It was a blustery cold evening in Minneapolis and I went to the venue very frustrated. Not because of anything to do with the show, but more of the location of the show. Madness To Creation went and covered Dorothy with special guest Spirit Animal live at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota this past Friday, to a near sold out concert.
The parking situation was a nightmare as it was located in the middle of the college district of the University of Minnesota. There was really no parking to speak of and it took me about 40 minutes to find a parking spot because their limited parking garages were full and I eventually parallel parked my car, and those that know me know that I cannot parallel park my car worth a crap.
After getting my photo pass and review ticket, I missed the first opener and got there in time for Spirit Animal’s third song, literally at the end of the third song, so we missed out on some photos for them. Their sound had a definite groove to it as upon my very first listen of Spirit Animal, I can tell that they are influenced by the likes of Audioslave and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The bass player was absolutely nasty on his bass, I felt that the rhythm section was certainly the driving force of this band. Definitely looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for Spirit Animal.
Dorothy was the next band to take the stage. I knew this band from a song that they had on the radio called “Flawless”, which was a big song on the mainstream rock radio stations. Dorothy had a certain mystique about them from their look to how they opened up the show. Their look had a bit of a throwback to 1970’s classic rock vibe to them, and Dorothy, the lead singer, came out to smoke billowing from the fog machine and it was completely dark and it appeared that she did some type of ritual with the flame as if she was calling upon a higher power to bless this evening.
The crowd was certainly blessed with this evening as they opened up the night with “Naked Eye”, the music had a desert rock feel to it, and with her stage presence and vocals, Dorothy crooned to the intimate crowd while the audience swooned over her beauty and radiant personality. The guitars had such nice licks to them and the rhythm section was patient, playing the songs on point when so many bands up the tempo of the songs. After “Raise Hell”, the crowd was treated to a little guitar picking instrumental in “Ain’t Our Time”. This got the audience moving and grooving.
The highlights of the night were the crowd singing at the top of their lungs to the songs “Flawless” and “Freedom”. Dorothy and the audience got the crowd moving and grooving all night long, which was especially needed on a Friday night. Definitely go check Dorothy and Spirit Animal out when they come to your neck of the woods.
The Freedom Tour is continuing throughout February and early March. Check out tour dates below.
Tue. 2/5- recordBar in Kansas City, Missouri
Wed. 2/6- Delmar Hall in St. Louis, Missouri
Fri. 2/8- Deluxe at Old National Center in Indianapolis, Indiana
Sat. 2/9- St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, Michigan
Sun. 2/10- House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio
Tue. 2/12- 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.
Thu. 2/14- Irving Plaza in New York, New York
Fri. 2/15- Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Massachusetts
Sat. 2/16- Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tue. 2/19- Terminal West in Atlanta, Georgia
Wed. 2/20- Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, Tennessee
Fri. 2/22- Trees in Dallas, Texas
Sat. 2/23- Historic Scoot Inn in Austin, Texas
Mon. 2/25- House of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana
Tue. 2/26- The Bronze Peacock in Houston, Texas
Fri. 3/1- Regent Theatre in Los Angeles, California
Sat. 3/2- Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona
For tickets and further information on “The Freedom Tour featuring Dorothy” presented by Ones To Watch, click here.
Fans can find DOROTHY at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/itsdorothysucka
Check out the music video to “Flawless” below:
Setlist:
- Naked Eye
- Raise Hell
- Ain’t Our Time
- After Midnight
- Pretty When You’re High
- Medicine
- Jam Session
- Whiskey
- Philadelphia
- Who Do You Love?
- Flawless
- Down To The Bottom
- Freedom
- Special thanks to Taylor at Girlie Action PR and for Dorothy for this opportunity!
- Special thanks to the kind folks working at The Varsity Theater, was a very organized venue with a friendly staff. The only complaint was that I wish the parking was more efficient. I recommend to those attending a concert at the Varsity Theater to get there earlier than normal for parking. There are plenty of places to eat and shop at to kill some time though.
