Black Kids - 23-Sept-2008

First off, I bought the tickets to this show like 3-Mo ahead of time.  Black Kids only had an EP out at the time and a single (I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You) that was on continuous repeat on my myspace page.  I had found a lot of their stuff on Playlist.com and couldn't wait for the album or the show. 

The show ended up selling out so I was very happy I bought the tickets early.  Funny thing, when we got the tickets in the mail, the receipt said 2 Black Kids with Virgins.  OK, maybe that only sounded funny to me. 

I love The Earl.  It's a dive restaurant/bar with a small concert area in a back room.  It's always smokey and you can stand 3-Ft away from the band.  There were signs up that read, "Absolutely No Smoking at Tonight's Performance."  Unfortunately, most people ignore mandates like that. 

I usually stand on the front line at The Earl, but with a sold out crowd, I stayed in the back on an elevated step so I could see above the throngs of mashed peeps. 

Opening Band 1 - I thought The Magic Wands were cheesy, but in a good way.  Like 80s rejects in love.  They were a duo from Nashville and seemed like an actual couple.  Their songs seemed juvenile and slightly uninspired, but it was a good 20-Mins nonetheless, except for their last song which had a skipping synthesizer back track that made the poor duo look like amateurs.  They apologized and were mostly forgotten as fast as they came. 

Opening Band 2 - The Virgins followed The Magic Wands.  I had seen them before when they opened for She Wants Revenge during the Nylon Summer Music Tour 2008 (Switches, Virgins, Be Your Own Pet, & She Wants Revenge).  Like then, I found them to be the wrong kind of 80s throwbacks.  It was Billy Joel from the Jersey Shore.  The lead singer wore a muscle tank top and had tight faded denim with the cuffs rolled in that infamous "fold & roll" method.  Like a bad album cover from New Kids on the Block.  Their music wasn't bad, but I didn't love.  I merely tolerated until they were done so I could watch Black Kids. 

Highlight of The Virgins' set...Reggie Youngblood (Black Kids lead singer) was standing 2-ft in front me, unmistakable with his crazy afro.  I love when bands are still unknown enough that they can mix with a crowd and remain undetected.  

Finally, Black Kids came on around 1130PM (granted this was a work night, so I knew I'd be paying for it in the morning).  The five band mates seemed smooshed on The Earl's tiny stage, but they made do.  I had seen Black Kids on a video recording for a radio show and they were pretty stiff, but thankfully the audience made them more outgoing.  They played every song on their album Partie Traumatic (out since 22-Jul-2008) and one non-album song, You Only Call Me When You're Crying (encore). 

Highlights of their set:

1>I'm Making Eyes at You!  My ultimate favorite Black Kids song, even more than I'm Not Gonna Teach Y(oh, you know which song it is).  My hubby was nice enough to record that one for me so I could enjoy it fully. 

2>Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo) - Great vibe and fast paced.  Makes me want to dance, and can't help but enjoy any reference to Michael Jackson's "Rock With You."  Not that it is intentional, but there is a name similarity.

3>Drunk Guy that screamed "Fuck Ya!" at the top of his lungs every time Black Kids finished a song or paused longer than 5-Sec.  Ali Youngblood thought he was saying, "Fuck No," and got sad, but laughed when she understood what he was saying.  Then she led us in a cheerleader inspired spell out of F-U-C-K! 

4>I'm Not Gonna T(yup, same long ass title that's a pain to type out).  Even though I know the band is probably sick of singing it, I was happy they still played with enthusiasm.  I was actually pleased they played it in the middle and not as the last song.  The ended the encore with Hurricane Jane, another one of my favorites.  Who doesn't love the desperation of those lyrics as Reggie wails, "It's Friday night and I aint got nobody!"  I doubt he's ever alone now.