The Interrupters Blow The Roof Off The Varsity

About four years ago, I was working as a pizza delivery driver in my hometown. I was a college dropout, living at home, and working over sixty hours a week. During this time, I discovered a station on the Sirius XM radio in my car called Faction. The main draw for me was Jason Ellis’s daily talk show, but I listened to this channel almost religiously because it was one of the only punk rock/alternative stations on the service.

One night at about 1:30 AM while I was out on a delivery, the song “Take Back The Power” by a then little known band called The Interrupters came on. I vividly remember sitting at a stoplight, hating every second of my daily existence, listening to Aimee Allen scream the lyrics through my radio and feeling nothing but pure adrenaline.

Aimee Interrupter The Interrupters Varsity Theater Minneapolis MN April 3rd 2019 — Photo Credit: Justin Bailey

We all yearn to go back in time and listen to our favorite songs or watch our favorite TV series again for the first time. Of course, we can’t do that, but a truly great song can make you feel that way every single time you hear it, or at least bring back vivid memories of the first time you did hear it, and “Take Back The Power” is one of those songs for me.

That song and The Interrupters, in general, will always be associated with the period of time I decided to get my shit together and, in a sense, take back the power. So, as you can imagine when the band announced their April 3rd show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, I jumped at the chance to see one of my favorite bands at my favorite Twin Cities venue.

I quickly realized that I was not the only person in the Twin Cities excited to see The Interrupters on Wednesday night, because the show was completely sold out and was packed tighter than I had ever seen The Varsity before.

Surrounded by a sea of black jean jackets, spiked mohawks, and enough sweat to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool, I made my way to the front of the venue just as the second opening act, Masked Intruder, was wrapped up their set.

After a relatively brief changeover, the lights dimmed and the crowd absolutely erupted. Wednesday nights performance was The Interrupters first-ever headlining performance in the Twin Cities, and the crowd let loose all the pent up energy they have stored over the last five years.

A surprise for me was the band performing their song “Take Back The Power” very early in the set, meaning I was still up in the photo pit during the performance. It was a real moment of gratification for me, and how far I am from sitting at a stop light delivering pizzas just four years ago. I had to remind myself a few times that I needed to actually be taking photos instead of just standing and watching in complete awe.

Performing more than twenty songs during a set that lasted well over an hour, The Interrupters highlighted fan-favorites from all three of their albums, and took plenty of opportunities to thank the Twin Cities for their lasting support, as well as promising multiple times that they would not be waiting very long to come back for another show.

As I was leaving the venue, I didn’t see a single person who didn’t have a giant smile across their face, myself included. It was an incredible night of punk rock at one of the best venues in the Twin Cities, and I know I’m not alone in counting down the days until we are graced with the presence of this incredible band once again.

The Interrupters Setlist – April 3, 2019, at Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN