March 2017 – Got Any Tunes?

Avenues for Youth Benefit @ Art House North 3/18/17

A stacked lineup for a great cause, what more could you ask for! Bands of the night included Snake Posse, Crosswalk, Early Eyes, and The Happy Children. I want to say I’m sorry to Snake Posse for dropping the ball again and missing their set – I’m perpetually late for everything always – I really do hope to see them sometime in the future. It was my first time seeing Crosswalk live and they were real impressive. Crosswalk’s front man, Duncan Macklem-Johnson, is actually the mastermind behind the nights event, having started this as a school project, though it turned into so much more. How many more reviews until Got Any Tunes? turns into an Early Eyes/ The Happy Children fan website? I can’t count the number of their shows I’ve gone to in just the past few months, but both bands were outstanding as always. I am so appreciative that this was only like the second or third time I’ve ever been inside a church, and I’m so glad this is what it was for. The show ended up raising over $1,400 to help young people ages 16-24 in the twin cities area who are experiencing homelessness – you can learn more about Avenues for Youth here! Some fun photos below 🙂

Why Not @ The Paperhouse 3/17

The boys from Why Not are extremely hospitable, having invited me to one of their shows again last night. Other local youngster bands, Kill You Twice and Harper’s Jar opened The Paperhouse’s St. Patrick’s Day Ball. With a basement full of friends, all three bands lit the crowd up, Why Not even received screams of “one more song!” at the end of their set, to which they eagerly obliged. Here’s to a night filled with some awesome high school bands, cigarettes being lit more for show rather than actual smoking, and teenagers who are cooler than me. Below are some photos of Why Not’s set.

Tennis with Overcoats @Triple Rock Social Club 3/7/17

Another short review with some photos as this week comes to an end. I think recently, as I grapple with my last few months of teenagedom, it’s become increasingly important for me to see artists and bands that I really loved in high school, in my prime teen years. I don’t know why this is or why I feel the need to cling and feel close to my teen years (probably because being an adult scares me, and most teenagers I think). Tennis was one of these important bands; I have strong memories of scream-singing “Marathon” in the first days of spring, Rhonda the Honda’s windows rolled down in the high school parking lot.

Anyways, Tennis and Overcoats put on the most sapphic experience whether they intended to or not. The Overcoats girls, Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell, harmonize like god damn angels and obviously have a deeply empathetic friendship, which shows in their synchronized sameness. Alaina Moore, Tennis front-woman, has this beautiful, humble, slightly mysterious calm about her that draws you in. There seemed to be an overwhelming girlishness about everything that night, and the dancing and smiling and singing had this cathartic power that I just felt really deeply. Below are some photos that I love.