It was a hard night for many of us heading to the Amsterdam bar in downtown Saint Paul; Here we were – marching into a final show of, in my opinion, the best local act in Minneapolis since 2019. I ordered a couple shots of tequila and cheers’d the Skeleton Man and the the idea of my favorite group calling it a day.
It was hard to adjust to this new reality as I walked into the venues music space; taking a deep breath as I navigated the crowd while simultaneously catching a first glance at Good Morning Bedlam.
Good god, Good Morning Bedlam blew me away; a band that presents as a folk one (banjo, fiddle, you name it) had quite a heavy heart and a heavy punch at times. Their bass was upright and alright as it carried a band that startled me – how have I not heard of them yet? Their vocals are amazing and their stage presence was just as admirable; hats off to these folks
Second up we had another great local act that I am quite familiar with: Careful Gaze. Careful Gaze really has my attention now as they are almost a pop-punk band without the teen angst lyrics that would make it something old. Instead, their sound is quite fresh as well as rejuvenating as their power sound and enchanting vocals were something special. Coyote Kid.The first time I covered these guys and gal I wasn’t sure what to expect – or what to write about. Previewing their show back in 2020 had my scrounging the web for some background and context: who were these people?
Coyote Kid is a big deal; and is very important to me and my writing journey as they were the first local act I befriended. When I first wrote about them I was still shaking in fear of Durry’s (frontman) ghostly yet western vocals; a story truly unfolded in every song of theirs. It didn’t matter which album or which song – I truly loved all of it and I was hearing it live for the last time.
Ugh.
The songs are all amazing, but (much to match the bands vibe and departure) “Strange Days” really stands out. You see – I found Coyote in February of 2020; a few weeks later some strange fricking days erupted with Covid and the shutdowns; “Strange Days” was one of my top songs in 2020 on Spotify.
Coyote Kid killed it as usual; and the crowd was packed in tight by the time they were playing their last few songs. They cried – we cried. They played – we sang along. Where Coyote Kid goes we went – until now.
So it ended as it usually does – they wrapped up their set and we went back to life. As I left the venue with “Prowler” still stuck in my head – I realized I was now entering a new world. Not a new world without Coyote Kid – they aren’t going anywhere in terms of finding their music and whatnot; but rather a world without their shows and perhaps, ever again, new music. We can only sit in wonder and sadness for now, but a tear of joy for the fact we got to experience such an amazingly haunting and beautifully local act
To the fans: cheers to our times together.
To the band: just simply Thank You. For everything.