Last night I went to what is almost certain to be my last concert of 2025, a bill of local metal bands at an instrument store/school/coffee shop called Klash Coffee. I had never heard of any of the bands playing, nor had I been to the venue before. But I had a free night and it was a $10 cover (with Toys for Tots donations also strongly encouraged), and a friend agreed to go with, so we braved the subzero temperatures to go check out the show. I'm incredibly glad I did. 

Klash Coffee (a.k.a Klash Drums) is a straight edge venue in Columbia Heights, Minnesota at the end of a small row of stores on Central Avenue. It sits next to the DMV and is a couple doors down from an African restaurant. A block up is a pool hall, and Minnesota's oldest continuously operated movie theater The Heights Theater is a minute away on the other side of the street. In other words, its not exactly the type of place that you'd look at and say "I bet they host rippin' Saturday night death metal shows."

The lineup included Fear the Dark, Andthecanaryfell., Body, and Paralyzer, all heavy bands from around the Twin Cities. I missed Paralyzer's set completely, arriving partway through Body's short set. Body is a metal/hardcore band from Minneapolis, with some little flourishes that reminded me of the heyday of nu metal (in a good way!). I heard the owner tell the band afterwards that theirs was the loudest set in the history of the venue. 

Up next was Andthecanaryfell., who describe themselves as blackened emo. Although I struggled to hear the vocals at times, theirs was my favorite set of the evening. They had some electronic elements they used to add atmosphere and texture, and their playing was tight and intricate. They seem to be the most established of the bands I saw, with releases going back to 2022. I'll be checking out more of their stuff. 

Up last was Fear the Dark, a brutal death metal band from St. Paul. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of bands with Cannibal Corpse-style vocals, but these guys are very good at what they do. They had the crowd completely in their sway for the entirety of their short set.

Speaking of the crowd, the assembled audience was what really put the night over the top for me. In addition to being a straight edge venue, Klash is also all ages, and that was very much on display. I saw kids that were probably as young as 12 and a few folks older than myself (so you know, ancient). The median attendee was probably around 17, and these kids were having a blast. There was a lot of slam dancing throughout the night, but in the most polite way possible. Kids would jump into the pit, do some crazy spinning and kicking, and then intentionally pull themselves back before they collided with the crowds along the edge of the pit. I saw dancers courteously taking turns to jump into the pit and fling themselves around. What I didn't see was just as noteworthy - there was no fighting, no bloody noses, and no big alpha energy. Without exception, each person I saw jump into the pit had a huge smile on his or her face. 

Between sets when I was talking to Klash's owner, he said to me how important it was for him to provide a place where young people could get their energy out. It's harder and harder for teens to have safe outlets for all their pent-up feelings and energy. Music, he said, playing it or watching it, is a safe way for them to process all those feelings. 

That's exactly why I loved last night's show so much. It wasn't even about the bands, as good as they were. It was truly a joy to be in a place where young people could just exist and express themselves how they wanted to. Love of music brought us all together and created joy. 

​What more could anyone ask for?