2008 Woodie Awards
'Wilson' sings theatrical opera with violent riffs
Jason Schueppert
Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: Intermission
- Page 1 of 1
Renowned Minneapolis experimental rock act Fort Wilson Riot played a wild set Monday.
Fort Wilson Riot, a quartet composed of Joe Goggins, Jacob Mullis, Ben Smith and Amy Hager, rocked out on this week's "Monday Night Live" at KVSC.
With their snazzy tales of pirates and torment, they brought a nice flair for theatricality to the KVSC performance studio in Stewart Hall.
Coming off a successful run at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, they opened up with "The Birds Turn Violent," a track off their new album "Idigaragua."
With the quiet strum of the guitar and Hager's yearning voice, the group lured their audience in with a false sense of calm, but then things got weird.
The song began to shift into a more layered, frenzied affair, with shared vocals.
The bands violent riffs, melodic keys, bombastic fits and outbursts, the carnival barker voice and the shrill hag, lure listeners into a whole different world.
Throughout the show, Fort Wilson Riot tore through most of "Idigaragua," tapping into outlandish, but effective material like "A Debate, A Plank, A Plea."
They beat on propane tanks, clicked their tongues, surprised everyone with an appearance of the harmonica and generally wowed.
The group's ease in portraying multiple characters, fantasy lands, pirate scoundrels and terrified journalists is not a fluke, although it may appear to be.
Initially conceived as just another rock song, "Idigaragua," eventually grew and grew until it was a 54-minute, five-act indie rock opera.
More than 30 people had their hands in creating the stage show, which was filled with dancing, film, puppetry and actors lip-syncing the bands lyrics, all while portraying the epic battle of an unnamed American journalist on a journey in a unnamed country, and the terrors and doom that awaits him.
The daring and original piece of performance art caused quite a stir in the local music scene while managing to sell out their final show and turning people away at the door due to lack of room.
Selling out a show is pretty impressive for a group that was only formed in order to play one show at a wedding back in 2004. Luckily they were able to sense a good thing when it came along, and decided to continue on with the makeshift band.
With their combination of mixing rock with beat-boxing and distorted vocals, they've managed to snag the coveted "Best Live Band" by the Star Tribune (2005) and the "Picked to Click" band in the Twin Cities City Pages (2005), in the beginning of their career together.
Though Fort Wilson Riot just wrapped up its stage show, the group is continuing to play regularly.
Next up is a Halloween show in Madison, Wis. and a pairing with the Canadian indie poppers Immaculate Machine at the 7th Street Entry Nov. 6.
To hear more from Fort Wilson Riot, go to myspace.com/24340438 or fortwilsonriot.com.
* Jason Schueppert is currently the music director at 88.1 FM KVSC.
Fort Wilson Riot, a quartet composed of Joe Goggins, Jacob Mullis, Ben Smith and Amy Hager, rocked out on this week's "Monday Night Live" at KVSC.
With their snazzy tales of pirates and torment, they brought a nice flair for theatricality to the KVSC performance studio in Stewart Hall.
Coming off a successful run at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, they opened up with "The Birds Turn Violent," a track off their new album "Idigaragua."
With the quiet strum of the guitar and Hager's yearning voice, the group lured their audience in with a false sense of calm, but then things got weird.
The song began to shift into a more layered, frenzied affair, with shared vocals.
The bands violent riffs, melodic keys, bombastic fits and outbursts, the carnival barker voice and the shrill hag, lure listeners into a whole different world.
Throughout the show, Fort Wilson Riot tore through most of "Idigaragua," tapping into outlandish, but effective material like "A Debate, A Plank, A Plea."
They beat on propane tanks, clicked their tongues, surprised everyone with an appearance of the harmonica and generally wowed.
The group's ease in portraying multiple characters, fantasy lands, pirate scoundrels and terrified journalists is not a fluke, although it may appear to be.
Initially conceived as just another rock song, "Idigaragua," eventually grew and grew until it was a 54-minute, five-act indie rock opera.
More than 30 people had their hands in creating the stage show, which was filled with dancing, film, puppetry and actors lip-syncing the bands lyrics, all while portraying the epic battle of an unnamed American journalist on a journey in a unnamed country, and the terrors and doom that awaits him.
The daring and original piece of performance art caused quite a stir in the local music scene while managing to sell out their final show and turning people away at the door due to lack of room.
Selling out a show is pretty impressive for a group that was only formed in order to play one show at a wedding back in 2004. Luckily they were able to sense a good thing when it came along, and decided to continue on with the makeshift band.
With their combination of mixing rock with beat-boxing and distorted vocals, they've managed to snag the coveted "Best Live Band" by the Star Tribune (2005) and the "Picked to Click" band in the Twin Cities City Pages (2005), in the beginning of their career together.
Though Fort Wilson Riot just wrapped up its stage show, the group is continuing to play regularly.
Next up is a Halloween show in Madison, Wis. and a pairing with the Canadian indie poppers Immaculate Machine at the 7th Street Entry Nov. 6.
To hear more from Fort Wilson Riot, go to myspace.com/24340438 or fortwilsonriot.com.
* Jason Schueppert is currently the music director at 88.1 FM KVSC.