COIN and The Aces Conquer The Fine Line With Ease

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My current bender of shows has been mostly pop and indie-pop music so it was only fitting that it ended with a show from one of the hottest indie-pop bands out there right now. Now, I’m not the biggest indie-pop fan in the world but I feel like, with age, I’m starting to find a new appreciation for the genre. After getting pushed around a bit during the Architects show on Saturday, I was ready for a chill show with a couple friends, a couple drinks, and some tunes that would make me want to dance around a little bit.

All female indie-pop/rock band The Aces kicked off the show promptly at 8PM on Sunday night. I was instantly struck by their age. These kids are young. Not just, oh you’re probably a couple years younger than me. More that dear Jesus you could probably be my child young. Although they are young, The Aces instantly had me in the palm of their hand and watching their every move. Each member seemed to have a persona they were portraying on stage. You had the rocking singer, the hippie-esque bassist, the somewhat shy guitarist, and then the alternative drummer. Having so many elements on stage throughout their short set kept things interesting and feeling fresh. There wasn’t a moment where there wasn’t something to notice on stage.

Although their music is definitely on the pop side of things, there was a sense of angst and grit about their live performance that has me completely stumped when it comes to trying to classify this group and that’s something that rarely happens. It seemed like each of the individual styles of the four girls also brought a different sound to the music. Regardless of how you want to classify their sound, there’s no denying their ability to command a crowd that isn’t even at the show to see them. Had you walked into The Fine Line on Sunday night without any knowledge of the line-up, it would have been easy for you to be fooled into thinking these women were the headliners what with the way they had the crowd moving.

There was an unspoken connection between the band and audience. Although they didn’t address the crowd much, you could feel a genuine since of appreciation that the band had for the nearly sold-out audience that had come out early to support them and vice-versa. Their girl next door look mixed with this genuine sense of personality and the fun music all led to an absolutely amazing opening set and a set that has me already looking forward to their next visit to the Twin Cities (which they promise will be soon).

After a quick changeover, and a rise in anticipation throughout the young crowd, the lights went down and COIN exploded onto the stage. Hailing from Nashville, TN, Coin is a four piece group that seems to have caught on like wildfire and rightfully so. Their music is too infectious to even explain in words. They have songs that, even if you’ve only heard them once, you will catch yourself humming them in the shower. It’s infectious, it’s poppy, it’s upbeat, it make you feel good. Take that and mix in the image of the band what with their boy next door look plus a little edge, and you are left with a force that refuses to be ignored.

Coin’s set was extremely spirited. Much like The Aces, COIN commanded the crowd with ease and without having to say much to the crowd. Whenever Chase would inch his way to the edge of the stage, the crowd would swoon and move as close as they could to the tall lanky figure with his curly blonde hair. The images throughout the show were nothing short of eye-catching. The group had a giant LED screen behind them that, when even just displaying solid colors, created a very trippy effect with how the men looked in front of it. That infectious sound with the very cool visuals led to an enjoyable set.

With two full length albums out, it would be fair to classify COIN as a fairly new band. That being said, it seems like they have been grinding hard since their 2017 album ‘How Will You Know If You Never Try’ came out. With multiple tours under their belts and the steady radio play they are starting to get, I see this group playing venues the size of First Avenue the next time they come to town. Although they played nearly twenty songs on Sunday night, time flew by due to pure entertainment factor of this group. The entire crowd was smiling as they flooded onto the streets of Minneapolis as the night came to an end. 

My current concert bender has been interesting. I’ve seen a bunch of bands that I never thought I would nor did I think I want to. The Aces came out of leftfield and may have stolen the ‘top band from this bender’ award and COIN impressed me with the infectious beats and feel-good vibes. Don’t put yourself in a box when it comes to live music. Go see anything and everything. You never know what you’re going to find.

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