The Whole Is Now!

Thunderbirds Are Now!

I gotta give props to The Whole. When Coffman Union reopened, The Whole looked like a hospital kitchen. It definitely wasn’t inviting, cozy, or intimate, as The Whole’s homonym would imply. These days, with the interesting paint job, the murals, the posters, the chalk graffiti, and the comfortable furniture, The Whole is starting to look like a one-of-a-kind rock club. On top of that, they’ve started to host high profile bands on a regular basis. The fact that Doris Henson and Thunderbirds Are Now! traveled all the way from Kansas City and Detroit, respectively, to play The Whole on October 14th says a great deal about venue’s improved health.

The Nina, The Pinta! opened the show (hmm…two exclamation point bands on the same bill). Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that The Nina, The Pinta! used to be called We Kidnap Frisone This Afternoon, but their singer moved away, and when they found a new one, they renamed themselves after the Santa Maria’s cronies. Their post-hardcore guitars were cool, but the screamo vocals were a little more than I could handle.


The Nina, The Pinta!

Doris Henson was the highlight of the night. Their sly rock ‘n roll really got the audience moving (which is quite a feat – Whole audiences are usually pretty shy). Duane Trower, the guy who engineered their recent album, filled in on guitar for Jamie Zoeller (who recently left the band). Knowing that Duane was new to the band, I was impressed that they played a wealth of material from both of their albums. Lots of fun.


Doris Henson

And then the kings of the Twin Cities’ all-ages circuit: The Plastic Constellations. Ever since they were a mere high school band (mere…what am I talking about? They were the high school band of all of high school bands), people had predicted big things for them. It looks big things are finally starting to happen. After receiving glowing attention from Pitchfork, people from outside of the Twin Cities finally started to take notice. Now, The Plastic Constellations just inked a deal with New York’s Frenchkiss Records (home to local legends Lifter Puller and Sean Na Na). Yep, big things are ahead. For now, they’ll just continue to put on rockin’ shows like they did at The Whole.


The Plastic Constellations

Thunderbirds Are Now! (another Frenchkiss band) wasted no time in getting their freak on. Anyone who has ever seen Thunderbirds (which I assume is everyone, since they tour like crazy) know that their shows are utter chaos. Their keyboardist, Scott Allen, always takes his rock-n-roll freakout dancing a step farther than it really needs to go. For instance, I diverted my attention from the stage for just a minute, and when I looked back up, Scott was running around the stage with a gigantic beanbag (seriously, the beanbag was twice his size). When the time came for him to play his keyboard, he couldn’t figure out how to get the beanbag off the stage. I have no idea how he got it on the stage in the first place, much less where it came from. Needless to say, it was a very entertaining show.


Now what are Thunderbirds?

Now remember, kids. Your student service fees are vital to the survival of our music scene. They help fund Radio K (the greatest radio station in the country), and they are responsible for the renaissance of The Whole (one of the only venues in the Twin Cities to consistently host all-ages shows). Fuck college Republicans.

Archives:
Doris Henson @ The Triple Rock: August 12, 2005
Thunderbirds Are Now! @ The Triple Rock: March 10, 2005