I honestly could have used another day of recovering after my weekend spent at Twin Cities Summer Jam but the concert Gods had something else in plan for me. There was a show happening at The Entry on Monday that my gut was telling me I just had to see so I gave up the hopes of recovering, grabbed an early evening coffee, and made my way downtown.
Kicking things off at The 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis was Faith Boblett. I have had the honor of catching this songstress a few times before but it has been some time (as it has for everyone). Faith Boblett was the perfect fit to get the sleepy Monday night going. Although not in your face and loud, her set instantly captivated me and the rest of the quickly growing crowd. Her singing voice is soft, sweet, and full of passion and it’s impossible to not fall in love with this woman’s talent. Although everything about her music is perfectly smooth and finished, there’s something raw about the emotion with which she sings. It’s an aspect of her music that, although much calmer than I tend to go for, will keep me coming back for sure. Well, that and her absolutely horrific animal jokes like “What kind of animal do you use to cross a river? A Giraft”. Yeah, if the charm of Faith’s music doesn’t have you falling head over heels for this woman, her worse-than-dad-jokes absolutely will. Thank you, Faith, for getting the night started off right and making me laugh through the exhaustion I was feeling.
Following Faith and the main reason I was so intrigued by Monday night’s show was Milwaukee-based Buffalo Nichols. Just reading his description on First Avenue’s website had me needing to see him for myself. Words like blues, gospel, Americana– Right, I know none of these are something I have ever shown interest in but, after spending the weekend at a country festival, I felt like I want to continue to broaden the scope of music I saw so it was up to Buffalo Nichols (AKA Carl Nichols) to keep that flame alive. He did that and then some. He wasted no time kicking into his set and drawing the entire audience into the palm of his hand. Had he not been playing, I’m pretty sure you could have heard a pin drop in the venue. From his bluesy vocals to his absolutely stunning and, at times, mesmerizing, guitar work, I mean, I’m lost for words. The only comparison I can even think of to Buffalo Nichols would be William Elliot Whitmore but, even then, it’s not the same. There was something so understated about Buffalo Nichols set. “I don’t even have any music out. Why are you people here?” The entire audience laughed because, well, he wasn’t wrong. With no music out there right now, how did this many people get intrigued enough to come out to the show? Were they like me and just read the description and had to come out and see it for themselves? Was it because they were there for Jack Klatt who would be taking the stage shortly after Buffalo Nichols? Regardless, we were there and I’d be willing to bet there wasn’t a soul in the audience that didn’t enjoy every second of Buffalo Nichols’ set. I know I sure did and, as Carl asked us to do, I will be emailing Fat Possum Records today to let them know just how amazing the set was last night in hope of getting Buffalo Nichols the record deal he absolutely deserves.
There was something exhausting about Buffalo Nichols’ set. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. I think I was just so overwhelmed by what I had just witnessed and heard that, by the time headliner Jack Klatt took the stage, I was beyond exhausted. No need to fear though, Jack instantly gave me my third (or maybe it was my fifth at that point) wind. Jack’s style is a bit country, a bit Americana, a bit indie rock, and a whole lot of emotion and soul. Much like both of the openers, it didn’t take long for Jack to have the entire audience in the palm of his hand as he sang us into the night. I had only seen Jack one previous time and that was opening for Kinky Friedman. Sadly, Jack’s set was drowned out by conversations in the audience during that show but that was not the case on Monday. The audience was just as attentive to this local legend as they were for the touring act and opener. I loved finally getting the full experience that is a Jack Klatt set and, like the other two acts of the night. I feel like I had gotten a glimpse of Jack’s talent and passion at that Kinky show but I really got to experience that power on Monday and it had me shook. I will absolutely be keeping a closer eye on Jack Klatt’s schedule in hopes of catching him again sooner rather than later.
I’ll be honest, none of the acts that performed on Monday were my typical cup of tea but, much like the festival over the weekend (which I honestly had no business being at), I fell in love with every single act that graced the stage. I have a feeling that it’s going to be an amazing week of live music here in the Twin Cities.
