08.05.23 – Photos and Review by Rebecca Ackerman

Tucked away in the corner of the bar, the stage at Turf Club lends itself as an intimate setting for live music and beginning at 8:30pm on August 5th, four acts took to that stage. Before the music began attendees were chatting amongst themselves at the bar and tables. To be honest, I was afraid that everyone would stay at their seats, but as soon as the music started a crowd of people migrated over to the stage.

Opening the show was singer-songwriter Haley Blais, who also performed later that night as the bassist with her band, Babe Corner. Hailing from Vancouver, Blais has been releasing music since 2016 and embarked on her first solo tour in 2018. She has opened for bands like Peach Pit, The Beaches, and The Greeting Committee and starting in September will go on tour supporting Tommy Lefroy.

Blais stepped onstage with her blue guitar in hand and took her place sitting in a chair at center stage. She noted that her guitar was borrowed from one of her Babe Corner bandmates and that the strap was broken, which explained the sitting. Starting off with “Baby Teeth,” Blais’ gentle guitar strumming and lyrics brought a sense of nostalgia to the atmosphere. Blais’ music brings life to the mundane. 

In the middle of her set, Blais mentioned how doing solo sets exposes that she really only uses the same three chords for every song and that became the running joke and interjection going forward. Blais worked her way through the set singing songs such as “Survivor’s Guilt” and “coolest fucking bitch in town.” It took the crowd a few songs to warm up, but by the end they were all singing and dancing along. 

After Blais’ set, the crowd followed a similar pattern of returning to their seats for drinks and coming back up to the stage once the music started again. Next up was local Minneapolis band, Bathtub Cig. They started as a band in the spring of 2017 and consist of lead singer Hilary James, drummer Dave Power, guitarist Jordan Bleau, and bassist Adelyn Strei who also sang harmony. Much of their music touches on topics of depression and mental health. 

They started off with a few of their slower songs, “Sepia” and “i wanna believe” and I noticed that during this part of their set they had someone playing the flute, which was probably the first time I’ve ever seen someone play the flute at a live show. That inclusion felt incredibly unique and makes me hope that more bands start to incorporate flutes and clarinets into their performances.

Bathtub Cig’s set picked up for a moment and then returned to what James refers to as the “grief corner” of the set. James spoke about personal topics like breaking up with their partner, their mom dying, and emphasized how important chosen family is. Their set felt very personal and I left feeling as if I got an up close look into who they are as a band and James as a person. 

By far the biggest crowd of the night was for Babe Corner. Blais returned to the stage to join her band mates; lead singer Lindsay Sjoberg, keyboardist Alli Deleo, and drummer Jess Jones. The Vancouver band’s alt-rock sound is reminiscent of HAIM and Mitski. They opened the show with “Summer Slaughter,” “Bianca,” and “Bone Dry Dunes.” The chemistry between the four of them was unparalleled and the best of the night. It seemed as if they were genuinely having so much fun doing what they loved and playfully interacted with each other on stage. 

Right before playing “Crybaby,” Sjoberg mentioned that that song was about losing her mother, and that it happened to be the 8-year anniversary of her mom passing away. The crowd cheered her on and sang with her throughout the song as an act of support. 

Their next song, “Caught on the Double,” was clearly the crowd favorite and the loudest I heard them the entire night. Closing out with “Cigarette,” Babe Corner commanded the stage. I would’ve been satisfied with leaving after that, but there was still one more band on the bill for the night.

Another local Minneapolis band, Present Company’s modern indie music and dramatic performance was one to watch. Christian Nelson, Eddie Chisham, Seth Lemmon, and Berin Joseph make up this band. It was their last show of the summer and they put everything they had into it. Complete with over dramatic dance moves and writhing on the ground, Present Company really feels the music they’re performing. 

Their set included songs “Normal,” “Hold Me,” and an unreleased song titled “Just Let It In.” Each song reminded me of a mix of early 80’s rock and 2000’s music. On the topic of fun instruments to have at your show, Present Company brought along a cowbell that was used multiple times. I feel like you can’t go wrong when including a cowbell and every time it was played the crowd absolutely loved it.

They concluded the night with “It’s Not Looking Good” which had the crowd screaming along all the way from the front of the stage to the high-top tables at the bar. Their local following in Minneapolis came out strong to hear them perform live. It was a great way to close out a hot summer night. 

All of the acts really brought the energy to Turf Club. However, while they were all great, I think the show would’ve been better either starting earlier or only having two or three acts because many people had already left by the time Present Company’s set started, as it was already 10:45pm by then. If you have a chance to see any of these acts in the upcoming months, I would highly recommend all of them.