Minneapolis loves Dawes
Minneapolis loves the Los Angeles, CA based band, Dawes. Much of this local love can be attributed to the heavy airplay the band has seen over the last years on indie radio station 89.3 The Current. Dawes’ singer/guitarist, Taylor Goldsmith, labeled The Current, “The best damn station in the country!,” during a brief break in their amplified two-hour set that didn’t end until nearly 1AM. It didn’t take long for the band to live up to their hype as they rocked to the most polite (and attractive) capacity crowd I have ever seen at First Avenue.
Dawes is lead by Taylor Goldsmith on guitar and lead vocals, along with his brother Griffin on drums, Wylie Gelber on bass, and Tay Strathairn on keys. The interplay between the members displayed a long history, and Taylor’s songwriting hammered home the fact that this band is deserving the local and national recognition they are seeing. The band swayed between sounds of folk, to indie rock, to classic guitar rock, while the capacity crowd sang along all smiles, all night. It was a very impressive performance.
Indie rock troubadours, Blitzen Trapper, preceded Dawes on this co-headlining show. Their set started off folkie, but continued a steady crescendo until the band ultimately broke into a hard rocking finale that had heads down and fists pumping before the band finally left the stage. Before Blitzen Trapper, brother-sister lead, The Belle Brigade, got the night going with a half-hour set that was quite good and a perfect warm up for things to follow.
If you missed your chance at this show, Dawes will be back in Minneapolis twice more before the year ends. The Varsity Theater show for new years is already sold out, but they just added another date for December 30th. It seems Minneapolis can’t get enough.
Photos taken for music blog, Reviler. Check it out!
Dawes
Blitzen Trapper
The Belle Brigade
Dawes – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN 11/4/11 Setlist
The Way You Laugh
If I Wanted Someone
When You Call My Name
That Western Skyline
Coming Back to a Man
How Far We’ve Come
So Well
Peace in the Valley
Kodachrome
My Way Back Home
Little Bit of Everything
Million Dollar Bill
Time Spent in Los Angeles
Encore:
Take Me Out of the City
My Girl to Me
Fire Away
