On Monday night, three local bands played for a crowd of friends, family and a few regulars at PILLAR Forum Cafe & Bar.
Playing a mixture of folk and atmospheric indie rock, the Twin Cities-based bands Sine Iris, Bad Diver and Alpine Shepherd Boy performed in the small blacked-out venue to the soft clink of dishware of the closing-up coffee shop.
University of Minnesota student Daniel Walsh, or “Sine Iris,” opened the intimate concert with a solo performance. Blue painter’s tape affixed all of PILLAR’s clean spoons to his on-the-ground keyboard in a make-shift pedal system, allowing him to play guitar, harmonica and keyboard throughout the songs.
“That show was only my second solo show that I’ve done, and I’ve never played the keyboard before,” Walsh said. “Most of that show was very new, and it was satisfying because I was able to be in complete control over the keyboard, the expression pedal, the drum machine and all those different elements.”
When writing music, Walsh draws inspiration from his childhood of folk music and his experience of teaching himself how to play. His older brother, Neil, often plays guitar when Walsh is working on a song.
“I mean a lot of the stuff from yesterday’s show, like the expression pedal, I was basically borrowing his gear for that,” Walsh said. “He’s kind of a guitar wizard.”
Following Walsh was a performance from local band Bad Diver, who advertised their performance by handing out coloring sheets and crayons with a design made by their guitar player Thomas Hallzoh at Como Tap.
The band, made up of Hallzoh, bass player Ethan Gallant and drummer Eric Fons, brought a moody but comedic taste of rock to the venue, introducing portions of their set with, “Hit ‘em with that Batman shit.”
At the end of the night, the trio Alpine Shepherd Boy took the stage.
Having played with both bands previously, Alpine Shepherd Boy modified their sound to fit with the night’s performance.
“We made the decision to try and go more jazzy and a little softer to fit the vibe better,” drummer John Bruch said.
After only playing together for eight months, the band released an eight-track demo and played a handful of local shows.
Guitarist Thomas Schroeder and bassist Ogden Miller met the summer before high school and played in multiple bands together before going separate ways for college. Schroeder created the band with Bruch, playing as a duo before Miller joined in June 2024.
“I plugged my guitar into a bass amp to compensate for the fact we didn’t have one,” Schroeder said. “We played one show in our friend’s garage with just the two of us and it was great. But it motivates us to keep going. So when (Miller) got back, it was like the ball was rolling a little bit.”
In the future, the trio is looking forward to developing their demos into a full album to bolster their setlists.
