After singing the nation anthem for the Twins Opener Caroline Smith moved to a bit more intimate venue, First Avenue for a sold out show last night. To say the crowd was heavy on the ladies’ side would be an understatement. Smith’s message and actions of Feminism resonate well with her hometown crowd
The night started with a spirited DJ set by Lip Lab that got the crowd dancing in no time. First Avenue was almost full by the end of their set and the vast majority of the crowd was on the dance floor.
Harriet Brown was up next. Described as Romantic Funk, the LA artist’s style fit very well with First Avenue and the audience. At times it was a bit like listening to a younger prince. Even though it was only Harriet, a guitar and a table full of electronic equipment the sound was full, complex and quite fun to listen to.
Caroline Smith took the stage after a brief intro and the crowd went a bit nuts from the first few seconds of her show with only a few breaks for her slower numbers. What makes Smith stand out is her collaboration work with other artists crossing genres and letting the influence enrich her music. The stage had a short runway that allowed her to go out into the crowd without climbing the barrier. She took the stroll several times and the faces of the fans in the audience lit up with joy were priceless to watch. She told the guys in the audience that tonight they were feminists by proxy to loud cheers.
Caroline Smith is secure with being a woman, with herself as an artist and set a great example as proven by the variety of ages and styles in the audience. I hope her influence on the Twin Cities music scene remains for many years.
Set List: Giving Myself Away / All That I Know / The One Thing / Buy Me Something / Blood Style / Hail About Being a Woman / Baby Goodbye / Kind of Man / You Oughta Know / Checking on Your / Let Em Say / Damn Baby / Magazine / Walking off Song Encore: Downfall (solog) / Child of Moving
