Damn Glad I Went To Gluek's

It's about 10:30pm on a Wednesday, I'm dressed in a suit after a long night of work.  My buddy Matt calls me after he got off work and says, "Hey you wanna go check out this band I saw last Wednesday?"  Now, I'm dog tired and have a killer headache but something made me commit and agree to go down there.  Part of it was I told myself I'd start going to more shows downtown again, but then again I sort of just got up and got in his car.

He told me the band is called The Root City Band but didn't say too much more about it and just said I'd enjoy it.  We were headed to Gluek's bar in downtown Minneapolis.  Let me just say, a $3 cover wasn't nearly enough after what I saw and we made sure to grab a CD to make up for it.  I get there and there is this funky, bluesy, rock, alternative, some-kind-of-soul music blastin.  Wow.  They were so solid tight but fluid enough to make the performance special and rock with whatever itched them.  I could see the sax and horn player working out rhythm stabs in the background; the bass was rockin silky smooth bass lines all night; the drummer was on point and driving the group; the keyboard player was watching everyone and running those fingers over the keys in a way you think should be illegal;  and what can I say about Alex Rossi.  The man has a voice that makes you shiver.  It's full and soulful with a touch of blues rock to it.  Oh the guitar riffs too, good god.  I loved every song and every song you couldn't help to move to.  I don't think there was one person in that bar that could've ignored what was being played.

I talked with every member that night and they are a great group of guys to boot.  They've been doing this for a solid 5 years now playing anywhere from The Nomad to Famous Dave's in Uptown.  Apparently there is this guy named Heatbox too that joins them who does vocal percussion and loops it into the songs.  Unfortunate I missed him, but I'm sure I'll be seeing him next time I go to check them out because you better believe where I'm going to be most Wednesday nights regardless of being exhausted and nursing a spliting headache.  As soon as you get to Glueks on a Wednesday night it all gets lost in the mix.  They are managed by MJG Productions who also have Heatbox, Nathan Miller, and The Big Wu.  Here are some good videos and tracks of  Alex Rossi and the Root City Band who are on Spotify as well.  Enjoy, and get to Glueks Wednesday nights starts at 9:45pm 21+.  Think about it.