I have a sneaking suspicion my grave stone will read: “Here lies Markus the Clueless, he want to many awesome shows that he did not know a thing about”. That was once again the case last night. The show was pitched to us by Timeflies PR rep, I had time available, I like the Skyway, why the heck not……
The first opener was NYC’s Baby Raptors started by Brooklyn artist Tora. They got an early start and by the time I got to the venue, their set was well underway. I got to listen from the box office while waiting for my press pass and only caught the last song in person. From my brief impression, a couple of images I took, and the enthusiasm of the crow, I believe I missed out on a very energetic and fun set. But Baby Raptors will certainly be on my list to look out for the next time they will be in town.
Up next, and also from NYC was Bryce Vine. He had recently released a video for “Drew Barrymore” starring Christian Serratos that got a lot of attention. He is still working on this debut album, but Entertainment Weekly called him one of “eight artists who will rule 2018.”. Seeing him perform live and connect with fans at the Skyway, I agree with that call. His style is rap, but pulls in other genres for a fun, energetic vibe.and creates a chemistry with the audience.
Despite my ignorance of them, Timeflies has enjoyed quite a bit of success since their start in 2010 with plenty of top 10 singles and albums as well as numerous songs featured on TV and movies. So the crowd was a lot more diverse than I expected. There were some bros in dress shirts in the front row and a few folks in their 30s sprinkled in the crowd. Not judging (being very old myself, just ask my knees in the morning) I just had expected a younger “party” crowd. After an intro that went from the Jacksons “ABC” to Mozart’s Requiem Rob Resnick took his place behind the keys and Cal Shapiro pretty much stormed on stage.
What followed was a set that got even the sleepiest audience member dancing and energized. It had been a while since Timeflies had been in the Twin Cities (the last time it was in a van) but they recalled the Skyway quite favorably. Not so favorably? The lovely Minnesota Spring snowfall outside. They simply declared it summer inside and last night was the first day of July for everyone 🙂
Overall it was a fun show, with 3 “new to me” artists that I absolutely would go see again.
