Recap: Jon Wayne & the Pain, Indubious & Irie Minds in Mankato 4/5
On April 5, Jon Wayne and the Pain played a show at a club in Mankato, Minnesota called Red Rocks. An event such as this attracts an unusual crowd. Normally, a weekend at Red Rocks is composed almost strictly of college students who are dressed to impress, ready for club music and to make poor decisions. But when a band like Jon Wayne and the Pain shows up, the students are kept at bay, and the festival friends come out to play.
Shows held at Red Rocks don’t extend too far past midnight. The usual crowd must still have their moment, after all. But with early night privileges allowed, Jon Wayne and the Pain, Indubious, and Irie minds filled our yearning hearts with the reggae rock beats most of us had been eagerly awaiting since last fall.
Irie Minds didn’t have to travel far to make it to the show, as they reside in Mankato. As the crowd began to fill in, the four-man band started off the night with its upbeat, feel good reggae sound. A saxophone player and a trumpet player accompanied the band on stage, adding a “ska” vibe to the band’s performance. The band’s already infectious stage energy was only accentuated by their very enthusiastic bass player, who was later found among the crowd dancing along to the show’s remaining acts.
Indubious took the stage next, comprised of just a bassist, a keyboardist, and a drummer. Still in tune with the theme of the night, the band’s sound moved the energy in a bit of a different direction. Heavy, passion filled reggae beats overcame the venue; the kind that moves your soul. Dedicated to their mission of sending a message of love and hope into the world, they made damn sure they had the instrumentals to back it up. The crowd filled in with friends, strangers, and dancing lovers alike as the band moved us all closer to each other and ourselves.
Jon Wayne and the Pain switched up the sound one final time for night. Its electronic- infused party rock reggae ensured that every inch of the filled in crowd was just as enthusiastic as the next. As the band performed their well known song, “Festival Friends,” I realized that I truly was surrounded by all of my festival friends. One of those friends took it upon himself to hoist me up onto his shoulders until security told me to get down. And so I got down. We all did. And we continued to do so, right up until the unfortunate time of night when the club quit being a venue and resumed being a club.
Photos by Autumn Ederman
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