It’s Never Enough: Turnstile Brings Commanding Performance to The Armory
One of my most anticipated shows of the entire year was finally here just as I was wrapping up the peak week of my ultra training. Ever since Turnstile has released their highly anticipated fourth full length album “Never Enough” back in June, I have been having myself a Turnstile summer every month, week, and day since, bringing that album with me through several races and long weekend training days. When the band announced the fall leg of their North American tour with a stop at The Armory in Minneapolis, I knew I couldn’t miss this show. To say that this album has been the soundtrack to my training block this year is a complete understatement, and I was beyond excited to finally catch another headlining set of theirs after three long years.
First up for the night was a new to me artist Jane Remover, a quick Google search told me they were known for pioneering “dariacore” on SoundCloud. Jane Remover released their third full length album “Revengeseekerz” earlier this year, which was heavily showcased during their short and sweet six song opening set. While Jane Remover might land in my rotation, from where I was hanging out in the crowd it felt like I was in the minority; it seemed as though everyone around me knew every word to their songs. Jane Remover called for their fans to move up to the front during their set and they shot to the front in droves, jumping and dancing along, making the floor shake early on in the very front of the venue. Jane Remover brought EDM elements to their set, which were the moments I was most fond of, and while their live set was fun to watch, the crowd was even more fun to observe. One of the things that I love about Turnstile is that they bring an eclectic group of artists along with them on tour and this was no exception. While Jane Remover may not be for me, their set was actually a really fun way to start an otherwise riff heavy night.
Next up for the night was SPEED, another band on the lineup that I was eager to see. Hailing all the way from Australia, SPEED wasted no time powering into their set. If Jane Remover got the crowd going early, SPEED took that energy and cranked it up several notches. From the moment the band took the stage all the way to the very end of their set, there was an onslaught of crowd surfers and circles pits, nearly everyone on the GA floor was moving to every riff. One of the highlights of their time on stage for me was during the band’s last song, “THE FIRST TEST.” Near the last breakdown when lead vocalist Jem Seow brought out the flute and played it onstage with as much passion as the more traditional rock instruments surrounding him. It truly felt like SPEED could have been the headliner of the night with how much the crowd was into their set and it was hard to believe the show was only two bands in.
The penultimate band for the night was Mannequin Pussy, the band taking the stage after an extremely quick changeover. Mannequin Pussy was a band I was more familiar with from their social media, however, I was excited to catch them for the first time. I’m also glad that the band stayed true to themselves and didn’t for a second shy away from addressing extremely important and timely social issues, and recognized that art forms are very much an expression of current events and culture. While their set likely proved a nice break from the more hardcore sound of SPEED for the crowd, it didn’t stop most of those in the front from continuing to dance and crowdsurf along during their set. Mannequin Pussy may be another band that might not make it full time into my rotation, however, their live set sold me on them and I can’t wait for them to return to the Twin Cities.
Finally, it was time for the headliners of the night Turnstile to take the stage. By the time it was time for Turnstile to start their set, The Armory was completely packed, with the opening notes of “NEVER ENOUGH” flowing through the venue. I thought that maybe the openers had taken a little energy out of the crowd, however, I was completely proven wrong. From the moment Turnstile ripped “T.L.C.,” it was clear that the relentless moshing, circle pits and crowdsurfers were only just getting started. The last time I was able to catch Turnstile as a headliner was when they played the Fillmore, a much smaller venue and The Armory. However, once I braved the crowd, it nearly brought me right back to that Fillmore show. Even though the crowd was huge, it was packed full of Turnstile fans singing every song along with me and the band. Even though I did not get to hear one of my personal favorites off of Turnstile’s new record (“SLOWDIVE”), I found their set to be a great mix of “NEVER ENOUGH” and “GLOW ON” and the band even threw in some deep cuts from “Step 2 Rhythm.” Even during the band's encore (a trio of songs starting with “MYSTERY” before heading into “BLACKOUT” and ending with “BIRDS”), the crowd was still giving it absolutely everything they had, myself included, as I found myself in a circle pit for the first time in nearly ten years just losing myself in the moment. Turnstile is one of those bands that I will refuse to miss when they roll into town. I truly can never have enough Turnstile in my life and I cannot wait to have their music fueling my very first 100k in a couple of weeks.
