The crowd was still hyped from the performance that All Hail the Yeti put on for them but they were in for a treat as Minneapolis’s very own 3 Pill Morning was ready to hit the stage. The venue darkened once again and the music quieted as the band’s electronic-sounding introduction took its place, and one by one, the band members made their presence known; Jeff Stebbins, Ryan Welch (guitar), Ryan Lee (bass/vocals), and Trent Laugerman (drums), all wearing suits in support of their debut record released last year, Black Tie Love Affair. “It’s actually a lyric in one of our songs called ‘Skin’ and we pulled that out and we liked the Black Tie Love Affair concept and that’s even kind of come even further to our stage show and us wearing suits on stage and all that kind of stuff, so it’s become what this whole album is about and it’s been really cool,” explained Stebbins to Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel, when asked about the album title.
The band began to play their first song from the set, the one that really set the mood right, “Revolution”, followed by “Nothings Real”. The fans sang along to the lyrics passionately, some having a look on their faces as though they can relate to them. Earlier in the evening, Stebbins mentioned that the inspirations used to write the album were based on life experiences, “you know, stuff you see day in to day out, ranging from relationship stuff to stuff you see other people doing that drives you crazy to that sort of call to action kind of things, you know, life, just living.” The next to play was the band’s current killer single, “I Want That for You”; the crowd bounced to the beat and mouthed the words in an excited manner. “They evolve singing lyrics into a cell phone or typing some stuff out, a guitar riff or whatever just pops into the top of our heads. It really varies on every song. The cool part about it is you’ll never know where it’s going to come from or how you got there but it gets there eventually,” explained Stebbins when asked about the evolution of their song ideas. Subsequently the band played “Take Control” to which Stebbins encouraged the crowd to wave their arms from side to side, then “Rain” and the band’s first single, “Loser” played next. “We played a lot of amazing ones, you know, right now, I’d have to say The Fillmore in Detroit…it’s got some really cool architecture to it, a really awesome room. Same thing with the House of Blues in Boston, just massive, really cool vibe there. Those two are definitely at the top of my list,” said Jeff, explaining his favorite venues and why. The band’s vibe was through the roof, just absolutely intense and incredible; Lee and Welch rocking out hard to their bass and guitar, Laugerman beating the drums with such fierceness and Stebbins, filled with such energy, jumping as high as gravity allowed him.
The last song on their set was “Skin”, and Jeff shared his answer to Drexel’s last question as well as her favorite: what does music mean to you?: “It’s changed so much over the years; I mean music to begin with was just a way that I could find a link to what I was going through and somebody I had written a song about and being able to sing about it and express myself about it. Now music has become more an opportunity to make a living and a career and something that’s a part of me every single day, you know, it’s what I do now, instead of being able to experience it as a listener or something like that. To begin with, it’s just what helps shape who you are and helps you get through those tough times or celebrate the good times, too, so it does a lot of different things for different emotions and experiences.”
All in all, the band can put on a killer performance with such high energy. Be sure to check their Facebook to see when they hit a town near you. Black Tie Love Affair is available for digital download. If you want a good time, go see this band, they certainly know how to put on a show!
