My parents had strange rules about concerts. Due to their fears that I would fall prey to drugs, sex and alcohol or die in a mosh pit, I was not allowed to go to a music concert until I was 18. Even once I turned 18, I was nervous they would not let me go to a show until I was out of the house. A month after my 18th birthday they finally found a show they approved of for my first concert. It was a band called Relient K. They approved because of the band’s positive songs and Christian influences. I approved because I simply liked the music. The day of the show rolled around: February 14, 2005.
When I awoke that morning, I sat up in bed only to immediately fall back down as a wave of blackness crept into my vision. My head was warm. The day of my first concert and it looked like I would be too sick to attend. Young and naïve, I worried that if I didn’t go to this show, I would never get to go to another show. I took lots of medicine and reassured my parents that despite my looking like a zombie and barely being able to stand, I was perfectly fine to go to the concert. Sick and delirious, I went to my first Relient K show and first concert ever. Hopped up on medicine, I don’t remember much except being really happy. That was four years ago. I now attend concerts on a weekly basis. And amid my many concerts, I kind of forgot about Relient K. They weren’t regularly on the radio and thus they weren’t regularly on my radar. I also think that like so many, I kind of brushed off the Christian rock genre, and in doing that, brused them off as well. I now regret that.
Four years later, I again found myself at a Relient K concert. Though I had aged and the band had as well, the majority of the audience had not. The crowd was still comprised of high schoolers like the last time I had seen them. Those of their over 21 fans that were not afraid to admit they still loved this band just as much as when they were young, stood toward the back. Greatly outnumbered by screaming teens, I think these “old” people, myself included, felt a bit awkward.
As the first band, a local KC group called the Queen’s Club played their set, the young girls up front gushed. And it did seem a bit silly and I did feel out of place as the teensters fell for every strange gesture of the band. I, on the otherhand, thought their constant “Oh oh ohs,” long hair, mustaches, and partly open mouths combined with constant hip thrusts against their guitars made them look like porn stars. As they played into the extreme hormone levels of the pubescent kids up front and the only people confused enough to actually enjoy them, I think anybody older knew that actual sex would have been a better use of time than actually watching this band. Perhaps, I’m being too harsh, because this band does have a large following in KC, but I was not impressed.
The next group, Owl City, was a bit more my speed. These Minnesotans were almost too fluffy as they played in front of a screen with clouds and other images projected on it, but I still really loved them. As the three musicians played their synths and drums, the audience danced around to their electronica pop. I think with this singer’s voice and the music style, it was like if Early November’s Ace married Lights and their child was Owl City. Relient K’s Matt Thiessen joined the band for “Firefly” and I think all that was missing was Zac Efron before you had every young girl’s dream on stage.
As the typical championship music blasted over the speakers, Relient K finally took to the stage. Matt Thiessen’s curly blonde hair bounced back as he jumped on the drum stand and back down causing young girls to screame But Relient K is so much more than a band with an adorable frontman. They are really skilled and clever musicians, who don’t get enough credit for their craft. Perhaps, this is why the 21 and over crowd had to feel awkward that they were so outnumbered. At some point, the music scene starts to put pressure on music lovers and if you are expected to love darker, experimental bands that nobody has heard of to be cool as you get older. You can’t like “cute.” And yes, Relient K is “cute” in both the physical and musical sense. And as they sing songs about high school dances and sunny days, I can see why a person might feel like they have to “grow up” and “grow out” of Relient K.
Yet, as a I watched them perform after I had “grown up,” I realized that reasoning was stupid. Relient K is really talented and deserves more credit and more proud support from their older fans. Matt Thiessen juggled vocal duties with gorgeous piano melodies, guitar, and the occasional trumpet addition. The band backed him up with powerful chords, harmonies and lots of energy. Though Thiessen really is the star of this band. He has a distinct voice with great control. One moment he was intensely shouting during “Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet” and the next he was singing in a near whispher as he crooned “Let It All” in a cathartic moment. The songs off the next album (Thiessen suggested Oct. 6 as a release date), also showed a more mature sound like the piano heavy title track “Forget and Not Slow Down.” Then, of course, you have a song like Relient K’s brilliant story of a man in his final moment in the nearly ten minute “Deathbed” that they played for an encore. They run the whole gambit of emotions and styles in this song and the lyrical construction is an astounding presentation of a man’s life story and acceptance of his death. If you haven’t heard this song, I suggest you check it out immediately and then try to deny loving Relient K.
Of course, it is nice to let loose and just enjoy how silly Relient K can be sometimes. That’s part of their charm and what makes them so fun.
They played up the goofiness of “Sadie Hawkins” and when it got to the final line,“Do you like my sweater,” Thiessen gave it new meaning by shaking his head in the middle and sending perspiration flying as he broke it down to, “Do you like my sweat…er?”
“You guys watch that show The Office?” said Thiessen at another point in the show. “It’s good. It’s about paper. We wrote a love song about it.” Then the band busted out a hilarious ditty that included lines like, “Angela, you are too cute to hang out with somebody like Dwight Schrute.” The song concluded with the actual theme song from The Office.
Then of course you had their great covers. They announced a cover of Cake’s “The Distance,” which was fun and different to hear them rap and play so much trumpet, but the best cover of the evening was a complete surprise. They started off with a nice instrumental jam that had audience members nodding a long and thinking, “Ok. This is nice, but what is this?” The answer: “Five. Five dollar foot loooooong.” That’s right, Relient K was covering the Subway commercial.
It made me sad when I realized the show was almost over. They ended with another new song, “This Is the End,” which Thiessen pointed out was “strategically placed.” It was an absolutely beautiful song that had Thiessen alone on the piano. As I watched his hands fly over the keys and listened to his voice, I can’t blame any of those girls in attendance from crushing on him.
It was impossible to not smile and be happy watching this band. I regret that it took me four years to see Relient K again and this show reminded me why I loved them so much in the first place. I think the band knows they have a young following, but I really would like to see the age range of their audience grow. I think what makes them so great is they have something for the teenies to enjoy and the parents. But I think the middle age range, those in their 20s and 30s, is really lacking in attendance and those people could do well to listen to this band more. They need music like this in their lives. I’m proud to say they were my first concert and that I’m still going to their shows.
So if you have brushed this band off in the past, de-hipster or do whatever you need to do to get Relient K in your life. Relient K is like Campbell’s Soup. They’re good for everyone’s soul.
Set List:
Chap Stick
Who I Am, Hates Who I’ve Been
High of 75
Forget and Not Slow Down
The Office
Mood Rings
$5 Foot Long
Sadie Hawkins
Lining Is Silver
The Thief
Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet
Let It All Out
I Don’t Need a Soul
I Need You
The Distance
Be My Escape
This Is the End
//
Deathbed
Relient K: website | myspace | interview with: Matt Thiessen
