Ceramic Animal Bring "Dad Rock" Swagger to Minneapolis

Last updated on August 25th, 2018 at 06:52 am

The 7th Street Entry became a hub for psychedelic rock fans on Wednesday night, boasting a roster of both local and national acts within the genre. Each one brought a different approach to the stage that made the night feel surprising at every turn.

First up was Minneapolis band Seafarer. The five-piece psych-rock group is a band creating a buzz in the Twin Cities – and rightfully so! Their sound has evolved constantly in the last year as they add members and fill out their rich sound. They are constantly evolving and reaching into the depths of psych-rock, and becoming a name to watch on the scene.

Next up is Minneapolis based psychedelic garage rockers Driftwood Pyre. They turned up their amps to the max and reminded us what grunge means with a loud and fast approach to rocking the crowd. Somehow, they worked in some very skillful tambourine as well.

Unexpected? Absolutely.

Awesome? Also, absolutely.

Finally, in signature uniform – Ceramic Animal took the 7th Street Entry stage in cream colored formal wear. The first guitar-heavy notes felt surprising coming from such a dapper crew. It was immediately clear that these guys were not messing around!

The band is touring in support of their latest release The Horse. Their music feels like a lush blend of 00’s pop-punk (a-la Arctic Monkeys), psychedelia, and elements from funk and old classic crooners. The band simply calls this “dad rock.”

The flow of the songs is constantly changing. For example, Tino starts with a western-style whistling that feels sinister and flows into poppy happy moments. Just when the audience grasped it, it changed into a guitar solo jam that went on for several minutes.

The night was filled with these moments. The crowd was drawn in by singer Erik Regan as he took a “not taking no for an answer” approach to getting the Entry up close and dancing. He’d even check in when he saw audience members getting lazy on him. He fed off that energy to deliver a Wednesday night party.