Despite Gear Problems Surfer Blood Prevails!

I got to the entry just in time to wait around for two hours before the first band came on. This irked me because I had really hustled over to minneapolis after awakening from a mega nap which left me groggy and disoriented. I was propped up by the seating along the entry's back wall stuck between a conversation about lacrosse and an older guy desperately trying to impress his would-be girlfriend with his knowledge of the "indie" music scene. The frontman from turbo fruits and his mustache kept pacing back and forth through the entry with various alcoholic beverages and was unsuccessfully running the merch table at one point. There was quite a bit of waiting.

I was overjoyed when a guy in drainpipes paired with a johnny ramone-esque haircut took the stage. He was later followed by a troupe of musicians who looked as if they had all been plucked from different high-school clicks and were forcibly put together in a band by a disgruntled music teacher. The anonymous band had some good moments when two of the three guitarists played simultaneous major riffs resulting in a cool stereo effect. This effect was highlighted when one of the guitar players would break off in harmony. The entire sound was very pavement-esque (vocals included). I was going to buy an album at the end of the show but all the disks were gone, so maybe some other people came to a similar conclusion as me despite the mystery band's obvious nervousness.

By the time Turbo Fruits took the stage, the frontman was entirely wasted. The crowd egged him on as he downed a super-sized heinekin, and the bass player chuckled at his bandmate's antics. Playing music drunk is a skill, and in that sense turbo fruits had a lot of skill. "This song kinda sucks" says Stein as he leads the band into their first song "Broadzilla". This band has energy to burn, and despite being glassy-eyed and mumblish, Stein managed to wail. I mean wail. This guy has some serious lead chops, and would make any power trio proud. The Turbo Fruit sound is loud, fast, and fairly "punk". After ripping through their set, Stein spilled his beer all over the stage and proceeded to pick up the bottle, empty the remaining contents into his mouth, and spit the mystery brew all over the unsuspecting audience. I was in the front row, and was thus covered in beer and spit.

Surfer Blood went on around midnight due to technical troubles that just didn't see to subside. All the members of this band look like they shouldn't be able to drink, and its always interesting putting faces to the music. The sound guy must not have listened to astro coast, because the reverb and vocal mix was way off the mark. The frontman explained that the band was "frazzled" after a nightmare 30 hour drive. Despite an interesting mix and a hellish drive, Surfer Blood jumped into "floating vibes" with the tightness of a band beyond their years. The crowd was loving every cowbell hit of take it easy, and the guitar sound was spot on. The lead guitar player went through three guitars in an hour: first breaking a string on his tele, then breaking the output jack on his strat, and finally settling on the turbo fruits' schecter. He ended having problems with his pedals later in the set, and the whole ordeal was obviously making him very frustrated. However, the band managed to swim to the end of their set, all the while depending on their faulty gear.The bass player broke a saddle off of his bridge which landed in my hands. I gave it back to him after the show and was rewarded with a sweet T-shirt! The crowd begged for an encore, and the frontman came out to explain that all their gear was broken, even so, he stayed and played a few covers by his lonesome. This band's perseverance resulted in a great show and a great time. We should all be giddy for Surfer Blood's sophmore release.

LISTEN TO ASTRO COAST.

-Heiner