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Electric Six finally graced the Riot Room in Kansas City, Missouri with its presence after a five-month postponement of its original show date back in the fall. It was a night filled with covers, middle-aged folks dancing, and murmurs towards diverse establishments.
There are three rules that one must follow when getting ready to attend an Electric Six show:
1. Wear your dancing shoes.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Take the next day off work.
The openers Antennas Up and The Constellations were no exception to the three rules.
Kansas City’s own Antennas Up opened the night with its funk-pop based sound and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. After my initial thoughts of “This band sounds like something for frat-boy Maroon 5-lovers”, the band’s irony shined through and it was easier to appreciate what they were going for. It was hard not to move around to the band’s Electric Light Orchestra-inspired keyboard riffs and poppy dance beats. The lead singer even sang a heartfelt ballad complete with ball-busting falsettos. The band closed the show with a cover of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky” which wins an “A” in my book. Expect more from these guys in the future, they’re a blast.
Have you ever seen that website LATFH.com? When The Constellations from Atlanta (yes, a witty fan yelled “Hot-lanta!!!”) took the stage, that website was all I could think of. Luckily, the band has more talent than the hipsters featured on the site that try so desperately to be different but end being up completely unoriginal since hipsters are everywhere these days. I digress. The Constellations has been receiving a lot of press lately in support of its single “Felicia” both online and offline, and it’s well-deserved. Ranging from hip-hop, funk to indie-inspired songs, The Constellations was truly fun to watch. During the band’s cover of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, band members genuinely looked like they were having fun and even brought out a cowbell for the song.
As Electric Six set up, the crowd was abuzz with excitement mixed with a little intoxication. I heard more than one group of people talking about how they can’t wait to hear “Gay Bar” The band stumbled on stage to play its dancey, space rock backed with disco beats-style set. Dick Valentine, the band’s singer, had his usual tousled look about him—beer in hand, hair everywhere, and shit-eating grin. Electric Six rocked hits like “Danger! High Voltage” and “Dance Commander”. About halfway through the set, the familiar “Gay Bar” riff started, and crowd started really getting into it. Between Valentine’s incoherent ranting between songs, middle-aged drunk men dancing, and the all-around festive atmosphere, it sure didn’t feel like a typical KC Thursday night.
