by John Miller
Kinsey - There must be some apprehension one feels before opening for
a sold out show. A room that is barely full and a crowd, clearly waiting for anything
else. Kinsey clearly does not share any of the apprehension I am projecting. The
room is a third occupied but they are clearly up to the task of opening for the
Cold War Kids even if the crowd isn’t. As the audience slowly trickles in, they
play slow acoustic pieces accented by interesting secondary instruments.
It's a small three
piece, they don't take up too much space and clearly very casual; an upright
bass, a trumpet, and the lead, Nick Kinsey is pulling double duty; an acoustic
and bass drum that he pounds away on has he strums his major chords. The
trumpeter adds a wonderful accent to these pieces. He plays a significant part
in keeping these songs moving and fresh. Having a competent brass section can
be something difficult to pull off but Kinsey does it right; it adds to the
compositions without making them sound older than they are and it certainly
doesn't overpower them either; meaning that the addition doesn't necessarily
cause the rest of the band to lean on it for a particular sound. It's a complement.
Nick Kinsey keeps it light in between songs, trying to keep
this anxious audience engaged with in prompt to question and answer sessions;
they live in Brooklyn (surprise) and are fans of Ben & Jerry's. At one
point, he switches to finger picking and it reminds me briefly of Elliott
Smith, but only briefly as his confident vocals are a far cry from Smith’s
depressive and disassociated style. As the set comes to a close, they seem to have
won over the crowd as with each song the crowd’s approval grows.
(Editor--Cold War Kids headlined, but was not reviewed)
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