Are you a working stiff? A yuppie without a cause?
Has THE MAN got you down? Tired of all work and no play?
Sick of Big Brother breathing down your neck while you push paper across your desk and all you want is your own damn stapler?!
Maybe you're just stuck in a moment and can't get out of it (Thanks, U2).
Look no further; Culture Vulture has found your saving grace.
The local self-proclaimed "stompin' blues" band, The 4onthefloor, will cure your worldly aches and pains, that is, if your little ears can handle four bass drums being played in unison.
If they can't, don't bother. And save the nightlife for the young and young at heart.
This past Friday evening at The Acadia Cafe in Cedar-Riverside, The 4ontheFloor made their second appearance in one week after a long winter and spring laying low. (Their last show was in late December at Downtime in Dinkytown). Now the foursome has
re-emerged with their four bass drums, new songs, and a banner, which everyone knows legitmizes any band. Even though The Acadia is all ages, one can't help but get wrapped up in the crowd of teen dancing queens and rocker-wannabes. Most are almost too hip to function. Almost. But once those drums start beating, so do all our hearts. In unison. We stomp out our aggressions, our fears, our loneliness, and our demons.
Relatable songs like "Working Man Zombie" (And that chain around your ankle keeps you tied to the places that you fear the most/ It keeps you right back at the starting line/ Either way you know that it's closing time, all right...) take the old ball and chain nomenclature and use it to refer to one's day job, while perhaps unintentionally borrowing from the massive archive of pop culture references stored in songwriter Gabe Douglas' brain to produce a line that seems both familiar and bastardized for the greater good. ("The Places That You Have Come to Fear the Most" by everyone's favorite emo band Dashboard Confessional, and the iconic Semisonic hit "Closing Time").
Aside from unifying lyrics, the ability to get people toe-tapping, and creating near-chaos with everyone yelling along, the band is musically apt. Clever fermatas keep the audience paying attention, even while all songs are in 4/4 time, and the new tunes show off some of the dirtiest guitar riffs the Minneapolis scene has heard from a new local band in years.
Next local gig is rumored to be in July. Until then, build up some tensions (I know this might be a problem for some of you) so you have something to release at the next 4onthefloor show. Bring your dad. He'll thank you for it.
Listen to "Working Man Zombie" http://www.myspace.com/the4onthefloor
Follow 'em! Twitter.com/the4onthefloor
Become a Fan on Facebook.com Search "The 4onthefloor"
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