Sammy Rae and the Friends at Palace Theatre, St Paul (05 Oct 2023)
Brooklyn-based ensemble Sammy Rae & The Friends just had a party at the Palace Theatre in St Paul on October 5th. It certainly didn’t feel like a concert, but more like Sammy Rae and her friends on a typical Thursday night, just goofing around and having a lot of fun.
- Talk It Up
- Follow Me Like the Moon
- Jackie Onassis
- Luck of the Draw
- Living Room Floor
- The Feeling
- The Box
- Kick It To Me
- Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet cover)
- Denim Jacket
- Closer To You
- Coming Home Song— Encore —
- Ooh La La (Faces cover)
- Let’s Throw a Party!
Tour Dates
Oct 8 in Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
Oct 10 in Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
Oct 11 in Jackson, WY @ Center for the Arts
Oct 13 in Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Oct 14 in Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
Oct 15 in Portland, OR @ McMenamins
Oct 17 in San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
Oct 18 in Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
Oct 19 in San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Oct 21 in Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
Nov 8 in Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
Nov 9 in Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Nov 10 in Rotterdam, NL@ LantarenVenster
Nov 14 in Paris, FR @ Bataclan
Nov 16 in London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
Nov 17 in Bristol, UK @ SWX
Nov 18 in Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall
Nov 19 in Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union
Nov 21 in Cork, Ireland @ Cyprus Ave
Nov 22 in Dublin, Ireland @ The Helix
Opening the show was local band Kiss the Tiger, who said they’ve never played the Palace before, and they were really impressed with the (“old but new”) venue. We were at the Palace open house in December 2016 and wrote, “Downtown St. Paul will add another jewel to its cultural crown soon and what’s old is new again as the Palace Theatre is soon to re-open, for the first time since 1984, on 7th Place, a pedestrian-only block in the heart of the city center.”
Kiss the Tiger is fronted by dynamic lead singer Meghan Kreidler, with rhythm guitarist Michael Anderson, guitarist Bridger Fruth, bassist Paul DeLong, and drummer Jay DeHut. They played their new single, “There You Are (Beautiful)” in the middle of the set, followed by an old favorite, “Hold On To Love”, which held The Current’s Chart Show Hall of Fame for the #1 spot for nine straight weeks.
My personal favorite is Kiss the Tiger’s set closer, “Elliot Park”, featuring the catchy audience participation “alright oh yeah”.
What can I say about Sammy Rae & The Friends that haven’t already been said? Their fanbase was built largely on word of mouth, thanks to Rae’s personality and their really fun concerts. The last time we saw them, they were dressed up as the Scoobie gang at First Avenue (Oct 2022): “As you can see, Sammy Rae and the Friends were in the Halloween spirit, as everyone was in costume as Scoobie Doo and the Scoobie gang. The band has a ton of fans, and they are certainly one of the funnest band around.”
Could it be possible that the band got even more fans to attend the Palace Theatre? The lineup to get to the front door stretched around the block.
Sammy Rae, noting the large turnout, “If you’ve never heard of us… welcome! If you know (us), you know…”
On this tour, it would seem that the theme is Sammy Rae and the Friends going to camp or probably lost in the wilderness. The stage dress was amazing, with a large hand drawn trees backdrop, a tent, vines and shrubbery, with wooden directional signs. A lot of thought and effort was put into creating the stage, and to complete the theme, the band is dressed in survival safari gear. They really committed to the whole thing, it was awesome.
The Friends conists of Kellon Reese (alto saxophone), Max Zooi (tenor saxophone), James Quinlan (bass), Debbie Tjong (keys and background music), Will Leet (guitarist), and C-Bass Chiriboga (drums). While Rae said she’s influenced by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, the Sammy Rae and the Friends’ music is more funk, jazz, and rock.
Their new live album Sammy Rae & The Friends Live – The If It All Goes South Tour is out now and collects some of their favorite live recordings. The album does represent the band as a high-energy and spirited band, as experienced through audio…. But really the best way to experience Sammy Rae and the Friends is to see them live, for yourself.
