One time in college, I fell in love. It was a terrible mistake. When she left me, she took everything except one song that I still listen to ’till this day; “Comethru” by Jeremy Zucker. Thank you, Next.
Bitter breakups aside, I appreciate that faded romance because it exposed me to one of the biggest growing acts of my generation. Zucker has a mighty reputation, and after last night – he deserves it. I’ll get to Jeremy later, but before we even had the chance to hear his beautiful voice – we had two fantastic openers to share time with.
I got to First Avenue just as a surprise was taking the stage; I was not prepared for Valley Boy to be joining us that night – but I will take a surprise to spice things up, especially when they are as hilarious and fun as these two guys were. If, like me, you aren’t too familiar with these guys – I’m begging you – see them as soon as possible. Two dudes jamming away on stage, cracking jokes between songs left and right, and talking to the crowd like we were friends for years. Speaking of friendships, these guys were best friends growing up and we could not only see that by how well they vibed on stage with their hits such as “Disgusting” and “Aloha,” but also their goofy, friendly, awesome stage presence. Per their tradition, they tried to get the crowd to say “Valley Boy Sucks” while filming a video from the stage; Minneapolis went all “Minnesota Nice” and instead cheered and screamed “we love you.” The band’s response was hilarious, saying “we’re going to have to change our Instagram handle from ValleyBoySucks to ‘ValleyBoyAhhhh'” (to paraphrase). The video can actually be found on their insta page – you’ve got to check them out.
Coming up next, O’Canada vibes filled the air as Canadian band BabyGirl took to the stage. This was hands-down one of the coolest transitions I’ve seen at a show as Babygirl wasted no time going right at our feels. Songs of theirs like “You Were In My Dream Last Night” are still stuck in my head today, alongside many other quality hits. Reigning from Ontario, this pop-rock band took us on a journey that gave me the emotional sensation of driving home at sunset on a warm, summer night on the northern shores of Minnesota after a nice glass of red wine. I was especially amped to hear their recent hit “Born With a Broken Heart” and if you begin anywhere with this band in terms of a listening journey, the road would best be built starting there!
I’ve seen some things while covering shows in the Twin Cities; and my stories can’t even hold a candle to some of our vets – but I’m telling you this sincerely; I have never seen First Avenue as packed and ready as it was that cold night in November. Don’t get me wrong – I know Jeremy Zucker makes a lot of us swoon – but it wasn’t until I checked the facts, put his lovable face and amazing songs together, and… Well. I should have known the fans were going to be near salivation before the intro to his opening song could even begin. Chants erupted, fans screaming a countdown at one point just hoping that by the time they hit “1” that he’d take stage.
“Let them wait” is what I’d imagine King Zucker said to himself back stage as the venue was nearly shaking with excited fans. A door opened to the side of the stage – and it was at that very moment I realized I made a terrible mistake:
No earbuds.
I almost lost my sense of hearing – the crowd was that loud, and had Jeremy’s voice not been able to command our attention and stun us to (almost) near silence I don’t think the place would have ever calmed down. My ears were ringing from the all-age crowd’s screams still, when I thought to myself the same title of one of Zucker’s opening songs “We’re Fucked It’s Fine.” That bled into hits such as “Therapist,” “All The Kids,” and so many more. Zucker brought his own humor to the stage between sets, at one point hearing a fan scream and responding “Was that a ‘Fuck Yeah’ or a ‘Fuck You?'” – more laughter from this guy (me, ha).
The night carried on, and while I’ve said this before I’ve never meant it more literally – EVERYONE knew the words to his songs. Didn’t matter if it was the pack of sorority girls taking selfies between sets (that stood right in front of my view, it’s fine) or the bros in hockey jerseys in front row; They were all just belting the lyrics to Jeremy’s songs, not to mention the times when Zucker would let the crowd finish his lines or do call-and-response.
More songs passed, more feels consumed me, and the crowd stayed wild until our my favorite love song from 2019 finally came on: “Comethru.” It was at that moment that I knew that I was over that ex, and had replaced her with my love for all of these acts that night – especially King Zucker.
Why “King” Zucker? It’s simple – until someone manages to blow the roof off of that place as much as it was last night, I don’t think we can say anyone else owned that venue as well as he did. The halls of Prince and so many other artists have filled this place for years, and I can say in pure confidence that this guy broke a record – at least in my experience.
Jeremy carried on through the night, and so did we with full pleasure and awe. I know my answer, but how about you; The next time this guy is in town, will you also Comethru?
