Tonight sees The Get Up Kids celebrating their seminal 'Something To Write Home About' album by playing it in full. I never got to see them when they toured the album originally. As soon as I enter the venue tonight I meet some old friends and the conversation turns to when they played the Roadhouse in support of that album. 'Do you remember them at the Roadhouse?' No, I don't. I remember buying a ticket. I also remember having a crippling migraine on the day of the concert which meant that I had to give it a miss and the FOMO has haunted me ever since. I saw them before they released this album and I've seen them since but there are a number of these songs which I haven't seen live so I am pretty excited for tonight.
'Something To Write Home About' is in the discussion for the greatest album of all time as far as I am concerned. It's a hill I'd die upon but this hasn't always been the case. A trainer in a previous job once asked me what my favourite album was. When I told him it was 'Something To Write Home About' by The Get Up Kids I was met with a blank look. I hastily tried to explain what type of music it was (emo, which probably has a different meaning to him than it does to me) and then when he was being critical, I changed my mind to 'Appetite For Destruction' (which is also a contender). These days I'd double down and own that opinion. It is a masterpiece.
Watford band Lakes open up the show tonight. They play emo-tinged pop rock. It seems decent enough musically to start off with and the vocals elevate it somewhat. The lead singer's voice has a nice soulful edge whilst the backing vocals interplay nicely with him. The third track has a nice bounce to it. It's all relatively straight forward though and I wonder if they really need three guitarists. Musically, there is maybe a Modest Mouse feel. Inoffensive is probably the best way to describe them. When the the female vocals lead, it seems less successful and is more in the vein of Letters To Cleo. They also tease a brief snippet of The Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris'. Not bad but not exactly good either.
The Get Up Kids open with the anthemic pop punk of 'Holiday' and it's as good as ever. I'd heard that they cancelled last night's show in Dublin because Matt Pryor had lost his voice and he does seem to be straining a bit. 'Action & Action' is equally catchy. In fact, every song has a solid gold chorus. 'Valentine' is the first time we get a change of pace and the set doesn't lose any momentum although Matt is clearly struggling. 'Red Letter Day' is an absolute juggernaut. The crowd singing along to 'Out Of Reach' is magical'. 'Ten Minutes' is pretty rocking whilst 'My Apologies' is played with more spite than the studio version although the chorus is as sweet as ever. 'I'm A Loner Dottie, A Rebel' is immense and is probably closer to the more dynamic version on the Braid split. The roar of the crowd for the opening line of 'Come tomorrow, I'll be on my way back home' is incredible. The sound is a bit muffled during parts of 'Close To Home' which affects the dynamics a little. A spine tingling 'I'll Catch You' closes the album set in fine style and Matt probably sounds the best that he has all night. 'Walking On A Wire' is slinky and seductive whilst 'Shorty' is a rocking slice of emo punk. 'Overdue' adds a country/americana influence to their emo rock. All the non-album tracks still have the same energy and anthemic quality. They close with a ripping 'Don't Hate Me'. Tonight has been a lovely journey back down memory lane, both musically and bumping into old friends who I haven't seen in a long time.
The Get Up Kids ****
Lakes ***
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