The Rosebuds!

(The Rosebuds)

This past weekend I took a short roadtrip with my mom, sister and my sister's friend Jenna to Duluth, Minnesota. It was fun to just get away for a couple of days and really take advantage of the four-day long weekend. Not only did I get a few cute things (some new tops, a skirt, Orla Kiely housewares from Target — hooray!) I also saw one of my favourite bands perform at of all places — a pizza joint. It was amazing. If you haven't seen The Rosebuds play live, I would suggest you do so NOW. They are so adorable and fun and the crowd in Duluth was one of the best I've ever been a part of (which reinforces my belief that some of the best audiences in the world for live music are in the States, hand down). The show was all-ages and had such a great energy. The kids were punching it out, dancing and having the best time. The band themselves admitted never having been to Duluth before and only stopped there by the suggestion of their opening band Megafun. I never heard of Megafun or seen so much facial hair in all my life — the beards in that band were impressive. Any band who rocks the banjo while still playing serene, lush harmonies is alright by me! The Rosebuds were all smiles and totally feeding off the energy in the audience. They kept saying how happy they were to be there, what a surprise the whole thing turned out to be and that they were glad they took a detour to get there. The night was pure pop perfection and I'm so glad that I walked down to the pizza place per the suggestion of the store clerk at Electric Fetus to check it out. At first, I thought the pairing of Megafun and The Rosebuds a bit odd. However, after witnessing both bands play it was evident that they were a family of musicians. The folk of Megafun and the energetic pop of The Rosebuds actually complimented one another and captivated the audience the entire time. Members of Megafun played onstage with The Rosebuds and the whole night was seamless and enjoyable! I think the only way to get a real feel for a city is to go see live music and check out the crowds. I'll be heading back to Duluth again for another show very soon!

The only thing that perplexed me about the evening was that the show itself started pretty late —  the opening bands (one local, the other Megafun) didn't start until around 11 p.m. The Rosebuds didn't go on until 1:00 in the morning. When I made my living writing about music and attending live shows all the time, this was one thing I was always curious about — the late start for bands, especially at all-ages shows. By the time the headliner gets onstage most of the crowd has cleared out to go home. I always wondered why venues insist on pushing the performances and letting the opening bands play close to full sets? Admittedly, both opening bands that night only played for a half-an-hour, but still... If I ever own my own club, I would make it mandatory for a 9:00 p.m. sharp start policy and opening bands playing for a max of 20 to 30 minutes. The headlining band on stage by 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. — especially for all-ages. I know the general idea of pushing a show is to get more of a crowd in the bar drinking before the entertainment hits the stage. However, if most of the audience leaves before the headliners even go on, what's the point?  

A successful roadtrip to me is always bookended by great music. All-in-all, this little getaway to Duluth was by far one of my best (and I've been to that city a hundred times). Not to mention that I totally geeked out in the Criterion Collection section of the Barnes and Nobel and totally got my Godard fix! I hope you all had a great weekend too.