|
Posies at Turf Club Poster Setlist
Tour Dates
06/29/2018 Kansas City, MO The Riot Room
06/30/2018 Denver, CO Levitt Pavilion 07/01/2018 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room 07/06/2018 Bellingham, WA Wild Buffalo House Of Music 07/07/2018 Seattle, WA The Neptune 08/31/2018 Into The Great Wide Open 09/01/2018 Zomerpop Festiva 09/29/2018 Barcelona, Spain Upload 09/30/2018 Zaragoza, Spain La Lata de Bombillas 10/01/2018 Cordoba, Spain Hangar 10/02/2018 Cadiz, Spain Aulario La Bomba 10/03/2018 Granada, Spain Lemon Rock Bar & Hostel 10/04/2018 Valencia, Spain 16 Toneladas Rock Club 10/05/2018 Madrid, Spain Caracol 10/06/2018 Pontevedra, Spain Teatro Principal 10/07/2018 Gipuzkoa, Spain San Agustin Kultur Gunea 10/09/2018 Paris, France La Maroquinerie 10/10/2018 Utrecht, NL Tivoli De Helling 10/11/2018 Groningen, NL Vera 10/12/2018 Heerlen, NL De Nieuwe Nor 10/13/2018 Alkmaar, NL Victorie 10/14/2018 Hengelo, NL Metropool 10/16/2018 Dusseldorf, Germany Zakk 10/17/2018 Kortrijk, Belgium Wilde Western 10/18/2018 Mechelen, Belgium Cultuurcentrum Mechelen 10/19/2018 London, UK The Garage 10/20/2018 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club 10/21/2018 Glasgow, UK King Tut's Wah Wah Hut 10/23/2018 Manchester, UK The Deaf Institute 10/25/2018 Bremen, Germany Tower Musikclub 10/26/2018 Hamburg, Germany Hakken 10/27/2018 Berlin, Germany Kantine Am Berghain 10/29/2018 Helsinki, Finland Savoy Theatre 10/31/2018 Larvik, Norway Sanden Kafe 11/01/2018 Stavanger, Norway Folken 11/02/2018 Bergen, Norway Club Madam Felle 11/03/2018 Trondheim, Norway Teaterhuset Avant Garden 11/04/2018 Oslo, Norway John Dee 11/06/2018 Goteborg, Sweden Pusterviksbaren 11/07/2018 Stockholm, Sweden Fasching 11/08/2018 Malmo, Sweden Inkonst Read More
|
“By the power of Grayskull, I declare this concert awesome!” – Ken Stringfellow of The Posies at the show’s end.
A loon-calling contest, Tequila Terra, and a special Hüsker Dü encore were all part of a very memorable 30th anniversary performance from Bellingham, WA band The Posies, playing to a crowded Turf Club in St. Paul.
As doors opened, local DJ Jake Rudh played a series of associated power-pop records, both visually on the screen lowered from above the stage, as well as in audio form between acts, to keep the crowd in a power-pop mood.
Hamilton, ONT singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot was first up, with band and well-traveled SG guitar named “Veronica” in tow, in support of last fall’s New Mistakes (Sonic Unyon / Sony Music). Lightfoot (no relation to fellow Canuck Gordon) has a rootsy blues sound, and guitar work that is confident and often roaring with swagger. With stomping songs like ‘Paradise’, this is a storm from the great white north worth catching the next time through.
The word was that MN/WI alternate rock trio Porcupine lobbied to be on the bill, and with good reason as the kind of no-holds-barred, unapologetic rock played by Casey Virock (guitars/vocals), Ian Prince (drums), and Greg Norton (bass) fit ideally into the evening’s playlist.
Though somewhat new to most, the band has been around (in some form) for over a decade, spinning out of Virock’s former band, Space Bike, and is currently finishing a follow up to 2015’s Carrier Wave EP. The most common description of their sound seems to be Swervedriver meets QOTSA which has some germ of truth, but their forty-minute set, more showed a sound and stage presence, all their own.
