Eric Mayson Setlist
Upcoming
Sat, Feb 22, 2025 6PM DOORS 8PM EVENT Full food and beverage menu available for the entire show. Celebrate 3 of the Twin Cities' newest bands with a night of live music, dancing, and good vibrations. Poetic Roots is a collective of young, Black musicians playing Black music. Lead singer and songwriter Brandyn Lee Tulloch gets most of his inspiration from the rhythms and grooves of reggae and funk music from the late 70s. The sound and the message are both equally important, and Poetic Roots uses the power of music to help move the masses physically, mentally, and spiritually. Charmaine is an accomplished R&B and Soul artist renowned for her versatility and passion. She first made waves as the bandleader and founder of The Culture, a group celebrated for their dynamic performances at prominent venues such as RadioK, 7th Street, and various local festivals. Charmaine is now embarking on an exciting solo career, supported by a new backing group called BAKKWOODDRIFT. This group is an exceptional ensemble, featuring a lineup of talented musicians who bring a unique flair to Charmaine's solo work. Together, BAKKWOODDRIFT enhances Charmaine’s blend of Soul and R&B, contributing to a captivating and versatile sound that engages audiences with its depth and sophistication. LASALLE is a local pop-band that utilizes funky live guitar, drums, bass and synth to curate a sound that draws inspiration sonically anywhere from the classic Minneapolis Sound, to RnB and 80s rock, with a modern twist to create infectious melodies and a tenacious groove that is sure to make you dance. Previously
Tabah is a five-piece electric ensemble that began in 2013, although their first year was described as “unique, aggressive, and difficult experience”. Currently the band features singer/guitarist Cecelia Erholtz, bassist Charlie Bruber, guitarist Jeff Ley, keyboardist Andrew Seitz, and drummer Murphy Janssen. Read More
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Another Thursday, another night of local music at Turf Club, this time headlined by Eric Mayson.
LaSalle got things started. The quartet is a classic arrangement (two guitars, bass, and drums). A little bit funk, a little bit of pop rock, this is held together by the lead singer’s strong vocals. Guitar solos were very funk-infused rock on the second song, Dance the Night, which had a long keyboard close. The third song, That Was the Moment, had a strong bass riff throughout. A little bit of computer backing launched the next song, Finally, with an excellent guitar intro and the first back-up vocals from the bassist. The song Friends got a change of guitar for the lead singer. An impressive drum intro to Black Dhalia was preclude to the fast and driving song. The band wrapped things up with a soulful “baby, don’t you know I love you” feel.
Speaking with lead singer and creative force LaSalle between sets, I asked about his musical background. He’s been playing music all his life, but this current band has been together less than a year. He has participated with a lot of jam band sessions, which got him involved in the local scene.
Asking about his song writing approach, LaSalle writes all the lyrics and music, but playing with musicians he trusts creates the space for the band to bring something of their own to each song. When asked what’s next, he said the band has a number of upcoming shows, including one at Icehouse on February 22. They will also be releasing music soon.
The second band was 26 Bats! Hilariously, the lead singer had bat ears on, so it was certainly an aesthetic choice. The sextet sound is a synth heavy rock, with a bit of jazz infusion? It’s a fascinating sound, and the trumpet intro on the second song, Creeper, showed the depth of sound on display. A sort of love song, called Grief, had that jazzy drum sound with the keys overlaid and the trumpet exclamation. There was almost a ska sound and it was an impressive mix of genres, even as they moved into a forlorn sadness on the next song, nite lite. Circus Monkeys, based on the saying “not my circus, not my monkeys” was another debut and leaned into that ska-jazz sound.
Speaking with lead singer Babo (aka Bailey 26 Cogan), we talked about how evenings like this matter. Babo said that it lets the community come together and have joy, even in uncertain times. For the audience and even for them, other musicians bring hope, which is needed and is hard to quantify right now. The connections matter and the spaces for joy and even silliness matter. When asked about the band’s wide-ranging sound and the multiple genres that could be applied, Babo laughed, saying “screw genre”. They described how being LGBTQ gives a different perspective which lets the musical sound have a fluidity across a number of genres. 26 Bats! Has an upcoming show called Fairy Goblin, which will include puppetry, drag and music happening at the Southern Theater on February 22 (a popular date for shows, it turns out).
TABAH started with a bit of dreamy, psych rock out of the gate. The sextet definitely had a jazzy sound, with a strong keyboard presence by Andrew Seitz underlying the guitars. A Janis Joplin-esque vocals drives this forward. The second song, MAXD, had strong funk vibes, still underpinned by the powerful voice of lead singer Cecilia Erholtz. This is a band that is very comfortable with each other and is having fun playing across a lot of genres. They were also having fun encouraging the audience to lean into the moment as well. A remark about wanting more snow got a very mixed reaction from the crowd, which seemed a classic Minnesota response. The guitar work in Sleepn, was a fabulous build up through the song to its raucous conclusion. The last song, Rat Race, was loud and impressive and included major time signature changes mid-song.
Headliner Eric Mayson was up at last. And the largest band as well, as a sextet on stage, including three vocalists. Mayson is, in his own words, “a noise maker”, and that is absolutely accurate. There’s a wall of sound vibe here, especially as Mayson’s keyboards support all of those vocals. I Just Want to Know is about wanting to be in a place even (and maybe especially?) when you can’t. A song on Civil War general Ambrose Burnside (called Burnside Bridge) got a hilarious interaction around whether some of the crowd was booing Burnside or the song choice (it was Burnside). It took a minute to recognize, but two of those back-up vocalists were Barlow, and Abby Wolf, strong local musicians in their own right (Barlow was also at Best New Bands in January, 2024).
Side note: speaking with Barlow after the show, he mentioned that he and Eric have been good friends since high school, having played together then and worked together then and even did NY fringe festival together when Barlow was 16.
Illiterate Light at Turf Club (2 Mar 2024) |
The next song, Readymade Mind, got us an additional musician on the stage, and it was Luke Enyeart, who opened for Illiterate Light last March at Turf Club. Great backing harmonies and Enyeart’s guitar work really made this one hit with the audience. We were also told that Enyeart is about to become a father, which led to a bit where Eric decided the child to be should be named “Chungus, the Pirate King” (maybe you had to be there). Heading into the next song we got an extended piano into from Mayson, a reminder of his skill on the keyboards. With four vocalists, there were some rich harmonies and delightful sounds. Those harmonies carried into the next song and really were the calling card of the evening. Mayson is a great center to the show and his energy and the rest of the band clearly responded to his direction. An introduction of “this next song goes like this” got a good laugh, but continued the jazzy rock vibe with Wolf on xylophone and an extended piano solo from Mayson. A final song about whether two people are or are not sleeping together was a pretty funny and effective way to end the evening.
I asked Mayson about his creative process given all those vocalists and he said he writes songs as “maximal as possible”. He wrote and sent out the parts to each of the individuals and then they came together. Mayson said he’s lucky to have so many friends who can and want to participate. Asking what else he is up to, Mayson said he is a composer and writer for theater, and often back up for others. He is grateful to be an in-demand collaborator and likes to repay that to others. Mayson has an upcoming show at Green Room in April.
26 Bats!
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LaSalle |
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Eric Mayson at Turf Club (30 Jan 2025)
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thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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