By McKenna Klaphake

On Thursday, September 28th, Minneapolis based psychedelic rock band Floodwater Angel hosted a full night of local music at the Turf Club in Saint Paul. As a reviewer, I love the Turf Club because it gives concertgoers a variety of ways to experience a show. You can have a much more personal experience and get as close to the stage as you want or you can have a more laid-back experience and grab a table to sit at in the back. I feel like this accommodates fans of all backgrounds, whereas at other venues you may only get a more singular experience. There’s really no bad spot in the house at the Turf Club. 

Magick Flavour Station kicked off the line up of talented artists and was followed by Dial Tone and RiGBY before Floodwater Angel headlined. Despite the microphones cutting out during each set, the performing artists brought palpable energy to the space as the crowd grew throughout the night.

Magick Flavour Station (MFS) is the musical project of Raymond Kostelecky, who gained my immediate attention as they approached the stage with a face full of what I would later learn was their signature stage makeup. Identifiable by a crucifix on their forehead, white face paint, dark eye makeup that gave the illusion of bloody tears, and skeleton-esque black lipstick, MFS began the show with self-described “lo-fi lullabies for college-aged cig smokers.” The artist was also accompanied by a stuffed animal rabbit named Max (according to their Instagram) that was tied to their microphone stand. 

MFS’s songs nod to Soundcloud music culture with backing tracks, simple chords, and emo lyrics. One of the pieces performed on Thursday night was “DrugsAreDone,” which Kostelecky stated was about “a troubled child who desires to do drugs every day in their room ‘cause they’re sad.” This again promotes MFS’s indie emo image with dark themes that are heard in their lyrics. MFS kept the audience on their toes as they would frequently scream or chaotically strum on their guitar at the end of the piece. 

In addition to their original tracks, MFS also covered Nirvana’s song, “Dumb.” The excellently executed tune was a great choice to perform as it brought in fans of the iconic band while also still showing new listeners of MFS who they are and the image they are trying to represent. 

Another highlight of MFS’s set was the song, “ShaveYourEyebrows,” whose title came from, “… the French tradition of shaving one’s eyebrows” stated Kostelecky. They went on to explain that when a couple was ready to wed they would shave their eyebrows and when the hair would finally grow back it was a sign that their love was strong enough to have children. If they could make it that long their relationship was considered everlasting. While I’m not sure if this was a real tradition, I think it was a great way to engage the audience and make us pay attention to the song, especially when it was prefaced by such an interesting story. Magick Flavour Station ended their set with more chaotic strumming and aptly screaming “Hail Satan!”

I have genuinely been waiting for months to finally see the band Dial Tone play. For a band that’s only been around for a little less than a year, they have been taking the local music scene by storm. Every photo from their shows display packed audiences going crazy for their music and once you see them perform live you’ll understand why. 

University of Minnesota students Cole Pivac (guitar), Henning Hanson (drums), and Daisy Forester (vocals/bass) make up the self-described pop punk band Dial Tone. The trio brought immense energy that was needed after the slower emo set of MFS. From the very beginning of the set you could tell that this band knew what they were doing. Dial Tone rarely left moments of silence as instrumentals lead each song into the next. Lead singer Forester displayed great crowd working skills as she encouraged the audience to move closer to the stage, discussed various songs, and plugged future content. This is such an important skill to have as it makes the down time spent tuning instruments in between songs feel less awkward. The band was synchronized and well practiced, even with their new material. It also helps that everyone in this band is extremely talented and that made me feel excited in anticipation waiting to hear what they would play next. Guitarist Pivac riffed through several fast paced powerful solos that left me amazed each time. 

Dial Tone had the crowd up and dancing as they played through their set of highly energetic and passionate pieces. They played their track, “No Harm,” which was written right before the band performed on their local college radio station, Radio K and their “Off the Record” series on YouTube. 

The band’s fierce and punchy beats were supported by truly fantastic vocals that sang through lyrics like, “It’s time you learned that it’s a woman’s world and I’m just a girl” from the song, “No Foul.” Ultimately, the highlight of Dial Tone’s set, outside of the extremely catchy tracks, was seeing how much fun the band was having on stage. Everyone was smiling and dancing through each track, which created a lively and frenzied feeling in the room that night. 

The band finished with their first official single, “Codependency.” The track was only released on September 15th and has already amassed more than 5,000 streams on Spotify. Dial Tone is currently crowdsourcing funding for their first album and I personally cannot wait for it to be released. 

