By night 4 of the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival, wristbands were staying firmly fastened again and fans were out in full force to walk the circuit between West Duluth venues. Western Wednesday is always one of the more popular dress-up themes, and cowboy hats, boots, and vests abounded.
Lacuda made their Homegrown debut as the first act of the night, at Wussow's Concert Cafe. If Jack White wears the crown in the kingdom of groovy power-rock, Lacuda is definitely among the king’s court. With a line out the door at the venue, the trio kept the talking to a minimum and the music to the max with originals and a deep-cut cover of Ween’s “Gabrielle”.
The West was crammed full throughout the night, with owner Bob Boone and his staff tirelessly shooing people out of the middle of the aisles to comply with fire codes.
The four members of Stardust Collective were in full western wear for their opening set at the venue. But no matter how comforting the tunes and how pleasant the harmonies, music will always be upstaged by a marriage proposal – which is exactly what happened, in what might be a Homegrown first. The band paused their set for a guy named Andy to get up in front of the stage to share all the things he loves about his girlfriend Karen. He then dropped to one knee, and the room erupted in cheers as she accepted and the couple, who were reportedly attending their third Homegrown together, embraced. It was a sweet moment, and, as the band quipped, a tough act to follow, although they did manage to fit in one more tune or two.
Wussow's was still packed to the gills when Janie and the Spokes took the stage, announcing, “Were playing originals tonight.” They played favorites like "Rat High Hair," which got an approving shout from the audience ("Rat High Hair, yes!) and brand new tunes like "Rock Steady," written about the northern lights. Joe Anderson joined the band on saxophone for the last few tunes and they finished the set with "Dead Eye Rust," the title track from their first album.
At the Gopher Restaurant and Lounge, pop-rock band Life Parade opened their set with the title track from their album, "Suburban Life" and shared new material alongside more familiar songs. When frontman Cameron Mathews announced their last song, bandmate Dan Munthe got the crowd to chant "One more song! One more song!" to make it seem like an encore when they launched into "Wolf in Sheep's Clothes."
The lucky fans who were able to make it into the crowded West Theatre were treated to Emily Haavik & the 35s playing a polished set of alt-country. Emily jokingly introduced a song from her most recent album:”This song is called ‘Drive.” It’s about driving. Does anybody here drive?”
At the Kom-on-Inn, P.B&J shared a small cooler of p,b, and j sandwiches in baggies with the audience. Wearing their trademark peanut butter and jelly sandwich costumes, they threw in a cover of the Pixies’ “Where is My Mind” among their eclectic originals.”I hope you guys like metal,” said frontman Peter Anderson before launching into a new song, “Death to the Sun,” which he said is about a moon cult. He invited people to dance to the next tune, and then introduced a brand new reggae song. The band may have trouble picking a lane, but their versatile musicianship makes it all work.
Back at Wussow's, after a short delay due to a pedal malfunction, the next band announced themselves with, "Wussow's, your Expiration Date has arrived!" before launching into a hard rocking set in front of an incongruously serene background,
Meanwhile, at Mr. D's, the first of the night's several danceable acts, Jumpsuit, took the stage, playing funk music in western wear. In keeping with the western theme, they opened their set with Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" and kept Homegrown fans dancing throughout the set, that ended with "I Don't Need No Doctor."
Over at the West Theatre, Big Wave Dave and the Ripples were also keeping the groove alive, although maybe not adhering as closely to the Western theme. "I'm Big Wave Dave and I'm allergic to horses," announced frontman Dave Adams. "We're gonna play some funk, soul, and rock and roll, so get up and get down!" They delivered on that promise, and included a new tune, "Lady Madonna," that Adams said he wrote last week.
Back at Kom-on-Inn, a mosh pit formed for hardcore band Throw Me the Remote.
Meanwhile, at the Gopher Lounge, the audience in the packed venue was undulating to the mesmerizing rhythms of the Brothers Burn Mountain, who finished their set as always with a percussion jam out in the audience.
At Mr. D's Tyler Scouton, filling in for a band that had to drop out, did a solo set that started with and ambient sound bath vibe before becoming very techno. C-silence made a guest appearance for the loud, experimental set.
DJ collective The Crunchy Bunch wrapped things up at Kom-on-Inn, keeping the bustling venue dancing.”This is our twelfth Homegrown, we’re gonna do twelve more,” they said, just before sending folks out the door still moving to a mix featuring “Wild Wild West” followed by “Jolene” in honor of the night’s Western theme.
The last of the night's bands guaranteed to make you dance your pants off was Winzige Hosen at Mr. D's. Because that level of dancing is serious business, the band led with a series of warm up stretches. Also, the tuba player needed to get something off her chest: "Let the record reflect that I, Kala Moria, of the Homegrown steering committee, hate Western Wednesday." With that bit of business out of the way, the band launched into an original, "Zanzibar!" and kept the crowd moving all through a set of their trademark rowdy drinking songs. When they finished, the crowd shouted for an encore; the band finished with a cover of "Sexual Healing," with some of the guys in the band taking off their shirts.
