[ATTENDED: April 13, 2018] And the Kids
I watched an And the Kids Tiny Desk Concert a while back. At first I wasn’t that impressed, but over the course of 10 minutes they totally won me over and I knew I’d want to see them live (I didn’t quite get what they were doing in the beginning to really appreciate it).
I was pretty psyched that they were opening for Lucy Dacus. But I was bummed to discover that their set would be shortened because I was seeing them for the early show (I think they did about 30 minutes rather 40). I was even more bummed after the fact when I found out that the when given room and time, they put on a killer live show.
Instead, I got a great live show.
Hannah Mohan had just played with Adult Mom and was now singing and playing guitar with And the Kids. She was doing the same at the late show–four shows in one night! And what a coat she had on.
When they came out she said the set list was kind of out the window if there was anything anyone wanted to hear.
The band (for this tour) is a trio and they had a great sound together, with bassist Luke Averill anchoring Hannah’s guitar.
But I had the most fun watching drummer Rebecca Lasaponaro who during “I Can’t Tell What the Time is Telling Me” switched from drums to glockenspiel (while putting the drum stick between her teeth). For the other songs she often played unexpected rhythms, with lots of rim hits and floor toms.
What I really loved about And the Kids was their slightly unconventional songwriting. Their songs were catchy with great melodies, but they were also full of surprises, like the drums or the unexpected falsetto in “Neighbors.” I love the simple, confounding lyrics of this song: “Where did all our neighbors go? We can’t be silent no more.”
I was really surprised by the rather noisy and angular almost bizarre chords and slightly unpleasant riff that came with “Picture.” It was far more dissonant than on record. But again the rim shots that started the song were so unexpected and cool.
Toward the end of their set, Hannah switched to a tiny, four-string guitar which had a really interesting sound. They played the fun song “Creeper” which features a big chorus of “Ahhhhooo! Ah Ah Ah.”
They ended the night with “Cats Were Born” a fun clap-along with the inscrutable chorus “the cats were born to kill for fun” (played to a wonderfully sing song melody).
I found out that just a few nights later, And the Kids were playing a festival in Bethlehem and were doing a 90 minute set! I tried so hard to get there but I just couldn’t do it. It also turns out that they are opening for Shakey Graves in Philly on May 11. But that show is sold out.
I can;t believe that this band was so generous with their time in my neck of the woods but I could only manage to see them for 3o minutes. I hope they come back again soon.
i also love that the two opening bands were: Adult Mom And the Kids.
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