Setlist
Read More Jeremy Messersmith They opened for local indie looker/Trekkie/Tweeter Jeremy Messersmith, who has a beard, a guitar, an Andy, and a fondness for Minneapolis ..…
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I showed up before the doors opened and stood in line at the entry of The Depot. I was lucky to have the cover of The Depot's garage door opening. The real fans showed earlier than I did and stood out in the pouring rain.
John Mark Nelson got up on the stage, flooded with blue light. It was a perfect lighting choice to compliment the moody, spellbinding performance. Nelson's tenor accompanied by guitar was simple, but fantastically effective. On what he called his "revival tour" John Mark played "Home" and crowd favorite "Boy." He is expecting a new album out during the first quarter of 2014. To fund the project, he ran a Kickstarter campaign. He performed "Shore Bird" and "The Moon and the Stars" on guitar. He dawned the mandolin for "Rain Come Down." Jeremy Messersmith and Andy Thompson joined John on stage for a wonderful rendition of "Reminisce." I've read other reviews comparing Nelson's sound to Neil Young - but this performance reminded me more of Tracy Chapman. I don't think that's a bad thing - it was just different.
Next up was The Starfolk. Brian Tighe and Allison LaBonne trade off as the center of the band. When Brian is the front man, the band sounds like a late 60's/early 70's pop group. However, when Allison takes lead, they have a rock'n'roll sound. They sang "Devil in the Details" and "Wake Up Machine" off their soon to be released debut album. The self-titled album The Starfolk is out on September 10, 2013 on Korda Records. Brian later plays guitar with Jeremy Messersmith who called himself a The Starfolk fanboy.
Sometime during The Starfolk, 7th St Entry became so packed with people I dare not leave my spot, for fear of making it back alive.
Jeremy Messersmith is a local guy and fronts a local group. Some of his song lyrics mention Minneapolis landmarks and streets. His second album The Silver City features a drawing of Minneapolis's downtown skyline re-imagined to be the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz. He's currently touring around the country and getting back in a rock'n'roll state of mind. Mid-set he commented, "I've forgotten how to rock. Let's play the 7th St because that's about as rock'n'roll as it gets."
The set opened with "Violet" and "It's Only Dancing." "It's Only Dancing" is a great example of Messersmith using storytelling within his songs to add a twist to the end. That combined with his pop-y, mass market sound equals a thoroughly enjoyable show and some serious fans. In line to get in (in the rain, sopping wet) one concert goer told me she's seen him six or seven times.
During the set, Jeremy featured some new songs to be released at a yet to be set date. Among those were "Hit Man for My Heart" which describes in pretty good detail exactly how this fictitious hit man should assassinate his heart. The crowd favorite, indicated by flocks of people singing along, was definitely "A Girl, a Boy and a Graveyard." "Merch Girl" was kind of a love song or an ode - a realistic ode that I enjoyed very much.
During the encore, Messersmith came out solo with an acoustic guitar to perform new songs, some recently drafted. The crowd reaction to "I Don't Trust That Boy" was a mixture of shock and awe. With clever lyrics and catchy tunes, Messersmith's new album will be an excellent addition to any music library.
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