Cave Canary at White Squirrel Bar (April 6, 2026)

Joan of Profile Setlist

1. East Coast
2. Sober Thoughts
3. Give Me Rain
4. Puzzle Pieces
5. Just a Girl (No Doubt cover)
   with outro Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)
6. Madonna Virgin Whore (live debut)
7. I Know You Won’t
8. What Do You Want from Me?
9. All I Know

Jon Elconin Setlist

1. Counterclockwise
2. Footprints
3. Inner Catalyst
4. House of the Rising Sun (The Animals cover)
5. All of Me
6. Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana cover)
7. No Man’s Land

Explore More

■ Joan of Profile
Joan of Profile is an original, indie pop-rock band based in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN, fronted by Kaity Joan, often playing in the Twin Cities scene. They are known for having a four-member lineup with diverse influences and released an EP titled “Mean to Strangers”.

The White Squirrel Bar in downtown Saint Paul has live music nearly every day of the year, and their Saturdays are usually packed with three different sets of shows: most often 1-4, 6-8, and 9 to midnight. While I’ve reviewed several shows there, I’ve pretty much always aimed for the early evening set, as that very late time is a bit intimidating. But a line up with some indie rock headlined by Cave Canary got me out for a (very) late Easter Sunday show.

Jon Elconin started the evening off solo with acoustic guitar. Elconin was playing an upbeat Americana folk and his opener was “the only bluegrass song I’ve ever written”. Love Among the Fools had a more folk rock effect, with Elconin using the guitar for percussion as well. The rest of the band (now a quartet, with keyboards, bass, and drums) also had Elconin switch to electric guitar. Counterclockwise (which had Thelonius Monk as inspiration) was definitely a switch of moods as a jazzy instrumental piece ensued. The band moved into some standards, and after getting over the whiplash of the genre change, I enjoyed their electrified jazz, with some great showcasing of guitar and keyboards in the early going, but eventually got all four musicians their solo moments. Inner Catalyst was an original composition and was a more funky/rock jazz with a modern flair in comparison, with blistering electric guitar work. We had a guest vocalist join the band for a few songs and the cover of The House of the Rising Sun was well suited to her earthy tones. A Nirvana cover of Heart Shaped Box continued to let the band defy easy genre classification. Ending on No Man’s Land, Jon Elconin and band closed with a chipper jazz instrumental and had made the most of their time on stage.

We reviewed Joan of Profile back in August 2025 as part of Northstar Original Revue over at Midway Saloon. Given that show’s focus on a large number of bands performing a few songs, I was looking forward to a more extensive set from the band. The quartet (vocals/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums) came out blasting, with a great indie alt sound carried by the excellent layering of vocals and guitar work. After that first number, we were informed that while Me and the Strangers is the new EP released in January 2026, we wouldn’t be hearing anything from that one. Instead, we were getting some older numbers, including a “deleted EP, mostly written when I was 18”. Give Me Rain was all thrum and smoky vocals, with just a touch of blues guitar supporting the alternative rock base. Puzzle Pieces had the quiet intro verse before heading into the full band sound and some of the guitar work almost sounded like a violin. Joan of Profile had an easy charm about them that made it hard not to fall under their spell, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to. A No Doubt cover of Just a Girl was a perfect bit of stage craft and the band pulled it off very well. A recent number (written last month) and live debut of Madonna Virgin Whore was introduced with Nirvana undertones before getting going and wasn’t pulling punches, as opening lyrics were “watch out, I’m coming for you next”. If it’s any indication of where the band is going, the future looks bright for Joan of Profile. A late number had a nearly country vibe underneath its rock & roll shell and the yee-haw at the end confirmed it. All I Know was a song on the realization that the music career (or really, you could out any number of paths here) is a brutal one and was a solid choice to finish the set. Those plaintive lyrics, “this is all I’m good at, this is all I know” was a carillon for running the race you care about, not what anyone expects of you. 

Cave Canary was last up and the Minneapolis based band self-describes as “folksy alternative music”. The band has an EP from 2024 called Sunseeds (Moon Flowers) and at this show appeared as a trio (vocals/guitar, bass, and drums). It was a mix of dreamy alt pop countered by the slightly heavier instrumental sections on the opening Nick Cave cover. From there on, it was original music, and Michael Mooridian’s tenor vocals were the linchpin for the band’s sound. These were longer numbers that unspooled slowly, inviting a certain amount of introspection. Some excellent bass work was the central feature on the third song, and we had already crossed the fifteen minute mark, to give some sense of the unhurried style Cave Canary was playing. Mooridian got a wide vocal berth in the next song, both in dynamics and range and the underlying music was perfectly supportive. A switch of ear protection led to the most pop influenced number of the set in Pick Your Poison. A newer song had a bit of lounge song intro, but also a lot of shifts into minor chords under the major tone vocals. A bit of banter thanking the opening bands and stating that some of the best musicians here in the room were also some of the best people he knows was a very heartfelt moment. Getting to the end, Cave Canary kicked off a song with “little birds” the early lyrical hook over a great interplay of guitar and bass to complete that dreamy sound. It also reminded me of how late the hour was and I as headed out into tomorrow, the bands had made the late evening well worth it.