Concert Recap: The Cool Kids in Madison (8/22/09)

The Cool Kids were initally slated to perform in Madison on August 22 at the Orpheum Theatre, a ritzy, ornate venue with plenty of seating and not so much standing room. However, in a serendipitous turn of events, the concert was transferred to a new location: The Majestic Theatre. The new setting couldn't have been more fitting for Chicago's rambunctious hip-hop duo. The floor was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty college students, all ready to nod their heads to the group's unique hipster boom bap sound.

The party didn't start immediately, though. Opener F. Stokes kicked the show off, but I unfortunately had to miss that act due to prior obligations. Next was Milwaukee's hip-hop band Fresh Cut Collective, who made up for in exuberance what they lacked in coherence. The group's sound was at times garbled (do you ever really need two electric pianos, and a violin player?), but the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Just as anticipation for The Cool Kids to take the stage was peaking, they took to the stage rapping the intro track to their Gone Fishing mixtape, "Introduction to Ice Fishing." On records, there's something infinitely fresh about how Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks are almost completely unwilling to raise their voices above talking volume. Despite my skepticism, this was not a problem during their live sets, as they were completely audible throughout the performance. The duo maintained a relaxed yet fun demeanor, and were always composed and in control during the set. Another fun feature about the performance was the video screen hanging high above the stage. During every song, a custom-made video was playing, which was designed to match the theme of the song playing. For example, during "Champions," a highlight montage of cool sports moments was playing, and the opening minuute of "Hammer Bros" featuring a compilation of crushing hockey checks. It was tough at times to decide what to pay attention to, but the video screen was a nice additional aspect of the show.

The Cool Kids continued by running through several tracks off Gone Fishing, including top notch renditions of "Champions" and "Hammer Bros." They brought out flashy guest Tennille to do "Jump Rope," and she stayed on stage for the rest of the show, dancing around and occasionally chipping in on backup vocals. The night really picked up steam, though, during the second half of the show, when they dived into some of their older songs. "88" had the speakers rattling and the crowd bouncing off the walls, as did "Gold and Pager," two of the more exciting songs of the night.

For a final hurrah, however, the group put on quite an encore performance. With the crowd demanding "one more song!", Chuck and Mikey performed "One Two" over a medley of Beastie Boys beats, such as "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "Paul Revere." That officially validated Mikey Rock's self-proclamation as The Cool Kids being "the new black version of the Beastie Boys," and was undoubtedly my highlight of the night.

Overall, the crowd at The Majestic that night got exactly what they bargained for: a high-octane dance party, courtesy of The Cool Kids. The group clearly has put time and effort into developing their live show, and it paid off in full.

As a bonus addendum to this review, I'll be uploading YouTube footage of songs at the show throughout the week, so you can get a taste of what it was like. You can subscribe to my YouTube account in case you want to catch those videos when they come out, and I'll also be posting them on this site.