The Haves Definitely Do Have It

*ahem* it's The Haves Have It

Very few bands can claim that their club debut was at the 7th Street Entry on a Saturday night. But then again, very few bands actually deserve that honor. Every once in a while, however, the scene jumps on the opportunity to take on something completely fresh and original. The Haves Have It presented the opportunity, and the crowd at the Entry last night eagerly snatched it up.

Excluding last night, The Haves Have It’s sole performance was at a house party in May. Apparently, all the right people were in attendance at the party because word of their electrifying show spread like wildfire. So even though only a select few people actually knew what The Haves Have It sounded like, word-of-mouth was strong enough that curious people came out in droves for their Entry debut. I was really impressed by the turnout. I mean, even when big national acts come through, the Entry is usually empty during the first opener’s set. And the people that do come early enough are usually too shy to stand on the dance floor. Amazingly, The Haves Have It didn’t have to do any wrangling of the audience; multitudes of people showed up at 10:00 sharp, ready to rock.

Now, something must be said about the sexism that is forever ingrained in our society. Even the forward-thinking people who frequent the Entry don’t expect cute girls in skirts to produce some of the hardest-hitting music that the Twin Cities have to offer. I think that is why the collective jaw of the audience dropped immediately as The Haves Have It dove into their first song. The Haves Have It blasted us into a state of fervent bliss. Shit, they rocked! Throughout the night, I heard comparisons to Babes in Toyland and The Soviettes. Those comparisons, although inevitable, are completely inaccurate. The Haves Have It are truly in a league of their own. And with a completely straight face, I’ll assert that The Haves Have It are the most exciting thing to be birthed out of the Twin Cities in 2005.

The Haves Have It


Jenn and Dustin


Portia

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, some other bands also played last night. After The Haves Have It, we were treated to The Shim Sham Shufflers, a tap-dancing crew consisting of three ladies and a fog machine. I’m glad I didn’t blink because after one song, they were gone, just like that. Short but sweet.

And then Oddjobs…oops, I mean, Kill the Vultures. So here’s the story: Oddjobs formed here in 1996, and then after a while, they moved to New York. But after discovering that the East Coast hip-hop scene had nothing on the Midwest scene, they moved back, updated their sound, and changed their name to Kill the Vultures. So yeah, I guess it’s technically a different group. They seem to have a heavier edge to them now, which I thought went over well last night. I’m just left with one comment: what’s up with their album art? That’s the most confusing illustration of a…vulture…I have ever seen. I’ve been staring at it for hours, from many different angles, trying to make sense of it. Could somebody please help me out?

huh?


Kill the Vultures

For a second there, I thought I was going to go through the entire month of July without seeing Vox Vermillion. Thank goodness I didn’t. They topped off an incredibly diverse night of remarkable music. Vox found themselves, once again, without a drummer. No problem; it gave them the opportunity to experiment a little. They added a guitar player (Justin from Clair de Lune), and Ollie (the bass player) programmed some beats in his Powerbook. For a few songs, as Emily traded in her Cello for a Roland, Kelsey was able to step away from her piano and strut around the stage like the rock star she is. The experimentation worked especially well for their song “Controller,” which almost had a disco feel to it and had the audience dancing and clapping along.


Vox Vermillion

As an added bonus, I met a lot of really cool people at the show, including Kim, the bassist from my SXSW favorites, Shearwater. She recently moved up to the Twin Cities from Austin. Does this mean that we can claim Shearwater as a local band? Hope so.

Anyway, last night’s show was solid! I extend my apologies to anyone who missed it. But don’t worry, you can catch The Haves Have It next month: Friday, August 12 at the Triple Rock. They’ll be playing with Doris Henson and Tin Horns. Rush over to your calendar and mark it immediately.