El Guante/Zoo Animal @ Stasius

After checking out the Minnesota Swarm game Friday night and getting home through the blizzard, I headed down to Stasius for the Rift Magazine benefit show. It was a really good lineup, but I mainly wanted to see El Guante/Big Cats and Zoo Animal, and luckily it worked out perfectly.

I got to the cozy NE venue shortly after El Guante started his set, and was very impressed by his great set (I have seen him a few times, but always seem to come in just in time for the last song). Photo by Jon Behm In addition to Big Cats making live beats, Guante had a sax player playing behind him, which was great backing music for his intricate rhymes. If you haven't heard El Guante, he is one of the best up and coming rappers in the Twin Cities and is a must hear for any hip hop (and non hip hop) fans. He mixed socio-economic hip hop (my favorite kind) with some more straightforward songs (including a great one about tattoos) that made for an excellent set of music. Guante had a little bit of a cold, which at some points made him sound like a rapping Tom Waits, but even with his cold he showed why he is one of the best rappers in the city.

Next up were Zoo Animal, a three piece band I have been digging a lot ever since I got a copy of their latest record, Young Blood. Their music is fractured pop music at its best led by lead singer Holly Hansen's great trembling voice. They played some new songs, but the highlights for me were them playing some of the excellent songs from their album, including my favorite song from their Young Blood, "My Lord"

El Gaunte and Zoo Animal are two of my favorite young bands in the Twin Cities and are well worth checking out, both on record and in concert. Also, if you have some spare change sitting around, send it over to Rift Magazine and support some cool independent media.