The Wake

In case you missed it, the temperature was well below zero in downtown Minneapolis last Friday night. But as they say, the show must go on. On this freezing night about 75 people showed up to see First Avenue’s 11th Annual Cover Song Contest at the 7th Street Entry. Eleven area bands were given a half-hour to prove that they could play other people’s songs and a case of cheap wine awaited the winner.

The night started with a thud. The Fillmores, moonlighting as Who’s the Boss and the E Street Band, opened the competition with a set of Bruce Springsteen covers. From the opening bars of “Thunder Road” it was obvious: the lead singer was no Boss. The group worked its way through five songs, looking and sounding rather unrehearsed—a fact that fully manifested itself during a hyper-speed attempt at “Born to Run,” where the singer missed about half the words.

Next up was Terry Eason, who proved to be a pleasant surprise, choosing to stay away from the crowd pleasers, and going instead with a collection of songs by the Go-Betweens, a long-running indie rock band fronted by the late Grant McLennan. Sadly, nobody in the crowd seemed familiar with these selections, and after a couple of songs their interest began waning. It was one of McLennan’s solo songs, “Malibu 69,” that finally won the crowd over. Eason picked up the pace and his guitar solo set the stage for the rest of the set, even succeeding in getting a couple dances out of the crowd.

The show also featured some soft 1970s rock from last year’s champs, Stringray Green. The Conquers tried their hand at the Bee Gees while the Busiest Bankruptcy Lawyers played the Cure’s entire 1989 album Disintegration. Crowd favorites Plate-O-Shrimp could have won the award for “Loudest Band” with their Mission of Burma set. Box of Dicks, sometimes also known as Housebreaker, closed the show with songs from the 1988 Jane’s Addiction album Nothing’s Shocking. The rhythm section held a sturdy beat while the shirtless lead singer did his best to emulate Perry Farrell’s soaring vocals.

The highlight of the night came in the form of jazz-jam band GST. The band, which describes itself as “punk rock for grown ups,” featured six members who combined to play at least ten instruments through the course of the night. A three-piece horn section, featuring trombone, trumpet and tenor sax, fueled stirring renditions of songs by War. Guitarist Greg Schaefer’s understated guitar playing fit with the horns, and drummer Joe Cline was perfect for the song selection. “Cisco Kid” got the audience going right away, and was followed by a dead-on version of “Spill the Wine.” In the middle of this song, the trombone player, looking like a member of ZZ Top with at least six inches of beard flowing down his shirt, expertly and unexpectedly began to play a previously unrevealed flute. The group’s virtuosic and tight performance was more than enough to make up for the lack of a true lead singer. The use of multiple instruments, from the horns to a cowbell, carried the group through six great songs. GST finished with “Low Rider,” and the winner of the competition seemed clear.

The crowning ceremony came from representatives of Grumpy’s Bar and Grill. To the winner went a case of Axl Rose favorite Night Train Express bum wine, the recipient of which, to no one’s surprise, was GST. It was promptly opened and passed throughout the crowd.