"Who IS that?" That's the first thing I thought as I entered the Cloquet Senior High School Auditorium on Tuesday at about 9:40 a.m. Receptionist Pam Schimenek and I had planned to gather the homecoming court for a photo at 9:50, so I figured I'd show up early to catch the festivities that accompanied the homecoming court introduction.
As I approached the auditorium, I could hear music - and it sounded fairly decent. When I walked in, I expected some typical homecoming high school skit with music in the background, kind of like when I was in high school. We'd have segue music in between "acts" of some unfunny sketch.
This wasn't the case - the music WAS the act, and holy moly, those kids could play!
When I entered the auditorium, it was almost pitch black - except the stage. My first thought was, "I need to get up close and get a photo!" Easier said than done - the auditorium was completely dark. I started making my way down the right aisle, blindly feeling for steps with my feet and saying "excuse me, pardon me" as I progressed. Eventually, I found a place to kneel down and take a couple of photos. As I took my camera out, I knocked some kid in the head with it and profusely apologized. Finally, I was at the stage and started snapping away.
They were playing "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd - and absolutely nailed it. These kids sounded like seasoned professionals, and the audience was absolutely eating it up like a regular rock concert. I've been to a lot of concerts, but I've only seen one band perform Freebird. And these boys blew them out of the water - especially lead guitarist Tony Peterson. The kid can rip a lick or two!
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As I was snapping photos closer to the stage, I could tell the vocals weren't Freddy Mercury-esque, but Austin Hatch and Sever Lundquist did a good enough job for a couple of hockey playin' dudes. Along with those fellows, Travis Hilton exploded with energy on the drum kit, Ben Martin worked it on rhythm guitar and Grant Kamunen kept a steady line on bass.
However, I think we can all agree that one particular musician stole the show. Matt Palmquist can bust out a mean flute solo and play air guitar on the same instrument at the drop of a hat.
Congrats, boys. It's rare to see that kind of fun and quality entertainment at high school functions. And I've seen my share of flute solos/air guitar combinations.
Pine Journal Editor Mat Gilderman can be contacted at: mgilderman@pinejournal.com .
