Veruca Salt w/ Battleme at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (09 Jul 2014) concert review

Battleme

Opening for Veruca Salt at the Varsity Theater last night was none other than Portland’s Battleme, whose energetic set was packed with the kind of rock ‘n roll that makes you forget it’s a weeknight. It was a performance that impressed much of the crowd and judging by the activity around their merch table afterwards (I spotted vocalist/guitarist and band mastermind Matt Drenik entertaining a bevy of lovely ladies later on in the night), I’d say they’ve garnered more than a few new fans. The sedate nature of a typical Minnesota audience can be a rude awakening for some bands (especially opening acts), but for Drenik, drummer Paul Pulvirenti, guitarist JJ Elliot and bassist Chad Savage last evening’s show was just another night of kicking ass.

Matt Drenik

The band blasted into their first song, the throttling, aptly titled “Shotgun Song” off the band’s newest album Future Runs Magnetic. Other new tracks like “Just Weight” and “We Are Underground” sounded monstrous and anthemic with slow-burn verses and fist-pumping choruses. While the band was incredibly tight, they played in a really loose-limbed way, relishing each power chord and every smash from Pulvirenti’s snare. It didn’t take long for the good-time vibe on stage to seep into the audience – you can only stay frigid in the face of rock for so long. Drenik used his keyboard for two songs and then spent the rest of the time chatting with fans at the front (“Oh my god, how are we doing?”). As he edged his way to the lip of the stage to shoot hooks out of his guitar, Elliot, stage right, worked a gorgeous ‘72 Telecaster Custom and made Eddie Van Halen faces at the crowd.



“Wait For Me,” from Battleme’s self-titled debut, crackled with a Pixies-like intensity and the extended jam on the final song had people nodding their heads to the beat and throwing their hands up, surrendering to the band’s awesome sound. I’m really looking forward to seeing Battleme return to the Twin Cities as headliners. Forty five minutes with them is not enough time!

Nina and Louise

The story of Veruca Salt, for those who are not familiar with the band, has always been, at least to me, between two best friends: Nina Gordon and Louise Post. Like all great friendship, they sometime break up, sometime brutal, sometime mutual. Many of us speculated that the two fought over a guy, personally I thought it was because the two had grown in different musical directions.



By the late 90s, Gordon left Veruca Salt to pursue her solo career with her debut Tonight and the Rest of My Life. We found out that her music was surprisingly very pop and different than what Veruca Salt was known for.
Post did not give up on the band, instead continues on writing and recording music with various band lineups from 1999 to 2012… but eventually went onto hiatus.

The Museum of Broken Relationships/It’s Holy 7″ (autographed)

That’s not the end of the story, last year, it would seem that all the original band members (Louise, Nina, Jim, and Steve) got back together to bury the hatchet! Back together again for the first time since 1998, the band wrote and recorded some songs, two of the new Veruca Salt songs, “The Museum of Broken Relationships” and “It’s Holy,” ended up as a special 10″ vinyl for Record Store Day (the same songs were re-pressed with a different colored sleeve as a 7″ tour single).



Hearing the new songs (both studio version and live version at their show at the Varsity), fans would agree that the songs fit in well with that classic Veruca Salt sound.



Knowing that the band love David Bowie (as heard on their song “With David Bowie”), the live show seems to be a weird tribute to the man, starting with the “Diamond Dogs” introduction song and then seeing their homage to Bowie’s “Heroes” collage on the projection. I was surprise that they didn’t come out wearing Bowie T-Shirts, instead Nina is seen wearing a Mick Jagger’s “Linda Ronstadt Queen of L.A.” T-Shirt.



Not much has changed for Veruca Salt’s live shows since the 90s, they are still a little sloppy (Nina initially actually forgot how to play the chords on “Earthcrosser”) and addressed their shows as simply not a “professional show” (as commented on their sound problems early in their show.) Even with the technical difficulties, it did not matter to their fans. One fan shouted out, “We don’t care, just sing the songs!” It was just good to have the band back together.

Setlist

You realize that the reunion of Veruca Salt was not only good for all the band members and their friendship, but it was also good for their most dedicated fans. Veruca Salt never took their fans for granted, thanking some of them BY NAMES! Many of diehard fans traveled as far as Winnipeg, Ohio, or Fargo, just to share their love for Veruca Salt once again.



The highlights were obviously the big hits “Seether” and “Volcano Girls.” My personal favorite moment was when Steve (who did not have a mic, but “imagine the things that could come out of his mouth!”) first came back on stage on the encore to announce, “20-min bass solo! Here we go!”



If you miss the newly reformed Veruca Salt on this current tour (having sold out all the major cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York), the band will likely come back around when they tour to support a brand new forthcoming album.