I'll Be Your Badger

If I could use one word to describe my relationship with the Minneapolis band Tapes 'N Tapes it would have to be "elusive". It was around a year ago, somewhere post-SXSW, that I discovered them from their self-released debut LP The Loon. It seemed like for the next few months that this album was all I listened to on my iPod. And in the last year, try as I might, I missed every opportunity to see them live. That was true until Friday night rolled around and I had a ticket to see them at the Granada. Truth be told, I was in a rather sluggish mood from the drinking I had still not recovered from two nights before. But if there is one that you can count on from Tapes 'N Tapes is a high energy live show. They played many of the songs I grew to love from their first album as well as some highly anticipated songs from an upcoming release. One of the unique things I found out about the band that night is that their drummer, Karl Schweitz, seem to give the band's sound that added depth that makes them unique. I left that show full of energy and feeling great.

The first opening band was local band Red Monroe. While I found the band to alright, the vocalist was not at all appealing to me. Next up was the New York band Harlem Shakes. My first exposure to these guys was quite positive. To be honest, B and I were playing some impossible baseball games on the XBox (or whatever) during the opening bands. I'm not much for video games and this baseball game proved it to me once again as B beat me in every match. I'm going back to reviewing concerts.