Renee Jones
7th St Entry filled up shoulder to shoulder for a weeknight concert. The talented line-up featured local musicians from Minneapolis and Rochester coming together in three musical projects called Fires of Denmark, The Misdemeanors, and Jae Havoc.
Fires of Denmark led the show with the headlining last slot. They brought such an amazingly unique performance with their ability to loop sounds on stage while singing, playing guitar, trumpet, bass, and synth machines altogether.
The Misdemeanors set up the party by playing feel-good songs of different genres from their vast variety of musical backgrounds. Jae Havoc opened up the night with an energetic and powerful performance.
7th St Entry is an excellent venue for its intimate stage, great drinks, and countless famous and up-and-coming bands who have performed. They required proof of vaccination or a negative covid test, which took the pressure off the fears of the looming pandemic.
The bands expressed gratitude for seeing faces and getting to be around people again. The entire show felt celebratory.
Jae Havoc
Jae Havoc opened up the night but he certainly could have closed out the night with his endless energy and passion. He kept things real and honest in a way that was empowering and built upon the friendly atmosphere lingering around the venue that night.
He brought up difficult issues but then always offered a positive spin on the future. Chanting about things covid has stolen from him and other musicians but then somehow laughing and making it all feel like a release instead of tension we were all holding onto.
“I will make it to First Ave!!” His exclamations of a positive future were exciting. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t on that stage in the future.
He also brought a few synth-heavy, alternative songs to the set. As a forever fan of alt-rock, I am thrilled to see a hard, fast song.
The Misdemeanors
The Misdemeanors got everyone dancing immediately upon taking the stage and playing. They had an eclectic retro rock feel to their music. The place was packed and the audience enthusiastically cheered for them after every song.
They crammed their seven members on stage but looked very comfortable with each other. Cool and confident, they danced carelessly through their performance. Despite releasing separate material, they switched music genres easily to each musicians’ current new song, sharing the spotlight.
Frank Heaney sang, played keys, and guitar. He had a great voice and I can’t wait to hear more music in the future. He just released the song “Buggin Out” here.
Patrick McCarthy sang and played trumpet. You can find his music here under the name Freaky Pat. He had an easy way of talking to the crowd and setting the party tone.
The band was fun to watch perform as they changed up their sound quite a bit. Some of the songs were alt-rock, folk, other times pop. Believe it or not, the vocal styles ranged from rap-rock to pop as well.
Jasmine Eden certainly stole the show with her singing and dancing. Her vocals were playful and sweet, sounding like a modern twist to the ’90s alt-pop and RnB female artists.
Her upbeat and sassy new song “PMGO” is available here.
The electric chemistry between members, whether known or not, was catchy and led to a feel-good atmosphere. Their music has a punchy beat and the trumpet and saxophone peak the performance.
They slowed things down though the crowd was still in party mode. It was hard to get it quiet and they played their new songs with the chatter anyway.
A couple of songs later, Frank took the lead and played a fast song that pumped everyone up again. They finished out their set only to hear cheers for more songs, which they happened to have time for a fun funk cover of “No Scrubs”.
Fires of Denmark
Fires of Denmark took the stage after years of coffee shops, bars, and maybe one awkward background dinner gig years ago as a solo act. This night at 7th St was a true testimony to working hard and not giving up through the quiet or hard times.
Never losing steam, Fires of Denmark is always creating something new and collaborating with local musicians. This time it’s with a crisp new album releasing next week, and new talent rounding out the sound and on-stage performance.
The addition of The Technical Imperfections to Fires of Denmark has resulted in an exceptional album with fuller vocals, upbeat melodies, and pondering out the heavy and not-so-simple theme of time. These new features add to the familiar sound of Fires of Denmark making this album an impressive third.
The new talent includes Bass Druid on percussion, bass, and trumpet, Chris Kostelec from Mottle on the modular synths, guitar, and overall magic, Nick Samson on the 808, and Terrill’s life partner, Sheila on percussion, who is self-taught from years of having their own in-house music production studio.
The performance started mysteriously with the lights suddenly shut off and a slow ramp-up of synth. Then jumping right in with his all, Michael Terrill starts singing and moving about the stage quickly.
It went by fast in a fascinating experience of looping sounds and a complete sensory shower of sounds and sights. Michael Terrill’s vocal effects stretch over the multiple layers happening on stage.
Jae Havoc joined Fires of Denmark on stage for a song. It was truly exciting to see them on stage together, something I’ve dreamed of since I heard their first collaboration on “Come Up”.
Halfway through the performance, Terrill puts on a disco-ball like jacket that catches the light with every movement, continuing to expand the performance visually.
Terrill had nearly unmatched energy and persona on stage. His openness and unpredictability on stage opened space for the audience to dance and feel; letting the music infiltrate our senses and our thoughts. The audience was a large mix of fans and first-timers, which can be typical for 7th St Entry shows.
Terrill bent all the way to the floor as he sang, leaning into the music and letting it take hold of him.
Throughout the show, more concertgoers come to the floor, intrigued by what’s happening on stage. After years of accessible music in our homes, an eccentric and thrilling live performance certainly cemented a night out as necessary.
Synth-noise song “Either/Or” stands out in the performance. In addition to getting our attention, the long stretching lyrics shake up our thinking. A trumpet sang out to lead us further in the journey.
Terrill jumped onto the floor and performed a thrilling guitar solo. He climbed back on stage to add more looping, leaving his guitar laying there on the floor as if to continue the act itself.
Catchy new song “Miles Above You” unknowingly concluded their performance adding to the mystique. It ends abruptly, leaving us wanting more.
Relativity Release on November 13th
Relativity is the 3rd full-length album for Fires of Denmark as mentioned before. Stand-out songs are “Start Living Outside of Time” and “Miles Above You”.
The album as a whole seems more self-assured and confident as it was built on Fires of Denmark’s stand-alone style to produce something stronger.
If you make it through the end of the last track, with the brilliant line “coming down fast but I’m miles above you” – Time, is that you? – there may be an unexpected treasure for the ears.
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