New York based electropop duo POWERS brought their tour to Minneapolis this Saturday. They played to a small but energetic crowd at First Avenue’s 7th Street. Minneapolis was one of many stops on the Nylon Music Tour. After Minneapolis, POWERS shoots out to the West Coast to wrap up this tour.
POWERS kicked off their set at 100%. They didn’t waste a minute turning The Entry into their own personal dance party. Usually at smaller shows at The Entry people will linger around the bar or the back of the venue, but every body in The Entry last night was huddled around the stage to take it the force of nature that is POWERS.
From the top to the bottom of the set there was nothing but a reciprocal sense good vibes and energy radiating from the stage to the crowd. Everyone, POWERS included, was just at The Entry to dance and have a good time, what a spring Saturday night should be. There is an undeniable chemistry between vocalist/guitarist Crista Ru and co-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mike Del Rio on stage. From the moment they kicked off their set they were playing off each others energy, and working the small but iconic 7th Street stage, and just seeming to be loving every minute of it. Both Ru and Del Rio radiate with confidence from stage, as if they were both born to be doing this. They both seemed very at home on the stage. “This is our first time in Minneapolis! Like not just as a band, but this is my first time ever here,” said Del Rio. “Yes – so thank you so much for being here. This venue is so iconic,” finished Ru. Del Rio and Ru both took turns on vocals, as well as switching between guitar and keys. They were also supported on stage by a drummer (whose name I didn’t catch), who even stood up to dance along for one song.
Although it was a fairly intimate crowd last night, there definitely seemed to be some POWERS fans in the house – looking around there were people singing and dancing along to song after song. POWERS played some of their hits such as Classic, Sunshine and Beat of My Drum. “You guys are amazing! We seriously had no idea what to expect, we were like there could be 5 people here. But thank you for listening to our music,” Ru said with a genuine gratitude after seeing the crowd dancing and singing along to track after track. POWERS set also included some of their new singles they’ve been trickling out (in preparation for the release of a full length album we hope) including Man on the Moon, Heavy and Dance. There is a pop sensibility to everything POWERS does, making for infectiously catchy, dancey, made for radio hits. It was impossible to pull yourself away from this set last night, Ru and Del Rio are so dynamic and engaging to watch on stage. Both Ru and Del Rio took turns hopping down in the crowd to dance and sing along with the crowd, something both the band and the audience seemed to enjoy every minute of it.
POWERS definetly New York attitude and sense of hustle and you can just tell watching their polished set, the hours of dedication, work and commitment they have put into this project. When they come back to Minneapolis, I could see them playing to a packed First Ave Mainroom!
POWERS was supported on tour by Vienna, Austria based James Hersey and Los Angeles based Nick Leng. Both Hersey and Leng played commanding sets, and seem to be artists poised for big things. We hope to see Hersey, Leng and POWERS back in Minneapolis very soon!
