popwreckoning

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
—
Beer for Breakfast (Replacements cover)
Holiday
I’ll Catch You
Ten Minutes

Kansas City rockers, The Get Up Kids wrote a blog update announcing an April E.P. and the not so surprising news that Rob Pope wouldn’t be on their Australia and Japan tours (he’s currently touring with Spoon). But the April EP, Simple Science, is very exciting and welcome news as it has been six years since new music has been heard from the band’s camp.

Here’s the full message:

WE’VE GOT SOME GOOD NEWS AND SOME BAD NEWS….
We’ve got some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad news. Due to circumstances beyond our control, our bassist Rob Pope will not be able to join us on our upcoming tour of Australia and Japan. Luckily, our good friend Nate Harold will be filling in for Rob who will be rejoining the touring party as soon as he is able.

Now, the good news. The “Simple Science” EP is our first new
recording in 6 years!!!! The 4 song EP is going to come out in April
on limited, numbered and several different colors of 12″ vinyl as well
as a CD that we are releasing ourselves. It will be available
exclusively for download with Itunes. We’ll keep you in the loop once
we set a release date.

That’s all for now.
Thanks,
The G.U.K.

While most people came to the Midland to hear the tune “The Underdog,” I was there to hear the underdog band of the night. As is to be expected when a radio station is promoting their holiday show, the bands playing the show tend to get extra radio play.

This was the case for the bands playing 96.5 the Buzz’s annual the Night the Buzz Stole X-Mas. However, while headliners Spoon got several tunes played in regular rotation, the Bravery had some of their older songs return to rotation along with news tunes, and Metric‘s “Help, I’m Alive” was played so often that I kind of wanted to beat my head with a hammer every time it was played, but there is another opener that wasn’t treated to the same luxury: Hockey. Sure, they were played in promotion, but it was only during the night shows. And anyone looking over the station playlist could see that while the other bands were played nearly every hour of the day, poor Hockey was more often than not stuck into the 3 a.m. slot.

I suspect that I might have been one of the few, if not the only one, who went to this show with the main intention of dancing to Hockey. Pre-show the people who had turned up in time to see the first band, appeared apathetic. They were just claiming close spots for one of the later bands. Hockey had a challenge before them with this audience whether they knew it or not.

Fortunately, Hockey’s live show is where they really shine, and while they can sound a little detached on record, live, they’re bursting with energy. Hockey brought the dance party with their synth heavy tunes. If you still haven’t heard of this new buzz band yet, they’re like a toned down Passion Pit without the shrill vocals and a more diverse Owl City minus the cheesy lyrics. In fact, this group would have been a great addition to one of the radio station’s early shows this fall that was supposed to feature Passion Pit and Owl City.

Hockey easily won over the crowd with their charming music and funky haircuts (look at the pictures and I think you’ll understand what I mean). If the hair didn’t win you over, then it was probably the singer surprising the crowd by grabbing some mallets and banging a tom that did the trick. It was a pity that they only had 30 minutes to play because it seemed they had just started the crowd dancing when everyone had to wind down again for a set change. Hockey set the bar high and while the remaining acts have more experience in the music world, they could all do to learn a thing or two about stage presence and audience interaction from Hockey.

Set List:
Work
3am Spanish
Learn to Lose
Song Away
Too Fake
Put the Game Down

When indie superstars Metric finally took the stage, the pick of a slow, dark number “Twilight Galaxy” to start was a buzz kill after Hockey’s effervescent performance. A few spotlights shrouded the band in blue shadows as singer Emily Haines buried her face in her keys. I was getting chills, but not in a good way. When opening, slow numbers are usually left out for a reason, and no one ever starts on one. “Help, I’m Alive” followed and with it came the extreme performance I had heard about that makes Metric great. As much as the song is overplayed, it brought a sense a relief because with it, Haines started tossing her hair and stomping around the stage in her gold boots and encouraging her band to milk their solos for all their worth. Yay for energy at last.

Musically, Metric’s very talented, and that was evident from their set. However, for how much I’ve heard about Metric’s greatness, this was the most disappointing set of the night. Aside from that awkward opening snoozer, the set as a whole lacked album-variety. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance of promoting the new material, but Metric has a few albums under their belt and only one non-Fantasies tune, “Dead Disco” off of 2003′s Old World Underground, Where Are You Now, made the set. Seriously, what was the logic with that? I’m glad I’ve finally seen Metric and I don’t know if things are a bit different when it is a headlining, but as an opener, I was left scratching my head as rookie mistakes popped up in their otherwise suave posterior.

Set List:
Twilight Galaxy
Help I’m Alive
Gold Guns Girls
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Dead Disco
Stadium Love

Now for as much critic hate as The Bravery receives, Kansas City appears to love them. To their credit, it was refreshing to hear the band play an even mix of songs from all their albums that included radio-friendly tunes such as “Unconditional,” “Slow Poison” and “Honest Mistake” as well as some lesser known new songs. They also had a good light show that reflected off their pleather jackets in sync with each pound on the synth. The crowd danced through their whole set and ate up every swagger of singer Sam Endicott and swooned with the swings of his microphone that he unaffectedly held out toward the audience.