The room had really begun to fill in as DIY punk band, RiGBY followed Dial Tone’s set. The band consists of Fay Dunkel (guitar), Kean Wilwerding (drums), Maude Lorr (vocals/bass), and Hana Mahli (vocals/bass). However, this show marked Wilwerding’s last show with the band. If I thought Dial Tone brought a lot of energy, RiGBY brought double that. The fast paced punk songs featured Dunkel, Lorr, and Mahli throwing their bodies around the stage as they played through each moment of perfected chaos. Drummer Wilwerding also mirrored the rest of the band’s energy as he started the set shirtless… which really tells you how the set is going to go. RiGBY has become well-respected among the local punk scene since they started in 2019. 

Guitarist Dunkel quickly strummed and riffed through each track as vocalists Lorr and Mahli switched between singing and playing the bass. They also supported each other with beautiful harmonies that added a captivating element to their songs. I have never seen members of a band split singing and playing bass as often as RiGBY did. I found it intriguing and thought it added a moment of surprise that kept me wondering who would sing next. Each vocalist brought their own personality to each piece but they were still uniformed under the image that is RiGBY and I find that very cool. 

My favorite song was “Shoulders Are Sexy,” which featured fiery vocals from Lorr calling out misogyny with the line, “We said you should feel pretty, but be careful what you wear because we’ll teach you how to cover up before we teach them not to stare.”

RiGBY shows us what punk music is all about. People from all backgrounds can get together and let out their frustrations at life, and their music serves to fuel that flame. RiGBY’s music is a form of catharsis as it gives listeners permission to let it all go. The heavy and grungy instrumentals had everyone in the crowd banging their heads along with the band. RiGBY finished with their most popular song, “Daisy,” which is featured on their 2021 album, We’re Dying. The band did a fantastic job at getting the audience excited for the headline act, Floodwater Angel. 

Floodwater Angel knows how to curate a show that is engaging from all angles. The band bombarded listeners senses with psychedelic rock while being surrounded by hazy smoke and colorful lights. Each member of the band brought their own aesthetic and vibe that individually added to the image of Floodwater Angel.

Consisting of Maddie Knorr (vocals/ guitar), Ivy Squier (vocals/guitar), Sam Tudor (drums), Q. LaFollette-James (vocals/bass), and Raymond Kostelecky (synthesizer, Magick Flavour Station) everyone brought immense skill and talent to Floodwater Angel’s set. 

This band is every modern hippie’s dream; the psychedelic synth beats mixed beautifully with more gritty rock guitar riffs. Floodwater Angel’s tracks are largely driven by instrumental pieces that truly highlight each artist. Particularly, I was blown away at the guitar solos from Knorr and the skillful way they set the mood of each track. The band played an equal mix of old and new songs, with my personal favorites being “Woolly Mammoth” and “Because of Winn-Dixie,” both of which can be heard on the bands 2023 album, Dungeon Crawlers. Floodwater Angel also debuted a few new tracks including, “Indigo Child” and “Ego Halo.”

Since most of the band’s music is heavily reliant on stellar instrumental breaks, there was an added level of communication necessary between all members that I loved to watch. The band was synchronized and silently communicating with each other in order to keep that up, which they executed perfectly. 

Floodwater Angel is unafraid to mess around with a variety of sounds, whether it’s a slower piece sung pristinely by Knorr, the celestial bells played by bassist Q while they sat on the floor, or the rock piece sung by guitarist Squier about being broke and transgender. Listeners are sure to find at least one Floodwater Angel song that they like.

The band had great banter with the audience, which similarly to Dial Tone, was an important aspect that added to the overall feeling surrounding them. I think especially with the kind of music that Floodwater Angel plays, it was even more important to have a good stage presence because maintaining a feeling of ease is crucial to their image. 

The show ended with guitarist Squier asking the audience, “Who wants to be famous? Who wants to die for art?” and everyone in the crowd fanatically screaming “I DO!” The last piece exploded with energy and lots of use of the whammy bar. 

I’d like to think that being alive in the 60’s for the height of psychedelic rock was exactly like attending Floodwater Angel’s show now in 2023. While that’s probably far from true, I think the band got me as close to experiencing that feeling as I will ever get. Floodwater Angel expertly crafted a line up of talented local musicians that, I believe, are only going to keep getting better.