Trampled by Turtles remember Mimi Parker, salute Duluth at Armory

Trampled by Turtles performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Charlie Parr was the opening act.Darin Kamnetz for MPR

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November 28, 2022

Trampled by Turtles stage a yearly outdoor waterfront concert in Duluth which has grown into a highly anticipated rite of summer — an event that celebrates local music, bright sunshine, and gentle lake breezes with 10,000 or so friends from their old neighborhood.

Saturday night, the six-piece delivered all those warm, good vibes to the dark, cavernous, and sold-out Minneapolis Armory. The uplifting 25-song, two-hour performance demonstrated the band didn’t need a grand Lake Superior backdrop to make Minnesota music memories.

Touring behind its recently released long player, Alpenglow, Trampled by Turtles started the concert with three songs from the record: “It’s So Hard to Hold On” celebrated old friendships with beautiful waves of harmony; “Starting Over” featured a screaming eagle fiddle solo and a hopping cello; and “Lifetime to Find” wrapped a folky, banjo-colored blanket on a song written by Wilco founder and Alpenglow producer Jeff Tweedy. All three songs felt like they had been part of the band's repertoire for years.

“It’s so good to be in Minneapolis,” said frontman Dave Simonett. “We haven’t played in Minneapolis in a long time.” Six years to be exact. The group’s last Mill City performance was at Hall’s Island in 2016.

A man strums an acoustic guitar and sings into a microphone — Trampled by Turtles performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Charlie Parr was the opening act.
Darin Kamnetz for MPR

A man plays a mandolin next to a man playing a fiddle — Trampled by Turtles performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Charlie Parr was the opening act.
Darin Kamnetz for MPR

The lost time led to some great readings of older material. Fiddle player Ryan Young wielded a day-glow green bow like a sword through “The Darkness and the Light” and bearded mandolin ace Erik Berry ended “Victory” with an electrifying solo that stopped like a plug was pulled.

Founded in Duluth in 2003, the band is still inspired and grounded by the city. Simonett launched the new song “Central Hillside Blues” on solo guitar while a knowing cheer went up following the lyric: “They ripped up the streets in old Duluth.”

A pairing of “The Middle” and “Burn for Free” highlighted the band’s tightly wound rhythm section anchored by bassist Tim Saxhaug and cellist Eamonn McLain. And banjo player Dave Carroll should have worn a fire suit instead of tie-dye as he led the group through his roaring instrumental “Sounds Like a Movie.”

Blistering hard takes on favorites like “Wait So Long,” “Codeine,” and “Annihilate” brought out the cell phones and got the crowd — many dressed in buffalo plaid and ball caps — dancing on the long, narrow main floor.

In an emotional end to its main set, the band welcomed Alan Sparhawk to the stage to perform the Low song “When I Go Deaf.” Making his first stage appearance since the cancer death of his wife and Low bandmate Mimi Parker three weeks ago, Sparhawk took lead vocals and produced a loud, climactic electric guitar send-off that shook the heavens.

“It was a real honor to be playing a song with Al tonight,” Simonett told the audience in the resulting encore. “We all really miss Mim. Low is the coolest band on earth.”

The heartbreakingly beautiful harmonies of perhaps the group’s biggest song “Alone” came next. Simonett and Saxhaug followed with a duet on the Tom Waits cover “Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)” featuring the lyric: “Farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes.”

“Whiskey,” from the group’s debut album, ended the night with a sing-a-long.

A man sings into a microphone while playing a guitar — Trampled by Turtles performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Charlie Parr was the opening act.
Darin Kamnetz for MPR

Folk blues picker Charlie Parr, a Duluth music treasure, opened the night with a rousing 12-song set. Parr, on resonator guitar, and washboard percussionist Mikkel Beckman performed seated on stage like they do in small barrooms and clubs around the world. “We’re going to play happy folk songs for happy folks,” said Parr, who noted 84-year-old Minneapolis bluesman Spider John Koerner was in the audience.

“He’s been my guitar hero since the first time I saw him play,” said Parr. “Thank you John for everything.” Simonett later thanked Parr for setting a warm tone to the evening.

Trampled by Turtles & Charlie Parr