The dark little niche of a Minneapolis venue that is 7th Street Entry was bustling Thursday, August 4th when we arrived at Fences’ first ever Minneapolis show.
The first thing I noticed was the crowd. I was surprised at the diversity that was in attendance; ages spanning from high school and college scenesters to middle aged couples were all there. Being the wallflower I tend to be at shows, I sat up on one of the benches that line the back wall of 7th Street Entry, but because the venue is so small, I had a clear view of the crowd, the band on the stage, and even the bar.
After the opening band, Fences took the stage. I recognized the members from just seeing them around the venue during the opening act – which is awesome. I understand that there are a lot of things bands have to get done before they play, but they automatically get a lot of respect points from me when I know that they took the time to see at least a song or two of the band playing before them. Speaking of respect, before the show we ran into Fences’ frontman, Christopher Mansfield. He gladly chatted with us a bit and helped us work out a technical issue we had run into with the venue. Hanging out with bands that willing to work with media and are genuinely nice guys? Yeah, it doesn’t get much better than that for this blogger.
And then they started playing. Fences does not disappoint. Their performance was like listening to the album – with the exception of the badass rock out session at the end of the show. There is something to be said for bands that can sound as awesome live as they do in the studio, but I really loved hearing them let loose for that rocked out last song they played. I really like the chill sound of Fences, much like I enjoy Death Cab for Cutie and other like groups, but what I really love about seeing those groups live is hearing them deviate from the album. I’m not saying that they’re repetitive, I’m absolutely not saying that they’re boring, I’m saying that it’s nice to hear them break out of that chill sound once in awhile and really rock. It doesn’t take away from their overall sound, nor does is it such a change that it’s startling in any way, the contrast actually makes the music of the whole show all the more interesting. Besides that, it makes their shows unpredictable and exciting.
All that being sad, should Fences stop at a venue near you, go check them out. They put on an excellent show. If you can’t make it to a show, at least give them a listen on your favorite music streaming website or stop by their MySpace page.
