May 1, 2025 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

“You guys got a weird show, but that happens, I guess,” said Nick Anderson, frontman for The Wrecks. On May 1, The Wrecks stopped by Minneapolis on their Inside : Outside Tour and put on an unexpectedly emotional show that proved just how human we all are and how connected music makes us.

Nick Anderson, Nick Schmidt, Aaron Kelley, and Billy Nally are who make up the pop-rock band, The Wrecks. Based in Los Angeles, California, the four released their first EP in 2016 and have been writing and releasing music since then.

First to open the show was Benjamin Carter, who was on his first-ever tour. Wearing a jacket that had “Let Black Boys Be" on the back, Carter opened the show with “*DAYDREAMING.” His energy was infectious, and the crowd immediately latched onto it. This group of people came to rock out with every act.

Carter played a song he and The Wrecks singer, Nick Anderson, wrote together called “Backseat Driving.” The singer spoke about growing up Black and being told he “wasn’t really Black” because he wanted to listen to rock music. Carter’s vulnerability in his music and onstage made him an easy artist to root for.

Quarters of Change were up next. The rock band has four members and two touring members, which meant the stage in First Avenue was packed. From the jump, fans at the barricade were thrashing and jumping up and down as Quarters of Change belted out their high-energy songs.

While it was occasionally hard to hear the lyrics, Quarters of Change rocked the stage with their guitar riffs and drum beats. Quarters of Change played their popular songs, “T. Love," "Rift,” “Kiwi,” and “Heaven Bound.” Coming off their second album, Portraits, Quarters of Change has hit their stride. They’ve managed to avoid the sophomore slump in its entirety. There’s more to come from this band.

The lead-up to The Wrecks starting the show can only be described as perfection. Everything went dark, and “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond started playing. After a few rounds of “bum bum bum,” The Wrecks took the stage. Their stage looked like a deconstructed living room with a leather couch, grass carpeting, and ivy interlaced with their equipment.

With the comforts of home brought with them, the Los Angeles-based band worked through “Sonder,” “Out of Style,” and “Always, Everytime.” The crowd was a smattering of nonstop movement, dancing, and headbanging. While the first three songs have remained consistent throughout their tour, the rest of the setlist rotates for each show, keeping fans on their feet and adding an element of surprise.

Before playing “The Life I Have,” Anderson mentioned this crowd was moshing harder than any other show on tour so far. He had those who were part of the moshing circle in the crowd come onstage and form a mosh pit during the chorus. After setting the ground rules, the fans started their moshing while those in the crowd joined in on the floor. Even though they were slamming into each other, they were all smiling at the opportunity to go up on the stage in front of the rest of the crowd. Kelley, a Minnesota native, even brought his mom up to join the mosh pit.

During “Where Are You Now?,” the cord to Anderson’s guitar disconnected and had to be recalibrated between songs. He entertained the crowd for a few minutes by starting a chant of “Bluetooth all the way, f-ck the delay” after joking that Bluetooth is better and everything should be cordless. Once the issue was resolved, they began to play my favorite song, “I Hope It’s Cold In New York.” Any song that uses the word “lobotomy” deserves the highest praise.

As an intro to “I Didn’t Use To,” Anderson spoke about his struggle with writing music over the last few years and felt his perspective in songs didn’t matter. Anderson stuttered through this explanation and tried to work through those emotions that were coming back up onstage. His emotions were evident while singing, and he had trouble singing all the words. Once the song ended, Anderson ran off the stage, leaving his band up there to jam out together. They played a snippet of "Scotty Doesn't Know" by Lustra and skipped a few songs that were otherwise on the setlist previous nights. Anderson returned and explained he had a panic attack. Even trying to explain what just happened proved too much, and they moved on to “Speed.” I’m not doing the power of the moment justice, but I have immense respect for any artist who pushes through whatever they experience and finishes their set. There’s this expectation society has created that singers and bands have to come out and perform no matter what, otherwise they’d be letting people down. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of pressure that puts on people. The raw emotions were another reminder we’re all just out here trying our best.

The Wrecks closed out the set before the encore with “Infinitely Ordinary,” during which fans held up their phone flashlights to pieces of pink and blue paper, creating a mirage of pink and blue color. It bolstered the spirits of Anderson as he looked at the beautiful spectacle.

The encore included “Freaking Out” and “Favorite Liar.” Anderson jumped into the crowd during “Favorite Liar” and ended the show immersed with the fans. Ending this way was an homage to the appreciation The Wrecks have for everyone who showed up and gave it their all the entire time. It removed the barrier between fans and the band and turned them into the same entity.

As Anderson said, maybe the show was a little weird, but weird doesn’t always mean bad. I don’t go into concerts expecting everything to run smoothly. There are going to be blips, but these are meant to serve as a reminder that not everything can be perfect, and that’s human nature. The Wrecks still put on a show I’d see again and again.