Crash Kings concert review
Date: April 15, 2010
Venue: The Note – West Chester, PA
Cost: $10 in advance, $12 at the door
Opening band(s): Blood Feathers

When everything falls into place, it makes for such a great night.

That’s exactly what happened this past Thursday when I went to go see Crash Kings. Then venue was relaxed. The crowd was there for a good time. And, of course, Crash Kings tore it up.

The Note is an interesting place to be for lack of a better descriptor, interesting in a good way though. For anyone unfamiliar with the venue, it’s owned by Bam Margera and he’s pretty much always there when a band is playing. I didn’t see him when I walked in (He got there later); however, it didn’t take long to notice Bam’s uncle, Don Vito, sitting at the bar next to us. All I could think was, “Yeah, this is gonna be a good night.” The inside of The Note looks like an old pub from years ago but, at the same time, it’s very modernized: full bar in back, stage up front, second bar upstairs and a great sound system throughout.

I got there with a friend when doors opened at 7PM just to go in and have a drink and chill till the bands came on. Apparently that’s what the bands did as well. On my one side was the entirety of the Blood Feathers, the opening band, having a couple beers, and on the other I noticed Mike Beliveau, Crash Kings bassist, milling about talking to people. As the minutes went by, the other two members of Crash Kings, lead singer/keyboardist Tony Beliveau and drummer Jason Morris, started making appearances downstairs near the crowd at the bar walking back and forth prepping the show. It’s these little details that can really enhance the evening.

As the Bloodfeathers took the stage around 8:30, there wasn’t a big crowd that moved down the stage area. However, I don’t think was because people didn’t like them. To be honest, I really dug them. I had never heard them before so I wasn’t familiar with their music but they were still really fun to listen to. They were folk sounding yet soul too. They played through their set switching lead vocalist now and then between songs and looked like they were enjoying it. After they ended their set and cleaned up, they were right back out to hang with the crowd by the bar.

Between sets, I had turned around and realized Bam has showed up and The Note itself was starting to fill. It wasn’t packed though and the crowd that was there was more than bearable. Having been a 21+ show, there were either people there just to drink and hear some live music or those that were big Crash Kings fans knowing more than just their single “Mountain Man.” As a little time went by, I still noticed Mike and Jason walking around but, this time, being stopped and noticed by more people. Obviously the Crash Kings fans have arrived excited for the show.

And there was no disappointment. When Tony, Mike, and Jason took the stage, I immediately moved down to the floor area. I ended up being about 18 inches away from the stage directly in front of Tony’s clavinet…

Sidebar: Clavi-what? Let’s put it this way. Have you ever seen a band rock hard without a guitar? No, Keane doesn’t count; I said rock hard. Tony plays keyboard and clavinet: the love child of a keyboard and guitar. With its keys, whammy bar, and 60+ internal guitar strings, the instrument is really quite something to watch being played.

Anyway, back to the show. I can easily say I have never been this close to the stage of a band. The intimacy of the venue enhanced their performance that much more. Crash Kings opened with some of their, dare I say, slower songs. They weren’t so much slower but just featured Tony more on keys than clavinet. Either way, they were still rocking out with very little banter between songs. It was clear they were here to play for the crowd.

And play they did. They played through their entire self-titled album including all my favorites: “It’s Only Wednesday,” “You Got Me,” and, of course the #1 alternative radio single, “Mountain Man.” Right before they played “Mountain Man,” Tony said, “We really appreciate you guys coming out tonight. We’ve got one more for you.” That meant this was the last song on the album to be played so in their encore they might be playing something new or doing their cover of “War Pigs.” This was not the case, however. “Mountain Man” actually was the last song of the evening. My only negative critique of the whole night was that there was no encore.

That alone definitely could not put a sour taste in my mouth especially when the announcement immediately after the song was that the Crash Kings would be out in a few minutes to talk to the crowd. Now I’ve heard announcements like that after shows before and as 1-2 hours pass, the band finally makes their way out to an autograph table with a line a mile long. This wasn’t the case, though. In under 10 minutes, Tony, Mike, and Jason were all out on the floor cleaning up their gear from the stage and there was only a few people down there who wanted to talk to them, myself being one of them. I told them I much I loved their live shows and I was fortunate enough to have this be the third time I have seen them live. They seemed truly grateful for the support and were willing to talk (and listen!) as long as I wanted. I kept it short because they were obviously busy packing and I bid them adieu and made my way out of The Note.

In the past 5-6 years, I have now seen somewhere in the area of 110 artists live. From the huge arena shows of Muse and Jay-Z to the smaller venue shows of Natasha Bedingfield and Saul Williams, I have seen my fair share. And, Crash Kings, you are in my top 10 live performances. If I were to consider a cost to performance ratio, you may even be in my top 3. I didn’t need the glitz and glam at the show. I felt the performance and the music. They were there to perform for the crowd selflessly. Great show, great night. I will be seeing you guys again.

Crash Kings – You Got Me [YSI]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Concert Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.