On Feb. 21, The Underground Music Venue in Minneapolis held a show featuring five wildly unique punk bands: Bolts, Anita Velveeta, Combat, Michael Cera Palin and Your Arms Are My Cocoon. This event, which lasted nearly five hours, attracted a diverse crowd of Twin Cities punks, young and old. What followed was far more than a night of live music — it was a show of healing, care, camaraderie and love. Attendees were not just having fun but also helping each other find hope, in spite of the overwhelming hate and violence faced by marginalized communities at this fraught political moment.
Bolts, a Minneapolis-based hardcore band, were the first to perform. When Bolts started playing, the venue had only just begun to fill up with attendees, but this did not stop them from energizing the slowly growing crowd. Bolts played the most abrasive set of the night, mixing distorted bass with roaring percussion and screaming vocals. Band members took turns encouraging the audience to start moshing, at one point yelling: “If you have health insurance, prove it!” They were followed by Anita Velveeta, a Minneapolis-based artist who blends hardcore and breakcore sounds in her energetic set. Velveeta described herself as “Minneapolis’ loudest transexual,” a title she backed with strong, piercing vocals. Velveeta’s band matched her energy from start to finish. Their set consisted entirely of new music from an upcoming album she claimed was releasing “whenever.”
Unfortunately, Velveeta’s set was interrupted twice by audience members getting injured in the mosh pit. Thankfully, nobody was seriously hurt, but Velveeta reminded attendees to “take care of each other,” even while roughhousing. She urged concert-goers not to act as if they were “the main character,” quipping that “main characters” don’t “live in Minneapolis.”
Combat then took the stage. Last December, the Baltimore-based rock band released their third LP “Stay Golden,” a pop-punk album reminiscent of bands Bomb The Music Industry! and Modern Baseball. When I saw Combat perform in 2021, before the release of their first album “Text Me When You Get Back,” I instantly became a fan. So, I was delighted to see the band’s live presence had only improved since then.
Combat’s performance was electrifying — perhaps too much so, as the venue’s sound system experienced multiple outages, derailing their performance. During the outages, band members engaged the audience with rock paper scissors and Superman trivia. Still, Combat managed to play a lengthy set. Lead performer Holden Wolf even brought out Michael Cera Palin’s Elliot Brabant to cover Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” for a punchy finale.
The next band to perform was Michael Cera Palin (MCP). Though the Atlanta-based emo band turns ten this year, this was their first-ever show in Minneapolis. MCP mostly played songs from their two hit EPs but announced that their debut album would be released on March 7. Songs “Go Home. Play Music. Feel Better.” and “Portrait of a Woman on a Couch” were crowd favorites that prompted much cheering and singing along.
Lead vocalist/guitarist Elliot Brabant, who is non-binary, urged attendees to fight discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community by conservative lawmakers. They urged allies of queer Americans to use their privilege by vehemently protesting anti-LGBTQ bills and contacting local and state legislators. Brabant also asked concert-goers to consider how they can use art-making to fight hate and effect change. They then told queer attendees to stay strong and remain hopeful, saying: “Please continue to be here.”
The night ended with music from the Chicago-based band Your Arms Are My Cocoon (YAAMC). The brainchild of singer/guitarist Tyler Odom, YAAMC’s music blends screamo vocals with twinkly guitar riffs, lo-fi production and the occasional saxophone solo to create something wholly unique. Their sound is simultaneously aggressive and sentimental, brash and intimate. The group’s set comprised both fan-favorites from their 2020 self-titled EP and new songs from their 2024 album “death of a rabbit.”
YAAMC’s emotionally charged music deeply moved the crowd. During the band’s softer songs, groups of attendees wrapped arms around each other or swayed together. YAAMC capped off their set with “Metamorphosis,” a ballad and fan-favorite. During the song’s final chorus, Odom grabbed his guitar and walked into the crowd. They knelt on the floor, performing the song with their whole body while the audience sang beside them. It was a poignant and powerful moment — one which perfectly captured the sense of community this evening had fostered.
As the house lights flickered to life, I was struck by a feeling of deep contentment. I was surrounded by people who fought hate, fear and cynicism — people who instead chose to care deeply for the world and for each other. What I saw that evening was a radical act of caring, one I am grateful to have been a part of. Whatever storm may be coming, I knew at least that I would not be weathering it alone.
