shame Setlist

Axis of Evil
Concrete
Tasteless
Cowards Around
Nothing Better
Fingers of Steel
Six Pack
Alphabet
Quiet Life
Lampião
orn in Luton
Adderall
Water in the Well
Spartak
Snow Day
One Rizla
Cutthroat

With the situation in the Twin Cities being absolutely in uncharted territory, getting the chance to see a show in solidarity with community felt like an act of resistance. To that end, British rockers shame were on the docket at the Turf Club in St. Paul and it felt like an enclave for those looking for a bit of unity in these trying times.

GHOSTWOMAN kicked things off, and the Canadian duo (vocals/guitar, drums, and backing electronic music) has several albums, including 2025’s Welcome to the Civilized World. This was a gritty, fuzz sound, with full reverb on vocals and a fair bit of distortion. Those drums from Ille Van Dessl were the sharp and clear contrast to Evan Uschenko’s purposefully muddled sound on guitar and vocals. Uschenko’s pedal arrangement was pretty wild, and it showed up in the close of the second song, with a brighter sound on guitar that carried over to the next number. That song also had van Dessl with a tambourine on top of her drum to accentuate the cymbal work, making for a very retro feel. It was a neat combination of 90’s grunge with 60’s/70’s long instrumental sessions, and it made for a pretty cool tone. Our drummer took on co-vocals for a song and that low alto was a nice contrast to the earlier numbers. Back to the distorted vocals, a late set song was all about that guitar and drum vibe, and the musical section was exactly right, with that drummed tambourine back in the mix. We were nearly through the set when I realized there had been no banter, as they called out the headliner, and then got a “we’ve never been here before, thanks for having us”. We got the hardest rocking number with an absolute crushing drum line that let the guitar soar. GHOSTWOMAN took things to a start of a Zepplin cover of Stairway to Heaven, which then opened up into their own closing musical section. A solid 35 minute set finished up and the crowd was appreciative in their applause.

After the change over, post-punk group shame took to the stage. The British quintet (vocals, guitar/vocals, guitar, bass, and drums) formed a little over a decade ago in South London. They have four albums, including 2025’s Cutthroat that the band is supporting on this tour. The band came out hard and that loud, driving sound on Axis of Evil with the very English vocalisms was great. Telling the crowd how much they appreciated everyone coming to the show, and how “our hearts break for what is going on here”, the instant connection was made and just the acknowledgement was supremely freeing. That ability to feel ok to just be at a show had a noticeable effect. With three vocalists on Tasteless, I’m not sure we could have had a better band for the moment. Cowards Around was pure punk goodness and the band leaned into that. We also got a mosh pit of sorts at the band’s direction and the atmosphere was smoking. Hard noise was the norm, and shame was on top of it, bringing the audience into that wall of noise. Six-Pack was a ripper on guitar and those triple vocals were dripping with sarcasm.

After a bit of running in place, Alphabet was another high energy punk number. We got a song off the new album with Quiet Life and it was everything you’d hope for in a punk rock anthem. Born In Luton gave shame an opportunity to build up the louder vocals and the crowd support. That support was also needed for a crowd surf for the lead singer, which all went smoothly. Water in the Well continued the trend, and shame was pushing forward with a crowd that was completely into the moment. One Rizla was a great song for the times, where up is named down and black is called white. Closing on the title song Cutthroat, shame’s kind hearted defiance was the musical equivalent of what the Twin Cities community is living and that chance to dance, jump and shout was a cathartic respite for the momentarily joyous crowd.