Review by ÆRæder
- https://fb.me/e/5rIEOCAMN
- https://clubunderground.net/ – 355 Monroe St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Venue
Club Underground is an awesome, low key venue. A dark and edgy atmosphere nestled in the basement beneath the full service bar/restaurant of Spring Street Tavern. Excellent wings! Decent parking; big enough lot and neighborhood street parking. Nice patio to smoke between sets that we definitely underutilized.
Sound
We think this was the best sound we have ever heard at Club Underground. LOUD and FULL. Wear earplugs. Only praise for the full sound spectrum and feel of the tunes for each band. We know there were some issues on stage, but it was fantastic out in the showroom. Every group of artists on stage sounded spectacular.
Crowd
Very solid turnout with lots of love expressed. Diverse, inclusive, and happy crowd. It was awesome to see the connection across music scenes that happened here. A mixed show (not just metal), but that made it so much more entertaining. We did a head count a couple times, and it ranged in number between 30 and 50+, with people coming and going. It always felt full. No pit, but the crowd was into it. Videos we took captured the noise of onlookers cheering and hooting that we didn’t pick up on in person. Crowd engagement to the end.
Band Mix and Performance Flow
What made this show stand out was the diversity of bands that united for Tom Croxton under the basic umbrella of heaviness/connectedness. The intention, energy, and devotion to relationships on display was what mattered. Each group of artists showcased some authentic shit that remained cohesive despite so many differences in musical style and interpretations.
- Murder Curious –https://murdercurious.bandcamp.com/
- Minneapolis
- 3 Piece (Vox & guitar / bass / drums)
- Tags: grunge, punk rock, grunge punk, rock, Minneapolis,
- The F * All – https://the-f-all.bandcamp.com/album/after
- Minneapolis
- 3 Piece (Vox & guitar / bass / drums)
- Tags: metal, alternative metal, math metal, prog metal, punk metal, thrash metal, Minneapolis
- Harsh Reality https://harshreality.us/
- ? Piece (Vox / Guitar / Bass / Drums / DancerVox / Dancer)
- Heavy Metal. All the dancing made it a blast to watch.
- Plague of Stars – https://plagueofstars.bandcamp.com/
- Minneapolis
- 5 Piece (Vox / Guitar / Guitar / Bass / Drums)
- Tags: doom metal, goth, gothic metal, metal, dark, ambient, Minneapolis,
- https://mnbleedsmetal.com/21-spins-plague-of-stars-extinction-lp/
- Venus de Mars and All the Pretty Horses – https://venusdemars.bandcamp.com/
- Minnesota
- 3 Piece (Vox&guitar/Bass/Drums
- Tags: diy, diy synthesizer, punk rock, trans, transgender, dark, dark ambient, dark electro, dark glam, darkwave, glam punk, synthwave, trans glam, Minneapolis
- Click on that bandcamp link to check this shit out. Google “All the Pretty Little Horses”. Thank you, Venus, for bringing reality checks.
Highlights
The manner in which different scenes and groups came together to lift up and show support for a major community member was the absolute highlight here. This was a happy place. Unfortunately, Tom had been hospitalized just prior to the show and couldn’t make it, but his sister did! Super great gal. Tom was very explicitly missed, and some folks chipped in to record the show for him. So fucking awesome to witness what makes this scene so great.
Shade
Issues with set turnover and sound onstage, maybe? But, FUCK whinning about that. It was a Friday night with no better place to be than at Club Underground. With the down time, we enjoyed a few more beverages and bought a few more raffle tickets for Tom, and got to talk to a few more cool people. Sound, intentions, and overall good times vibe were so killer. Wish it would have lasted longer.
Summary
Such an awesome act of community here. Probably one of the best overall shows/vibes we have witnessed. This went beyond the Metal Scene, branching into so much more. Participating in an instance where the scene converges to benefit or honor one of its members is awesome (and this is not an unusual occurrence ‘round these parts). Tempest Crane emceed the event so smoothly and elegantly and in such a fun way. Venus Demars is a legend and hero to so many (author included). Seeing the cross-genre support for Croxton was so personally uplifting. ALSO – this diverse mix of music on one bill was so refreshing! Plague of Stars and the F*All cemented the extreme heaviness, while Murder Curious, Harsh Reality, and Venus Demars and All the Pretty Horses brought in some heavy metal and punk sounds that created a soundscape we wish happened more often…book some diverse bills, folks!