JESS BECK | Go Venue Magazine
You know, it seems like every time I see these dudes they’re playing a bigger venue than the time before. I had the pleasure to speak with another photographer at the show, who stated that he’s been covering them since they started playing 7th Street Entry here in Minneapolis. For size comparison – 7th Street Entry has a capacity of 250. When I caught them last year at The Armory – they had sold 5,000 tickets. This time around, they were playing the Xcel Energy Center – our local hockey venue – to the tune of 20,554 available seats.
And it was quite the night. Tuesday, September 24th, 2024 at Xcel Energy in St. Paul, MN was a great venue choice for the oft non-tranquil events that transpire there. Touring on their recent release of their 4th studio album “X,” CAS is expected to tour the world in promotion throughout at least March of 2025.
Utilizing the (I’m presuming) very expensive lighting set up at the venue in such a minimalistic way was actually rather impressive. Mostly, when there’s a show at the XEC, you can count on some pretty crazy visuals, but this was much more subdued than what I was used to from this venue particularly – but not at all in a bad way. As you entered the arena, there was a thick cloud of fog that seemed to linger around, and the mellow blues were actually pretty impressive (you won’t see the blues in the photos, but you can imagine what they’d be like). Their shows are much like the music itself – at the forefront, and masterfully minimal.
The audience was certainly buying what Cigarettes After Sex was selling, though. Greg Gonzalez, bassist Randall Miller, and drummer Jacob Tomsky delivered exactly what they always do – an intimate experience, even if the venue is larger than most small towns across the country. The entire vibe of the show was “film noir” through and through. Visuals of dancing on moonlit water, swirling snow, burning roses, and the iconic French actress Anna Karina shedding a tear added to the cinematic flair of the night.
They played a blistering 18 song set, with fan favorites including “X’s,” “Dark Vacay,” “Sweet,” and “Apocalypse.” All-in-all it was a very moody evening surrounded by the sounds of screaming teenage fans who were sure to capture every moment on their phones.
But hey, at least they all wore deodorant, and that’s a win in my book. As always, a huge thank you to the friendly and amazing staff at Xcel Energy! I know y’all put in a lot of work to make these shows happen, and we are forever grateful. From the people making sure the bathrooms are clean and neat to the food vendors, camera crew, security – you all play a vital role in letting us experience live music in a seamless experience. Keep being awesome to one another, and we’ll catch ya at the next one!
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