A buddy and fellow photographer is out of town right now, but before he left, he made sure that Sunday night’s show at The Icehouse was on my radar. It hadn’t been until he said something, and it was up against a few other amazing shows coming through the Twin Cities on Sunday, but my gut (and my heart) knew that he wouldn’t tell me about this show unless it was something I should really be at, so I pushed the other shows aside and made The Icehouse my one destination for Sunday night.

Opening act The Ugly Cowboys took the stage right at 7 PM. They kicked their set off by introducing themselves as Minnesota’s premier Led Zeppelin cover band. My heart sank. Did my buddy lead me astray? He knows damn well that I don’t like cover bands. Did I make a giant mistake and turn down seeing acts like The Linda Lindas and Stave Lacy for nothing? The short answer is a resounding “No!” Although they came out and had me thoroughly convinced they were a cover band, it became clear in seconds that it was a straight-up lie. Maybe you could hear Led Zeppelin influences in their sound, but at their core, The Ugly Cowboys are a band that follows zero leads. They have a million influences, but they’ve wrapped them into a ball of sheer chaos and perfection. Stylistically,

From cowpunk to psychedelic rock, with twists and turns that bled into punk, metal, and everything in between, it was hard to follow exactly what this band was doing, but that’s what made it so amazing. They kept me on my toes, and every song, although distinctly The Ugly Cowboys, had a completely different vibe than the last, but it wasn’t just their unique sound that got me; their show was everything. Like their sound, it was all over the place. There were jumps, hoedown-style dancing, and lots of smiles scattered throughout their set. Truthfully, I don’t think there was a single moment that vocaist/guitarist Sam ever stood still for more than the blink of an eye, and I loved that. I’ll be honest, I was tired—scratch that, exhausted—by the time Sunday night’s show rolled around, and I was low-key dreading leaving the house after a fairly cozy day in but this opening set from The Ugly Cowboys switched my mood really quick.

The Ugly Cowboys mentioned that, as of five months ago, they are a Minnesota-based band. I don’t know where they came from, nor do I care. All I know is that, now that they’re a Minnesota band, I hope to see a lot more of them in the near future.

To be fully honest with you, The Ugly Cowboys already won the show, and I couldn’t help but instantly start judging Fever Dog, the next band to take the stage. Give me a little break here; the judgment was warranted. I instantly wanted to introduce myself to the band and ask them if they knew what year it was. Dressed in all-black jumpsuits that had been bedazzled to the nines and some of the most beautiful hair I had ever seen on a stage, I was instantly reminded of that Netflix movie ‘The Dirt’ that told the story of Mötley Crüe. It just felt so over-the-top. So, well, 80s, and I wasn’t here for it. That said, The Ugly Cowboys had already tricked me once into thinking they were a cover band; maybe this was just a cruel joke and a bit that Fever Dog does from time to time. Let me tell you, it was not a bit, but also, I was here for it because, within the first song, they had me sold.

Hailing from California, Fever Dog is a psychedelic rock band that absolutely channels music and a vibe from another time. High-pitched vocals and shredding guitar solos are the name of the game for this band, and they do it so freaking well. I’m not one for music from the past. 80s hair metal is a joke, and power ballads make me sick, yet this band had me stuck right where I was and just eating it up one note at a time. Maybe it was because of the commitment to the bit. From the stances the band made for photo ops to the faces they made while shredding an absolutely insane solo, there was so much conviction on stage that it was impossible to hate it. Am I going to start listening to Fever Dog on repeat while going through the motions of my day job? Absolutely not, but would I drop everything to see this band perform live when they come through town again? Absolutely.

I thought I was going into this show completely blind, based purely on my friend’s recommendation. That was true for the first two acts, but after talking to someone who knows who I am and what I do, I quickly realized I have actually seen the headlining act, The Schizophonics, multiple times. I hated myself for not remembering, but really, how am I supposed to do that when I do this night after night? Can you blame me? Honestly, the answer there should be “yes” because The Schizophonics is a truly unforgettable band and I am so disappointed that their name and, more importantly, their show, slipped my mind.

Truthfully, the sound of The Schizophonics isn’t quite my thing. It did a good job of splitting the difference between the chaos of The Ugly Cowboys and the vintage tone of Fever Dog, but the sound of this closing band on Sunday night didn’t excite me the way the first two bands did. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good sound that the band does well, it’s just not for me (or at least didn’t get me going on Sunday night). That being said, their live show absolutely made up for it. As the trio played through these psychedelic indie-rock jangles, vocalist/guitarist Pat Beers never stood still. I don’t mean he just kind of jumped up and down and stalked the stage; I mean this man made it seem like the stage had turned into an ice rink. He glided across the stage doing intricate split jumps over and over again. I loved it but also cringed every time he would land back on stage after a jump and come within a hair’s breadth of the edge of the stage. It was nerve-wracking, but it was exciting, and as I watched him glide and jump across the stage, I started to hate that I thought this was my first interaction with this band. Sure, their sound may not get my blood pumping, but their live show is legendary, and it was so nice to have a little reminder of that.