Jeremy Messersmith makes new Friends at the 7th St. Entry
Caroline Smith. Photo by Stacy Schwartz.
Three bands, three completely different sets, and a very sold-out crowd: the 7th St. Entry was the place to be Saturday night for a showcase of promising local talent. And the fact that the place was packed from start to finish should speak to the increasing popularity of opener Caroline Smith & the Goodnight Sleeps, who had people standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of the petite songstress in person.
Smith commanded the room with her unique, striking voice, which cut through the din of the club and kept most of the people closer to the stage quiet. Bearing a strong resemblance in tone to fellow warbler Jolie Holland, Smith exhibited great control as she swooped from note to note. Her music is beautiful in its simplicity: a style of delicate, lighthearted folk, the sparse instrumentation was the perfect backdrop to her mesmerizing voice.
Jessica Seamans of Best Friends Forever. Photo by Stacy Schwartz.
Middle act Best Friends Forever are a band that no one should listen to but everyone should go see live at least once. Fronted by real-life best friends Jessica Seamans and Briana Smith (midway through the set, Seamans joked that this was "an evening of Smiths," with Caroline Smith and Jeremy Messersmith rounding out the trend), the group played keyboard-driven indie rock that can only be described as quirky.
Smith took on most of the vocal duties, dancing spastically as she pounded on the keys and yelped out melodies in a semi-tuneful manner. Seamans played bass and shouted out harmonies, occasionally picking up a plastic recorder and playing it into her microphone. The songs were usually out of tune and really grated on the ear as the set wore on, but Smith and Seamans were having such a blast on stage that the audience smiled and nodded along anyway.
Messersmith's set was a welcome change of pace. Dressed like he had arrived straight from 1984, he came out with only one backing musician, Andy Thompson, who played guitar and a variety of little keyboards and xylophones. The audience responded to Messersmith's hushed vocal melodies and soft songs by staying almost silent, making it easy to get lost in some of his more sentimental tunes.
My personal favorites were "Beautiful Children," a heartbreaking breakup song with a terribly sad punchline that brought a knot to the back of my throat, and Messersmith's cover of the Replacements' "Skyway," which I first heard him play on the exact same stage over a year ago at Jim Walsh's Replacements: All Over But the Shouting book release party. Messersmith dedicated the latter song to Walsh, saying that he would have never even heard it if not for the local oral historian and writer's 'Mats book.
Andy Thompson. Photo by Stacy Schwartz.
It's hard to say if anyone, including Messersmith, expected the show to sell out, but looking around the room during the show it was clear that this local songwriter is becoming increasingly popular; Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts was in the audience, as was Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson, who produced Messersmith's latest album. And nearly everyone who waited in line at the beginning of the night to get into the sold-out show hung on until the very last note, a testament to Messersmith's ability to keep a room at rapt attention with the power of a finely-crafted song.
5 comment(s) / Post a Comment
I wasn't at this show, but Best Friends Forever have sounded great and in-tune every time I've seen them. They sound fantastic on record as well. To say that no one should listen to them is ridiculous. They get plenty of love for their musicality and not just because they're fun people on stage.
"My Head in Front of Your Head," "Handpocket," "Ghost Song," "Eisenhower"; these are all masterfully written quite consonant pop songs that sound great to these ears, as well as many others.
Posted On: Monday, Jan. 12 2009 @ 2:56PMI'll admit I took a little liberty with the rhetoric in that sentence. I personally found their songs to be grating, and that opinion was echoed by the people standing around me at the show. But you're right, that doesn't mean that there aren't ANY people out there who will dig it.
Posted On: Monday, Jan. 12 2009 @ 3:13PM"Smith took on most of the vocal duties, dancing spastically as she pounded on the keys and yelped out melodies in a semi-tuneful manner. Seamans played bass and shouted out harmonies, occasionally picking up a plastic recorder and playing it into her microphone. The songs were usually out of tune and really grated on the ear as the set wore on, but Smith and Seamans were having such a blast on stage that the audience smiled and nodded along anyway."
sounds about right
Posted On: Monday, Jan. 12 2009 @ 4:31PMyeah i have seen them so many times i really cant count i can admit that people coming to hear messersmith might not be in the mood for their brand of fun but im a huge fan of both of them and this would have been the best show ever if i could have gone (sold out)
Posted On: Monday, Apr. 27 2009 @ 8:43PM
