Recap Dawes and Blitzen Trapper at Turner Hall

It was a late night for concert-goers at Turner Hall on Saturday as dual headliners Dawes and Blitzen Trapper kept the crowd dancing until well past the venue’s typical closing time of 11:30 p.m.—an hour past, to be exact. The crowd’s feet may have been sore, but some mild discomfort was a small price to pay for the stellar performances from both bands.

Even though it wasn’t the final act of the night, it was clear that Dawes was the band the audience had come to see. The crowd erupted in cheers when the four-piece outfit took the stage, and after only its second song, lead singer Taylor Goldsmith told the crowd, “A Dawes show in Milwaukee has never looked like this before, so this is pretty big for us.” The band effortlessly wove its mellow songs in with upbeat, killer guitar solos and beautiful vocal harmonies, and carried the energy of the crowd with it every step of the way.

About halfway through the set—right after “A Little Bit Of Everything,” an unconventional love song off the recent Nothing Is Wrong—the band brought its friends Zach and Kayla onto the stage. Zach grabbed the microphone and told the audience that from the first time he saw her, he knew Kayla was the person he would marry. (You can guess what happened from there.) As the happy couple embraced, Dawes launched into “If You Let Me Be Your Anchor” off its first album, North Hills. The engagement was appropriately placed between the two love songs and was utterly adorable.

But as wonderful as that moment was, it wasn’t the highlight of the set. Fan favorite “When My Time Comes” was absolutely beautiful, and featured the audience carrying the song through the chorus on its own. Before exiting the stage, Goldsmith told the crowd, “This has been one of the greatest shows we’ve ever had.”

Blitzen Trapper, although not the crowd favorite of the evening, showcased incredible talent. It was unfortunately tough to hear the lyrics over the band’s roaring sound, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker. Blitzen Trapper bounced back and forth from its newer, folkier songs to its older, heavier tracks throughout its 90-minute set. An encore consisted of a solo performance by frontman Eric Earley, and a stellar cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times.” It may have been the beer making everyone sluggish, but the crowd began to thin as Blitzen Trapper’s set powered on.

The Belle Brigade was a fantastic opening act for the two headliners. Although the band looked like a hodge-podge group, its sound was wonderfully cohesive, and the personalities of its members were a ton of fun.