Oister Boy Setlist

High Rise
White Russian
Slip and Slide
Mr. Bailey
MN Skin
Liver
Smile More
Deplorable Jim
The Chain (Fleetwood Mac cover)

The holiday season was definitely on the upswing as schools across the Twin Cities had their final day and the last weekend before Christmas was upon us. At the White Squirrel Bar in downtown St. Paul, local punk band Oister Boy was celebrating a new record release. They were also in the spirit of the holidays as they were collecting donations for Sanctuary Supply Depot, an organization working to help the unhoused.

Up first was rickie, a new Twin Cities solo artist, who self describes as “folk punk and garage rock”. Decked out in a black Santa hat, rickie was singing and on acoustic guitar. The vocal style was definitely in a punk style and had a great energy, and was bit of a Jeff Rosenstock sound, albeit completely stripped down musically. It’s hard work to hold a bar clientele’s attention as a solo guitarist, but rickie was determined to give it a go. As the bar continued to fill, rickie got a solid assist from the White Squirrel Bar’s sound guy Clyde, who adjusted volume appropriately mid-set. That kind of close attention really makes the difference for a performance like this, and it let rickie continue to ride above the conversational noise. A call out for Sanctuary Supply Depot and he was back into the music, accurately playing to that descriptor of folk punk. With just a couple left, rickie threw in a cover before closing out on an original and having been a fun opener.

Spencer Cameron and Jackson Kates were next. The duo (vocals, acoustic guitar/vocals) came out as a folk rock pair and that combo of Cameron’s deep lead vocals and Kates’ higher harmonies really soared. I was pretty instantly entranced with their opening numbers and Kates’ guitar work was appropriately bright for a cover of Cat Stevens’ Moon Shadow. The range of quality you can get in the second opener of the early set of music at a bar is larger than most mountains, and Spencer Cameron and Jackson Kates were well near the summit. Cameron noted that they were two members of the local band Holding Hemlock, and proceeded to play one of their songs, Something to Hold, from their recent third album, Firestarter. Cameron had excellent vocals on the number, and the a cappella close to that was tremendous. A John Denver cover was tailor made for the duo, nailing the emotion without being too sappy. Closing on Baby Benjamin let Kates have lead vocals to finish up and Spencer Cameron and Jackson Kates had been a real delight.

Last up was headliner Oister Boy. As noted above, they were releasing a new EP, but they have been around for a while, with an earlier EP Wycliff St. released in 2023. The band came to stage as a quartet (Mark Estephan: guitar/vocals, Duncan Macklem-Johnson: vocals/guitar, Daisy Forester: cello/vocals, and Seth Hynes-Marquette: drums/vocals). The band was playing their new album “in a different way”, keeping to the evening’s theme of acoustic instrumentation. The opener, High Rise, had three vocalists and had excellent harmonies. (Side note: that cello, played as a bass, was one of the more unique I have seen and was quite the visual statement.) The depth of sound from Oister Boy was impressive, with those differing arrangements of vocals and that pulsating cello/bass sound. Even in acoustic mode, this was a pure rock feel. A bit of call and response during Slip and Slide showed there were a large number of fans in the crowd. When the audience erupted at the end of that number, it was locking into that positive energy cycle with the band and the resulting looseness was great to witness.

Oister Boy was in the zone and a guitar solo from Mark Estephan was a great set up for the two vocalists to complement each other in the closing section of Mr. Bailey. Drumming from Hynes-Marquette was steady, even with some complicated arrangements. Saying it was their first acoustic show ever, the joy from the band was palpable and the crowd was dancing to MN Skin (with Macklem-Johnson saying it was about being petty) and the vibe was electric. Having finished up the record, they moved into some unreleased new music which had Estephan on lead vocals, with Macklem-Johnson and Forester backing. The ability of the band to switch vocalists without ever losing their flow was impressive. A number for Forester to take lead vocals shifted the dynamic yet again, with a blusier feel, as she let loose on vocals. With just a few more songs, Oister Boy headed into a bit more of a funky direction on a long instrumental intro and a more speak-sung vocal approach. Deplorable Jim had band and crowd having a ton of fun, and Oister Boy closed with a Fleetwood Mac cover of The Chain which was a fitting end with all four band members singing and audience stomping the rhythm. A pretty great show with all the proceeds going to charity really brought the holiday spirit to the forefront, as the band left the stage to greet fans and make way for the next show.