Liberty Hall is a breathtaking music venue, and sometimes a movie theater, with a blue ceiling with swirling, glittery stars. As much as I love the venue, I was a little surprised that Motion City Soundtrack was playing this particular place and I was even more surprised that there wasn’t a barricade for what I anticipated would be a rather pushy set.
To Reinvent started the show and these indie rockers seemed to enchant the audience with their female pianist Kari Gray, but they may have been too laid back to open for a group like MCS as their music came off as a little dull in the grand scheme of the show.
Next was the local group The Dead Girls (formerly Dead Girls Ruin Everything), a group sprung from the ashes of Ultimate Fakebook and Podstar, but this new project seemed to lack in the luster of the original Lawrence and KC staples it grew from. Although, they guys in this group did look more confident moving around the stage than the younger To Reinvent that preceded them.
Dear and the Headlights followed. I caught these guys opening for Jimmy Eat World in the spring and it was a blast to see them in a more intimate setting. Ian Metzger’s vocals got mixed reactions. But, of all the openers these guys instrumentally shined and it was a thrill to watch different band members come up and hit cymbals throughout the set.
There is no doubt that Motion City Soundtrack deserved to be headlining this show. They delivered a killer set with a great mix of songs from all their albums. And even though they had a great set prepared for the show, they threw in “Hold Me Down” after the audience persistently requested it.
The special award for the night has to go out to their crew who kept really busy throughout the night grabbing the crowd surfers as they landed on stage. I’m sure they’ll rethink the no barricade thing next time. Although, Justin Pierre didn’t seem to mind sharing the stage with the surfers and even took the time to talk to a few.
“What’s your name?” Pierre asked one girl, who replied, “Katie.” When he asked her how to spell it, she yelled “K-State!” Which left Pierre looking a little confused, since I’m not sure he knew he was in the rival school of KU’s town, but he nicely recovered saying, “That’s not how you spell that. What are they teaching in these Kansas schools?” Everybody was in a playful mood and loving the show. Jesse Johnson threw a bottle cap at Pierre at one point during the set.
The music was fun, as usual, the band banter was hilarious, and this can be chalked up as yet another phenemonal performance from this band.
Set List:
Better
My Favorite Accident
When You’re Around
Make Out Kids
Capital H
Last Night
I Fell In Love W/O You
Attractive
Broken Heart
Time Turned Fragile
This Is For Real
L.G. FUAD
It Had To Be You
Hold Me Down
Perfect Teeth
Everything Is Alright
//
Point of Extinction
The Future Freaks Me Out
To Reinvent: myspace
The Dead Girls: website | myspace
Dear and the Headlights: website | myspace | interview
Motion City Soundtrack: website | myspace
Written by: Bethany
Photos by: Joshua
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