Before Low Cut Connie even took the stage, the conversations among the people sitting on the benches at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell at the Minnesota State Fair made clear: a lot of these people are fans. 

“I saw them at the Turf Club the first time they played here.”
“You were there?”
“Yeah – their first time in the Twin Cities.”
“Wow…”

There was already a lot of love for the band in the space, and the energy among the audience was palpable. Before the band came out, many gathered at the foot of the stage in anticipation. Those sitting didn’t remain so for long when Low Cut Connie came roaring onstage and tore into their opening number, “Boozophilia,” met instantly with whoops of recognition by the audience.

It was with that song — which, coincidentally, helped propel the band into the national spotlight in 2015 — that Low Cut Connie ripped tirelessly through a set filled with gems from their expansive catalogue, including “Death & Destruction,” “Shake It Little Tina,” “Beverly,” “Revolution Rock n Roll,” and “Big Thighs, NJ,” plus a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for the Man.”

As the band played, more and more people wandered closer to the stage, and more and more of those seated in the rows of benches got to their feet, captivated by firebrand, blues-laden rock tunes rolling off frontman and pianist Adam Weiner’s fingers. There were times, particularly during a passionate rendition of the song, “Sharyce,” that Weiner’s vocals hinted at fatigue — but the Philadelphia seven-piece backed each other up in the field like a well-practiced baseball team, with band members Miss Rocky and Abigail Dempsey picking up the vocals and throwing down the melody and high notes where needed.

And the baseball team analogy is fitting: the members of Low Cut Connie are athletes. For almost 90 solid minutes, the band never stopped playing — and not only playing their instruments and singing, but jumping, dancing, and using every bit of stage at their disposal. And based on the smiles they shared among themselves, it was clear they were having a great time.

Their break came about midway through the set, when Weiner introduced the band members, then promptly invited them to “take five” as he sat at the piano and played a tribute to Minnesota’s “two musical geniuses”: Bob Dylan and Prince. Weiner first performed a solo piano-and-vocal rendition of “Positively 4th Street,” injecting a few lines with some salty-language embellishments true to form for Low Cut Connie. Then Weiner led a sing-along to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” brought lovingly down-tempo and punctuated by Weiner telling the audience, “I miss Prince every day.”

Weiner then shifted to the Low Cut Connie original, “(No More) Wet T-Shirt Contests,” described as a protest song. As Weiner tickled the ivories and sang the ragtime-inflected tune, the band members began filtering back to their posts. Guitarist Will Donnelly took advantage of the moment for a bit of levity: he emerged from the wing carrying a large sign that read, “Minnesota State Fair – Amateur Talent Contest,” holding it up behind Weiner but out of the latter’s sight.

The band then rocked their way through a rollicking second half of their set, bringing the audience back to their feet. Near the end of the set, the band performed “Private Lives,” and they were visibly inspired by the audience belting out the chorus, “That’s the way we live / Don’t dwell on it / At the end of the day / We got love to give…”

A recurring theme at any Low Cut Connie show is love: Weiner continually expresses his affection for the audience, repeating many times, “I love you!” and “I love every person here tonight!” Twice, he even accidentally said “I love all of you—” terminating the sentiment with his signature, jocular use of a vulgar, Oedipal, multi-syllabic compound plural noun, then immediately putting his hand over his mouth in mock embarrassment and contrition, admitting, “They told me not to curse.” Of course, the audience just laughed and kept on dancing. There was plenty of love to be found at the Leinie Lodge on Thursday night, whether from longtime fans or newly minted ones.

When the show concluded spot-on at 10 p.m. due to noise ordinances, Donnelly re-emerged with the “Amateur Talent Contest” sign, holding it over his head and shouting audibly over the roaring adulation of the crowd, “We won!”

If Donnelly means Low Cut Connie won many hearts on Thursday night — they were winners indeed.

External Links

Low Cut Connie - official site

Minnesota State Fair - official site