CRASH CUDDLE & Zombi at the 7th Street Entry

Gatrs March 9, 2022 Events

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I feel like shows went from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. That’s not at all a complaint and I was beyond excited as my boyfriend and I made our way to downtown Minneapolis on Monday night. Sure, my Friday and Saturday night shows were absolutely stellar but my heart lies in the local scene and I was ready to check out a local band I knew very little about. I was lucky enough to find a guy who is a lot like me when it comes to live music– we don’t care what it is nor do we do any research into the bands, we just go– bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

The short and sweet two-band show kicked off with local boys CRASH CUDDLE. Although I knew nothing about this band walking into the 7th Street Entry on Monday, I knew they were some of the sweetest guys, Not only did they reach out to me about covering their show on Monday, they also sent me a copy of their album to review. Unfortunately, I just have not gotten to that album yet but I feel like that almost worked out to my benefit. I knew nothing about this duo’s sound but the amount of gear and a giant stack of speakers on the side of the stage had me absolutely thrilled to see what they are all about.

Zombi’s music is much more intentional, strict, and dark compared to the controlled chaos of CRASH CUDDLE.

As soon as this duo kicked into their set, I was entranced. They had me in the palm of their hand along with the rest of the audience. Their music was somehow both chaotic and restrained at the same time. Every beat seemed to come with a different influence attached to it creating a truly intriguing and interesting sound that will leave it super hard for me to explain to you. There were moments in their set that felt a bit jazzy and groovy and other moments that can only be described as straight-up noise. A mixture of recognizable beats with complicated triplet rhythms kept all of their songs flying by as if not giving me a true chance to figure it all out but I loved that and the challenge it brought to my ears and mind.

If you’re not a musician, you may not have caught onto the complicated nature of what they were doing but, regardless of who you are, you recognized the pure talent being presented on stage. Although that musicianship came through loud and clear, CRASH CUDDLE also gave the audience a sense of fun and spontaneity as they played. It was rare to see either member without a smile on their face and the moments when member Garrett Benson and Charles Duda would nod at each other were just the icing on the cake. The unspoken connection between these two brilliant musicians mixed with the fun they were having while creating amazing music all while giving the audience their distinct and intriguing music– CRASH CUDDLE may not be for everyone but they are absolutely worthy of your attention!

I really liked CRASH CUDDLE because you could see the amount of fun they were having on stage and, although in my heart of hearts I knew that the two members of Zombi were doing what they loved on stage.

The only other band on the Monday night bill was Pittsburgh-based Zombi. Another duo with another super intriguing sound, I loved how their sound and the overall show were both relatable to that of CRASH CUDDLE while being completely different. Zombi’s music is much more intentional, strict, and dark compared to the controlled chaos of CRASH CUDDLE. Don’t get me wrong, musically, there was a crap ton of energy and power in Zombi’s sound but overall, it just felt a bit more restrained. The dark stage and venue mixed with the darkened tones coming out of the speakers was absolutely mood and, although it wasn’t for me, I got what this band was doing.

I really liked CRASH CUDDLE because you could see the amount of fun they were having on stage and, although in my heart of hearts I knew that the two members of Zombi were doing what they loved on stage, it just didn’t look like it and it left me wanting more from this duo’s live show. I get that the proggy music they were playing and the amount of electronics they were dealing with means they had to concentrate but I just didn’t get a sense of fun or energy from watching the two members which was a bit of a bummer. Again, I want to reiterate that this is not a knock on Zombi’s sound. Whether or not their overall style was for me, there’s no denying the musicianship and pure talent being put on stage throughout their set.

I went into the show blind on Monday night which felt refreshing. Although that’s typically my style, it has been a while since I have been able to do it and it sparked that fire in my soul like I had been craving lately.

Line Up:

CRASH CUDDLE

Zombi

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 38

Crowd Surfers: None

Mosh-ability: 1 out of 10

Sausage-Fest Meter: 9 out of 10

Stage Divers: None

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around: $3– Spilled by myself on myself

Broken Bones: None Noticed