I have to give them credit for their warm audience reception. I personally find the band detached performers and Endicott’s vocals hollow. For the most part, their songs all blend together, but occasionally they have a stand out guitar riff like on the end of “Honest Mistake.” Unfortunately tonight, the mix was a bit off, so the guitar mushed into the rest of the instruments.

I did my best with the set list. I might be missing one song and for that I apologize.

Set List:
Unconditional
Adored
Hatefuck
Believe
Red Hands and White Knuckles
She’s So Bendable
Swollen Summer
Time Won’t Let Me Go
Slow Poison
Fearless
An Honest Mistake

Spoon has been around for practically my whole life, but this was my first opportunity to see them. Joined by Kansas City’s homeboy* Rob Pope (also of The Get Up Kids) on bass, Spoon took the stage without theatrics and dived into “Don’t You Evah.” (*I realize it is weird to call Pope  homeboy, but if Spoon can use “evah” in a song, I can call Pope a homeboy.)

After finally seeing this band, I was left scratching my head. Spoon’s set left me conflicted.

On the one hand, you have a group of able-bodied musicians performing smart tunes. Sure the vocal harmonies can be a bit gruff, but the band is all about the music. There are no distracting set pieces. Lights are minimal, but enough so the band is lit enough that you can see what they’re doing. There aren’t any surprise instruments. The set’s comprised of several new songs and a mix of older songs going all the way back to 2002 (they had to draw the line somewhere, I guess). Stage banter is kept to a minimum. The most anyone really talks is to occasionally announce a tune. This is a band playing songs for their fans. It is refreshing to hear the tunes delivered in such a pure form. Spoon sounds just as they do on recording.

But here’s the other hand. These tickets, when you throw in Ticketmaster surcharges, are costing people at least $35. An album costs less than $10 these days. So I have to believe, that people want a bit of a show when the buy a concert ticket. They want some element they can’t get on a record. That’s lacking from Spoon’s performance. And it tears me up that I just can’t accept the band as good for having a clean sound. I just think they could be great if they beefed up the performance a bit. There’s a threshold of success they’re not quite crossing with their bare bones approach to music.

Set List:
Don’t You Evah
Don’t Make Me a Target
I Turn My Camera On
Written in Reverse
Got Nuffin
Rhythm and Soul
The Beast and Dragon, Adored
Black Like Me
Is Love Forever
I Summon You
(The Mystery Zone – listed, but not played)
My Mathematical Mind
The Underdog
///
(Jonathan Fisk – listed, but not played)
Way We Get By
You Got Yr Cherry Bomb

As far as radio holiday shows go, I have to give the Buzz props on the diversity of the line up and for hosting the holiday show at such a beautiful venue that might as well be KC’s own Carnegie Hall. The interns in elf hats handing out Hockey vinyl and Metric and Spoon download cards wrapped in bows were an especially nice touch to end the night.

Band Info:
Hockey: website | myspace | @ lollapalooza | interview with
Metric: website | myspace
The Bravery: website | myspace
Spoon: website | myspace

“Returning to the scene of the crime,” is how the Get Up Kids phrased it, but really the only injustice was that it had been a 3-year wait for that November 2008 show. Fortunately, since that first reunion show at the Record Bar, the band was kind enough to give the Kansas City metropolitan area a Lawrence and a North Kansas City show before ending their reunion with a two night stand where it all began. And since I saw them at the very first reunion show, it was only fitting that I would see them at their last.

There seemed to be some confusion about the show start time, so a lot of the crowd was still coming in during Louisville band Mansions set. “Talk Talk Talk” came early in the set and while listening to the biting lyrics, I was torn between loving the band for their passionate sound reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra or Brand New and hating them for being so passionate that my mood dropped as they struck some chords a little too close to heart for comfort. The ended the set with “The Worst Part,” another song with strong lyrics of a bit of a depressing nature. These guys are super talented, but I think as an opener, it was a bit hard to warm up to for some in the audience with their cold tone.

