The dB’s at Amsterdam Bar and Hall (11 Oct 2024)

American alternative rock and power-pop group, The dB’s have reformed, touring to celebrate the reissue of their debut Stands for Decibels (originally released in 1981). This 2024 tour reunite all the original band members (Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder), and based on their Amsterdam Bar and Hall appearance on Friday night (Oct 11), the band is tighter than ever.



When lead singer Peter Holsapple asked us when they were last in town, someone in the audience said “1982,” in which the band responded that it might have been a little later than that. Looking over a the DB’s gigography, via a fansite, the band played Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry on July 19, 1984, and at St Paul at St. Paul Civic Center on November 2, 1987. The Civic Center was demolished in 1998 and expanded and rebuilt as the Xcel Energy Center.



Still, that’s roughly about 40 years since the group was last in town, and their audience, which unsurprisingly consisted of grey-haired retirees have all shown up to catch a rare appearance from this 70s-80s band. On top of that, this reformed group included Chris Stamey, who left the dB’s in April 1982 to pursue a solo career, and wouldn’t return until May 1988.

Chris Stamey Group at First Avenue (30 Sep 2015)

Stamey, who had a long-running career already, playing with the Erasers, followed by playing bass for Alex Chilton (you can see his appearance billed as The Chris Stamey Group at the special Big Star tribute show in Sep 2015).



Holsapple and Stamey still worked together (working together as a duo), but eventually got the entire band back together in 2012 to complete their album Falling Off the Sky… their first then-new studio album in 25 years.



Seeing both Holsapple and Stamey together again, it was like seeing old friends… although much less hair and much older now.



Looking over their setlist and seeing their interaction with fans, it was clear that reforming was not only for the band to see each other, but it was also for the fans who would finally experience (or re-experiencing) some of these dB’s classic songs played live by the original group.



Previously unannounced, the show was supported by Transmission’s DJ Jake Rudh, who played music videos of 70s-80s rock group on a video screen before and between each acts.



Local punk rockers The Silent Treatment (singer Claire Luger, guitarist Rob Sells, basist Dave Randall, and drummer
Keely Lane) opened the show. Based on attitude and enthusiasm and skill, you can tell the group’s been around for a long time, or at least knew each other for a long time. Songs on their set included “Bored Teenagers”, “Keep Running”, and set finale, a cover of Iggy & The Stooges’ “Search and Destroy”.