Why Not, Miloe & Beach Bunny at the First Avenue

Gatrs January 11, 2022 Events

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I hope everyone had an amazing holiday weekend! Mine was low key but amazing and was topped off by an amazing show on Sunday night. Sure, I knew nothing about two of the three bands performing as I got in line at First Avenue but that didn’t stop me from getting wrapped up in the excitement of all of the kids (and I mean kids) around me. There was a sense of electricity throughout the line that was only magnified as I finally got into the sold out mainroom.

I’ll be honest, I had never heard of Miloe’s music or even his name before he and his band took the stage and whisked the audience away into a world that can only be described as Miloe’s world.

Kicking things off for the Sunday night show was the one band I knew anything about, Why Not. I caught Why Not just before the world shut down when they opened for Motion City Soundtrack in February of 2020. I noted last time how interesting I found their music and that’s another thing that stood out to me as I watched them power through their quick opening set on Sunday. From the very beginning, this band had me in the palm of their hands. An interesting yet clear and concise guitar part got the set started off on the right foot. You could classify this band as indie-pop-punk (although I feel that even that is a wee bit of a stretch) with a familiar sound and infectious beat but they are so much more. For how young these kids are, they truly know how to create creative rhythms and lines of notes that just stick with you. Although this artistic genius may have been lost on most of the crowd, the energy they brought to the room was not. The entire audience was eating it up and jumping around to the beats. A perfect way to kick off a Sunday night, Why Not definitely set the mood for what was to come.

Following Why Not was local Miloe. I’ll be honest, I had never heard of Miloe’s music or even his name before he and his band took the stage and whisked the audience away into a world that can only be described as Miloe’s world. Although still just as infectious and fun as Why Not’s set, Miloe’s music brought a more mature mood to the stage. The undeniable R&B and soul influence made Miloe stand out but the infectious beats and endless amount of energy that he and the rest of his band had made them the perfect fit for the evening. I loved how although their music felt a bit more mature than Why Not’s (and that’s not a bad thing– more just a note on their overall sound), Miloe’s energy stayed sky high and really got the audience moving. I was a bit stunned as I saw a crowd surfer making his way to the front of the stage as Miloe’s set was coming to a close but I also loved it. Miloe is a local and I loved seeing him get that local love that he oh so deserves. Being on this show is truly just the first step for an act that I think I’ll be seeing a lot more of in the near future.

As soon as Beach Bunny kicked into their set, it made sense. Vocalist Lili Trifilio instantly had me captivated. There was something so raw and honest about her words and the delivery of those words that it was hard to not let this band into your heart and soul.

Headlining the sold-out show on Sunday night was the one and only Beach Bunny. This Chicago-based band has been making waves recently and seems to have blown up practically overnight. This show was actually supposed to be at The Fine Line just down the street but, due to demand, was quickly moved to the mainroom yet it still sold out and had people waiting outside on the off chance that anyone had an extra ticket. I’ll be honest, I had never spent much, if any, time with Beach Bunny prior to their set on Sunday night so I was excited to see why there’s so much hype around this band but was cautious as I was clearly one of the older members of the audience and, if I’m being honest, that’s never a good sign.

Beach Bunny’s set seemed to be perfectly curated for the audience. Every one of the twenty tracks that the band played was a favorite of someone in the audience and their cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot n Cold” was just the icing on the cake.

As soon as this band kicked into their set, it made sense. Vocalist Lili Trifilio instantly had me captivated. There was something so raw and honest about her words and the delivery of those words that it was hard to not let this band into your heart and soul. The rest of the band was just as good bringing an undeniable sense of energy to the stage but it was honestly the vocals that had me stuck where I was with my jaw on the ground. Beach Bunny’s set was one of those sets that I so desperately wanted to scream my heart out to but, sadly, didn’t know the words to do so. Thankfully, I was about the only person in the audience who couldn’t scream along. The words floating from the speakers into the crowd meant everything to so many people in the sold-out audience and you could feel that.

Beach Bunny’s set seemed to be perfectly curated for the audience. Every one of the twenty tracks that the band played was a favorite of someone in the audience and their cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot n Cold” was just the icing on the cake. Sure, I walked into the show on Sunday night knowing very little about Beach Bunny and honestly had an idea in my head that they wouldn’t be for me just based on the fact that the audience around me was so young but that all changed within the first song and by the time I was being led outside into the cold and empty streets of Minneapolis to head home, I was a fan.

Line Up:

Why Not

Miloe

Beach Bunny

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 11

Crowd Surfers: 9 Counted But There Were Probably More

Mosh-ability: 1 out of 10

Sausage-Fest Meter: 3 out of 10

Stage Divers: None

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around: None