The Runarounds Setlist

Ghosts
Cellophane
Sophia
15 Rootbeers
Crossroads
Beautiful Stranger
Arrhythmia
Bleachers
Minivan
Hypocrites
Shoelaces
Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet cover)
Killed My Youth
Chasing The Good Times
It’s A Wash
Funny How The Universe Works
Senior Year
— Encore —
Valerie (Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse cover)
Downtown

Back Alley Setlist

Brand New
Always Alright
Gump
Grey Skies
Oh Nellie
What You Want
Is It Me

There is a different energy for an all ages show that is heavily skewed towards the younger crowd. Showing up to First Avenue very early didn’t count for a lick, as the lines for the venue were already at silly levels. It was all for The Runarounds, an alt rock band that was ready to take a receptive crowd into the stratosphere.

Up first was The Back Alley, a Chicago based quintet formed in 2022. The indie rock band’s debut EP is called Live From Picture-Minded Studio, and they came to the stage with frontman Ralph Porter jogging in last to join with the band who has several members of Ax and the Hatchetmen in it. The Back Alley was in Minneapolis last September, headlining next door at 7th St. Entry and now were in the main room opening. The band was on full tilt, with Porter dancing and getting the crowd moving and the other members (guitar, guitar, bass, and drums) really bringing it. The second number, Always Alright, was a great distillation of their sound, with Porter dropping to the back for the instrumentals and those indie vibes flying. Getting the audience to sing along on some “da da das” during Gump was a fairly big bet as most of the crowd likely wasn’t familiar, but it paid off as they were game to sing along. Drummer Ben Kremer was in total control on that number and the band was looking comfortable and very pleased. Playing up the concert vibes, we had cell phone flashlights on and swaying for the slower Grey Skies, with Porter sitting on the edge of the stage for the majority of the song. Nearing the end, they announced they would be back in Minneapolis at Zhora Darling in April, so there’s an upcoming chance to see this catchy band. Finishing on Is It Me, The Back Alley had a bit of an anthem and the crowd went with them in a fully joyous occasion.

I got to talk with Porter between sets and asked him about the different experience of headlining at 7th St. versus headlining here at First Ave. He said that when headlining, it’s all about sharing your music and vision, while getting to open is all about being the hype band for the headliner, which he also really likes. We also chatted about the band coming back to Minneapolis in April, so don’t be surprised if you see more of The Back Alley here on the site.

Headliners The Runarounds were up next. Formed in 2021, the band was not originally supposed to perform at First Avenue, but at nearby Fine Line. Having blown off the doors on sales, they got promoted to the main stage (very nearly filling it to capacity), and the excitement from the crowd was palpable. In a very modern day turn of events, The Runarounds have landed a serious following through their TV series on Amazon Prime that features them in a mix of real and fictional situations and characters, but highlights their music throughout. The quintet (vocals/guitar, guitar/vocals, guitar, bass, and drums) came to stage and the crowd erupted. With multiple singers, the band hit with a wave of sound with all those voices and guitars. Sophia was super charged and had band and audience all hyped up. After the first bit of banter, including the note of being in the iconic venue, they rolled into 15 Rootbeers, with the crowd singing along in full voice. Crossroads was a new song and had some nice bright guitar riffs to nearly be in pop rock mode. The alternating lead vocalists even within a song was a nice effect for The Runarounds, and it created a change of pace throughout. When Beautiful Stranger started, I was unsure who was louder on vocals, but the crowd might have been winning. Perhaps it’s because of their experience on the TV show, but the band’s repartee with the crowd was easy going and humorous and continued to reward the audience.

Minivan had some crashing drums on the intro and was clearly another fan favorite. Slowing down (a bit) for Hypocrites was advertised as a love song, phone lights were back in full force and had most of the band sitting at various parts of the stage in the early going. Are You Gonna Be My Girl was the first cover (of a Jet song), and was perfectly placed for these guys, and the bit of reverb was exactly right. Chasing the Good Time was the newest single the band had released and was a pretty clinical alt rock song. After a jazzy instrumental, it was clear that it was the home stretch for The Runarounds. Senior Year was an appropriate close of the main set, with the bassist taking the first round of singing. After a short break, The Runarounds were back for the encore, performing two more numbers. The last song, Downtown, was a solid close-out for the band, with the crowd thunderous in their applause. The Runarounds had stepped up into First Avenue and made the most of it, perhaps also getting some season two footage in the mix.