Minneapolis - 7th St Entry Review by Josh Benesh (Street Teamer)
February 27th, 2008 began as any other normal day, except for the fact that the hardest rocking band on the planet was coming to my state that night, and I was going to get the chance to meet and sing with them. Bang Camaro was set to perform at the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis, MN that night. The "Entry" - as it is affectionately called by us locals - is part of hallowed ground. It is a part of the complex known as First Avenue, made famous by the likes of Curtiss A, Husker Du, Morris Day and the "motherfuckin" Time, and of course Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson, who solidified First Avenue as the landmark it is in the film Purple Rain.
The night was to be a busy one, with some of Bang's members favorite bands playing nearby: Clutch - performing inside the main room of First Avenue, and the Foo Fighters - playing across the street at the Target Center (who Glen attempted numerous times to get to show up at Bang's show after their set, as Glen knows the Foo's tour manager, and was calling and texting him like a madman!).
My day with Bang Camaro began at 5PM as I helped them with their equipment unloading. I welcomed Bryn and the band, spoke with Graeme about the signing that was to occur later that night, and explained some of the history of First Avenue to them, and also gave them some local landmarks to check out, places to eat, etc.
After the equipment load-in Bryn, Alex, Mclaine, Doz and Pete started warming up their axes and drums. It was awesome to finally hear the raw power of Bang Camaro live. After warming up, Glen, Rod, Nick, Richie, Graeme and Morgan joined them for a rendition of "Out on the Streets" that completely blew anything I'd ever heard on their CD - or live for that matter - away. I then got my chance to join them on stage to learn my part and sing Push Push (Lady Lightning) with the band. It was a thrill beyond belief. Hearing my favorite song by my favorite band while being a part of the whole thing was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. I couldn't wait for show time.
For the next few hours I hung out with various members of Bang in the green room. And by green room I mean a 10x15 room down the stairs of an old bus depot. As Bryn put it so eloquently "...this is the life of a rock star!" We hung out, drank the Sam Adams I had brought for the band, and ate the packs of Keebler cookies I brought which I'm sure were gone by the next day.
The opener for Bang was a local band called Seconds Before. They're a 5-piece rock band seeming to be finding an identity. They had some good tunes, a different sound than Bang altogether - something Graeme had highlighted as important for them in finding opening acts. Seconds Before went on stage at 10:15 PM. Now, The Entry is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, venue that Bang had played up to this point: the stage barely held all 12 of us, and the room will only hold 100 people or so packed in tight. When Seconds Before kicked things off, there were around 25-30 people in the room.
Bang's set was pushed to 11:30 PM as Clutch had watched the sound check and wanted to watch Bang's set after their show. At 11:00 I went down to the green room with the choir to learn their warm up techniques, and take part as well. At 11:30 they took the stage. What had been 25-30 people had grown to almost 75-100. The lower level in front of the stage was packed. This was going to rock.
Bang's set kicked so much ass and was full of so much energy it's really impossible for me to put it into words. Out on the Streets, Pleasure (Pleasure), Swallow the Razor, You Know I Like My Band, Can't Stop the Night, Bang Camaro, Rock of Mages, every song they played was, to put it in one word, ridiculous. After Rock of Mages, I met the choir behind the stage, down to the green room for a quick beer, and back up behind the stage. We then joined Bryn, Alex, Maclaine, Doz and Pete on stage. Graeme was kind enough to introduce me, and the local crowd ate it up. We instantly broke into FYTFO - which I now know what it means, but if you weren't paying attention, too bad for you - I'm not telling. At the end of FYTFO Pete started the intro to Push Push. We broke into our clap, the crowd joined in, and the guitars started signing. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe that for these 15 minutes, I was a rock star among rock stars. We finished Push Push to a raucous ovation, and then busted into our encore - Nightlife Commando, with a little help from Nick and the crowd. After that, it was over. We all left the stage and went to the green room. I thanked everybody in the band, and wished them all a great finish to the tour, as well as other things coming up.
I really couldn't have had a better day, or a better time with the band. They truly appreciate every single one of their fans, and I am pulling for them to really make it. Who knows, maybe next time they're here I'll be signing with them again, but on the main stage of the famous First Avenue packed to the gills.