Last night we had the pleasure of seeing Girlyman play at the 7th Street Entry, part of historic First Avenue! My friend Jim noticed they were coming into town and Jim, Tammy and I got tickets right away. We all know about Girlyman from our dear friend Hadar in New York. In November of last year, Hadar and Lois saw Girlyman for the 21st time. Hadar and Lois are huge fans and sent us a two of their albums, Joyful Sign and Everything’s Easy, to listen to a couple of years ago. We all headed to “the Entry” for the Girlyman experience in person!

The Opener

Young woman with dark hair smiling and reclining on a green velvet sofa with her hands behind her head

Edie Carey opened for Girlyman, but I wouldn’t really describe it as an opener since Girlyman backed her the entire set. There was a bit of confusion on the start time of the show. We thought it was 7pm doors with the opener coming on sometime after that. Then Jim got an email saying that the show was starting at 6:30pm sharp. A final check of the 7th Street Entry Web site gave a 6pm start. After getting the babysitter set and driving we didn’t get there until a bit after 6:30pm and Edie’s set was half over. She has a great voice and I enjoyed her music. She did a stellar cover of “Falling Slowly” from the Once soundtrack.

Here is Edie on stage with Girlyman backing her.

Four musicians performing on a dimly lit stage, three playing guitars and singing into microphones, one at a keyboard wearing a hat.

I’m not exactly sure why she had her setlist duplicated.

Spiral notebook on a stage floor showing a setlist titled 7th Street Entry with song titles in black marker, surrounded by cables and a pink guitar cable.

Time for a quick set change and then Girlyman to take the stage.

Girlyman

Before Girlyman came on stage I took a moment to admire the variety of plucked string instruments at the ready.

Multiple guitars, a banjo, a mandolin, and a drum kit arranged on a dimly lit concert stage before a show. Four people in vintage-style outfits pose together looking down at the camera from above, against a white background.

Girlyman started the set with “See To See” and it was clear that a lot of people in the Entry were in love with their music and them and were so happy they were in town. One odd thing for me was a group of about 12 or so people that sat on the floor for the whole show. After years of seeing hardcore bands at the Entry and imagining the gallons of spilled beer over time it was a little out of place, but it seemed to fit the Girlyman vibe just fine. Hadar said it well in his most recent write-up of one of their shows:

The show last night was magical, as most Girlyman shows are. Everything flowed, musically and comically.

Agreed!

Three musicians perform on a dimly lit stage, two playing guitars and one playing banjo, all singing into microphones.

We’ve never seen the band but even reading a sampling of Hadar’s blog posts about Girlyman made me kind of feel like we knew them. They were fun to see and it was nice to hear them live. Their music does resonate better live, even though the recordings are impeccable. Tammy nabbed the set list and we even got it autographed!

Signed concert setlist from 7th St Entry Minneapolis dated Feb 11 2012 dedicated to Tammy Jim and Jamie with three signatures

The “REQUEST” slot was filled by Jim who hollered out for “St. Peter’s Bones”.

Ty

Three musicians performing on a dim club stage, two playing electric guitars and singing into microphones, with a drum kit visible at left.

I don’t know that Girlyman has a “frontman” (or “front woman”). After seeing them I would say no but before seeing them I always figured that Ty was that. Ty, Dorris and Nate all sing and have great voices but Ty’s voice hits me the best. She’s got a range that I love and I could listen to her sing about anything and enjoy it. She also strikes me as kind of a goofy chick.

Dorris

Woman with long dark hair plays acoustic guitar and sings into a microphone on a dimly lit stage while a man in a suit plays red electric guitar beside her.

Dorris shared the very scary story of her recent diagnosis of leukemia. She didn’t mention the specific diagnosis she received but just 10 years ago it was not very treatable, and now it’s much more manageable. After chemo and a blood transfusion the leukemia is in full remission. The song “Supernova” was written by Nate and Dorris said this song really took her through the procedure and meant zoo much too her. She also went through a very difficult bout with depression that she has just come through.

Nate

Man in a hat plays a keyboard synthesizer and sings into a microphone on a dimly lit stage with colorful lights overhead.

Nate was really cool and Tammy got to talk with Nate after the show when they were signing autographs. We shared that we knew Hadar and Lois and we instantly had a connection! Nate seemed like someone that you would have over for dinner and just keep the wine going and the belly laughs would be nonstop. Super fun guy with a great sense of humor. He lead a “battery song” while Ty was swapping out batteries in something and it was a riot. Dorris interjected “harpoon” halfway through the “battery” song and it just got better. One of those things you have to be there for I expect.

JJ

I dont’ have much of any pictures of JJ and she didn’t say anything in the show, so not much to share. 🙂

Band performing on a dimly lit stage, two guitarists and a keyboardist with microphones, audience silhouettes in foreground

The show was finished off with an encore performance of “Stayin’ Alive” (related video) by the Bee Gees that was, well, kick ass.

Supernova

Girlyman was selling their newest album, Supernova at the show. I tend to by nearly all my music in digital format with a notable exception for buying music direct from bands at their shows. It’s an important way to support artists and that’s one of the few venues where the artists get a good chunk of the proceeds. Plus, as a huge bonus they all signed the album.

Four musicians stand together for a promotional photo on a signed CD booklet dedicated to Jamie, with four autographs visible on the right panel.

Here they are signing the albums. Girlyman’s Wikipedia page was behind so I added this album to their Discography there.

Group of people laughing and signing merchandise at a table backstage, one person wearing a brown fedora hat

We even got a photo with the group to send with Love back to Hadar and Lois!

Group of seven people smiling and posing together backstage at a music venue, one man wearing a Bronx Zoo hoodie, another in a brown hat

Thank you Hadar & Lois for introducing us all to Girlyman!