Run Westy Run Album Release Show with The Mood Swings
Review by: Dan Michener, Writer/Photographer @insomniac199
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Run Westy Run at the Turf Club, March 3rd 2023
It’s kinda hard to put a Run Westy Run show into words. It’s a whirlwind. It’s rock, it’s funk. It’s showmanship, it’s musical talent…it’s just fun.
This was Run Westy Run’s record release show…it’s only been twenty eight years!
“The Westies” came out and refused to stop. I got the feeling we were all going to be there until dawn. They sucked the crowd in with their energy and passion. Frontman Kirk is a true entertainer. Tie that in with the musicianship of the band, and you've got yourself a Friday night.
In the words of David Lee Roth, bringing the “Boom to the Room!”
Maybe what makes a Run Westy Run show so much fun is that they are all really nice guys. They engage with their fans. Their charisma draws the crowd closer and in the end, the room feels like a party. The Westies can bring it to a basement, a roof top (I saw them last summer on top of the Westin Hotel in Minneapolis), a stage like Palmers patio, or in Duluth (where a friend and I drove to see them last November).
Opening up the night was Mood Swings. I can’t lie: I love me some Mood Swings. I’ve seen them a few times over the past year, the first opening for Soul Asylum at First Avenue. Ashley Ackerson, of Flower’s Studios in Minneapolis, brought the perfect warm up. The band always has catchy Rock-Pop songs, with the right hint of the famous Manchester Sound influences. Tonight, they gave it a extra little grit and snarl to their performance. Kat “Pony” Smith on Guitar and Mark Wade on Bass (both members of the veteran Minnesota band, The Melismatics, with Mike Reiter on drums were the perfect compliment to the spectacle that is Run Westy Run.
Check em out on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp
