Black Kids @ Black Cat
When we last saw Jacksonville's Black Kids, they were priming the Black Cat mainstage crowd for Aussie electro-pop sensation Cut Copy. This time, they sold out the Black Cat in their own right, despite their former tourmates playing a larger venue just down the street. If there were any questions as to whether the Black Cat crowd merely contained dance-hungry kids who couldn't get into the 9:30 Club show, they were warranted as even Black Kids singer Reggie Youngblood commented that even he wasn't sure which show he'd pick, given the option.
"If any of you see any of the members of Cut Copy on the street tonight, give them a big kiss on the mouth and say that it was from me," drawled Youngblood slyly. However, Youngblood seems to have learned his lesson since writing "Underestimated My Charm (Again)", since he used it throughout the set to convince the Black Cat concertgoers that they had bought the correct ticket.
After equally danceable sets from Magic Wands and The Virgins (who seem to follow the same new wave inspired electro-pop formula as Cut Copy), The Black Kids attempted to blast our eardrums out with their between set song choices over the Black Cat PA system. The playlist read like a list of their influences: Prince, The Jackson 5, The Magnetic Fields and The Wu-Tang Clan were just a few of the songs used to prepare the crowd before they came out full force with Partie Traumatic closer "Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)". The cheerleader-esque shouts of keyboardists Dawn Watley and Ali Youngblood worked seamlessly into "Hit the Heartbrakes", a track they premiered on last year's digitally released Wizard of Ahhhs EP.
Photo by haveweallgotthebends
The Black Cat patrons definitely felt the energy, bouncing for the vast majority of the set, although the clear winners were "Listen to Your Bodies", set closer "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You", and "Hurricane Jane" in the encore. "Hurricane Jane" in particular had everyone singing out the lovelorn chorus ("It's Friday night and I ain't got nobody") which considering the large numbers of couples going at it throughout the Black Cat, was fairly funny.
If the Florida quintet had felt any pressure to prove themselves worthy of the hype machine's claims that they were the next big thing, they certainly didn't show it or bow under it. Ali Youngblood spent the entirety of the first song giggling at whatever the Black Cat sound tech was saying to her from offstage, and Reggie Youngblood danced around like he might as well have been wearing the cape from the "Hurricane Jane" video. Learning not to care about their mixed reviews of Partie Traumatic has allowed them to go back to what the band espouses in the first place...having a good time.