Fine Line Music Cafe Tuesday August 5th

Minneapolis,MN - Well, the wife and I did something we normally don't do, we went to a bar and a concert on a school night. All I can say is WOW, were we rewarded. This particular night the venue was the Fine Line on 1st Ave in downtown MPLS. Excellent location and venue for concerts but that night was a terrible turn out. I felt bad for the guys from Strange Daze, Artifas and Surrender the Fall. When Strange Daze took to the stage 8 of us were their witness a hellacious rock show.

Eric, Scott, Chad and Mike got up on stage undaunted by the poor turnout. They played like that room was packed and was standing room only.  This was our first exposure to these regional powerhouse rockers who lived up to the hype. Half way into song two of their set I made my way over to the merch table and picked up Shine Through, their recent cd. After finishing listening straight through the entire cd today, I can report not a bad tune on the entire effort. I was never tempted to skip a track and jump ahead. Do yourself a favor and download this cd today and discover one of the best bands Minnesota bands on the scene. 

Artifas followed up after Strange Daze finished up and cleared their gear. By this time the crowd had swelled to, okay the crowd hadn't changed. Again the lack of crowd size and noise did nothing to deter this Memphis based band from coming out and hitting you right in your ear hole. Prior to Tuesday night I had heard a couple of Artifas tunes. My wife is the one that screens emerging bands for me and finds these hidden gems. The energy and precision that I witnessed made me an instant fan. Scottie and Cody and the rest of the guys left nothing behind they gave it all up on stage and met the expectation set by Strange Daze. 

After their set I was complementing the guys on how they approached playing to a handful of people and Cody Criswell had a highly developed outlook on the situation, "You never know who you are playing to, the President of the biggest label in the country could be one of those 8 people, so we go out and play with that thought." I thought this was a profound and highly professional way of approaching what could have easily been a "call it night". Those guys did anything but "call it in".

Now with two bands down and high bar set with their balls to the walls performances it was time to witness the spectacle that is Surrender the Fall. Once again, I was shocked that they could take it up a further notch and leave me thoroughly impressed yet again. During the beginning of their set I stepped out front and the people walking by were all commenting and wanting to know who was playing that night. STF came out and these guys were tight with their sound and their stage show. A desire to be master of their craft was evident by the quality of the show and the attention to detail. Secretly, I think these guys played even harder because of the light crowd.

No matter who was there I was there and I now three bands to add to my list of favorites and you should at a minimum buy their cd's and merch and see them at the next tour stop near you. Supporting guys who work as hard and take their craft this seriously is a pleasure

Just MN Joe