Justin Bailey
For the last few years, Go 95.3 & Go 96.3’s #GoShow concerts have been one of the most popular event series in the Twin Cities. With performers such as Wiz Khalifa, Bastille, Tech N9ne, The Wombats, and AWOLNation, as well as performances by up-and-comers like Yam Haus, Buddy, K.Flay, and Donna Missal, the series has been a sort of “who’s who” of the music industry.
The latest iteration of the series took place Friday night and was an intimate performance at the newest First Avenue property, Fine Line Music Cafe. The featured artist was the rowdy, SoCal surf-punks known as FIDLAR.
Go Radio’s Zach McCormick writes, “FIDLAR burst onto the scene like a bat out of hell in 2011 with the release of their charming, scuzzy EP DIYDUI and quickly gained a rep for unhinged live shows and catchy, 2-minute blasts of lyrics about cheap beer, skateboarding, and living like there’s no tomorrow.”
“The band’s self-titled full-length debut in 2013 catapulted the band straight from the garage into the national spotlight, and 2015‘s follow up Too expanded the band’s sound to include big ’90s alt-rock hooks and lyrics about growth and recovery.”
Now, fresh off the release of their third full-length album, Almost Free, feeling a little more mellow but still as abrasive as ever, FIDLAR made their way to Minneapolis, Minnesota to support a radio station who’s Program Director, Christy Taylor, has been supporting them for as long as they’ve been around.
Opening the show was local garage-punks France Camp, a band who has built a bit of a reputation for themselves in the Twin Cities due to their energetic, and, at times, frantic live shows, more often than not resulting in a trail-of-destruction left in its wake.
My immediate reaction to their half-hour set was simply, “Well, they certainly live up to their reputation!”
Running around on stage, taking clothes off, jumping into the crowd and playing a guitar solo in the middle of a mosh pit; these guys are about as high-energy as it comes, and my only recommendation is making sure your accident insurance is up-to-date before they come through your venue!
Closing out the night, of course, was FIDLAR, and they wasted no time at all getting down to business. The crowd was already bursting at the seams but completely erupted as the band stepped onstage and launched into the angst-filled track “Cheap Beer.”
Lead-singer, Zac Carper, took a moment about halfway through the show to thank everyone for coming out. He also thanked Go 96.3 for supporting their music and putting on the event that night. “None of this would be possible without the work of the people at Go 96, remember that!”
Performing for a little over an hour, the band constructed a masterful setlist, spending time on the high-points of their first two records while mixing in a healthy amount of the stuff from Almost Free. The show was pure energy from start to finish and was exactly what the sold-out crowd at Fine Line wanted.
Once again, Go 95.3/96.3’s ability to put together one impressive show after another shined through last night, as I’m sure it will for years to come. If you haven’t made it out to one of their #GoShow’s yet, you are missing out on some incredible performances by some truly amazing bands.
Keep up to date on the things they are cooking up over on their website.
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