Cheap Bouquet Setlist

R10
Sorry For Your Loss
Picnic Casket
Creed Teaser
HEARTPUNCH!
Still Into You
Smile + Suffer
Out Loud

In Spanish, the word show is translated as espectaculo. It’s an evocative word for me, capturing “spectacle” as the central essence. And over at First Avenue in Minneapolis, the spectacle was on with a wild mix of pro wrestling, courtesy of F1RST WRESTLING, powerhouse rock with Cheap Bouquet and more.

F1RST WRESTLING is an independent, Minnesota-based wrestling group founded in 2007. The set up at First Avenue had the wrestling ring is the middle of the floor where audience normally is, but this allowed people to be pretty close to the action on all four sides. With a small runway connecting the stage to the ring, that allowed for entrances and exits, and was an effective use of the space. A pretty brilliant voice over for the intro had the crowd near riotous out of the gate, with the emcee clearly a heel in the story line (I was thrown in the deep end, friends). But after a quick intro, it was time for the first match and those entrances into the ring were pure performance art. This was my first in-person wrestling event, and I have to tell you dear reader, the atmosphere was absolutely electric. The first match was for the championship belt, but as you might expect it all went to hell when a new pair of baddies entered the ring. Now a tag team match, the crowd was with the original wrestlers and things were on in earnest. And after our champs won, the performance ranked up with an interlude for a burlesque number with Sweet Pea. There was an athleticism there that matched the wrestling vibe and Sweet Pea used that ring to her advantage. The range on this evening was over the top and it was still in the first hour.

It is worth noting how there were some very devoted fans at the event in F1RST WRESTLING merch and it’s clear they knew all the story lines coming into the evening. After the burlesque, we were onto the next match with the tag team champs and their manager all in masks, against a pair of challengers who were not a normal pair. The crazy thing was that wrestlers kept coming out in time there were eight or so on them crowded in the ring. When we were told this was “not a sanctioned champion match”, it all made a little more sense. This was straight up pandemonium and was perfect chaos for all sorts of silliness. With a win by the hard nosed teacher(!), things kept flying along, as we entered the first set of live music.

Cheap Bouquet was recently formed in 2024, and I saw them open for Koffin Kats at Turf Club in June 2024 (just before I started reviewing here) and guitarist Chelsea also plays with Cindy Lawson, who we reviewed in March 2025. This harder edged rock group, who I had seen as a trio, appeared here as a quintet (vocals, guitar, guitar/backing vocals, bass, and drums) and came out hard with R10. Those nearly screamed vocals for vocalist Sam were a great match for the evening’s energy. Picnic Casket had the band moody at the start with those alto vocals crushing through. Cheap Bouquet’s power rock kept the audience engaged and they closed out their fairly quick set with HEARTPUNCH!, with a big flourish and then the wrestling began again. Honestly, the pacing by the organizers was brilliant throughout and there was never a dull moment. Our new fight had a lifeguard (lustily booed) and an Elton John style character and things had gone straight over the top. With the lifeguard losing, we moved on to a women’s match that highlighted the athleticism. It reminded me that although this was all a scripted event, the wrestlers had to be both actors and athletes. Those hits to the mat are softened, but those bodies were still being thrown around and slammed into things pretty often.

Cheap Bouqet was back on for a shorter second round, starting with Still Into You, with good harmonies and continuing with that great stage presence. Again, this was such a good match of band to event, and when lead singer Sam headed into the wrestling ring, it was a pretty great crossover. The band continued to nail the assignment, keeping the crowd hyped and maybe making some new fans. Finishing with Out Loud, Cheap Bouquet closed up hard, with a crushing set of guitar work and the lead singer in full mosh mode. Watch out for this band, as they are pretty dynamite. Back to the action, the final match was for the grand championship, with our heel obvious as he was introduced from Asbury, NJ and getting the boos. These were two of the most powerful and athletic wrestlers of the evening and that was seen in some more dramatic power moves in the ring. With more burlesque from Emerald Eve, and some more flying from the top action, F1RST WRESTLING had put on quite the spectacle and with a teaser to night two, which includes local faves Gully Boys, this was a satisfying first half of mayhem.