Noise Damage » Solid Gold, The Pines, Jeremy Messersmith, Marijuana Death Squads at 7th Street Entry

Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Solid Gold (Zachary Coulter on vocals/keys/guitar, Adam Hurlburt on guitar/bass/keys, Matt Locher on bass/keys, Shon Troth on slide guitar/guitar, Adam Peterson on drums) performing with Jeremy Messersmith, The Pines, and Marijuana Death Squads at First Avenue’s 7th Street Entry in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

More words and photos after the jump…

When word got out that Solid Gold’s gear was stolen in Brooklyn and that the band would be playing a short-notice show at the recently crowned “Best Concert Venue“, 7th Street Entry, fans were ecstatic. A chance to see a band up-close and personal that’s normally separated from the crowd by a barrier and a high stage? Not only that, but a chance to support the band directly and help them reacquire some much-needed gear? Yep, this was one busy show. The crowd was split pretty evenly between fellow musicians from around the city, late-20′s/early-30′s music lovers and a decidedly younger crowd that were quite happy to see their favorite band at an 18+ show.

Jeremy Messersmith

The awesome bands sharing the bill – Batmen, Jeremy Messersmith, The Pines, Marijuana Death Squads – made the $10 entry fee that much more well spent. I managed to get there just in time, just after my arrival (as Messersmith hit the stage) the Entry hit capacity. While I missed Batmen due to a late arrival I made it in time to see Jeremy Messersmith deliver a quiet, heartfelt set that. His tunes carried well over the din of the crowd’s chatter and, at least for me, were a pleasant welcome to a show that would surely include a progressively heavier sound.

See a slideshow of Jeremy Messersmith’s set on Flickr or check out individual images below.

The Pines came up next, delivering a bluesy set accentuated quite nicely by guitar from Zac Coulter and slide guitar from Shon Troth. It was my first time seeing this much-respected Minneapolis band and I definitely need to catch them again on their own.

See a slideshow of The Pines’ set on Flickr or check out individual images below.

The men of the hour – Minneapolis 5-piece Solid Gold – came up next and blew the crowd away with an excellent new track. It was heavy and, in typical Solid Gold style, incredibly danceable. Crowd favorites just kept coming: Bible Thumper, Armored Cars, Neon Rose… Just about the entire crowd in the Entry was dancing throughout the entire set, singing along and losing themselves in the music. I’ve seen Solid Gold several times before – at the Turf Club, in the First Avenue Main Room and even in the Entry – but this show was the most intense of them all. Something about the “intimacy” of the Entry makes the intense shows there that much more memorable and this was no exception. For many kids present it was their first show in the dark, well-work rock bar and it may be one that future shows will have to measure up to in their minds. For this, I’m happy. The kids are alright.

See a slideshow of Solid Gold’s set on Flickr or check out individual images below.

By the time Marijuana Death Squads, a rhythmically explosive side-project of Building Better Bombs and any friends in their vicinity, came on stage the younger crowd had mostly filed out. I was outside cooling off and heard the staff saying, “Hey guys, there’s a great band still coming up…” over and over again, to no avail. A sizable group of 40-50 hard-core music lovers stuck around to witness the explosion though, making their hasty journey from the airport worth it. They had just come back from backing P.O.S. at Coachella and had literally just hopped off the plane hours before arriving at the Entry to support their friends in Solid Gold, possibly why they were relegated to a late closing spot on a Monday night. Either way, their set was killer. Having seen them back P.O.S., play a BBB set and play a MDS set the week before I knew what to expect but it still puts a huge smile on my face. No two Marijuana Death Squads sets are the same and no two lineups are the same either – there’s always a new face (to me at least) on the stage providing support.