$12 in advance / $15 at the door

9:30pm doors / 10:30pm showtime

Scott Laurent

Scott Laurent returns to play critically acclaimed debut album Caposville with original band members; Brian Halverson, Matt Heffernan, Andrew Ault and James Morris.

The Minneapolis music scene of the mid-late 80s was defined by songwriterssuch as Paul Westerberg, Dave Pirner and Bob Mould who wrote and played loud, fast punk rock. Alternatively, in the 90s, Minneapolis premier tunesmiths, while incorporating some of that punk attitude, deliver their stories with harmony and a twang. The torch of this so-called Americana music has been carried gracefully for the past half-decade by the likes of Mark Olson, Gary Louris and Martin Zellar but now there are other talents emerging. Adam Levy (The Honeydogs) and Eric Roberts (The Billys) and Scott Ehrenberg are writing songs that seem likely to keep this genre at the forefront of the Minneapolis scene for years to come.

Also part of this next generation is Scott Laurent. Caposville, the debut record of the Scott Laurent Band, exposes to the world what Twin Cities locals have known for years: that Laurent writes passionate, image-conjuring, Midwestern-style rock songs. And that he sings the hell out of them. Billys in a hurry / He’s got to go / Pushin the trigger down with his toe / She’s all right with her new beau / And so it goes. And so goes Madison, the leadoff song on Caposville, a tune that draws you in not only with its solemn imagery but with its hard rockin energy. Madison is typical of Laurents songs: When you listen to it, you don’t know whether to sit back and think about whats being said, or bounce around the room with the volume at eleven. Laurent writes about all the things one would expect a boy growing up in the Midwest to write about: driving (Paul’s Song; Blacktop And Lines), longing (It Always Happened In The Fall; Waiting For Me To Move), death (Afraid Of The Ground), and love (Meant To Be; Madison). His powerful voice rings with a raspy sweetness and honesty reminiscent of fellow Midwesterners Zellar and John Mellencamp. By the way, if I’ve misinterpreted any of Laurents songs, you’ll have to excuse me. While listening to Caposville, I am usually bouncing around the room with the volume at eleven.

NO DEPRESSION

JUNE 30, 1996