Review by ÆRæder
- https://fb.me/e/H5SKuKYjM
- https://www.facebook.com/undergroundmusicvenue – 408 3rd Ave N, Minneapolis, MN, United States, Minnesota
Venue
Second show in two days here, and always trying to presume positive and build to positive. Went in with a more solid gameplan on how to hit this venue. Being accompanied by my beautiful partner of 22+ years made it easier, as did the Friday night context. Parking options are plenty in the ramps or streets near Modist (https://modistbrewing.com/), and walking north to Washington presents a number of pre-game options. Underground is in a dead spot with so many vacant buildings side to side. But stick near Washington and east to 5th & Modist area and there are options. My partner loved the atmosphere and setup at Underground, saying it is one of her favorites.
Sound
I was just there the previous night, and noted some issues with sound in the review dated 4/17. No issues noted at this show. Sound guy was all over the place dialing shit in both shows. This one was just fine, close up, further back, and side to side.
Crowd
Some familiar faces and new to me folks at this show, quite a few who kept a circle going. Chill space in the back with bands and followers at the back tables. Positive vibes high across all sections, and consistent attendance from opening to close. Good times.
Band Mix and Performance Flow
This https://mnbleedsmetal.com/ project is still in development, so all of this perspective taking is a work in progress; bear with us. Three bands on the bill; all quite different. I wanted to see each of these bands individually. Together on the same bill seemed perfect, but ended up slightly awkward to process in my head afterwards.
BANDS:
- Shotgun Facelift – https://shotgunfacelift1.bandcamp.com/
- Grand Rapids, ND
- 5 Piece (Vocs/guitar/guitar/bass/drums)
- groove metal / hard rock / heavy metal / metal / metalcore / thrash metal / Grand Forks
- MVRROW – https://thisismvrrow.bandcamp.com/ / https://thisismvrrow.com/
- Minnesota
- 4 Piece (Vocs/guitar/bass/drums)
- metal / metalcore / alternative rock / emo / post-hardcore / Minnesota
- Malachite – https://malachitemn.bandcamp.com/album/demon-hunters-ep / https://malachitemn.bandcamp.com/merch/malachite-demon-hunters-ep-listening-party
- Minneapolis, MN
- 4 Piece (Guitar/guitar/bass/drums)
- christian metal / metal / rock / shred / solo / Minneapolis
On a Friday night after 3 shows in a row, the later start and setup times between artists provided a welcome breather. Considering the diversity of genres included here, the spacing between each act was a necessity.
Shotgun Facelift
I have honestly never been more captivated by a miniskirt and fishnet, and I am not sure I ever will. Also captivating are the intensely brutal riffs, drum beats, and dirty vocals (containing some intense fucking lyrics), as well as energy and stage presence. This started off a Friday night show perfectly! Shotgun Facelift has been around, but as we more intentionally enter and advocate for this scene, we will be following this band more closely.
MVRROW
There is nothing that needs to be promoted more in metal than female presence and perspective, IMHO, and MVRROW captures a branch that is vitally important to the scene. This is a band I can share with my middle school age Swifty daughters, and they will actually listen, and I can see wheels turning in their heads. Paige Rieger, you have an ability to fucking sing that brings tears, and the ability to make it metal is beyond words. And, the rest of the band kills, too. I just need a little bit more low end and volume on that guitar…
Malachite
I had the most pre-feedback on this group of artists; they drew a crowd and y’all know them so I will be brief in my take: Super nice band members, amazing tech/light setup, and truly gave me the vibe that they are much bigger than the stage they were on. Some tech difficulties popped up, but, to be honest this made an out of this world performance more organic and relatable. This was a living, breathing, engaging and interactive event, not just rote playing of a bunch of notes. Solid bass and drums laid out a thick and heavy backbone for the guitars to play over, and the lighting effects and stage theatrics were awesome.
Highlights
Friday night, working days, and seeing 3 shows in 3 days, I was about spent. The crowd was awesome; so many positive folks up for chatting or circle pitting, with all positive vibes further back. Usually I hate slow setups between sets, but this time it felt natural, transitioning between such different approaches to metal.
Shade
It got long. Later start and the breathing time between each artist adds up for working folk. I can deal with that as long as bands are good and varied are on the bill.
Summary
My partner thought it was perfect; probably her favorite show so far. It was entertaining and worthy of focus for a Friday date night. This show took time to pull off; I don’t think I’ve been to a show with more down time between sets. But, I was appreciating this time as a sort of “palate cleanser” between each artist. Even the next day, it is hard to process everything together because there was so much of contrast between artists’ styles and genres, but the way everything came together in the end was pretty cool to witness.