MINNEAPOLIS —
A lot of folks know about First Avenue, the Minneapolis music venue put on the map by Prince, but lesser known is the associated but much smaller subterranean 7th Street Entry.
Despite its limited capacity (it’s capped at 250 people) it hosts some solid shows.
One coming up is this Friday when Dogs in a Pile, an Asbury Park, N.J.-based band plays the venue. The band merges funk and jazz with psychedelic rock.
Buffalo Galaxy has emerged as a Minneapolis string band that enjoys getting into spacey improvisation.
Photo courtesy of Buffalo Galaxy
If you’re able to make the show don’t miss Buffalo Galaxy, a rising Minneapolis jam grass outfit that is opening. Doors for the event open at 8 p.m., with music scheduled for 9 p.m.
I first saw Buffalo Galaxy back in November of 2019, when they opened for Julian Davis and The Situation (which featured late Kind Country lead Max Graham) at the Hook & Ladder Theater.
Buffalo Galaxy has grown a lot since then, and they navigate their dusty string jams out where galactic bison roam. Some of their jams recently have involved sit ins with members of supporting bands or vice versa.
Guitarist Johnny “Hothands” Kovarik enjoys collaboration and where it can take improvisations.
Photo courtesy of Buffalo Galaxy
Kovarik likes more than the way those resulting jams sound.
“That is what we have been trying to do more of — share bills with people,” Kovarik said. “It seems to be better in almost every sense. It is better for the audience. It also makes for more camaraderie in the scene. It makes it more fun for us, making friends and sharing stages and moments.”
He was excited to support Dogs in a Pile, a young band that has been generating some buzz on the jam scene. And it’s a smart move for a national touring act to tap a local band that is a natural fit to draw an audience that is likely to appreciate both bands.
Dogs in a Pile has its Winter Rescue Tour underway with about a month of touring left in the tour.
Those remaining dates include Iowa City, Iowa (March 2), Minneapolis (March 3), Chicago (March 4), Kalamazoo, Mich. (March 5), Covington, Ky. (March 8), Lakewood, Ohio (March 9), Ann Arbor, Mich. (March 10), Pittsburgh (March 11), Buffalo, N.Y. (March 12), Rochester (March 15), Ithaca, N.Y. (March 16), Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (March 17), Jay’s Peak, Vt. (March 18), Pembroke, Mass. (March 19).
The tour takes a break as the band opens for the Disco Biscuits at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, N.Y., March 23-24. That shows how the band’s star is rising.
Dogs in a Pile finishes off its tour with 9 shows in Colorado: Denver (March 29), Steamboat Springs (March 30), Crested Butte (March 31), Denver (April 5), Frisco (April 7), Fort Collins (April 8), Denver (April 12), Boulder (April 14), and Denver (April 19).
For ticket information go here.
Buffalo Galaxy also has some things brewing, including an album. Kovarik said it’s being worked on at a basement studio with the luxury of no time constraints.
“The studio is free,” he said, of working with sound engineer Nick “Birthday” Coleman (also a friend of JamintheStream.com). “It is nice and homie. There is no pressure. … We just show up and throw down.”
Stay tuned for news of that record in the coming months.