Agent Orange Proves Punk Is Not Dead in Mankato

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When the announcement came that The What’s Up Lounge in Mankato had SOLD OUT the Agent Orange show, I knew that I was in for a wild night.  Arriving at the venue shortly after doors opened showed that I was right.  The place was packed already and more people were streaming in.  In fact, the show started 30 minutes later to allow everyone to get into the venue.  If you have ever been to The What’s Up, you know that when the place gets packed, there isn’t much room to move.  I settled into the sound booth as showtime got closer and was happy to be up and out of the way.

The Libido Boyz is a name I remember from the late 80’s, so these guys have been around a while.  It was clear they were a local favorite, judging by the crowd.  As soon as the music started, the area directly by the stage started the mosh pit.  It made me even happier that I was not by the stage in the middle of it!  True to the punk rock era, the songs were fast paced and shorter that most today.  The lead singer made comments before each song to say what the song was about.  He let the front row sing on occasion and called them assholes for messing up his ascot!  It was a great time and The Libido Boyz were really fun to listen to, even in the tiny sound booth!  I hope they decide to play again soon!

The crowd thinned out a bit for Get Dead.  Some headed downstairs for a bit, but many stayed to check the band out.  I could see they weren’t as well known, but they put on a great performance.  Each band member moved about the tiny stage, ramping up the energy with each song.  I was able to get a few closer photos since there wasn’t as many people, but soon after I stepped back the moshing started again.  The guys had fun getting up close to the camera and messing around during the set.  I also had to take a break and head downstairs to escape the heat, but most of the people there were enjoying the music as well, as you could hear it fairly well down there.  Get Dead was a great band to have on this lineup!

I took a risk for Agent Orange and got right up front before others made their way back upstairs.  That only lasted about halfway through their first song though as the moshing started almost immediately!  I fought my way through it for a while, and then made my exit back to the sound booth taking the long way around!  It was crazy from the start and didn’t stop throughout the band’s entire set!  I haven’t seen crowd surfing at The What’s Up before, but this was the night to do it, and many did!  One guy got too close to the stage and it looked like he ran into the singer as he was coming down off the hands of the crowd.  The singer fell over, but continued to play the guitar on the ground for a bit!  The three piece had the whole stage to move around on and they certainly took advantage of it!  It became very clear why this show sold out judging by how much fun the crowd was having!  People had come from all over for this one and I even spoke with two people that had drove 5 hours from Wisconsin!  Agent Orange delivered the show that everyone had come to see!

As always, get out and support live music and I’ll see you out there!

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