Killradio / The Kinison / A Wilhelm Scream

live in Los Angeles (2004)

Zack

Ever since I saw Killradio open for the Mad Caddies two months ago I had been looking forward to the time when I could see them again. That time came on September 17th, ten days after their debut album "Raised On Whipped Cream" was released. To sum it up Killradio is a punk band that was signed to major label without any big fanbase, a risk that should turn out to be a good choice if Killradio's sound is subjected to the masses.

The first band was a band I'd never heard of before called Program The Dead; overall they were pretty good for a band that wasn't on the ticket and seemed to have recently formed. Their guitar work reminded me alot of the clash tinged with a little bit of metal. I couldn't hear the vocals that well but I'm guessing they were a screamo band because their lead singer was next to me during Killradio's set and thats what he sounded like.

Then came A Wilhelm Scream, they busted out immediately with alot of energy and they sounded really awesome, but for some reason they reminding the crowd that they were far from home. The guitar stood out a lot with this band and I enjoyed the fast melodic hardcore sound alot. A Wilhelm Scream's set was overall pretty seamless, I will definitely check in on them again.

The downer of the night came with The Kinison; to sum them up in one sentence is hard to do. The Kinison's lead singer and lead guitar player were both blatantly feminine, and they danced like girls through the whole set. Their rhythm guitar to quote a friend of mine sounded "like nails on a chalkboard" and their bass was almost impossible to hear over the rhythm guitar. The only good part about their band was their drummer who was playing the drums literally like a madman. They stopped their set halfway through because my freind had involuntarily started a fight by jokingly throwing down, this along with the fact that their singer grabbed my other freind's head and started pulling his hair got me to flat out not like the singer. I personally didn't enjoy The Kinison's performance because their sound was the kind of punk I could do without.

The moment I had been waiting for arrived, Killradio appeared on the stage and after setting up their instruments without hestiation broke into "Pull Out", a song that is pretty catchy with a bass line that rocks and it was a great opener for their set. After "Pull Out" their lead singer introduced "Entertained" with the line that sums up their outlook on the radio, "They made radio for the music, now they just make music for the radio", this song is awesome and it really got the crowd going, the energy of the band was in full force. They then busted out the song "Scavenger" which to make my description short was awesome. "Amerika" was a good song that was really cool, but I dont remember when they played it. They broke into their single "Do You Know (Knife In Your Back)" which really got the pit going. The song with the funniest name, "Penis Envy," is a flat out rant on what modern American society has turned into and I never thought it could be so good musically. The next song "Freedom?" was good, but what came next was better.

The song "Ad Jam" is a really energetic song which breaks out with some of the greatest lyrics on the album, "They live and die by images/ so lets exploit back/ flip it and reverse it watch the audience attack/ They've got the power weve got the pain/ do the ad jam baby let me show you the way" its a great song. What came next was a song that was unfortunately not released on their album called "Whose World". "Whose World" was not released because it borrowed lyrics from a Nas song. It was one of their better songs of the night and it was great that they played it. The lead singer took a minute to remind the crowd that now is the most important time in history and that if you ignore that we're gonna be screwed, he said "Don't fall asleep". Their next song "Classroom Blues" is all about falling asleep during class because teachers can "Brainwash, but they can't teach" - this song is slower than the others and I enjoyed it a lot.

Their bass player, who may I say is one of the better bassists I've seen live, said "we've got two more songs left for you" a line that I was hoping was not true. The song played next was titled "Raised on Whipped Cream." It reminds me of a Dead Kennedys song for some reason and I liked it. The "last" song was called "Where Go We" - it is their poppiest song and I thought it was a great closer. The only problem was it wasn't their closer, their lead singer said "We're too lazy to stop", the song that followed was a cover of "Bodies" by the Sex Pistols, it was flat out amazing. The highlight of the night came during the song when the lead singer climbed on top of the highest amp to finish the show.

Overall, Killradio is one of the best bands I've seen live and with the exception of The Kinison's performance it was a flawless night.