Westside Wednesday brought throngs of music fans to West Duluth, where, with the exception of Clyde Iron Works, the venues were within easy walking distance of each other. This made it easy to move quickly between sets, sampling a little of everything from the local music buffet that is Homegrown. The dress-up theme was Western Wednesday, and judging by the amount of cowboy hats and fringe spotted, this theme had the best participation level yet.
Emma Jeanne had a busy day, performing at Duluth Coffee in the morning, Live from Studio A at 1pm, and at the Gopher Restaurant at night.
Wussow's Concert Cafe hosted the early sets, which started with new band The Rhizomes. Formed by a group of Chester Creek neighbors (including artist Brian Barber, whom we saw earlier in the week at the Children's Music Showcase), everyone but the drummer swapped instruments between most songs, with bass, guitar, and keys all changing hands. Breanne Marie, who performs with her band the Front Porch Sinners on Saturday at Sacred Heart Music Center, got up to play some guest trumpet. Emily Gaarder, lead vocalist on most of the songs, announced it was her first time ever performing live.
Eldri Snow was next, accompanied by Misisipi Mike Wolf on guitar on guitar and Shanna Willie on drums. She started her set with a cover of Gillian Welch's
“Everything is Free" followed by Tom Waits's “Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)."
Ingeborg von Agassiz kicked of Clyde Iron Works clad in a black robe that concealed her face ("Is that a Sith robe?" asked one fan on Instagram, a nod to the fact that von Agassiz's performance was happening on May the 4th aka Star Wars Day. ) The hood matched the fairytale quality of some of her lyrics; she threw it back as the first song concluded. On Instagram von Agassiz had promised new songs, a new stage wardrobe, and a new setup and delivered on all those things; the new, pared-down rig freed von Agassiz to pick up a microphone and engage more with the audience rather than looking down at her stack of keyboards.
Sadkin was next at Clyde Iron Works, taking full advantage of the big stage to create a theatrical synth-pop experience. complete with a wardrobe change for frontman Max Mileski into a sparkly mirrored blue-and-white jacket. The band ended their set with on a high note with a cover of INXS' "Don't Change."
The Jade Fountain proved to be a swanky new Homegrown venue that hosted DJ Nola spinning vinyl. She kept the crowd on their feet and moving with a variety of funk and classic hip hop records, including Lakeside’s “Fantastic Voyage” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby."
The Latelys were the last band of the night at Clyde Iron Works; they demonstrated that you don't need a lead guitar to give a powerful, soulful performance.
Boxcar turned Mr. D's into a honky tonk with a rollicking country set of originals and covers.
Hannah Rey had announced on social media that, for the first time, their South of Superior bandmates would be backing them up on their original tunes. The set at the Gopher was a mix of those originals and feel-good covers like Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” that the singer does so well.
At the Kom-on-Inn, new band Your Fellow Rebels played catchy power pop/rock.
Teague and the Paddy Wagon, complete with a clogger keeping the rhythm, played to an appreciative crowd at Mr. D's.
Big Wave Dave and the Ripples kicked off a funky set at the Kom-on-Inn with Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1,000 Dances," setting the tone for the show by getting the audience moving and singing along to the "Na na na's" right off the bat.
Back at Mr. D's, Brothers Burn Mountain were still setting up at their scheduled start time, 12:30. The crowd near the stage thinned out and the bartender had announced three times over the abrasive p.a. system that it was time to close out tabs before they finally got going fifteen minutes later. Like magic, people materialized in front of the stage from all corners of the sprawling Mr. D’s to end the night swaying along with the band's mesmerizing rhythms.
Coming Up Thursday:
The dress-up theme is Thursday Trip to the Tropic
The unofficial Homegrown event SoupB4Supe happens at 2104 with performances from:
515pm : Lyla Abukhodair
615pm : Emma Jeanne
715pm : Babie Eyes
