What started out as a cool show lineup turned into a benefit show celebrating the life of Eric Barnes, (AKA Edgar Burn). With 100% of the proceeds from the show and drinks going to the Barnes family, this benefit show was a complete success and showed how the Mankato community supports their own. Not only was The What’s Up full, but the Oleander Saloon was full as well so thank you to all of those that came out to show their support! To those of you wanting to know more of the story, HERE is an article written in the Mankato Free Press.
After talking with the many people that I knew supporting this show as I made my way to the front, LowRay took to the stage first after a quick announcement thanking all of those in attendance. LowRay had a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers sound to them and I certainly enjoyed their set. It was the fullest I had seen The What’s Up in a while as they played and most of the crowd was singing along with the band. This being the first time I had seen them, I didn’t know the songs, but would really like to see these guys live again. LowRay was a great band to open up the show!
The next band up was Porcupine. It was suggested that I check these guys out by one of my other photographer friends, which was the entire reason I decided to cover the show a few weeks back. I have to say, he was totally right. Porcupine really hit the stage with a ton of energy and songs that had the crowd dancing along from the start. On any other night this would have been an over the top fun night, but there was a sadness that still hung in the air even though people were having a good time. During the show, as they had the entire night, there were many people hugging and consoling each other. Porcupine did a great job keeping the spirits up, however, and their hour long set was played to a full house!
Closing out the show was Rad Owl. As the only band I’ve seen previously, I knew to expect a killer show from them. They certainly didn’t disappoint. They went on a little later than I would have liked, but many of the people in attendance stayed for the show. While it started out full, the numbers dwindled after the first handful of songs. They still had the energy and stage presence that I had remembered though. Each song was hard hitting and kept the crowd moving throughout their set. Rad Owl ended a night of great music for an even better cause. It wouldn’t have been such a success without the support of all the bands that played.
As always, get out and support live performances and I’ll see you out there.
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