The Toadies – First Avenue – Minneapolis MN – Ocotober 8th 2017

Toadies came to First Avenue on the evening on October 8, 2017 with Local H.  Both bands are incredibly familiar to anyone who grew up in the ’90s, which is the demographic that made up the majority of the crowd that night.  An energetic crowd it was too.  Having not heard much from either band since my high school days, I was curious to see the outcome.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that more people came out to the Sundaynight show than I had originally thought.

I’m not going to pretend that  I know any other song by Local H aside from “Bound for the Floor”.  I may only know that song, but I played the hell out of it when I was a teenager and listening to it live brought back waves of nostalgia that I can’t properly describe.  On the other end of this spectrum was my little sister, a huge fan of both bands.  If you were there, you will know her as the chick up front singing every single lyric to every single song and being the only person holding up her phone until we mentioned this and she put it down, as to not be that person in a crowd.  Local H were very energetic and happy to be at First Ave, mentioning it as one of the best clubs in the country.  They made note that  they would normally sing a Prince song there (what I, of course, wished for), but due to Tom Petty’s recent death, they opted for a cover of “I Need to Know”.  That cover was great, with Local H’s slight punk edge inflicted upon the classic rock tune.

Toadies were up next.  The crowd became more energetic, excited for the main act.  For those only remotely familiar with Toadies know the song, “Possum Kingdom”.  And most people don’t even know it by that title if they aren’t too familiar with the band.  I always thought that only playing that particular song on the radio was a disservice to Toadies, as their music so much more than that song.  One of their more popular tunes is “I Want Your Love”, played later in the set, and I would recommend that to anyone.  It’s a gritty, sexual song dripping with the sensation of the South.  A track omitted that evening, “Paper Dress”, is my personal favorite of the band’s and it still has a different sense than that of the aforementioned songs.  They are varied in their talents in a way that I feel is underappreciated by many.

Included in the setlist is the cover of “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Their cover of that is amazing and is always fun to hear in a live setting.  Much like Local H, and other bands playing live in the past few weeks, they paid homage to Tom Petty with a cover of “Breakdown”.  Love that song.  Listening to a Tom Petty cover by a Southern rock inspired band is a real treat.

First Avenue felt the best style of venue for seeing both Local H and Toadies.  There was an intimate feeling to the show that I very much enjoyed and First Avenue really provides that atmosphere.  I saw Toadies years ago at First Avenue and the show as just as amazing.  The next time I see them, I hope it is there.