Virock’s skills on guitar are formidable, as is Prince on the drum kit, but the welcome presence was newest member and former Hüsker Dü bassist Norton, still jumping about and stalking the stage, adding extra punch to older songs like 2009’s ‘Dead Mint Club’ and 2011’s ‘Rooftops’ while newer songs like 2015’s ‘Connecting the Dots’ (recorded and mixed by Steve Albini) show the further evolution of the trio’s ‘90’s inspired sound.
Virock even confessed to his car just getting broken into, with everything stolen except his amp and tucked away guitars, but that the crowd reception helped turn the frown of an otherwise unlucky day, into something positive.
After a brief break and simple but appropriate set décor added (a tall, cylindrical image of a cake beater, a number 23 table marker) to help set the mood, the 1992-94 lineup of The Posies took to the stage for a two-hour plus headlining set. In addition to mainstay songwriter/guitar/vocalists Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, bassist Dave Fox and drummer Mike Musburger are completing the lineup on this special 30th Anniversary Tour.
The band has come through locally a few times in the last several years, mostly in the form of pop-up/secret shows held in such local places as a former fire station and a church; but this time, brought the full (and loud) firepower as well as a youthful exuberance, fearlessly starting with their biggest commercial hit, 1993’s ‘Dream All Day’.
“Oh, yeah, this is pretty neat!” Stringfellow began, eyeing the anticipatory crowd, saying there was plenty to play, so the band wasted little time getting started. The humorous back and forth “punny repartee” between the two bandleaders started early on, always keeping things light between selections from their three-decade power-pop library.
Stringfellow declared the 30th anniversary to be the tequila one diving into 1990’s ‘Any Other Way’ with a tray of said drinks arriving just after a melodic ‘You’re the Beautiful One’ (written by Ken about Jon and at a point when he thought the band might be over). Vocal harmonies lifted 1990’s ‘Suddenly Mary’ to higher heights, with Fox and Musburger holding down the rhythm like they hadn’t been away a quarter-century.
Lightfoot returned to the stage, baring another round of liquid refreshment, prompting Stringfellow to mention a few upper Midwest notable items, including the loon, prevalent in Minnesota as well as in Canada (enough to be on their dollar coin) which resulted in the pair doing their best bird calls, with Lightfoot staying put to help out on 2010’s polka-worthy ‘Licenses to Hide’ and driving ‘The Glitter Prize’.
Momentum swelled with a frantic ‘Flavor of the Month’, the rhythm-propelled ‘Burn & Shine’ (featuring some blistering guitar), and the main set-ending ‘Solar Sister’ (dedicated to two longtime, locally-based fans in attendance).
The encore began unceremoniously, with the band returning and taking up positions, then with Porcupine bassist Norton emerging to temporarily take the place of Fox. All tuned up before going into an awe-inspiring mini-set of four Hüsker Dü cover songs starting with 1987’s ‘These Important Years’ and its lyric, “it’s never happening to you”- but this magical collaboration was, in fact, actually happening, right before our eyes, ears, and smiling faces - “Posie Dü - dreams do come true!” Stringfellow exulted after.
“This song was our way to say thank you” Stringfellow explained about their own ‘Grant Hart’, also telling a story how Hart obtained his phone number and would talk to him daily for an hour or two, before suddenly ending things and never being heard from again. “This is so meta!” Stringfellow remarked, looking over at Norton as the song chugged in high gear throughout.
As Norton waved goodbye, Fox rejoined the lineup with Lightfoot also returning for a savage, show-ending ‘Flood of Sunshine’, (the oldest Posies song that has its origins with Stringfellow’s old high school band) with Stringfellow on keys and Auer and Lightfoot dueling furiously on guitars, enough so that both shed several strings in the process.
The real flood of sunshine for the crowd was to see this seminal ‘90s band return with more enthusiasm and vigor than many bands half their age, and treating the audience to a one-of-a-kind musical journey capped by an unforgettable encore. Add to that, the band’s three seminal albums will be expanded and re-issued by year’s end, via a PledgeMusic campaign and you have all the ingredients to once again dream all day, along with The Posies.
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DJ Jake Rudh can make anybody swing from one end to the next.
Posted by: John | 07/04/2018 at 12:44 PM
The Posies is an American Pop Group. I love this group so much due to its great performances and music. I have joined its one show before my bus tours and really loved that.
Posted by: Ruby | 01/18/2019 at 02:55 AM