For those that pay attention to the lyrics of Kevin Devine, he too has lyrics that are biting commentaries and often downer-sounding self-reflections, but unlike Mansions, his set had a different feeling. Instead of falling deeper into a whirlpool of sadness, Kevin made me happy and simply impressed. There are two reasons for that. Usually, I do focus on his lyrics and his voice because it is hard not to. He presses his face up against the microphone for some of the softer verses, but when he steps away from microphone and yells a chorus or a line or even a ba-da-da-dah-da, all eyes are on his face, which has veins enlarged into a map of his energetic passion for the piece. I’ve heard him compared to Conor Oberst, but I would be bold enough to say that Kevin might have more to offer, at least in his live show, than the Bright Eyes frontman. This time, thanks to a gentleman next to me calling out, “When will we see you on Guitar Hero?” I watched his hands racing on the instrument. Damn, was he good, and maybe he should be on the game. I felt alive just watching him play the arpeggiated riffs. And this brings me to the other reason why his set was uplifting: he has fantastic audience interaction. “The question on the floor is when will I be on Guitar Hero. I would love to be on Guitar Hero. I work for that every day,” said Kevin. “I’m just not that good.” At another point he bent down close to two little boys in the front row and asked, “You don’t have ear plugs? Will you be ok? It is going to get loud.” So modest and sweet. He isn’t only a great performer, but a great person. What a package in an artist these days! I was so happy with him and his set, which featured tunes such as “Brother’s Blood,” “Fickle Friend,” “Cotton Crush,” “No Time Flat,” a Nirvana cover and more, that I could have left the show then. Although, what a poor Kansas City citizen I would be if I left before one of our biggest acts?

Last time I saw the Get Up Kids in this venue, they played “Something to Write Home About” in order. During the encore, they played a few other fan favorites. Now tonight was not a rehash of that same show. While the set was heavy with those songs as they started the night with “Holiday,” they interspersed songs from other albums throughout it such as a new song from the forthcoming album, “Walking on a Wire,” “Martyr Me” and the rounded out the night with their cover of The Cure‘s “Close to Me.”  They even jammed a bit before “Martyr Me.” Check it out:

One of my favorite moments of the set was during “Out of Reach” when the crowd came in with the “Oh oh ohs” and guitarist Jim Suptic and bassist Rob Pope exchanged a look of “OMG.” I wasn’t sure at first if they were impressed by how boisterous the crowd’s singing was or if they were shocked by how off we were. Turns out it was the latter. “How many girls were singing on that?” asked singer Matt Pryor. He shook his head as the girls yelled back. “That was a choir of dudes. Really out of tune dudes.”

Another set highlight was when Suptic took the vocal reigns and grabbed an acoustic guitar for “Campfire Kansas,” which of course held a special meaning for the Kansas City crowd. While he was singing, Pryor went over to the aforementioned kids in the front row and invited the two boys on stage to play tambourine. It made a sweet song extra adorable. However, the boys must have rocked so hard on that acoustic number, that it blew out all their equipment. When the rest of the band came back the only thing left working were the microphones. The Record Bar employees debated how to fix the problem when sparks came flying out of an amp and throwing the breaker just resulted in the same problem. Suptic and Pryor bantered about how this was or was not fitting for the final night of the tour and then they tried to get drummer Ryan Pope to jam out for the audience. Pope seemed hesitant, so it opener Kevin Devine to the rescue. With a beat from Pope and some extra help from Suptic, Devine graced the audience with an amazing and strange rap. Yes, Kevin Devine raps. And it is wonderful.

The Get Up Kids mentioned that Kansas City seems to have a love/hate relationship with them. I’m glad to be on the side that loves them and I’m glad that they are finally just doing their own thing and not worrying how people choose to embrace them.

Oh, and reuniting must have felt so good that the band promises we’ll see another show in 2010 after the new! record comes out. Now that’s something to write home about.

Get Up Kids: website | myspace | @ record bar | @ blender theater | under cover pt. 1 | under cover pt. 2

Just in time for my 25th birthday (wow..weird to say), indie gods Spoon are releasing their first full length in nearly three years, Transference, on January 26, 2010 (wish me a happy 25th on the 24th) through Merge Records. Produced by the band, Transference is made up of 11 new gems that honor the Spoon tradition while pushing the envelope of the band’s sound ever further. “Before Destruction” opens proceedings with a transfixing air of foreboding before “Is Love Forever?” and “The Mystery Zone” kick in with hooks that grip the listener’s cortex with the tenacity of an aural tapeworm. “Who Makes Your Money” and first single “Written In Reverse” will be familiar to Spoon fans who witnessed the band playing prototypical live versions at select dates in 2008, as will “Got Nuffin,” title track of the EP released by the band earlier this year. View Transference‘s tracklisting below.

Earlier this year, the foursome — Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey and Rob Pope — saw the worldwide digitally released their first four albums, Telephono, A Series Of Sneaks, Girls Can Tell and Kill The Moonlight, on their website.. The albums were formatted as MP3s and high quality FLAC audio, with digital liner notes provided for the first time. Spoon will end the year playing a New Years Eve extravaganza at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee with Jay Reatard supporting.

Tour dates supporting Transference will be announced as they are confirmed.

Tracklisting:
01. Before Destruction
02. Is Love Forever?
03. The Mystery Zone
04. Who Makes Your Money
05. Written In Reverse
06. I Saw The Light
07. Trouble Comes Running
08. Goodnight Laura
09. Out Go The Lights
10. Got Nuffin
11. Nobody Gets Me But You

Spoon: website | myspace