The Bottleneck is an oddly shaped venue. It’s kind of rectangular with a slightly raised level that overlooks the main floor and the back of the venue is divided into a second room that’s still somewhat open to the main room. Because of it’s configuration, the place never looks packed, which can be a bit intimidating for opening bands who already suffer from sparser crowds due to late arrivals. Yet for this particular show, the room looked as packed as it does for most headliners by the time of the first set. By the time the Get Up Kids triumphantly took to the stage, the Bottleneck looked as close to full as it had ever looked. Though there was still plenty of space for the crowd to mosh, dance and just rock out, which they, of course did.
Brian Bonz and the Major Crimes started the night off. Now the Major Crimes, Bonz’ backing band, has a rotating list of members. Touring isn’t cheap, so Bonz often performs alone or with friends. Tonight, some of the Major Crimes were members of fellow touring group, Miniature Tigers. The Crimes added a nice fullness to Bonz’ sound and some impressive harmonies that almost made you forget some of the more crass points of the lyrics. See that’s the thing with Bonz – his show isn’t just about the songs. It’s also about the banter. In between songs Bonz quipped about drugs, girls and life on the road. He even freestyled a rap that would be crap as legit music, but for the purpose of the evening, was funny and fresh and made everyone feel like Bonz was their best friend and not some random guy up on stage. Then after doing things like that and telling everyone to look him up on “Fuckface” or that he was about to perform a song about his “first time to a strip club in Queens,” Bonz would switch off the goofy crassness and switched into serious musician mode. 
Next were the oddly dressed Miniature Tigers. Seriously: oddly dressed. The singer was wearing a poncho and then the rest looked like they just stumbled out of an ugly sweater party. These guys seem to be quite popular with the ladies, which is probably due to the catchy lo-fi tunes they sing with big drum beats and clap-a-long moments. The sound mix was a bit off for this performance and the band seemed to be struggling with it during a few moments, but the audience didn’t seem to care. The songs are danceable and at one point, the singer even ventured into the audience to dance and apparently vacuum suck faces? Maybe the “schoop” sound and reaching your hand like a claw at another person’s face is the new dance rage, but let’s hope it doesn’t catch on in the Midwest. Let’s keep it a Mini Tigers thing. The highlight of their set was definitely “Cannibal Queen.” Not only is it one of the band’s strongest songs, but they turned it into a downright party. Bonz and the Major Crimes came back out on stage to add some percussion and then as an extra surprise, Spider-man came out to dance. Yeah, you read that right. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-man is a fan of the Miniature Tigers. Talk about a great endorsement!
The Bottleneck was noticeably more packed as people waited for local heroes The Get Up Kids to take the stage. People inched closer to the stage. The Get Up Kids hopped up on stage to triumphant music drowned out by the roars of the crowd. The room was electric with excitement. Kansas has sometimes been hit or miss with giving actual support to local bands, but tonight you had to be proud of Lawrence’s enthusiasm.
“Hello…home!” singer Matt Pryor announced with a grin before the band started with “Tithe” off their new album. This was the band’s last night of tour and they were ending it where everything started. Later in the show, Pryor even said that the Bottleneck was one, if not the first show. Then he reminisced with guitarist/vocalist Jim Suptic about Suptic’s 21st birthday at the Bottleneck. The hilarious anecdote about the band’s drunken escapade was cut short by a keyboard intro cuing the next song.
Speaking of birthdays and keyboards, perhaps the most noticeable difference in the band’s performance was the absence of keyboardist James Dewees, whose birthday also happened to be that day. The fill in keyboardist was ok, especially considering he hasn’t lived with the songs like the rest of the guys, but he lacked Dewees’ spunk, energy and humor. The band did give Dewees a shout out, but didn’t say where he was, but it’s safe to assume he’s probably off somewhere with My Chemical Romance. He’s being playing keys for them and touring with their most recent release.
Despite Dewees absence, it was a solid set with a good mix of songs off the new album and many of their older songs. The only complaint might be that they seemed to skimp on Guilt Show. The songs off There Are Rules, the band’s January release, weren’t as familiar to the audience as many of the older songs – the moving mouths shouting the words noticeably stilled for those tunes, yet the bodies kept moving and dancing along, patient until a song such as “Mass Pike” let them belt out again.
As much as the crowd seemed to like jumping up and down and moshing, perhaps the most well-received songs of the night were the slower, more romantic numbers. “Campfire Kansas” and “I’ll Catch You” saw plenty of couple’s reaching for the hands of their date and the singles in the room reaching for lighters or phones.
Another highlight was a 3-piece performance of The Replacements‘ “Beer for Breakfast.” The Pope brothers and Suptic made it back to the stage well before the stand-in keyboardist and Pryor did after the cheers for an encore. Suptic joked that Pryor had a nervous breakdown and the band was no a 3-piece before the surprise tune. But fret not, the breakdown bit was a joke and Pryor came out of the green room about halfway through the song and happily watched from the side of the stage. When the band followed that song up with “Holiday” the crowd erupted with an energy unmatched during the whole show. It seemed like they couldn’t get more into a song, but by “Ten Minutes,” the final song of the night, it looked like the band was about to wish they had a barricade. Arms were in the air and bodies pressed against the stage as people screamed their lungs out with the band.
A lot of bands seem a little lackluster after ten years in the business. They slow with age and almost seem to go through the motions. Their songs from their early years seem outdated. The Get Up Kids’ music seemed timeless and seamless. They were confident and lively. This show managed to be the exception to the rule.
Set List:
Tithe
Action & Action
Regent’s Court
I’m a Loner Dottie, A Rebel
Automatic
Mass Pike
Love Me
Overdue
Shatter Your Lungs
Red Letter Day
Woodson
Pararelevant
Shorty
Close to Home
Holy Roman
Campfire Kansas
Rememorable
Don’t Hate Me
Walking on a Wire
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Beer for Breakfast (Replacements cover)
Holiday
I’ll Catch You
Ten Minutes
