The Toadies – First Avenue – Minneapolis MN – June 2nd 2026

Walking into First Avenue it didn’t seem like there was a show going on. There was no line, no people hanging around outside, and no noise. This is a stark contrast to what was to ensue with these two essential 90s bands playing First Avenue. The crowd was filled with people of all different ages. This made sense since Local H is one of those 90s bands that are seeing a growing fanbase of Gen Z in recent years. Eavesdropping in conversations I kept hearing the same things said over and over again. “Toadies and Local H rock hard” and “The last time I saw Local H they played with so much energy”. In that moment I felt my energy and excitement match that of the crowd. I was ready to hear the loud music of Local H and Toadies paired with First Avenue’s great production.

Before they came on Vandoliers kicked off the night. Vandoliers tour with five members and are an alternative folk punk group out of Dallas, Texas. This group rocked. Though common with folk punk, fiddle is an instrument that I don’t get to see live often, and it blew me away. Every song they played had extremely high energy. They even did something that I don’t see a lot of openers doing, which is playing a cover of a super popular song as their last song to get the crowd extra energized for the next act. They happened to cover I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). All in all the perfect opener for a show like this.

Next up was Local H and nothing could’ve prepared me for this set. Right away, they got on stage and in the dark started playing. Guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas was moving his guitar next to the amp to create feedback and right before their main song kicked off he spat water in the air. My first thought was wow they can rock and that stayed true through their whole set. They played their classics like Bound For the Floor and Manifest Destiny off their classic album ‘As Good as Dead’ continuing the high energy and fan engagement till the end. Then after their set Scott went to the merch booth and met with fans.

Lastly, was Toadies and like everyone else on this bill they played great. They had a little less stage movement than the other bands, but even with less movement the music had an energy that didn’t seem possible. Their stage setup included lanterns and a no nazis poster pinned up in the middle of the stage. They played a mix of their classic songs as well as tracks of their most recent album ‘The Charmer’ which features the track Normal which reads as an anthem from a singer who is still opening up about his feelings with the new music he’s writing. Lastly they covered I Put a Spell on You with Scott Lucas on guitar and lastly played I Burn and brought out both the drummers for the previous two bands to play the main drum rhythm in the middle of the stage. As people funnelled out of First Avenue everyone left satisfied. People spoke about how they were definitely going to see these groups again next time they come through and how they were glad they decided to come out on a Tuesday night.