Soul Asylum w/ Meat Puppets at First Ave, Minneapolis (05 June 15)

Carnage the Executioner photo: Amy

In between set entertainment rested on the confident shoulders of Minneapolis rapper Carnage the Executioner (aka Terrell Woods) who really slayed the mainroom crowd with his impressive beat-boxing and playful banter. “I’m the hip-hop element of the night!” he proclaimed. I don’t think there was a soul in the place that complained!

American Scarecrows photo: Amy

Carnage introduced fellow locals American Scarecrows who launched into set packed with earnest, rollicking americana. Their sound reminded me a little of Springsteen and a little of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and they literally shook the stage with their enthusiastic performance. Lead singer Seth Davin even dedicated a song to the women of the Midwest.

Meat Puppets photo: Amy

In concert, the Meat Puppets are a force to behold. This is a band that doesn’t shy away from experimenting in the studio and especially on stage. They serve up throttling psychedelic dishes with serious jams that would put Phish to shame. The band didn’t say much during their hour long set, but watching them forced me to ask myself: why the hell haven’t I seen this band sooner?



There was a real breathless quality to the Meat Puppet’s performance… probably because they’re all playing like their hands are on fire. Songs like “The Monkey and the Snake” from 2009’s Sewn Together already had a spritely tempo (and featured some sweet whistling from Curt Kirkwood) before the guys upped the speed and gave the fans at the front of the stage vertigo. Break-neck solos were doled out as generously as swirls of reverb. The darting guitar lick to live staple “Up on the Sun” (off of the group’s 1985 record of the same name) dissolved into a spectacular mess of sound. I was pleased to hear the blistering “Oh Me” and a striking cover of the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B.”



Curt Kirkwood’s son Elmo, on rhythm guitar, is a welcome element on stage, energetically playing off Cris and Curt and drummer Shandon Sahm. They just look like they’re having fun and that connects with the long-time fans and draws in the curious newbies.

Cris / Greg / Miles (backstage at First Ave) photo: facebook.com

And those who don’t follow the Meat Puppets on Facebook should go check out the slew of great pictures from this gig, including shots of friend and former Husker Du bassist Greg Norton hanging out backstage. Other shots were from a recent recording session with another great Husker Du alumni, former drummer Grant Hart (who released the brilliant album The Argument a few years back), who tapped Curt to lay down some guitar tracks.



Carnage returned following the Meat Puppets to prep fans for Soul Asylum and once again wowed folks with his sharp wordplay. The band even danced their way on stage to Carnage’s rhymes. Before busting into “Somebody to Shove,” Dave Pirner stretched out his arms and bowed to Carnage, the universal gesture for “I’m not worthy.”



The hits came fast and hard from Soul Asylum as tracks like “Black Gold” and “Just Like Anyone” got everyone moving around and singing along – it’s truly mind-blowing just how jam-packed with hit songs Soul Asylum’s catalogue is. The current line-up, which consists of Pirner, bassist Winston Roye, guitarist Justin Sharbono and Michael Bland on drums, have obvious chemistry which makes for some entertaining moments. Pirner enjoys hamming it up for the crowd, skidding across the stage on his knees and joking around with Bland: “Michael Bland likes it when my ass is hanging out of my pants.”



Soul Asylum will soon be dropping their next record made with the generous support of fans through PledgeMusic. Check out the status at pledgemusic.com.