday hashtag). While the manic Duluth bluegrass band blew through song after song and worked the early evening crowd into a frenzy, a tremendous amount of pride was in the air. We all knew that this was going to be a great night featuring our community's best. After absolutely shredding the stage with Current favorite "Wait So Long," the moonshine-sippers tipped their collective hat to the band they unfortunately had to replace on the bill, closing with a fantastic rendition of Cloud Cult's "The Ghost Inside Our House."

I'm pretty sure that once Trampled by Turtles left the stage, 86% of the First Avenue crowd instantly felt bad for Roma di Luna. They had some big overalls to fill, and despite getting the all-important Mayor R.T. Rybak introduction, they ultimately fell flat. After our ears were fiddled to oblivion, Roma di Luna just seemed a little out of place. Their sultry sounds are more than enjoyable, but it was one difficult room for them to play. The crowd did get into the closer "Before I Die," but it all seemed too little too late. Now, if The Current ever decides to expand their annual celebration into all of the building's digs, Roma di Luna would have been a perfect fit for a mid-evening set in the 7th Street Entry.

Jeremy Messersmith, arguably the strongest singer-songwriter currently calling Minneapolis home, was up next. And thankfully, he had the full band with him. After making the local television rounds Friday morning promoting the gig, Messersmith got to show off why The Reluctant Graveyard was one of the best local releases from 2010. With a slow and steady build-up that featured each of his band mates joining him onstage donning all white, Messersmith immediately grabbed and held the crowd's attention. Featuring a string quartet (or at times, trio) in the large majority of his set was the spectacled singer's wisest decision. His entire half-hour went all too quickly, but he made sure to enjoy the rest of the evening, culminating in this early morning tweet (via @jmessersmith):

3am. Trophy in hand. Slightly inebriated. Eating pie. Some days are too much rock and roll. Thanks for the love tonight Minneapolis.

The trophy he references was one of the many "Current Awards" handed out throughout the evening. Messersmith won for best album. Also staking claim to one of the bowling trophies handed out by Current DJs were Dessa (best local tweeter...who ripped off a sweet 140 character rhyme) and Adam Levy (best dressed...although he said his wife says he looks like a "blind Jewish man"). While the awards were fairly entertaining and made for some solid memories (i.e. Mark Mallman's "Weird" award), the presentations took a little too much time away from the music off the evening.

Enter Brother Ali. Taking the stage as if he rightfully owned it, the North Minneapolis rapper instantly gave the crowd a kick in the pants. After Messersmith's soothing set, Brother Ali brought the second wind many of us very much needed. Very few people can command a room the way Ali did, but two songs in, I resigned to the fact that I would do whatever he told me to. After his mic cut out during the third verse of "Fresh Air," Ali commented that he had always had that exact nightmare, but now that it happened, "it ain't that bad." He didn't skip a beat and ripped through rhyme after rhyme, song after song. Ali's positivity is indicative of the Minneapolis hip-hop scene, and he had to have won over a ton of new fans last night. To wrap up his set, he provided one of the more poignant moments of the night, covering the late Eyedea's anthem "Smile." Awesome.

By the time Free Energy took the stage a little before 1am, several hundred people had already decided to call it a night. They lose. The Philadelphia (by way of MN) party rockers proved why they were chosen to close out the evening. Opening, as expected, with their self-named jam, Free Energy were the perfect end to a night showcasing the Minnesota music scene. Not only did they feature a bunch of tracks from last year's Stuck On Nothing, but they also introduced us to the newly-christened rocker "Backscratcher," as well as a throwback from their Hockey Night days, complete with all original members on stage. By the end of their set, they really made the crowd thankful for the free earplugs supplied at their merch table.

Before Free Energy's set, Jill Riley teased a "special encore," which turned out to be an all-star rendition of the Lipps Inc. classic "Funky Town." Joining Free Energy on stage were Jeremy Messersmith, David Campbell, members of Roma di Luna and others. I know I'm not the only one that wanted to see Brother Ali come back on stage and lay down a few more rhymes during the breakdown, but sadly, that didn't happen.

As trendy as it's become to knock on The Current and its "effect," we all have to be thankful that we have a station that gives us nights like these. Five uniquely different acts for $12? Plus a copy of Local Current V1? Plus a young couple dry-humping in front of me during Free Energy's entire set?

Yeah, more than worth it.

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