3.6.25 Saltydog at Hook and Ladder's Mission Room
The initial Thursday of their March residency was a smashing success.
“Northwoods Funk Jam Band” is how the six-piece describes itself, and Saltydog certainly brought that unique flavor of funk to their first of four Thursdays at The Hook & Ladder’s Mission Room in South Minneapolis. The smaller venue is inside the Hook, adjacent to the wonderful, newish Zen Arcade where Heggie’s pizza, video games, vinyl, and all manner of THC gummies and beverages are available.
Saltydog impressed those who hadn’t seen them before during what may have been the first two-set show I’ve seen the band perform ‘down here in The Cities’, as I would have said back when I was a Northlander. One word that kept going through my mind Thursday was ‘groovy’, as they kept locking into a captivating, surfy groove throughout the night.
Bent Paddle, the wildly successful brewery in the revitalized Lincoln Park area of Duluth, is The Dogs’ home turf. After two solid years of ‘High Key Mondays’ they have established a solid following up north and beyond. Last summer, they played what may have been their largest gig to date, at Eau Claire’s Blue Ox Festival, where they performed on the second biggest stage for thousands of new fans.
It’s been exciting to see the band earn a fanbase here with shows in the Twin Cities recently, and set up shop with this weekly residency (High Key Thursdays?) at one of our city’s favorite venues.
Started as a trio in 2019 by The Brothers Mahon (Jacob on guitar and Owen on drums) and Calvin ‘Calzone’ Lund on bass, the six piece also features percussion from Brian ‘Lefty’ Johnson of the Black Eyed Snakes and old school Duluth ska rockers The Black Labels, Gavin St. Clair on keyboards, and Sam Deters on guitar.
The evening started out with Minnesota Moon, a Big Wu classic that the Wu are fond of opening with. It really set the right tone with a celebratory “Hey now, is everybody here!?”
The tune “Barfly” made an impression on me at their show at 7th Street Entry in January, and I was glad to hear it again Thursday night, where it was preceded by a lively rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Mr. Charlie”.
Here’s a partial setlist:
MN Moon
Come Home Soon
Karaoke at the VFW
Farmer Norm
Who Put the Hat on the Hound
Mr Charlie
Barfly
Will Effertz of Twine was the special guest and sat in for nearly all of the second set, leading the band through a number of songs including the JJ Cale classic/Widespread Panic staple “Ride Me High”.
This week’s guests are Erik Koskinen and live art from Kathryne Ford.
Guests the rest of the month will be Cold Sweat on 3.20 and Duluth powerhouse singer Boss Mama on the 27th.
I’m looking forward to attending all three remaining shows in the series. I’ll also be looking forward to seeing Jacob and Owen playing mandolin and upright bass, respectively, with Teague Alexy this Saturday at the Aster Cafe as part of Teague and the Paddy Wagon!
Come Home Soon:
Ride Me High: