Anvil – Turf Club – St. Paul MN – July 28th 2022

The Pit on 93x, First Avenue and The Turf Club present Anvil

Review and photos by Cassandra Roy

Anvil, joined with opening bands Midnite Hellion and the White Wizzard, played at the local and historic Turf Club venue on Thursday July 28th. While the crowd was small, the fans were dedicated and their to have a great time (many asked if I had in fact seen the movie, Anvil.)

Starting with the White Wizzard band, while the show was smaller the crowd was nothing if not lively. Metal fans flocked to the stage and welcomed the first time Minnesota visitors with excited eyes and ears. Highlight to the show was the interaction between the two guitar players, both energetically moving through the stage.

When it came to the White Wizzard band there were a few dedicated fans who clearly came out for this trio, one fan screaming “here for the wizard” at the end of the set. Fans moving in close to bounce around with the trio, making a statement of the classic rock style guitar playing and sounds of metal and rock. 

Onto Anvil, the main act of the night. With a beautiful mix of old and new fans, the energy in the turf was comparable to that of a larger venue making it easy to forget that you were in fact amongst a smaller group of concert goers. Steve “Lips” Kudlow, seemingly the front man of Anvil was energetic and full of stories. Starting the show out by mentioning his long standing hair metal mullet, now only with a small “cap of no hair” in the back. Retelling of stories from the road, lots of laughs, and even a few canadian “eh’s” Anvil brought a great show to the Turf. Highlight of the show was the energetic guitar playing, classic songs such as “Metal on Metal, and even a guitar solo played entirely with a vibrator. Anvil brought the same energy that I am sure they had back in the 80s when they were touring.