White Knuckle Trip

I met this dude, Pete, from MySpace at the show. He seems like an intersting guy. Unfortunately, he got a call from a friend after the first set and left to go help him with his car troubles. I think it wasn't just an attempt to ditch me....he sent me a couple of text messages, the first asking who was playing (he had intended on coming back) and the second saying they had to call a tow truck. I stayed anyway, even though I was by myself and met this cool guy named David who happens to be the bass player for Toast, a local band. I am going to check them out some time. I think The Rock may now be my second favorite venue in the Twin Cities. It's CLEAN...like SQUEAKY CLEAN, has ample FREE parking, and there are no poles in front of the stage to obstruct your view.

So the show.....awsome. Esuna started off the night. I think they're local. They were good, except I wasn't real crazy about the singer, but the music was cool...they had a pretty unique sound. Second was WKT. I would say they were by far the best band out of four pretty good bands. They played most of the stuff from When Translation Becomes Automation and it was even more ferocious live than recorded. I got to meet Chase, the turntabllist (if that's a word) and Andy, the drummer after the show. Both very nice guys.

Next up was Dayfeed, also local. I didn't realize it but they had opened for VAST back in May. Their set was good...not the kind of stuff I normally listen to, but good nonetheless. Their second to the last song was a cover of the NIN song "Something I Can Never Have," which is when I realized I had seen them before. They did an amazing job. I hope to check these guys out again some time. I think my friends would enjoy them.

Last to go on was Nuisance Crew. They were VERY good performers and got the crowd really into the set (most of the crowd was there to see them anyway). I wasn't too crazy about their music so much...I would say it was a cross between Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit. Their bass player was very good. I guess I'll probably see these guys next time, as they're playing with WKT again at First Ave.

This show was ok, but not as good as the last WKT show. WKT opened the evening and there weren't a ton of people there, being that they were playing first and were from out of town. Their set was good, but I think the last show was better. I thought the turntables were up too high and were distracting instead of a nice addition, as they were last time and as they are on the album.

Next up was LTD and I have to say I didn't care for them too much. They weren't bad, they were just a little boring. They didn't keep my attention very well and I was ready for the next band to start after the first few songs.

Nuisance crew followed LTD. Their set was exactly as I had expected....fun, good performance, but not really my cup of tea. The crowd had increased by this time and they seemed to have a good number of fans there.

After Nuisance Crew was Staija. I had listened to a few of their songs on MySpace and was pretty excited for their set. They were good, though Jo didn't care for them too much. The singer has a decent singing voice and he can scream pretty well, too. Jo thought they were a little too whiny for her taste...she's not a fan of the "my life sucks and I'm going to sing about it" genre. They had a bunch of dead trees on the stage for their set, which created a neat effect with the lights. We left after Staija, because Jo had to get back to write a paper, so we didn't see Black Flood Diesel. Maybe another time.....

White Knuckle Trip

January 29, 2005 The Rock, Maplewood, MN with Esuna, Dayfeed, Nuisance Crew

February 20, 2005 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN with LTD, Nuisance Crew, Staija, Black Flood Diesel