Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer and here in Minnesota, that seems to take on an extra sense of urgency, as the thoughts of upcoming winter starts to lurk. As such, you get lots of people making a bit of a last run at summer outdoor events. As a recently identified “indoorvert”, I do not have this issue. I was happy as a clam to head into the dark and cool confines for some live music and on this one, it was going to be a night of synth heavy electronic pop rock, as Black Marble was in Minneapolis at the Fine Line.

The first performer was Jimmy Cicero, a Los Angeles based “home recording artist”. When he was living in Chicago, he was a key member of Light Pollution (who we saw at the now defunct Hexagon Bar in April 2010), which had the 2010 album Apparitions. From the little I had heard of his current work, it felt like he might be a bit of an outlier from the other acts of the evening. Coming on stage solo, Cicero proved me wrong right away, with a complicated electronic set up and backing music as he also sang and played guitar. Controlling various effects played right into the evening’s aesthetic, and the second number Fantasy was a great exercise in manipulating all the instruments, while the next one, Summer’s Over was stripped down with vocals and backing music only. It was a topical number here at Labor Day weekend, and Cicero had a calm singing style that really worked. Noting he would back up on stage as the keyboardist for the headliner, he had more than proven his worth as an opener. Some modulated guitar and a bit of reverb vocals on what would otherwise have been a crooner’s song was a nice add. That tension between Paul Anka style big vocals and electronica with various mic effects (including theremin!) was a fascinating interplay that somehow threaded the needle. The released 7 inch song, I’m on Your Side really highlighted those differences, as the pedal effects on guitar and vocals distorted a pretty classic singer’s love song. Ending on Fallin’, Jimmy Cicero had walked a tightrope of ballads with heavy electronica and turned out to be a pretty fabulous starter.

After a very short break, Public Circuit was up to play. The New York City trio (Ethan Biamont, Sean Halloway, and Nelson Fisher) has a synth heavy dark wave and have released two albums, including 2025’s Modern Church. That album has a punk yelled and sometimes nearly hip hop styled vocals and from the opening, it was as wild as you could have expected. With the set up of drummer, electronica & percussion, and electronic, guitar, and vocals (with occasional drum stick), this was simply unchained energy. Vocalist Biamont was truly frenetic (it was the only word that came to mind) and was all over the stage on the opener Samson. Noting it was their first show in Minnesota, the band was simply back to it and just flying. When the percussionist started wailing in perfect time with the drummer, it was clear that they had come to crush it and that they had their stuff down cold. With the guitar coming out for the first time, we also got a different lead vocalist, and Public Circuit was a tornado of energy and it was impossible not to be entranced by what they were doing. There was no containing them and Talking French again had the two up front rollicking with their set ups. Often when I listen to a band ahead of time, I have a good sense for what they are bringing to the table, but once in a while, I get blind sided by how the live show transcends what you hear on the recorded efforts. Dear reader, seek Public Circuit out and I promise you will not be disappointed. A switch of the guitar led to another killer in Owe It Back and the dance club feel was at its peak, including a couple rounds of cow bell. The drummer was perhaps the least noticed, but he was an absolute beast and the work across the trio was so excellent. Finishing up with No Faith, Public Circuit had made a tremendous statement.

Headliner Black Marble came to finish the evening. Brainchild of Chris Stewart, the band has been active since 2011. The synth pop, cold wave sound has resulted in five albums, including 2026’s Life In Small Spaces, a very fun album. Out as a trio (vocals/guitar, keyboards, and bass, plus backing music), Black Marble had deeply distorted vocals and heavily modulated guitar. Feels was an early number that had the crowd singing along, and Stewart was a comfortable presence at the helm. The projections on the back screen throughout seemed a little much at times, but it did give a visual vibe that went with the music. The mix of instruments with the backing music was solid and Stewart’s guitar was front and center in the early going and there was definitely some pop rock hiding underneath all of the modulated tones. Frisk was a bright poppy number and got a raucous cheer from the crowd at the outset. Stewart could probably do this show by himself, but the bass and keyboards added interesting layers and Cicero had a good feel of when to change tones on his keyboard work throughout. It Always Comes to Me had a driving bass intro that let Stewart’s guitar build off of and that coldwave, synth pop feel was complete. I had heard an audience member super excited for the song UK, so when it hit, there was a noticeable reaction and the deep, almost menacing vocals gave a different sound for the band. Cicero played some solid keys work, but I particularly enjoyed his work on Jim Carol New Year (a great song), as Black Marble was headed into the home stretch. They left the stage for a bit, but came back to close the encore with a cover of Wire’s In Manchester, Black Marble had brought a successful close to the electronica driven evening.