On one hand, there's an important and meaningful side to the variety show residency gigs the Black Widows are hosting every Thursday in March in Minneapolis.
"It's Women's History Month, so we wanted to support women and gender-affirmative artists of all kinds all month long," guitarist and co-vocalist Corinne Caouette explained.
On the other hand…
"We also just wanted to create a bunch of fun parties where people can be enamored with sparkles and goofiness," Caouette added, "a whole other environment where it's not just about watching our band perform onstage."
So watch out, boring old rock band gigs, here comes "The Greatest Night Ever." That's how the Black Widows are cheekily billing their four-week run at the Hook & Ladder's Mission Room, kicking off this Thursday and continuing every week this month with different performers of varying genres under rotating themes all four nights.
This week's installment, for instance, will feature burlesque dancers alongside experimental jazz-rock group Rabeca and femme-punk rocker Elour — plus games, prizes and other fun bits of audience participation offered every week. The shows are offshoots of house parties the band used to throw under the same name, as well as open mic nights they've hosted at Palmer's Bar.
Subsequent installments at the Hook & Ladder this month will feature garage-rocky bands Tiny Daggers and the Unnamed with comedian Qadira and DJ Megan O (March 14), followed by psychedelic rockers Ice Climber and more comedy (March 21) and then a dual karaoke and open mic night for the finale (March 28).
"It's all based on the idea we don't want to be limited to just performing with musicians," Caouette said, "and we love crossing genres and creating more of a community vibe."
Black Widows bassist Pamela Laizure added, "Residencies can sometimes be kind of underwhelming when it's the same band playing a lot of the same stuff every week.
"There are so many opportunities to go see a straight-ahead rock show every night of the week in this city, we thought we'd offer something different at least for these four nights."
The Black Widows themselves will perform every week, too, but their sets, sounds, looks and even lineups will change with the shows.
Since forming the band in 2016, Caouette and Laizure and a rotating cast of drummers — Madalyn Rowell of Crush Scene and Mad Mojo Jett is their current go-to timekeeper — have evolved from a vintage instrumental surf-rock ensemble to more of a lyrical punk and psyche-rock band. Their latest release, the three-song EP "Dance with the Devil," even showed off an almost goth-like sinisterness.
Next up is an instrumental album emphasizing their surfy aesthetic, which has earned them slots in surf/tiki-theme festivals around the country and even in Spain recently. But they're also working on a rock album with lyrical songs.
"We like having the freedom to show off different sides and not being narrowed down to just one niche or genre," Caouette explained.
Conversely, the Black Widows also like presenting a single, cohesive look on stage. The group is known for concocting matching outfits for their shows, ranging from rough-and-tumble-looking, all-black jumpers to shimmery, glammed-out dresses.
"It takes away the individual element, and it makes us feel safe," Laizure said of the wardrobe synchronization. "Plus, it's just fun, sort of in the vein of the girl groups of the '60s and the surf-rock groups, too, a lot of whom also all dressed alike.
"And it sort of makes it easier. Instead of worrying about what to wear one night individually, we're like, 'Should we wear the purple sparkled onesie tonight, or what?'"
That's putting the "variety" and the "show" in "variety show."
Greatest Night Ever
With: The Black Widows and rotating guests.
When: 7:30 p.m. every Thu. in March.
Where: Hook & Ladder Mission Room, 3010 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $10-$15, thehookmpls.com.
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