Wikipedia Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock.
Home: North Carolina
Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 4
Day: Sunday
Both Weekends
T-Mobile Stage at 4:15.
Thoughts: Last here in 2017, and I got to catch their set both weekends. Although the poor guys got so sweaty during the weekend one show I thought they might shrivel up and die right there on stage. They are pretty great.
I mean, their name is just terrible. It truly is. An early leader in the clubhouse for worst band name to recommend to a friend. Unless that friend is an eight year old girl, in which case, she is probably instantly a big fan. Until she hears the music and realizes it is a Kings of Leon-esque blues rock band (only thinking the first two KOL albums here) and not a Katy Perry-fronted band of My Little Pony cartoons. Weak name aside, the music behind that weak name is great. If you were a fan of the early Kings of Leon, you could very easily get confused after a few songs into believing that you are listening to an unheard, old KOL album. The vocals match, the underlying tunes match (especially the guitar part), it really clicks to that comparison.
Amazingly, if you had found these guys waaaay back in the day, you could have potentially spent $300 to back their new album on Kickstarter and then received an in home concert in exchange. I mean, how amazing would that be? I know these guys aren't Springsteen or anything, but a single concert ticket these days is likely more than $300. To get a show in house with all of your friends for only $300? Would have been pretty rad.
Amazingly, if you had found these guys waaaay back in the day, you could have potentially spent $300 to back their new album on Kickstarter and then received an in home concert in exchange. I mean, how amazing would that be? I know these guys aren't Springsteen or anything, but a single concert ticket these days is likely more than $300. To get a show in house with all of your friends for only $300? Would have been pretty rad.
They've got four albums, 2013's Seven + Mary, 2015's RKS, 2018's clunkily named How to: Friend, Love, Freefall, and 2024's Love Hate Music Box. That new disc hasn't gotten much traction - the majority of their popular tracks are from the older discs. The second biggest streamer, from the 2015 disc, is some prime-time goodness. "Cocaine Jesus" has 211.4 million streams. Here is a live (not quite acoustic, but stripped down) version.
That lead singer has got more beard and chest hair than I could grow in a month of Sundays. Real talk. He could braid those two suckers together and, well, uh, like severely hurt his neck because he was always looking down and stuff. Whatever, Richard. I actually got to meet him at SXSW many years ago, after a short show at Weather Up over on the east side. Seemed very cool, and their show is high energy and very good.
But before we continue, I should probably retread a little on that statement up there, because the lead singer (Sam Melo) has since transitioned and taken on the name Ela Melo. So, instead of being that exceedingly hairy bro you can see in the screencap above, she is now a lady lead singer.
The top track from the first album is "Devil Like Me," which cranks up 180.9 million streams, which is pretty solid.
I've watched that video before. Freaking depressing man. But another really good tune. I like these guys a lot. But that doesn't even reach the newer two albums, and that third album is where they got even bigger.
By the way, the band formed in Boone, NC after the guitarist and lead singer met at Appalachian State University. Wikipedia says the name came from a friend who had recently recovered from a serious illness. Which, uh, huh? It sounds like he just made up something random on the spot: "But before one open mic night, they realized they needed a name. They turned to a close friend who'd just been through a tough illness. "We were just like 'Okay, we gotta sign up, Noah, what's our name?' And Noah's like, 'Rainbow Kitten Surprise.' 'Are you positive about that?,'" Melo recalled." Now, like Hootie and the Blowfish before them, they are stuck with it.
The third album, entitled How to: Friend, Love, Freefall likewise seems to show they suck at naming other things. What the freaking hell is what supposed to mean? Did Noah get sick again and just blurt out those words too? It's like the lyrics to a Migos song, just stream of consciousness silliness jammed together. Can't you hear it in a Migos cadence? How to (huh?) / Friend Love (skkrrrt) / Freefall (mama!).
If I'm being perfectly honest, this album isn't as good as their prior albums. I want to keep loving it, because I genuinely liked the concerts and their old music, but I've made my way through the album a good number of times and I'd say there are some good bits, but not an excellent whole offering. When I reviewed it in 2018, the top song was one called "Fever Pitch," but "It's Called: Freefall" has now crushed that song entirely with 582 million streams.
If I'm being perfectly honest, this album isn't as good as their prior albums. I want to keep loving it, because I genuinely liked the concerts and their old music, but I've made my way through the album a good number of times and I'd say there are some good bits, but not an excellent whole offering. When I reviewed it in 2018, the top song was one called "Fever Pitch," but "It's Called: Freefall" has now crushed that song entirely with 582 million streams.
Reminds me of Modest Mouse for sure. "Even the devil needs time alone, sometimes" is a fun lyric. Weird ass video. But I really like it when the song kicks in - I wish that was longer. Regarding "Fever Pitch," the funkiness of that tune is fine, as is the bit when he says to "simmer dooooown." "Holy War" has more of a plodding sound that reminds me more of something Blue October would release (and if you know me that is not a compliment). I dunno, but its actually been growing on me. The whole album actually has - my original review I wrote (before another 4 or 5 streams of the disc) was much less complimentary of the album. "Hide" sounds like the classic RKS that I like, old King of Leon tunes. I'm not saying the album is bad, because it's not, but many of the songs just ease on by like two warm innings of at bats in a 14-2 summertime baseball game. When you try to remember them later, you know you were at a game, but you don't recall those individual tries. But the more I've been through it the more I want to go back and do it some more.
But now the new disc - I didn't even know they had a 2024 album. From the stream count, it looks like no one did. The tune with Kacey Musgraves tops the stream count on the 22(!?!?!) song long disc, but I'm going to give you the second-most streamed to avoid the borrowed popularity. "Superstar" is the only other tune with an 8-digit stream count at 14.1 million.
They show a guy playing the drums, but that sure sounds like a drum machine. Meh. It's not a bad song, but I liked the grimier old stuff instead of that type of over-produced thing. Of course, I just heard it a fourth time and it is starting to grow on me. I wonder if they will play a poppier show based on the new album instead of the old jams. Looks like they will not - I pulled up their most recent setlist (from Alaska!) and the show was 23 songs, and only 3 were from the new album. Good news!The bad news though is that this show is at the same time as Wet Leg. Which is some bullhonkey. ALL OF THESE CRAPPY THINGS ON SUNDAY EVENING, AND YOU COULDN'T SEPERATE THE TWO ROCK BANDS?!?! Seriously annoying. Put Polo & Pan's goofy ass up against Wet Leg, y'all! That is crap.
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