"I dedicate this breakdown goes out to Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet, where people still roller-blade. Awesome!"
For more reasons than the lakeside trail-bladers, Paul Sprangers and the rest of Free Energy seemed to relish performing Friday on the shores of Lake Harriet in the picturesque bandshell. The Philadelphia-based quintet -- with four native Minnesotans in its lineup -- came home to kick off the first of four Friday night double-headers in the Vita.mn August Music & Movies series. The band truly seemed at home playing in front of a diverse-aged crowd (from toddlers to seniors), and especially at home in front of the lake itself.
Some of the members of the band even took a dip at the beach before taking the stage. In addition to the roller-blade tribute, Sprangers also made light of their Minnesotan roots while introducing "Dream City" early in the set: "We realize, looking back, [the song] is pretty much about Red Wing, where we spent the past week tubing," the lankly and newly shorn singer beamed (he and guitarist/bassist brothers Scott and Evan Wells all grew up in the Mississippi River town).
The crowd, which bulged out of the bandshell area onto the grassy surroundings, seemed as charmed by Free Energy as the band was smitten with its surroundings. There aren't a lot of modern rock acts -- especially not ones getting regular Current 89.3 airplay and record contracts with LCD Soundsystem -- who have the kind of classic-rock-meets-indie-pop appeal to please such a wide-ranging crowd at a free outdoor summer gig in the park. Probably three-fourths of the crowd was seeing the group for the first time. At least, I'm guessing the woman who asked, "What is V-I-T-A-dot-M-N?" hadn't seen them before. Click here for Vita.mn's photo gallery from the show.
The band played to the mass audience with a playful cover of Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down" to kick off its three-song encore. Its own poppy hits "Bang Pop" (which opened the show) and "Free Energy" (just before the encore) also got plenty of newbies dancing and smiling. Free Energy faithfuls were treated to a handful of new tunes, including an especially Stonesy, cowbell-laden rocker mid-set and another rowdy one called "Backscratcher" -- a cocky downhill skiier move -- which sparked an onstage debate over which ski places from their youths are still open (no to Frontenac, but yes to Buck Hill and Welch Village).
I'm foreseeing a local chalet gig somewhere in Free Energy's future.
