Durand Jones and the Indications is a band defined by their impressively immaculate vibe. I am willing to admit that I am not amazingly well-versed in the ’60s funk and soul music that inspired the band, but with that being said, I believe that Durand Jones and the Indications is the best thing to come out of Bloomington, Ind. Except for, of course, my friend and partner in musical analysis, Verl Burton ’29.
The venue, First Avenue (First Ave.), located in the heart of Minneapolis, was amazing, and it was my first (but will not be my last) time seeing a show there. First Ave. is relatively cozy for the size of the acts it attracts. Burton asked a bartender there (which I was too afraid to do), and she reported that the capacity is about 1,800 people. Tickets were also $35: unbelievably reasonable. Not to rave too much about the venue itself, but the atmosphere, lighting and general layout was wonderful. For all of the Portland, Ore. fans out there (like myself), it reminded me of the Roseland Theater downtown.
The opener was a band which I had not heard of, The Psycodelics which took me many attempts to spell correctly). I very much enjoyed their high-energy, upbeat, bass-slapping performance. Unrelated to their actual musical content, the keyboardist was so unbelievably jacked that just his tricep comprised the width of a normal person’s arm. They played for about 50 minutes, and the lead singer kept looking at the time, saying something like “we really gotta go,” and then proceeding to play another song. He did this two or three times before actually ending the set. Regardless, I absolutely loved it. The bass’ gain was cranked so high that I could feel it in my chest, and it felt like it was going to give me heart palpitations (in a good way). The music was dancey, and the crowd seemed to love it, but none of the songs got nearly as much applause as the lead singer/bassist did when he took his shirt off.
The crowd was one of the most demographically varied concert populaces that I have ever observed; there were plenty of college-student-looking attendees, along with a sizable chunk of the audience that looked like middle-aged, white dads. Perhaps it speaks to the quality of the band’s music that it can be enjoyed by stoners of all ages.
The energy of the titular lead singer Durand Jones was wonderful. He kept up his contagiously high energy for the duration of the show and, between every song, he flirtatiously smooth-talked the entire audience. However, despite the beautiful voice and amazing energy of Jones, the true star of the show was drummer and vocalist Aaron Frazer. Not only can he go crazy on the drums, but he also has the voice of a cherub baby angel. His vocals and his drumming were both absolutely mindblowing. Beyond that, Blake Rhein on guitar and Steve Okonski on keys were extremely impressive.
The band mostly played their newest album, “Flowers,” which brought a slower, more romantic energy to First Ave. During many such songs, the crowd devolved into couples making out, and much to the disappointment of many readers of The Mac Weekly, Burton and I did not do likewise. The band also played several hits from their most famous album, “Private Space,” such as “Witchoo” and “Ride or Die.” During these, the crowd went wild, and the upbeat and fast-paced energy of those particular songs made for my personal favorite part of the performance. I had a great time at the show, so much so that when a huge dude elbowed right in front of me, blocked my view and then pulled out a pipe and a lighter and started smoking the stinkiest weed known to man one foot in front of me, I didn’t mind that much. Even when he continued to smoke for the duration of the show, to the point that Durand Jones himself commented on it by looking over right in my direction and saying, “Oh, y’all smoking in here huh.”
To summarize the sound of Durand Jones and the Indications, it is an extremely groovy experience, with songs that feel like both a bouquet of flowers and a sparkling disco ball at the same time.
From Jones’ own description on the band’s website: “At the end of the day, I just want people to close their eyes and forget where they are. Just the way a Stevie Wonder album does for me.”
At the end of the day, none can put it more eloquently than my associate Burton. To quote him, the performance of Durand Jones and the Indications was “pretty good.”
