Setlist 1

Play’s the Thing
Green Colored Eye
Checking Out
Let It Go
Failing Fearlessly
Jolene Part 2
Tearing It All Down
I Move On
When You Pull Through
Scarcity
Duanesong
Frost

Setlist 2

My Friends, the Brits
Faith, Lies, and Promises
Fall Essay
Artists that Hate Me
Dreamsong
I See You When I Can
I’m a Fake
Some Folks and You
Ten Hours
Boy

Nearly every February, Minnesota is granted a small stretch of silly warm weather before being plunged back into the latter part of winter. This was the week, and with a gorgeous sunny day combined with word that federal agents might finally be preparing to leave the Twin Cities, the mood was festive at Utepils Brewing in Minneapolis, with alt rockers Southern Resident Killer Whales playing to the very busy bar crowd.

Due to unforeseen circumstances and the terrible parking situation, the Minneapolis quartet (vocals/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums) was already in full swing, with their music drifting out the front door, as I hurried in. Utepils Brewing is a large space and the band was set up at the front edge of the Fernweh Taproom near the fermentation vessels. The band has the EP Wave Forms released in 2025 and a number of those songs were sprinkled throughout the evening. As I settled in, it was a nice mix of alt and more classic rock, with lead singer Dan Hylton the spark plug, and with lead guitar work from Brian Siegel punctuating the interludes. I Move On had good back up vocals from bassist Mark Anderson that let Hylton work up higher in his vocal range. Importantly, they leaned into the space, letting the cavernous brewery reverberate their sound, while keeping the chatter of brewery patrons at bay. That’s not always an easy task, but Southern Resident Killer Whales did it well. A late first set number, Scarcity, had an easy going, but fun guitar solo. The band kept the energy up and there was a quiet mix of confidence and joy that was pretty infectious. Frost had a slower vibe, with a winsome lead guitar propelling it ahead, and almost serving in place of back up vocals. This was a long jam and was a perfect close to the first set.

After a short break, the band was back and started with My Friends, the Brits, an ode to the other side of the pond. A very young fan livened the mood by taking the space in front of the performers to dance, and the light up shoes were definitely a plus. Fall Essay was a song for Theodore Wirth, a key figure in the design of the world class Minneapolis Parks system (Hylton pointed out that the Theodore Wirth Regional Park was only five minutes away from Utepils). The song was defined by a rich layer of guitar work and some late dual harmonies. Artists that Hate Me had a nice drum intro from Krista Johnson, and was a good reminder how solid drumming had been for the entirety of the show. A bit of self-deprecating humor for the quality of writing for an early number (“It’s like Dr. Seuss if he’s been sketchy”) was the lead in to I See You When I Can and had a bit of dissonant guitars between verses and a bass riff that was the pull through of the number. Shaving off a few songs from their planned list, they started with Ten Hours, which had the fast paced guitar intro and cymbals heavy drum work. Ending with Boy, Southern Resident Killer Whales finished with a bit of reverb but still with that core alt rock feel and was a great way to close out a beautiful faux-spring day in Minnesota.