The Amherst trio had towers of amps stacked up all over the stage, including one that was pointed directly towards front man J Mascis, in case his monitors weren’t providing him enough of his own guitar sound. And not having enough sound has never really been a problem for the group, and it certainly wasn’t on this evening as the band tore through a fiery 90 minute set that spanned the band’s entire career.

One of the perils of playing Minneapolis’ 7th St. Entry is that there is only a thin wall separating the tiny club from the First Avenue Mainroom, leading to a fair amount of noise bleed from some of the louder acts. And as far as noise goes, Wednesday night’s imbalance between Dinosaur Jr. (Mainroom) and a three band female folk lineup (the Entry) was about as large a gulf as there is. However, even though whenever the door opened the ladies were drowned out by J. Mascis’ screaming guitar; they still put on an admirably lovely show.

Much like the CD, the show ended up being just fine, but I couldn’t help but feeling a little bit underwhelmed from this much hyped about group.

Photo coverage of STNNNG at Minneapolis’ 501 Club.

Photo coverage of Chooglin’, Falcon Crest & Ron Franklin at St. Paul’s Turf Club.

When bands have a debut record as dramatic and far reaching as Fanfarlo’s excellent Reservoir, you are always at risk for a letdown when you see the songs performed in the live setting. Luckily for the surprisingly full Triple Rock Social Club Wednesday night, Fanfarlo met and exceed any expectations with a thrilling 50 minute set.

For a band whose first album I really liked, Art Brut’s shtick has worn a little thin and exposed a band that’s seemingly repeating the same joke over and over.

Photo coverage of White Rabbits, the Digs & Glass Ghost at Minneapolis’ Cedar Cultural Center.

Photo coverage of Mount Eerie and Lucy Michelle at Minneapolis’ Bedlam Theatre.

Photo coverage of the Black Heart Procession & Bellini at Minneapolis’ 400 Bar.

Photo and video coverage of Pinback and Joe Jack Talcum at Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater.

Austin, Texas is widely called the live music capital of the world and continually boasts a very well regarded music scene. Last Wednesday night Minneapolis was able to see two examples of the prowess that the city has to offer when White Denim and Brazos rolled into the city for a show at the 400 Bar.