My being at the 7th Street Entry on Friday night was a complete fluke. I had read the headliner of the night being Green Death- a band from my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa- and got overly excited to get that little taste of home. Unfortunately, that was not the band that was playing. The band headlining the Friday night show was actually Greet Death from Michigan. It was too late for me to pull out of the show by the time I realized my mistake so I did the only thing I know to do- grabbed my boyfriend and begrudgingly made my way downtown. I wasn’t in the mood for a show. My ex-co-workers had taken me out for happy hour earlier in the day and, even after a nap, I was still feeling the tequila shot I took but I had committed. Little did I know, my mistake was going to turn into a very happy accident within the first few moments of walking into The Entry.
Dead History was the first band to take the stage and the only local act on the bill. As soon as they took the stage, I was in love. Their sound had this perfect blend of post-hardcore, emo vibes with more indie-rock-based instrumentation. it was such a perfect sound and absolutely right up my alley. Vocalist Brad Senne was absolutely captivating to watch. His way of giving every word a different emotion just with his physical movements had me captured in his grasp throughout their opening set. Although this band was brand new to me, the members of Dead History are not new to the stage. A bit of a supergroup from the local scene, members of this band have performed with bands like Reach, The Book of Dead Names, Gratitude, Sunday Floor— the list goes on and on. You could feel that seasoned veteran vibe from the stage as you scanned the stage throughout their set but they still had an undeniable sense of passion with every song they played. Dead History absolutely caught my attention and had my mood shifting from pessimistic and tired to excited and wide awake. I truly hope to catch this band again soon!
Virginia-based Infant Island was the second band to take the stage on Friday night and holy crap did they take that stage and absolutely destroy it. I loved how their screamo sound was so different from the calmer vibes of Dead History. I know bi-polar line-ups aren’t for everyone but they are my favorite thing on the planet and it was clear that the rest of the good-sized audience agreed. As soon as Infant Island jumped into their all-too-short set, the audience burst into a flurry of energy. Although it wasn’t an intense pit and there are no broken bones or anything to report back on, people were moving and there was a little shoving and pushing throughout the floor.
The amount of emotion that came from vocalist Daniel Kost was staggering. Even when not screaming his lungs out during the tracks, all of the times he spoke with the crowd, it clearly came from the heart. He explained that his mom is actually from Saint Paul and the band had driven by her childhood home during the day and it hit him in a very strange way. That seemed to be this band’s only connection to the Twin Cities. Their performance on Friday night was their first time playing here but I truly hope it won’t be their last. As Infant Island left the stage, I could feel my heart sink. I wanted so much more from this band. Although their music is uber-aggressive and in your face, I found a sense of calm and comfort with every song they played, and between that and watching their performance and the audience, well, their set is one that is going to stick with me for some time.
Closing out the night was Michigan-based Greet Death (not to be confused with Green Death). With a more standard rock vibe with shoe-gaze elements and little hints of indie tendencies, I loved that their sound continued to expand on the bi-polar line-up of the night. Just like the previous bands of the night, Greet Death brought an undeniable sense of energy to the stage but it was definitely a different energy. There was something laid-back about their entire performance. I found a sense of calm in their set just like I did in Infant Island’s but it was a different sense of calm. It was that feeling of nothing else matters other than what’s happening around you at that moment and that’s exactly what I needed.
Although I had walked into the Friday night show knowing nothing about anything that was about to happen at the show, the majority of the crowd had clearly been just waiting for their chance to see Greet Death. Before the band even took the stage, a guy in the audience was screaming with excitement for the band. The vocalist joked about how amped up this man was even though they are just going to go and play their depressing slowcore music (not his exact words but I wasn’t in the mood to take notes last night) but that was far from the truth. I could see how their music, compared to the previous two acts, is a bit slower but it was far from depressing and ended up being the perfect ending to my Friday evening.
