How do you do a show a month prior to a new release? Well if you want to do it right, you take a page from Innerpartysystem’s set this week in Kansas City. With their first new CD since their 2008 self-titled album set to hit the streets in January, they were primed and ready to officially blow KC away. 
Now if you did take this page, you’d see it had: previous huge hit “Don’t Stop” as an appetizer, some numbers off Innerpartysystem and a few teaser hits from the new as a main course and finally ending with “American Trash” as a delectable dessert. The entire set was oh so sweet.
Even though the set list was genius, it was still slightly risky. Putting the song that most people who’ve heard of you would know, smack dab in front lends to high expectations for the other 27 minutes. But what IPS did was take the energy off that song and used it to fuel a hit that’s possibly new or possibly revived: “Money Makes The World Go ‘Round.” If it is in fact another hint of what’s to come in January, then it tells me that the new album will have the same brunt-force tech beats that the band is good at, but set at a whole new level.
After mixing in what [I guess] will soon be called classics: “Die Tonight Live Forever” and “Last Night In Brooklyn” – they had the crowd literally bouncing off the walls. To this they answered with another newbie: “Not Getting Any Better.” At first the song came off as very techno dance, with even a little bit of a pop beat to it. But when it got to what was definitely considered the meat of the song, it exploded. The bass beats and electronic work were awesome. The previously semi-grooving audience was now fully overcome with IPS insanity. And in true “rave” form, the masterpiece was pulsed out longer than the typical song. It’s probably safe to say that no one really ever wanted that number to end.
And then there was dessert.
When “American Trash” was first intro’d back in early summer, the excitement for the new EP officially sparked. The song was perfection in mp3 form. So naturally there was no risk to this part of the show, as taking that song onto a stage would have only one result – mind-blowing. Between the dramatic lead in, the huge beat drop for the chorus and then being carried away via Patrick’s vocals near the end – the song was chaos in electronic form. By the time this song came on, there was no use trying to see the stage as everyone around me had proceeded to jump up and down. This was what the music called for.
Even though the band was minus a member, the sound had not suffered one bit. With the exit of Jesse, the remaining members decided to swap out guitars for further integration of electronics. After all that was said and done, the only difference that was noticeable (at least by me) was the introduction of excellent new music.
