Oh, hello there.
When i heard Sleep would be making their rounds again and coming to the Twin Cities, knew I had to see what they would serve up. Made my way downtown via the lightrail, which did not work out well later in the night, which is rare but very annoying if it happens to you. Weekdays are a touch slower so occasionally you have to wait 20-30 mins between, which is fine, but the all powerful ‘they’ decided to cancel the blue scheduled train so I was stuck angstfully waiting for an hour and a half in classic sad November rain style at the lightrail warehouse station stop. Thankfully good times were had before, so lets get right to talking about those.
Biggest surprise of the night was the trio The Schizophonics who were opening support. Or should I say, opening powerhouse. My lord. These guys are electric. Something in the water in San Diego, everyone has the energy of an atomic bomb. Fellow photographer Langen Goldstein (also known as Girl At The Rock Show, her blog and coverage of shows is immense and impressive, RUN don’t walk to check her stuff out) gave us the heads up that the lead singer would be flying around the stage and make sure to shoot wide and fast. She was incredibly correct.
As if lit from within, fireworks and a slinky inside one body is a somewhat apt description of lead vocalist and guitarist Pat Beers when he is on stage. Exploding with every note, throwing himself like a ragdoll in a hurricane while he is also playing sick tunes was one of the most thrilling things I’ve seen at First Ave in a while and they have notoriously stellar and high-voltage bands perform. The floor was a bit sleepy before The Schizophonics took the stage, but about ten seconds in, everyone was rocking TF out alongside the trio. Drummer Lety Beers keeping the tempo and pace hot and fast, between headbangs her smile lit up the room. Bassist Sarah Linton (who said hey to us between acts, very kind of her to do that) was collected and cool, great contrast between Pat’s out of the stratosphere aura. Punk and rock and roll flavored fun, though their set was short, it was badass to see the three members work perfectly together and put on a potent and memorable show in such a brief amount of time. Though my knees did sympathetically hurt after seeing Beers throttle his own, need to see them again STAT.
Audience was now jazzed up, people were filling out the floor but still very studiously. Leaving enough room for their fellow concert goer, everyone had a little invisible bubble of protection around them versus the typical mash up to the next person in front of them vibe. Love a chillaxed crowd, even though they did get a jolt of wild spirit from The Schizophonics opening the night up like they did. Zombi won me over right away with their pre-show tunes. Like a nostalgic geek dog whistle, my ears immediately perked up when hearing the all too familiar notes of the original 1984 Dune soundtrack. Exclaiming out loud “Oh My God, it’s the original Dune music” to a fellow photographer in the pit. Was my nerd self the only one who knew what beautiful notes were playing? Prob. Did it sew me into an immediate affection for Zombi and make me fangirl out? Definitely. I had a feeling the duo was cool IRL. If you have not seen the original Dune movie, the late great Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck is just one of the great performances in the David Lynch film. Make sure you not only add it to your list, but make a date to watch it. One of my favorites of all time.
Zombi started their interesting swirl of compositions and layering to the crowds’ ravishment. Looping curious sound and beats to create a succulent soundscape, Steve Moore was on artful duty as bassist and synthesizer maestro, and other side of the coin, Anthony Paterra, masterfully completing the satisfying coil on drums. The two musicians worked in blissful tandem throughout their set, painting emotive portraits in the air with an eclectic assortment of samples and live playing. Uniquely their own genre, it’s a slippery slope attempting to describe each song because of the labyrinthine complexity. Wow, did I like them before, and dang, do I love them now. Make sure you head to the next Zombi show near you. Was amazing to melt into their detailed and elaborately organized music.
Waiting for Sleep to hit the stage, poked around the merch areas to see the selection. Their shirts are so sick, love the unique designs they come up with every tour. A touch of vintage flavor, but quirky contemporary and finessed, love their art direction. Didn’t snag a tee, but was very tempted. The line for purchase was snaking throughout First Ave consistently throughout the entire night, people love their Sleepwear. About 15 minutes before they were set to start, the lights went low and a blue haze blanketed the floor. Slowly muffled snippets of radio calls, textured as if being sent from space, echoed throughout the venue. Puffs of smoke and vape dotting the crowd like little engines releasing steam, rhythmic and consistent almost the the audio. The anticipation was building, a few fans letting out yowls and cheers for the band to begin. Bit too long for my taste, after about ten minutes of that, my curious ears turned more anxious as “countdowns” came and went from the prerecorded audio.
A little after 10pm, Sleep arrived on stage. Not a band that is going to bound and bounce around the stage so you can really relax and take in the songs. Was great to see Al Cisneros, the founder of the band and only consistent member since their start back in 1990 in San Jose, CA. Starting off light and breezy, then a few songs it, laying on a bit heavier to pump some blood into the veins. Though not always typical of the doom genre, a decent sized pit got started for those needing to burn off some late night pep about 15 minutes into their set. The small bubbles of personal space not popped, the fans were letting loose a bit and getting into the groove. Hearing the fans before the show talk about how their past Sleep shows have gone, this one was right on par with what they and myself expected from such a seasoned professional group. Reliable, groovy, deep.
First Ave is know for having legends in their hallowed halls, this was certifiably one of those nights.
