BY IAN HRABE
When you tell someone you're from Kansas you will get one of two responses. Some people will immediately reference The Wizard of Oz, and if you are outside of the midwest you are almost guaranteed to have someone remind you that "you're not in Kansas anymore." The more saavy bunch will immediately bring up the Get Up Kids. My response to this was that Jim Suptic's mom was my 7th grade math teacher, and that this led not only to my discovery of the band but triggered the punk-rock and emo-fueled teenage renaissance that followed. I should probably say this upfront: I never saw the Get Up Kids in the heyday despite being a part of their target demographic, as my mother was under the impression that I would get shanked or trampled in a "mosh pit" despite me explaining that it would just be a bunch of geeky wimps like myself.
And for some reason, I was seeing the Get Up Kids for the first time in a casino, and things seemed to start going downhill as soon as I set foot in the place. After passing the buffet and Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill I entered the VooDoo Lounge. The swanky, 21+ venue led me to believe that this was nothing more than a cash grab designed purely for nostalgic purposes. The super slick sound system made the power-pop of openers the ACB's sound like some innocuous band I might hear on one of the more mainstream radio stations, even though I got the sense I might have dug these guys in a smaller venue.
I was dehydrated, and the bartender won't give me a cup of water unless I forked over two-dollars, and my mood was crashing. Finally the Get Up Kids took the stage, and as soon as that pick slid up the strings and they started into "Holiday" my pissy attitude vanished completely. Suddenly, I was 17 and heartbroken and I knew the words to all of the songs and my companion and I, along with pretty much everyone up front, were singing along as loud as we could.
Unlike with the myriad bands that latched onto the brand of emo the Get Up Kids are allegedly responsible for, this group's songs have a certain timelessness to them. Despite the fact that now most of the guys are wearing wedding rings, the songs sounded just as good as they always did. Everyone in the band looked like they could be someone's dad, with the exception of Rob Pope, who appears to have been taking fashion tips from the singer of his other band.
The set played out like a veritable greatest hits collection, mostly comprising tunes off of Something to Write Home About along with the choicest cuts from the other three LPs. The inclusion of the much beloved "Mass Pike" was almost as much of a surprise as Suptic's solo-performance of "Campfire Kansas," which clearly illustrated that the Get Up Kids know their fanbase incredibly well. This was proven by the encore that just kept building on itself, culminating in what they have to know is their best song (if not, it's in the top three), "Ten Minutes."
The only time they really missed the mark was with the new song, "Keith Case," and even then, it was rewarding to see the Pope brothers geek out on the song's drum-and-distorted-bass intro. The dark groove of that tune didn't really mesh with the rest of the set, but it's nice to have something to attach my hopes of another Get Up Kids record to.
Yes, the club was only half full and yes, it might have benefited from the energy of some young blood, and yes the sound was a little too upscale (and it was refreshing watching Matt Pryor rip the portable monitor out of his ear midway through "No Love") but the songs were just too damn good for any of that to matter. They may have been broken up for four years, they're still the pride and joy of the KC music scene.
Set List
Holiday
I'm A Loner Dottie, A Rebel
Coming Clean
Valentine
The One You Want
Woodson
No Love
Out of Reach
Keith Case (New Song)
Red Letter Day
Campfire Kansas
Holy Roman
Mass Pike
Martyr Me
Close to Home
Action & Action
Walking on a Wire
Encore
Close to Me (Cure cover)
Don't Hate Me
I'll Catch You
Ten Minutes
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