God Johnson @ The Cabooze 6/11

After holding down the coveted Wednesday night slot for over four years, God Johnson will end it's reign of funk and rawk over the Cabooze on June 25th. Having only a few more opportunities for the mid-week throwdown that has been a staple in my musical endeavors since I became a citizen of Minneapolis just under four years ago, I decided I simply must attend each week and savor these remaining moments of the fabled Wednesday night Rockshow.

Opening tonight was The Histronic, a three piece spacey electronic outfit from Minneapolis:



These guys brought out far more people than are usually around for the opening band, which was a good sign. Playing their last few songs with Kevin Sinclair, the sax player from GJ, they tore through some synthy funk with some standout percussion.



When God Johnson took the stage, the place filled up and the crowd was so young and fresh faced that the band wondered aloud just how many of these kids were just 18 and barely out of high school. Many excited youngsters responded that they were just that young by letting out loud shrieks. These young college students and post high school students absolutely love to come out and party on Wednesday nights and who can blame them?

One of the highlights of GJ's two sets were "Psycho Killer" masterfully performed by keyboardist Scott Rourke in David Byrne mode before it was stretched out into a nice spacious jam. Other favorite moments were "Mobile", a super funked out "Boogie on Reggae Woman", Phish's "Llamar", and an "Electric Shoes" encore.






Although I will definitely miss the Wednesday nights, God Johnson has some exciting things planned for the near future. August will see the GJ cover The Rolling Stones' record Sticky Fingers at Trocadero's downtown, and on a crazy boat ride benefit called Rock Boat. I am certain that the last Wednesday night Rockshow June 25th will be a major blowout and is not to be missed.