By: Zosia Blue
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Kid Dakota at the Triple Rock - Photo by David de Young (see full set here.)
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On an unusually warm Friday night, the Triple Rock stage welcomed One For The Team (see Andrea Myers’s previous review), a band in which the drummer doesn’t look old enough to see over the kit. Turns out he’s 18 and still in high school, but for a minute, I thought the band had a great gimmick going on with a pre-pubescent percussionist. Ian Anderson, also of up-and-coming band Aneuretical, celebrated his 21st birthday on stage, downing tequila shots and passing out cone-shaped party hats. The music was reminiscent of local favorite, Superdanger, with the poppy drum hooks and squeaky-clean guitar riffs, and obviously influenced by the kitschiness of early Weezer albums. Piano player Sam Gerard, with his squash-yellow maracas and bouncy stage presence, was a stand-out energy-wise, and also because he bears a faint resemblance to Robert Downey, JR. (My friend didn’t see it.)
Look Down, the next act, had a fascinating, but unfortunate gimmick. They wheeled out what appeared to be a life-sized mechanical man in a biohazard suit and orange overalls. The “robot” proceeded to stiffly dance during the songs, and stop abruptly when the music ended. Remember those plastic plants from the 80s that boogied if you put a boombox beside them? Did I just say “boogie” and “boombox” in the same sentence? Anyway, the robot slowly stripped off his overalls to reveal colored Christmas lights wrapped around his legs, and then, at the end of the set, it/he completely undressed and revealed itself as a hirsute human-man in a green jump-suit. Who knew? The gimmick was fun, but unfortunate because I can’t remember a single thing about their music. Nothing stood out negatively, however, and they kept the upbeat Friday night vibe in the room, so I imagine the set was good.
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Drummer Ian Prince with Kid Dakota
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Kid Dakota was on stage next, Darren Jackson fresh from (as usual) manning the merch table in the back. I’ve mentioned this before, but I like this about him. On stage, Jackson announced, as if he were at new band night on Mondays at the Fine Line, that he had some CDs and t-shirts for sale at the back. This could come off as false humility, but I really think there’s an authenticity here in Jackson’s controlled understated-ness. The night began with a trio of familiar songs, including one of my favorites, the rollercoaster “Winterkill” in which drummer Ian Prince beats the shit out of his drums. It’s difficult to say it more eloquently than that. A new song followed, the lyrics of which centered around a Greyhound bus station and a traveler within. It was subdued and beautiful, and by no means a departure from Jackson’s normal song writing. The room was full, but unusually chatty, though the hardcore fans were lined up in the front, mouthing along to the words. At one point, in "Overcoat," a track from their first EP, So Pretty, Jackson stepped away from the mike, and yelled the lyrics, "instead of a habit, you should have a hobby / like Barbie or bubble gum cards.” Everyone shouted along, even though a Kid Dakota show doesn’t usually invoke this type of musician worship – not because the music isn’t spectacular, which it is, but it’s the type of music to which one closes her eyes and does a slow, rocking thing.
But here’s the moment that killed: after the darker, driving tune, “Pilgrim,” Jackson broke into a heart-crushing version of “Fiber-optic,” which may or may not be one of the most beautiful songs ever written in the history of ten thousand universes. No hyperbole whatsoever. Prince, normally a fiend on the drums, held back on this one, spending most of the song with his head bent over the kit. The story of “Fiber-optics” is old and simple: the protagonist misses someone who feels “halfway across the world,” but he’s trying to comfort himself in the underground cables that connect us all in situations like these. The chatter quieted; previously closed eyes, engaged in the music, opened to see if Jackson’s heart was splitting because – how couldn’t it be? HowWasTheShow editor David de Young stood against a side wall with his head down, fiddling with his camera, but unable to get a decent shot because he was starting to tear up. Look, no more sentimentality: it was just one of those moments in Minneapolis music that makes me suddenly feel like I’m actually in the scene, as opposed to merely observing it. Jackson caused a collection of half-drunk hipsters to hush and clutch their throats. After the moment ended, the band left the stage to whistles and yells, only to return with two encores, the final one being the ghostly “Pine Ridge.”
Kid Dakota plays next at the Turf Club on January 20, with These Modern Socks (another must-see outfit on the Twin Cities scene).
Location Info:
Triple Rock Social Club
Artist Info: Kid Dakota, Look Down, One For The Team
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