We Went There: Sweeping Promises at the 7th St Entry (including last show by Green/Blue)
Sunday night’s show at the 7th St Entry was a roller coaster of emotions. The music on stage was joyful and buoyant, while the spirit of the evening had a heaviness as all of the artists who have roots in DIY music addressing the ongoing pain of the awful situation that happened last week at nudieland. The show was the last stop of the national tour for Boston-reared underground pop maximalists Sweeping Promises, who had the full entry eating out of their hands. The group is bass player/singer Lira Mondal and guitar player and drummer Caufield Schnug, who were joined by a touring drummer. Their songs are lean pop anthems with a distinct anti-authoritarian bend. Their music could full arenas if they so desired, but you get the sense they’d be more comfortable in house show basements. Leading heavily on their new LP Good Living Is Coming For You, they played a set of no-frills jams that saw Schnug pogo-ing around stage while Mondal’s bass playing and singing were a magnetic focus of the whole crowd. Anchoring the sound with her bass, her vocals went from a crystalline hum to a ferocious howl, often in the same songs, she was a lightening bolt that brought an incredible energy to the stage. It was the bands’ first show in Minneapolis, and they left it all on the stage. Even if they would prefer not to, I could see them coming back to a much bigger room in future tours.
Opening the show were two great local bands, Florina and Green/Blue. Florina started the night with their blend of krautock grooves and Jackie Beckey’s hypnotic viola and vocals enchanting the crowd. They just released their latest tape Candy Wrappers and as is the case with all of Beckey’s projects, this is one you shouldn’t sleep on. Taking up the middle spot in the lineup with garage punk group Green/Blue, who I found out at the start of their set were playing what is set to be their final show. The group has changed lineups a bit over the last few years, but have always been a fun, high-energy group with Jim Blaha and Annie Sparrows out front. They also use released an album recently and it will be sad to see them hang up their instruments (at least under the Green/Blue banner…I’m sure they’ll all pop up in new bands) with their impending break. The band charged through a great set that captured what they do so well. After their set I realized I think I was at their first formal show at Moon Palace a few years back, so it was fitting to capture their last show as well.
Since all the artists and this review mentioned the nudieland shooting and their support for the victims, if you want to find out more or donate to those directly impacted, you can go HERE: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-victims-of-nudieland-shooting-in-mpls?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer
