Every so often, a great band or a great artist comes along that you feel like you’re lucky enough to watch grow. Lucky enough to watch grow from 30/40 people shows in the 7th Street Entry to 100 people shows at the former Triple Rock (RIP) to opening for sold out acts to hitting the festival circuit to finally headlining their own, large-scale tour. You feel lucky that you got to see them when it was 30 or 40 people in a tiny room but you are excited to see their growth and trajectory as an artist. Snail Mail is one of the artists that I feel lucky enough to have watched her growth and progression and look forward to seeing where she goes from here – because I have a feeling it’s only up.
One of the first times I caught Snail Mail was opening for Girl Pool at the 7th Street Entry. Immediately I fell in love with Snail Mail’s (aka Lindsay Jordan) no nonsense sound. This show was a few years back now and it was clear Snail Mail was still finding their groove but there was a raw, unabashed talent there that was hard to ignore. This same raw, boundless talent was on full display last night at the First Avenue Mainroom. It’s always a big deal in the Twin Cities music world when a band “graduates” from the Entry (the smaller, side venue attached) to the Mainroom. Snail Mail commented on this during her set, “we’ve played here a few times now, so it’s nice, I don’t know, to see the progression.” And a progression is just what it was – a progression of venues and crowd size, but also a progression as an artist.
During their set at the Mainroom – it was clear that Snail Mail has progressed and developed as a band over the past few years. They have a slew of tours and festival under their belt. Some of that nervousness seems to have melted away and Snail Mail commands the stage with ease and confidence. Snail Mail engages the crowd with a quirky and infectious energy. Her sound ebbs and flows between heavy guitar riffs to Jordan’s signature vocals – which always seems to hit like a suckerpunch to the gut of emotion. She sings with a conviction and a twinge of pain that is hauntingly beautiful. She sings with a maturity and a gumption that really seems to only come around once and awhile.
Snail Mail had the crowd singing and dancing (well head bobbing) along to every song of her roughly hour long set. Like any great show – it always feels too short. Snail Mail continues on their US Tour well into the remainder of the summer. It’s been a treat getting to watch Snail Mail grow from venue to venue, each time they stop by Minneapolis. We can’t wait to see where they play next.
Set List: Intro / Heat Wave / Dirt / Slug / Golden Dream / Thinning / Deep Sea / Pristine / Let’s Find an Out / Full Control / Speaking Terms (Unknown) (unreleased) / Stick
