Big Star’s Third at First Avenue, Minneapolis (30 September 2015)

Last night’s performance of Big Star’s Third at First Avenue was so extraordinary, I’m having a hard time finding the right words for this review. Unfortunately, nothing I write here will truly do it justice. So bear with me, dear reader, as I recount some of the details of this tremendous event.

The Chris Stamey Group

The evening started with a brief 25-min set by The Chris Stamey Group, headed by, who else, Chris Stamey (famous for forming The Db’s with Peter Holsapple).



Starting with a feedback problematic song called “The Summer Sun”, followed by his latest “Make Up Your Mind” from his new Euphoria album. The rest of the set included “Something Came Over Me”, “Cara Lee”, and “Song for Johnny Cash.”

Mike Mills and Skylar Gudasz singing “You Can’t Have Me”

It needs to be stated that each of the Third shows are, as Ken Stringfellow explained later in the night, “made from scratch.” That is, there is a core touring group (Stringfellow, Jody Stephens, Chris Stamey, Mike Mills, Brett Harris, Skylar Gudasz) and each town they play in, they cull the local scene for musicians. So every night is unique because they’re often playing with a different group of people.

Jim Boquist and Dave Pirner hamming it up for “When My Baby’s Beside Me”

It should come as no surprise that Minneapolis managed to score some excellent guests like Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum), Jim Boquist (Son Volt), Josh Grier (Tapes & Tapes), and Matt Wilson (Trip Shakespeare). But even better than watching Pirner and Boquist ham it up during “When My Baby’s Beside Me,” was being blown away by the string collective (Four Voices Strings Quartet) and horn section, key sonic elements that gave the songs so much dimension and color.

Mike Mills in “The Basketball Project”

The Third set kicked off with the rousing first track “Kizza Me” sung by the always animated Pirner. The revolving door of guest vocalists was dizzying but exciting; you never knew who was going to show up and sing what and who was going to trade instruments. But everything was so precisely timed that the sudden changes didn’t interrupt the flow of the set. Even the chaos of a song like “Kanga Roo” seemed deliberate, carefully orchestrated by top notch players. In fact, it was fascinating to see how each sound on the album would be represented on stage – in the case of “Downs,” a charming, bespectacled Mike Mills bounced a basketball to create a repeating thunderous rhythm.



Guitarist Audley Freed (from The Black Crowes) astonished the crowd (and his bandmates) with some fierce solos and swoon-worthy slide work throughout the entire night. On the far left of Freed was talented keyboardist Charles Cleaver who also played accordion for a handful of tunes. Rounding out the impressive roster was former Zuzu’s Petals’ drummer Linda Pitmon, bassist Jeff Crawford (doing a goosebumps-inducing “Try Again” from Big Star’s #1 Record) and Trapper and Tanner Schoepp who served up a gorgeous rendition of my favorite track on Third, “Take Care.”



Stringfellow, Harris and Gudasz had no problem replicating the lovely, intricate harmonies that are a hallmark of most Big Star compositions (especially on #1 Record). However, they really hit it out of the park when each individual member took the lead: Harris covered both “Kanga Roo” and “Downs” and nailed Chris Bell’s “You and Your Sister” and Gudasz was exquisite on “Dream Lover” and “Thirteen.”

Jody Stephens

Stringfellow, along with being the king of puns, killed it on “Stroke it, Noel.” He flexed his vocal muscles even more by taking on the higher register on the more challenging harmonies like the gorgeous and second Chris Bell solo song of the night, “I Am the Cosmos” (singing backup for Scott and Brian Wooldridge). The lone surviving member of Big Star, Jody Stephens, was a joy to watch, singing tender ballads “For You,” “Blue Moon” and “Way Out West” and drumming the sh*t out of songs like “You Can’t Have Me” and the Third set closer “Thank You Friends.”



The second set was jam-packed with more Big Star and solo Chris Bell tunes: the Shoepp brothers bookended Mills as they led the ultimate sing-along with “In the Street” (nice cowbell, Tanner!), Grier freaked out on “Don’t Lie to Me,” and Mills and Stamey brought the house down with “September Gurls” before the show ended entirely with an encore of two gems from #1 Record, “Try Again” and “Watch the Sunrise.”



This show was such a massive pleasure to watch. Between a stage loaded with talent and music loaded with emotion, it was hard to walk away from this and not be inspired and heartened. Big Star created some of the most beautiful and timeless music of all time, the soundtrack to our lives. Stamey, Stringfellow and every single person who contributed to Wednesday night’s performance brought that soundtrack to life. Thank you, friends!



Ken Stringfellow will be back in Minneapolis at Yoga Garden on October 9th with Holly Muñoz, billed as Holly & Ken. Additional details on news.weheartmusic.com.

emily (emily@weheartmusic.com)
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