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Annie DiRusso at Fine Line (Jun 7, 2025)
Tour Dates Previously: Annie DiRusso at Bottleneck To say she’s built up a following and fan base as a result is an understatement, as several in the crowd were dressed eclectically, and jockeyed for space up front, to get a closer view of DiRusso and band, who were all playing together publicly for the first time as well. [ Continue Reading Annie DiRusso at Bottleneck ] Read More
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When you attend a single show, it is easy to simply focus on that one moment in time. But when you stop and back out, it can be a lot of fun to see all of the connections that are being made in this live music circuit that we love. Certainly, there is the overall tour an artist or band is making; which cities and venues, in what order, and how they change across tours. But there’s also all of the intersections between bands and venues that are all happening in tandem. On a rainy weekend night in Minneapolis, Annie DiRusso helped build some new connections (some which will be noted below) with her stop at Fine Line.
Daffo opened the evening. Daffo is the band name for Brooklyn-based artist Gabi Gamberg. Gamberg, a classically trained violinist, has had music available since at least 2021, but with the release of 2023’s EP Pest, they have been very busy gigging, with stints this summer opening for DiRusso and soon for Blondshell (who, connection #1, will be performing at Fine Line in just a few days).
Daffo self described their music as “garage folk” and that isn’t a bad descriptor at all. Pest has a lot of those lo-fi elements, but sonically, it has that indie folk vibe. Coming out as a quartet (dual guitars, bass, and drums). The opening song leaned into that folk sound, with Daffo’s vocals are in the Big Thief neighborhood. The second song, Absence Makes the Heart Grow, started with some heavier feedback and was a much more upbeat rock song. The band was moving around stage and was all smiles.
Complete Circle was another change of direction, and seemed to be the theme of the set. Between songs, Gamberg asked everyone to bark like a dog, which led to the song Go Fetch, which had a great intro guitar lick. A bit of a coughing spell for Gamberg during the quieter intro of Collector could have been awkward, but made for a supportive crowd response. The backing vocals from bassist Sam Cronin on that one added a nice depth. Some nice guitar solos in this section of the set got the audience cheering.
Habit, a new song about to be released, was a noisier one, with a lot more crashing cymbals and jangly guitars. Poor Madeline had an ask for the audience to sing along, with a fair number taking them up on it. An introduction of the band led to the song Seed, which had a long outro, with the band in full rock mode. Ending with the very folky The Experiment, which included harmonica solo, was a silly and fun ending for Daffo, who then headed back to the merch table.
I spoke with Gamberg after the show and, with the upcoming switch of bands they will be opening for, asked if the headliner makes any difference in how they approach their set, or what they are trying to accomplish. They said that while the headlining band can make things more comfortable, it doesn’t really affect what Daffo is trying to do. Gamberg noted they were a little nervous coming up to Blondshell, as they would be some of the biggest venues Daffo has ever played in. Asked about what else is upcoming, Gamberg mentioned there is more music, such as Habit being released soon and that they will be opening for the band Wednesday in the fall.
Annie DiRusso was up next and would be arriving to the stage to a pretty pumped audience. DiRusso is a New York born artist now residing in Nashville, playing a very indie rock sound. We last saw DiRusso at the end of March in Lawrence, KS for the kick off of this Back In Town tour and have a thorough review of that show. The opener there was Raffaella, who, connection #2, is a fellow New Yorker who has also relocated, but to, connection #3, the Twin Cities.
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Samia at First Ave (June 6, 2025)
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Legs had a good use of backup vocals to make a nearly echoed effect. DiRusso mentioned that she was happy to be back in Minneapolis for the second time, before quickly backtracking and saying it was actually her third time. An amusing and ever lengthening anecdote during a tuning led invariably to the song Good Ass Movie. DiRusso has certainly tagged into her target audience (the very early 20’s), as the name-dropped films were all circa 2010. A solid bass riff was a great foundation for the next number, with a long and rollicking close.
9 Months, DiRusso’s earliest breakthrough song (written when “I was 20 or 21”) felt very comfortable for the band. Another change over of guitar got a brighter sound for Leo, and at one point had DiRusso singing on two microphones for a distorted/distant echo effect. At several moments in the set, you could hear a little of that Nashville indie influence on the songs, which provided a little variation on some of the newer work in Super Pedestrian. I enjoyed the triple harmonies and guitar work on Hybrid, which might have been the highlight of the evening. DiRusso worked the 10,000 Lakes angle into the set up for Wet, and in lesser hands might have fell completely flat, but came off mostly ok here.
Some more reverb on vocals and guitars had the crowd in more of a head banging mode than some of the more euphoric dancing from earlier. The very Americana sounding Wearing Pants Again had some steel guitar effect and back up vocals from the drummer. One of the crew (Lily, “a Minneapolis native”) who had come on with a guitar suddenly became a fifth musician for Back in Town and was a pretty unique moment. Heading into the final section of the set, we got a brand new song written on an off day during the tour. Emerson got a great audience response and was well placed to drive to the end of the evening. The non-encore encore, It’s Good To Be Hot In The Summer was a good slow close to the show and DiRusso and band were off to make the next set of connections.
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