.
Back to the concert. The doors opened at 6pm, but there were two opening acts. We had no idea who those acts were until our arrival so we (there were four of us that went to the show together) went and got some dinner at Punch Pizza in St. Paul first. So, we arrived at about 6:30 or quarter to seven, and that was fine.
If you haven't been to the Varisty, it is an interesting place to see a concert. The main floor is open but there is seating along the walls. The seating isn't like movie seating or folding chairs. If you can find a place to sit, it will be amongst comfy couches, big poofy chairs, and more standard chairs around two person tables. Its actually a very cool venue and I could see how a wedding reception would fit right in. As for us, we waded into the crowd and got about five people back, just to the left of center stage. That would have been a great place to stand... If I were taller.
Every show I have been to, regardless of the venue, where it is standing room only, is a mixed bag. I'm five foot six inches tall. So, not a towering giant of a man physically but I am not afraid to raise my elbows and get close to the stage. This show was no exception for standing behind someone lame. We ended up standing behind this guy who was at least six foot three. Oh, he was also wearing a pinstripe suit coat with jeans which is hardly what I would call rock 'n' roll attire. He also spent most of the concert looking behind him to find one of his friends. The best part of his not so rock attitude was he spent at least half the concert time watching the show on his cell phone. I presume he was taking pictures but it was pretty weak.
The first opening act was American Bang. We only caught three, maybe four, of their songs. They had a solid sound. I would say they listened to a lot of Black Crows and Drivin 'N' Cryin. They played until about 7pm.
The next act was Donita Sparks. You may remember her as the lead singer of the now defunct L7. Not much to say about this act other than they only used red lights and I think they might have been pre-drunk. They still sounded a lot like L7. They played until about 8pm.
You may notice that the two opening acts played for about an hour a piece. That is just about the right amount of time for an opening act. The trouble is, that is about how long The Donnas played too. I don't think it was their fault. I think it is how the Varsity is set up. When the show had ended and we were flooding towards the exit, someone announced over the PA that anyone who was already inside could stay for another show that was happening at 10pm. Seems to me that four acts in one Friday night is a little much. Sure, it is a good deal for the ticket price (which I think was $20) but I would have preferred to have The Donnas play longer.
The Donnas took the stage at 8:05 and played until 9:15pm with one encore. There was just the right amount of banter between songs. Brett Anderson (lead vocals) kept the crowd of a couple hundred people (I'm guessing from the exiting crowd I saw) involved and hyped up. Allison Robertson truly is a guitar hero and laid down blistering licks all night. I couldn’t see much of Maya Ford (bass) or Torry Castellano (drums) but I can say the songs were tight, loud, and definitely crowd pleasers. I for one yelled myself hoarse and I think a lot of others did as well. One thing I can say for the Varsity, they have a great sound system.
Here The Donnas are rockin out "Fall Behind Me".
On to the most important part: The set list. They played songs from all across their albums, which was cool. They also played the one song I really wanted to hear: 5 O'clock In The Morning. That song has the best guitar solo in it! So, here you go, the set list:
Bitchin'
Don't Wait Up For Me
Skin Tight
Like An Animal
40 Boys in 40 Nights
What Do I Have To Do
Who Invited You
Girl Talk
Fall Behind Me
Wasted
You Wanna Get Me High
5 O'clock In The Morning
-Encore-
You Make Me Hot
Round and Round (Yes, an awesome cover of the Ratt song)
Take It Off
If you like fun hard rock, you should definitely get out to see The Donnas if they are in your town.
The Donnas Official Website
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