Normally it isn't good form to write a review of a show where some of the bands are left out. Due to unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances March 8th, I arrived late to see The Get Up Kids show at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit. I felt compelled to write this review anyways, since what I did see warranted some attention. I walked in just as the headliner started playing, and I had no idea what I was in for. Honestly, I have not seen too many performances like the one I saw Monday night.

    The past couple of years have seen The Get Up Kids allegedly stumble from the top with their progression to a more mature sound, but this night was no indication that they have fallen off in terms of the quality of their musicianship. The fans were still packed into St. Andrew's in large quantities, and nobody left with any disappointment whatsoever.

    Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the night was the fact that the setlist was spread out to cover all of their career. Its been a while since I have seen a band have such diversity in a performance. The set lasted 23 songs and was roughly an hour and a half long. The great mix of old and new kept the flow and mood upbeat all night long. Every song was played with a ton of energy, watching the band gave me the feeling that they were having an absolute blast on stage. It added a lot to the quality of the performance.

    While some have criticized the newest album, "Guilt Show", anyone would agree that the songs come off much better live than they do recorded, especially ‘The Dark Night of the Soul.'. Maybe that was part of the allure of the evening, since the songs off the band's most recent offering were not the only ones that received that treatment. Not too many bands can really pull that off, in my opinion.

    The set was going along well early on, ‘Wouldn't Believe It' was the song that really reeled me in and got my attention. As far as the rest of the crowd, things really got going when the beginning of ‘Mass Pike' chimed in. Matt Pryor's vocals were terrific, especially with some of the older songs, just sounded so much different and better than the recorded versions like I mentioned before. Jim Suptic sounded awesome as well, most notably in ‘Campfire Kansas'.

    Other highlights of the evening included, well, just about every other song that they played. There's really nothing else to say, it was just one of those nights. The aforementioned vocals, coupled with the band's excellent sound, made for a unique show. James DeWees was also stellar on the keyboards, especially ‘Stay Gone' and ‘Martyr Me'. I was starting to wonder if they would play ‘Don't Hate Me' when they busted into it, then closed with their closer off of Guilt show, "Conversation", which definitely rocked.

    The band returned for their encore and started with the Cure's ‘Close to Me', which they covered on Eudora. They finally played the most requested song of the night, Anne Arbor, which apparently has nothing to do with the city nearby, but at this point in the evening that fact was irrelevant as the fun had taken over long ago. The last and possibly best song of the evening was ‘Ten Minutes', and when the song ended and the lights went back up, the crowd had a collective wind taken right out of their sails, after an hour and a half everyone still wanted more.

    I left St. Andrew's a much bigger fan than I already was. I can probably count the better sets I have seen than that on one hand. If you can see them on this tour, I would highly suggest it.


Setlist
Washington Square Park
Close to Home
Wouldn't believe it
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel
Holy Roman
Mass Pike
Campfire Kansas
The Dark Night of the Soul
Action & Action
Stay Gone
Better Half
Let the Reigns Go Loose
Sympathy
Holiday
Off the Wagon
Martyr Me
Up on the Roof
Out of Reach
Don't Hate Me
Conversation

Close to Me
Anne Arbour
Ten Minutes