Coach Said Not To

Not to long ago, I checked out Coach Said Not To's first EP from the library, and was instantly hooked. They've been playing a handful of shows around town recently, but tonights show at the Turf Club was the first I was able to attend.

I had ridden my mtn bike out to St Paul, and when the bartender noticed me packing my helmet and jacket into my mess bag, he was like "hey, are you a winter rider? You can toss your bag back here if you like." Cool.

Invited a few friends, and figured I'd be lucky if I'd get one or two to show up. I was pleasantly surprised that Doug, Landon, Bjorn and his wife all showed, and we all had a great time.

Coach Said Not To ("Coach Told Me Not To" as Doug would say) played a solid set, although not quite what I expected. They had some great harmonies, and quirky stage presence, but just weren't quite as "rocking" as hoped for. They were constantly perched on the cusp of rocking out, but never quite going over the edge. Such teases.

Second band was Belles of Skin City. They played an extremely tight set, and their frontman's lyrical delivery needs to be seen to be appreciated. They also mixed things up a bit by swapping instruments between members from song to song.

Third band doesn't warrant mention, and we took off after about 2 songs from them. Landon rode back with me to uptown, despite it being a few miles out of his way. He was practicing fishtail-like rear-wheel fixie skids in the snow on the way, and I'm sure if I tried that on my fix I'd be on my ass in a blink. I need to get some skillz.

Back home, I smelled like a disgusting ashtray. Ugh. Really hope that St Paul's new mayor gets moving on a stronger smoking ban - it really can't come too soon.