They opened their performance with a 30-minute acoustic set featuring their frontman singer/guitarist. David played with enthusiasm and style; you would never know this is new to him. His presence and comfort on stage seemed to be a natural and his performance was quite good. He did an exceptional job with tunes like Dave Mathews' "Ants Marching" and Dido's "Thank You". The small, yet intimate crowd of about 100 people seemed to truly enjoy his style.

After the short acoustic set, the remaining four members took the stage and eased into their set with an excellent version of the Bodean's "Fade Away". Without a hesitation, they launched into Clapton's "Before You Accuse Me" with confidence and style. This band has some soul and rawness, yet are quite polished for such a young formation. The crowd rose to their feet several times to cheer and let these guys know that they loved what they were hearing. The members of 2nd EXIT of only been playing together a few months and have spent the winter putting together enough material to gig. The result was a great debut performance, and I was glad to have been a part of it.

The remainder of their sets included classic rock by the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Beatles and Santana. They played some very soulful blues by Hendrix, Walter Trout, and Eric Clapton. Add to this a couple of modern rock songs like "Drive" by Incubus and "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down, and you'll understand the diversity and talent of the members of 2nd EXIT. These guys may lack some experience and have some work to do but they'll also play with enthusiasm and seem to have a lot of fun. They even had a few 50's songs for those old rock-n-roller couples that love to dance! I thought they were damn good for an unknown band and can see them playing a lot in the future.

David mentioned between sets that the band is busy working on a website and putting together some gigs for the summer. They also want to write and perform originals along with more modern blues and rock covers. They do have a gig at the "Contented Cow" in Northfield on May 17th and have been invited to play at Faribault's Heritage Days Festival on June 14th in the park. Be sure to watch for these guys and be a part of their following as they play southern Minnesota.

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