By: Andrea Myers
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Ian Anderson of One For The Team - Photo by Andrea Myers
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There is an audible buzz around the room of every Afternoon Records show that is unlike most other underage concert experiences, with the exception of the days I used to spend at the Garage in Burnsville (a teen center-turned-all ages venue that is almost exclusively run and inhabited by kids under 19 years old). It is the buzz of youth, of energy, and of significance; and at the One For The Team CD release party at the Triple Rock, it was the buzz of a great band putting out their first full-length record and playing a show to a room filled with their biggest fans.
The evening began with a short set by Viceburgh, a squealing and pummeling young band that moved recklessly from one song to the next. Despite the fact that the show started a few minutes after 6:00, the room was already filling up with youngsters and a hyper crowd gathered in front of the stage to squirm and jump to the music. Each Viceburgh member proudly wore a t-shirt that proclaimed “V-FUNK,” and each song was promised to be even more funky than the last by lead singer Sean Keith. At one point, Keith picked up a digital camera and motioned for the audience to raise their hands up in the air, and every person on the floor gladly complied as he snapped a picture.
The Battle Royale took the stage next. This was my third time seeing the band, and I make a point to see them as often as I can because their stage presence and music are an infectious combination of proud geekiness and danceable pop. “Are you guys ready for the biggest little dance party ever?” asked singer and synthesized organ player Sam Robertson, as the quartet finished setting up their instruments, “because it's about to start right now.” The women in the audience let out high-pitched screams as the band launched into their first tune, and female bass player Grace Fiddler grooved coolly along with the techno music as her three incredibly skinny, awkward male band mates (two synthesizer players and a guitarist) jerked around the stage and sang the lyrics.
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The Battle Royale - Photo by Myers
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Their best song, “Oh Martha,” was adapted for the evening into what the band described as their “venture into Christian rock,” and the group replaced the chorus with “Oh Jesus” and giggled uncontrollably throughout the song. Throughout their performance, The Battle Royale teetered on the edge of either falling apart completely, or getting the synthesizers and guitars to fall together so perfectly that they shook the room with an intensity beyond their young years. They ended their set with a few songs that featured Fiddler on vocals, and her stylings were a welcome addition to the band's developing sound.
Throughout the night (well, early evening – the show was finished before the sun went down), members of all three acts watched each other intently and took part in the celebrations of the evening. So by the time One For The Team took the stage and ran through a brief sound check, the members of the band had already circled the room and mingled with the guests. That's another great thing about the younger wave of bands in this city; there is a current of camaraderie and selflessness that seems to propel these groups forward, and the support that they lend to one another only helps them to reach new heights with their music as well as their public relations.
The guest of honor, One For The Team's debut album Good Boys Don't Make Noise, is a poppy gem of a record, and the songs translated wonderfully to the stage. Though it was not my first time seeing the Team, they sounded significantly tighter and more polished (a great side effect of enduring the recording process, it seems), and their set was captivating.
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John Krueger of One For The Team - Photo by Myers
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Lead singer (and Afternoon Records label head) Ian Anderson has a voice that could melt any girl's heart, and his high-pitched vocals and endearing lyrics conjured up images of high school sweethearts and pep rally spirit fests. A giant leap from his less melodic and more asymmetrical band, Aneuretical, Anderson seems to have embraced his love for pop rock with his work for the Team and has created something remarkable in the process. Anderson invited Grace Fiddler back on stage to sing back-up vocals for a few songs, and the sound of the Team mixed with Fiddler's voice created a sound very similar to the Pixies. Other members of the Battle Royale also joined the Team's Sam Gerard in a crazy, tambourine-shaking dancefest on stage that made the audience scream with joy. Gerard's bubbling energy, combined with bass player John Krueger's head banging and Elliot Manthey's giddy drumming filled the room with an electricity that made it as much a party as it was a concert.
Though the Team seems to enjoy playing the Triple Rock, I have no doubt in my mind that these guys would do well on a bigger stage. And if they keep making records as charismatic as their first, they will soon have all the fans they need to fill up a larger room.
Location Info:
Triple Rock Social Club
Artist Info: Battle Royale, One For The Team, Viceburgh
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