popwreckoning

Where’s The Band? is a tour featuring solo acoustic performances by four frontmen of successful groups. Dustin Kensrue of Thrice, Matt Pryor of  The Get Up Kids and New Amsterdams, Chris Conley of Saves the Day and Two Tongues and Anthony Raneri of Bayside will bring Where’s The Band? to the West Coast for the first time in January, performing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Anaheim.

Tour Dates:
Jan. 7, 2010 – The Troubadour / West Hollywood, CA
Jan. 8, 2010 – House of Blues / San Diego, CA
Jan. 9, 2010 – House of Blues / Anaheim, CA
Jan. 10, 2010 – Bottom of the Hill / San Francisco, CA

The inaugural Where’s The Band? tour in January 2009 included 10 dates in the Midwest, all of which sold out. The four singers sat in during each other’s sets, creating a unique and special event for fans.

A limited number of tickets have been held for Where’s The Band? fans and will be available through an exclusive Ducat King presale that begins today, Thursday, November 5, 2009. General public onsale is the following Thursday, November 12.

Buy tickets at wherestheband.ducatking.com.

Where’s the Band: myspace

When it comes to music, Kansas City is generally not listed anywhere near the top of places that matter. Sure, in the 1930s, it pushed its way into the the forefront of a booming Jazz scene but, for the most part, Kansas City has always been that city bands drive through on their way from Denver to Saint Louis.

Tonight, however, the national focus was on Kansas City, as the band credited with changing the face of emo, Get Up Kids, reunited for the first time since 2005. Few realized how their formation in 1995 would shape not only music, but inspire the lives of both bands and fans throughout the world. So touched we’re those who followed the Get Up Kids that some traveled as far as 12 hours to attend the reunion. Groups began to gather as early as 4:30 in the morning to collect their admission ticket to the Record Bar. At approximately 7:00 pm, the doors swung open to the show, and a new chapter in the life of the band.

Opening energetically with “Holiday”, followed by “Action & Action,” the band took little time to brush the dust off themselves, presenting a very tight and chiseled sound. “Some of these songs are pretty easy, and some of them we’ve never really played,” Pryor huffed of “My Apology”, “this is one of the latter.” Yet, one would have a hard time believing this band had been apart for the better part of three years, had tours and albums from New Amsterdams, Spoon and Blackpool Lights not been surfaced as the hard proof.

The energy and chemistry belonged to the Get Up Kids of old. Watching Matt Pryor and Jim Suptic candidly smile while preforming the set, consisting of their album Something to Write Home About, played in order, as well as a five song encore, was uplifting and inspiring in terms of hoping for a future for the band. “This is the healing show,” joked Pryor, regarding the tension between the members of the band towards the end of their careers. “I mean, I haven’t seen James (DeWees) in two years,” added Suptic later.

However, regardless of their past drama, misunderstandings or bruised egos, the band itself, as a whole, seems to be in unison again. “We’ll see you in next year,” Matt claimed as he walked from the stage, waving and thanking fans for coming to “their little party. It’s only the beginning of what is to come.”

Setlist:
Holiday
Action & Action
Valentine
Red Letter Day
Out of Reach
Ten Minutes
The Company Dime
My Apology
I’m a Loner Dottie…A Rebel
Long Goodnight
Close to Home
I’ll Catch You
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Campfire Kansas
The One You Want
Up On The Roof
No Love
Mass Pike
Walking on a Wire

The Get Up Kids: website | myspace

Nothing says Halloween like a pumpkin, so for this week’s “Under Cover” we thought we’d save the feature for the holiday and share a few of our favorite Smashing Pumpkins covers. For a band this huge, we couldn’t pick just one song to focus on, so enjoy an array of our favorite covers as well as one by the actual band.

You  may have noticed that PopWreckoning has strong ties to Lawrence, KS, so we couldn’t resist this cover from Lawrence band The New Amsterdams. The New Amsterdams, are a spin-off group of indie, emo legends The Get Up Kids, so we’re sure you’ll enjoy hearing Matt Pryor‘s trademark voice on the Pumpkins’ “Thirty-Three.”

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website | myspace

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Next, we have one of PopWreckoning’s favorite new artists, songstress Amie Miriello covering “Disarm.” Her strong voice is just perfect to capture all the emotional nuances of this song. If you liked Miriello’s rendition, be sure to keep a look out on the site where we’ll soon be posting an interview with Miriello.

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website | myspace

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We love trying new things, so don’t think that the only Pumpkins covers we care about are indie folk versions. We loved hearing how Japanese rock group Dragon Ash chose to sample “Today” in their song ”Grateful Days.” As the group that helped bring hip hop to Japan, they, like the Pumpkins, are legends in their own right.

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website

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Perhaps the most famous of the covers related to the Pumpkins was the one the band actually did of Fleetwood Mac‘s ”Landslide.” “Landslide” was first released in 1975 and the Smashing Pumpkins did their acoustic cover in 1994. Their cover was used on several TV shows and even receives some radio play.

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website | myspace

We hope you’ve enjoyed this special edition of ‘Under Cover’ and have a happy Halloween! Look out for ‘Under Cover’ to resume its regular schedule every Wednesday.