The Sounds take a bite out of Winter at the Fine Line

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The first night of winter hit Minneapolis on Friday. A dusting of snow was on the ground, the hazard lights of accidents sparkled on roads, the Fine Line’s door men huddled inside the entrance for warmth and the venue’s coat check opened to brisk business. It seemed only fitting that the show’s headliner hailed from Sweden – The Sounds were in town celebrating the 10 year anniversary if their album “Dying to say this to you”.

Opening the night was Austin’s My Jerusalem. Singer Jeff Klein greeted the crowd with the words: “You can come closer to the stage, or I can come out to you, and that’s much worse”. Their rocking sound and Klein’s deep resonant voice pulled them in quite effectively. The band paid homage to Prince with a picture of him (you know the one in his underwear) and with a toss of the drumsticks their short set came to an end. I for one quite enjoyed it.
Set List: Leather / Torture / Belly / Done-Dusted / Rabbit / No One / Dominoes

Zipper Club took the stage next. I had heard one song from them and knew very little but that was enough to put them on my radar. I was surprised how much I liked them. They are working on their debut album. Their sound is for lack of a better word “New Wavy”. The vocals on “Save the Night” reminded me a bit of the B-52s, their intros are synthy and cool and Lissy Trullie’s bass drives their sound like nobody’s business. Their lights include lasers that project on the background. The thick smoke laid down by the Fine Line and the lasers diffused light like crazy, which made photographs quite a challenge. I loved their set and am very much looking forward to their album.
Set List: Save the Night / Tick Tock / Paralyzed / Small Town / Unholy / Breath / Going the Distance / Regrets

The only way you could tell that The Sounds’ album was released 10 years ago was by the average age of the crowd – there were plenty of couples out on dates. Merch sales were bustling (always a good sign). A little homage to Sweden was the intro “Anthem” from the musical written by Bjorn of Abba.
The 5-piece of Maja Ivarsson, Félix Rodríguez, Johan Bengtsson, Jesper Anderberg, and Fredrik Blond started their set with a bang and did not slow down. Ivarsson is a force of nature, moving all over the stage, getting the crowd involved, pointing, jumping and keeping everyone’s eyes glued on her. During an audience participation bit she called out: “Boys! Show Momma what you got!”. She slowed down for “Night after Night” that brought out a few actual lighters in the crowd.
After playing the record in its entirety the sound performed some newer material and of course their hits. Those Swedes put on one heck of a show and walking back to my car, the air did not feel quite as cold and I could swear most of the snow around the Fine Line had melted.
Set List: Song with a Mission / Queen of Apology / Tony the Beat / 24 Hours / Painted by Numbers / After the Night / Ego / Hurt You / Much too long / Running out of Turbo / No-One Sleeps / 4 Songs and a Fight / Thrill / Best of Me / Shake, Shake, Shake / Living in America / Outlaw / Dorchester Hotel Encore: Rock N’Roll / Hope you’re Happy Now

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