It was a back to back weekend on the East side of the Cities on the schedule, and this Minnesota cover band was ready to go! The Dog House in Maplewood boasts a fantastic stage and sound production. We’re happy to be back.
The tables are full to begin the evening, but as happens on Fridays, people start the evening “slowly”. They listen, clap along, but it takes a bit of time to shake off the workweek to let loose. By set #2, the dancers had taken the floor with confidence (liquid-sponsored or otherwise 😊) and grooved to the music.
Sugar Buzz has a list of songs that we rotate per show so that people get about 15 different songs per show. When we have a new song, we typically keep it in the setlist permanently until we feel we’ve mastered it enough to put on rotation. We had introduced a newer song – “The Pretender” by the FOO FIGHTERS a few shows ago. People appreciated it, but we didn’t get many dancers initially. It’s one of their more intense Foo Fighters songs with a bit more technicality to it. We noticed over the past several shows that people were warming up to it. And by this evening’s performance, it hit the critical mass of “this is an expected song, I’ve heard it and now I want to be on the dancefloor for it”—so it attracted the dancers.. finally! Some songs are instant that way as they are the songs so common that every band plays them. We do those songs for sure, but we ARE a variety band, so we want to introduce songs that one doesn’t hear all that often. It strengthens our brand and adds a dimension of differentiation amongst cover bands. Now the PRETENDER is finally getting the audience love it deserves. We knew this day would come.
