KaiserCartel, Jeremy Messersmith @ First Ave

KaiserCartel performed in between Zoo Animal and Jeremy Messersmith this last Thursday evening during an intimate performance at the 7th Street Entry of First Ave. The show started late, and Zoo Animal, a 3-person grunge-pop band that I knew nothing about other than the fact that Jeremy himself asked them to play, kicked things off. As a fan of Jeremy's ability to clearly deliver his words and incorporate strong pop chords and delicate guitar picks in his music, I became surprised that Zoo Animal was there. Their sound was mostly grunge, and perhaps there was error amongst the sound team, but lead singer Holly Newsom's vocals came out in a quiet, slushy unintelligible haze as the drummer enveloped himself in his own barrage and the bassist trudged on amongst the doggerel of sound. I must admit though, I probably wouldn't have such negative feelings about Zoo Animal if they had not played for longer than expected. EDIT: As I've just been informed, it doesn't look like it was Zoo Animal's fault for the length of time they played or when the show began. Doors opened at 8, so naturally I assumed things were late when they didn't begin at 9. In this case, I fault whoever was in charge, for I really do stick to my belief that Zoo Animal played for much longer than they should've, and everyone around me kept asking what time it was and why things weren't starting come 9.

At long last, Zoo Animal left and it was time for KaiserCartel. Now, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you know we love our KC. They always put on a lovely show and things were no different that evening. In case you're not familiar, KaiserCartel consist of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel, and the dynamic duo played a mix of old songs and new, even informing the audience that some of the brand-new works would be recorded right here in Minnesota, which was met with many whoops and hollers. Filling the room with mellow and upbeat indie folk-pop numbers, Courtney (in her awesome yellow peacock stockings) used her Karen Carpenter-esque vocals to lullaby us all into the spun harmonies of warm guitar and drums, which were played by Benjamin simultaneously. Like the last time they played with Jeremy, they invited him and his bandmate Andy Thompson up to join them for their popular number "Okay" (photo above). KaiserCartel had the audience bobbing their heads and whistling along for "Season Song" and bravely ventured out through the cramped crowd to sing their traditional mic-free closer "Shira." Luckily, it was not the last we would hear from them that evening.

Jeremy Messersmith took the stage alongside his pal Andy and cellist Dan Lawonn. It was quite evident right away that Jeremy had tons of fans in the audience, as they were not shy about proclaiming their love for him. Jeremy sported his Buddy Holly glasses and a hairdo worthy of any GQ cover and kept things light, beautiful and playful. Jeremy made sure to play classics like "Light Rail," "Suburbia," and my personal favorite, "Beautiful Children." His set was fantastic, and he connected to the crowd quite well, joking and taking straight-up requests. Jeremy ended the concert by bringing KC and Zoo Animal back on the stage for an awesome cover of "Sweet Dreams," featuring Courtney Kaiser's vocals. It certainly raised the fun-feel of the concert and was a wonderful way to end the evening.

Check out Jeremy's performance of "The Commuter" below.

KC and Jeremy Messersmith 12/3