Flashback: Boy at the Cedar Cultural Center (19 Mar 2013)

Prior to their big First Avenue’s headlining gig in Oct 2013, the impossible to Google duo Boy headlined the Cedar Cultural Center in March 2013.

As I have previously mentioned, these common names for a band name, such as Boy, is not good for standing out. Believe me, I had an impossible task of trying to find the band online, try search ‘boy band’, you get nothing but Backstreet Boys, etc.

From what I can gather, I believe the band has been inactive since 2019, just before the big pandemic.

 

Based on their first appearance and second appearance (all within the same year), we said, “Boy is all grown up now. That last time we saw them in these parts, they played mostly acoustic with only another guitarist in tow, for a charming, subdued show at the Cedar Cultural Center in March. Now and seven months later, the Hamburg-based German/Swiss duo returned with a full four-piece backing band, a more rounded and refined sound, and added confidence for a warm set at First Avenue’s Mainroom.”

Original Report:

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After 7 million views on YouTube of their single ‘Little Numbers’, a Lufthansa commercial, and riding the ‘Current Effect’ (aka local awareness/buzz accelerated by airplay on the local public radio station), German/Swiss pop/folk duo BOY finally came to the Twin Cities, playing the 2nd of two sold-out shows at the Cedar Cultural Center on a brutally cold Tuesday night.

Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass brought only guitarist Deniz Erarslan and a laptop supplying beats, to accompany this stripped-down version of the band, playing an intimate acoustic performance that was just short of an hour. Staging was minimal, with the Cedar’s house lights on each end of the stage, remaining dim for most of their set.

The night began atmospherically, with Erarslan entering solo to get seated at his back station of pedals, guitars, and percussion, deadpanning ‘…I am BOY…!’ which got the audience laughing immediately. Soon after, Steiner and Glass entered, beginning the set with the unreleased “Into the Wild”, then into their latest gentle single, “Drive Darling”.

“Waitress” was prefaced by Steiner asking the audience if anyone had ever worked a job they didn’t like, and it seemed like the majority of the crowd nodded in affirmation, and the delicate “Boris” told a narrative tale about being hit on by an acquaintance, while a boyfriend was out of town.

The performance crescendo’d with the infectious single about waiting for a desperate call, “Little Numbers” beginning as a piano-hand clap that had the audience singing along and stomping in time.

After a very brief pause, the threesome returned to the stage for a two-song encore, beginning with the quiet, older track “Zapping” and ending with a novel and appropriate cover of The Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy”, though after their raucous reception, they won’t have any problem with loneliness in the Minneapolis area.

Both seemed genuinely surprised and pleased at the size of crowd and affection shown, and the audience’s love for the band was further proven by the merch stand completely selling out of product after the show. Definitely an act to watch in the future, and for fans of Feist, Regina Spektor, Jenny Lewis, and general alt-pop goodness.

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