Photos + Review: Aqua @ The Fillmore (Minneapolis, MN)

Aqua (Copenhagen, DK)
December 13th, 2023
The Fillmore in Minneapolis, MN

Every once and awhile I get reminded about how fun a fun show can be. All shows are inherently fun but for some shows, fun is the draw -or the point. Some shows, particularly metal ones, have a seriousness and virtuosity to them to them that takes precedence over just plain fun.

Aqua is one of those groups that I’ve recently found out are just plain fun.

In a move that’s completely opposite of myself I went to a Euro-Pop show.  I unexpectedly had so much fun.  My first thought immediately after the band started playing was “there’s just something about foreign pop music.”  The chord progressions, the melodies, the catchiness.  It’s just so different from the usual music we have over here in the US.  I’m sure some of why the sound is so different and unique has to do with the music being from a different era too.  But man, every song is just so damn catchy. 

Every band member up on stage seemed to be having the utmost fun.  Their keyboardist, Søren Rasted impressed me a ton with his sweet licks.  “Barbie Girl” may be the song that most people know of Aqua’s but if nothing else, this show proved to me that they have an incredibly solid back catalog.  “Barbie Girl” may not even be close to their best song.  “Happy Boys & Girls” is going to be a song that sneaks into my brain often, I can tell and the imagery of a huge “BE HAPPY” behind the band is going to always be superimposed and go along with it.  One of my favorites of the night. I always appreciate a good song that’s about just being happy.

Being happy was just the general theme of this night.  I walked away from the venue reinvigorated and the whole crowd seemed to be too. The amount of buy-in and crowd interaction while the band played “Roses are Red” as the encore was most impressive, even looking back at the whole year.  I’ll mark these guys down as a band I’ll definitely have on my radar to see again, if/when they come back into town.