Rain Brings Relief From The Heat At Basilica Block Party

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The concert started as the largest gathering of sweaty people in the state of Minnesota, but that changed in about a minute, when the temperature dropped 12 degrees as rains came through.

It made for a great day at the Basilica. But until then, the heat was overwhelming. One woman described the event as a furnace, with heat radiating from the hot pavement.

Nevertheless, the Cities 97 Basilica Block Party sold out Friday night. It's on pace to sell out on Saturday, too. That would be the first time in the party's 18-year history it would sell out both nights.

It seems as the temperature was going up, so were ticket sales.

For David Simmet and Maddie Anderson, the event was their first outdoor concert. They drank plenty of water, but Simmet is 6-foot, 8-inches-tall and Anderson is exactly a foot shorter. The dimensions worked out pretty well, for Anderson.

"He can give me a shadow," she said.

For those that didn't have a tall friend to hang out with, the block party provided some relief with a fire hydrant and a garden hose.

"We use it every year," said concert goer Nicole Melson. "So we sit over there and walk over when we get tohot. But today, it's going to be used a lot."

The bands, like Prissy Clerks, didn't have access to the sprinkler, which was a disadvantage for drummer Tim Leick.

"My pants are stuck to my legs," he said.

But around 6:30 p.m., that problem was solved as the rain poured in. The shower was what just about everybody needed, and the temperature dropped 12 degrees in about 60 seconds.

"I'll be back. It's Minnesota; you gotta take the hot and the cold," Melson said.