Sleigh Bells at Fine Line, Minneapolis (June 14, 2025)
Sleigh Bells Setlist
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I went early to the Fine Line for I knew it was going to be a rambunctious sold-out show with its high-energy headliner and epileptic-inducing light show.
Sophie Hunter opened up the evening to a surging crowd. Not to be confused with Benedict Cumberbatch’s wife, the Sophie Hunter that took the stage was from Brooklyn and may have the shortest and best bio I have read on the First Ave website: ctrl_alt+pop+rap.
The bio may be brief, but Hunter let loose a stream of rapid-fire lyrics, part poetry-slam, part rap, backed by a raucous guitar and torrential bass that I swear kept changing the settings on my camera.
Although new to the music scene and visiting the Twin Cities for the first time, Hunter had many fans in the crowd. In fact, the first lady in line to get into the venue was front and center in the first row to see Hunter rip through “Cha Cha”, a song Hunter says is about being hospitalized against her will.
The fans had no problem keeping up with Hunter’s songs, but I felt three blocks behind. Still, I did catch a great lick here and there like from “Bionicle”:
Baby I’m Seabiscuit
She’s got all the sauce of a
Four-cheese Triscuit
And
Shakespeare was a woman and
That woman is Jack Harlow
Just kidding it’s me and
This line is sponsored by Target
The hilarious, saucy rhymes kept flowing with a new song “Tenfold” and “2 Shots of Patron”, a song in which the lady who was front and center handed Hunter a mini-size bottle of tequila.
By the time Sleigh Bells took the stage, there was not an inch on the main floor that did not have a fan. And the duo of Alexis Krauss on vocals and Derek E. Miller on guitar, backed by keys and drums, did not disappoint as they kicked the music into a frenetic overdrive with songs like “Infinity Guitars”, “Justine Go Genesis” and their origin story “Wanna Start a Band?” from their latest album Bunky Becky Birthday Boy.
We last saw Sleigh Bells at the Fine Line Sept, 2016 writing:
Sleigh Bells is known for their unique sound and high-energy shows. They played to a full house on Saturday night at the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis and proved that nothing has changed. Their songs are upbeat and powerful. They mix elements of punk rock with indie-pop and almost electronic beats.
Sleigh Bells have not slowed down as Krauss and Miller were already saturated with pools of sweat by the time a fan in the audience made an unusual request by holding up his phone with two words illuminating “Riot Rhythm”.
And so Sleigh Bells played the song until the light show began to glitch and they momentarily stopped until Krauss forcefully chimed, “Do not worry about the lights if it f*cks with the other sh*t.”
And so the band continued while the technicians raced to keep up. After all, there was no stopping them as they played the hyper-kinetic “Bunky Pop”, a song that is dedicated to the point of view man’s best friend. As Miller told Flood Magazine:
“So, what’s a dog like? They can be destructive, but not in a sinister way. They come into the room and chew your shoes up. Maybe they sh*t on the floor, but you still love them. Dogs are hyper enthusiastic.”
Then a brief reprieve as Krauss tried to catch her breath after expending the energy required for two hours of a jazzercise class. “We’ve spent two days in Minneapolis,” she gasped between breaths. She said she found some great places to eat and even went to the library. As a new mother she is on the lookout for new books and dedicated the next song “Kids” to all the new parents.
But they were not done after kids as they ripped through the rest of their set like it was five minutes, only slowing (briefly) down for the effervescent “Rill Rill” in which Krause made her way to sing in the middle of the crowd.
