Bruise Violet and fans have a blast releasing Trophy Wife at the Entry

When I (and the rest of the Twin Cities) stumbled upon Bruise Violet in 2015 I fell head over heels for them. The music, the lyrics, the whole attitude of them band just won me over. I was not alone in that, a flurry of gigs – including some First Avenue Mainroom appearances – trust them into the eyes of the Twin Cities music scene. My favorite story about them is when Metric on their way to a gig drove by the Pizza Luce Block Party, heard them play and invited them via Twitter to come hang after their gig. So, needless today, their new EP “Trophy Wife” was highly anticipated, and their release show at the 7th Street Entry sold out.

Starting the evening was Joe Davis and the Poetic Diaspora. Running behind schedule I only caught the last couple songs of the set but I really liked what I heard. Joe Davis’ roots are in spoken word poetry and he brought them into song with the help of several musicians filling the Entry’s tiny stage.
Set List: Diaspora / Pangea / Liberation Song / Raise up / New Renaissance / (Love is) The Way

I still don’t know much about Sass, the next artist. Their FB page is less than a year old and their band camp page is pretty blank. I do know that their live set rocked and had a variety of styles from indie rock sounding to almost metal sounding songs. What I caught of their lyrics was catchy and singer Stephanie’s guitar was very sparkly. The crowd was into their set as well.
Set List: Awful / XL Dreams / Velvet / 30 Minutes / Ragged / Strawberry / Beeswax / Seesaw / Chewtoy / Role Model

Catbath is one of my favorite local bands. Much like Bruise Violet, their songs are short bursts of raw energy and their drummer Crystal is also one of their vocalists. They promised to execute their set “as efficiently as possible” which was immediately foiled by a wrong start and a loud “Oh shit” from one of the members. But much like their name sake animal Catbath gave the audience an “I meant to do that” look and proceeded as is nothing happened. Catbath’s sound is indeed reminiscent of a pissed of feline, there are roars, screams and the occasional hiss. Then the whole band stops mid song, pauses for a second and resumes. They are working on new material and introduced two new songs “Check Byways” and “Privilege”.
Set List: Ta-Da / Vacuum / Law of Average / Casio / Check Byways / Jellyfish / Home Invader / Colorado / Privilege

With Bruise Violet you get 3 bands for the price of one and they all take their turns on stage. There’s the kick ass punk band that stomps on stage wielding their guitars looking for a fight. You get the band with a message – just pay attention to the lyrics. And you get 3 young women who have tons of fun on stage. Whether it’s the joy of a sold-out show, or planning Guinea Pig playdates from stage.
When they played, the band was tight. Those are serious musicians on stage and bass player Bella has developed her stage presence to an impressive level. The new songs build on their first EP and even though they needed a kick in the butt from Danielle’s mom to start recording, the results are impressive.
Speaking of moms, after a few songs a mosh pit formed that got a bit out of hand. Bruise Violet addressed that from stage asking to make sure to only hit those “who want to get hit. That’s our moms out there!” They proudly showed of their new matching guitars they received from MPLS Instrument Company, and when they called them cute a voice from the audience boomed: “It’s not cute, you’re PUNK! It’s hardcore!” that had the place cracking up. And then there was the fact that the setlists apparently did not match causing a “And THAT’S why I write the set lists” from behind the drum kit punctuated by drum beats.
Oh, and there was a fourth band – their alter-ego “Bruce Violent”. I forgot the name of the song but it was basically a collection of dumbass male quotes about female musicians and it was about the longest Bruise Violet song I recall. The must have a lot of source material to work with on that one.  All said fans of Bruise Violet, Punk, or good music will not be disappointed in the new EP. I for one (and many of my fellow music journalists) are having a blast watching this young band succeed, grow and remind us what Rock’n Roll is all about – having a blast!
Set List – Emily’s Version (for what it’s worth): Talk Shit / Nightmare / GPs / Jeremy / Merchal? / Babysitter / IDWK / You’re Gone / Wasted / YPG4AB / Hella Encore: Sketchy