Concert Review: Cold Fronts and The Kickback Bring “Garage Band Glory” to Rough Trade NYC
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| The Kickback |
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| Cold Fronts |
Garage Band Glory that is what Cold Fronts and The Kickback gave me when the rocked Rough Trade. They had that visceral hunger to rock and be rocked by the music coming out of their souls. This desire only reminds me of the intense, invincible feeling that takes over you when your jamming with your friends in the garage truly and purely believing that by next year you will be touring. That love and belief in the power of yourself and music was definitely present in every guitar riff played at Rough Trade.
Cold Fronts approach the stage like rambunctious teens ready to cause crazy fun. They tussle around the stage, crashing into each other; never withdrawing mischievous smirks and eyes from their faces. They carry trickster style spirits with an inner chaos displayed through guitar riffs and an egging of the crowd to party HARD. Craig Almquist (lead singer and songwriter) is known for his “whatever” attitude. Whatever happens happens and whoever is in is in! His energy blasts through 10 into 100.
I really liked Almquist. I could not help but smile at his insane zest. His motives are clear and crisp: just have FUN! Don’t overthink, don’t overanalyze, and do NOT SIT DOWN. He wants you to jump and toss through the crowd like a firecracker on the loose, which is exactly how he is on stage. There is an aura of unexpected with him. You do not know what he is going to say or do. The only guarantee is high quality musicianship and an endearingly anarchic personality. Songs like Primetime, Radio, and Energy Waster are good hits that exemplify Cold Fronts resigning mentality. They have resigned to life’s spontaneous combustive feature to become equals in persona. Their energy will always carry an element of surprise.
I am about to write the corniest thing you have ever seen; The Kickback were Spazztastic! (cue giggles and fingerprints) Yet, I cannot describe them as anything but “spazztastic”. Lead singer Billy Yost is Andy Kaufmann funny. He says the most awkward things that will make a few crowd members laugh and others go, “what?!”. For example, he dedicated an upbeat song his parents divorce. A few laughed while others, again, wondered “What?!”. Seeing people’s inability to properly place Yost’s humor is part of their The Kickback’s charm. Like, the Cold Fronts, they use the stage as a makeshift mosh pit where they push around their guitars in an effort release guttural sounds from their instrument. Yet, in between, their mosh pit moments come Yost’s weird jokes that, even as I write, make me smile at their quiet madness.
From a song on steroids to teaching the audience how to use Netflix, The Kickback offered a different form of anarchy to the Cold Fronts that was a good yang to their ying. While the Cold Fronts wanted a release of tension, The Kickback reveled in it. They were all about being enveloped in the discomforts of being a strange human being. I believe everybody has their dosage of eccentricity, and The Kickback play to that. They play to the aspects of you that are different and alienated. This could explain why Yost’s favorite Netflix show is Twin Peaks. For him, it is all about embracing the unusual. Add on the cool calmness of his fellow bandmates, and Yost appears like an instigator for all outcasts to relish in their uniqueness. P.S. Shoutout to Jonny Ifergan for his The Kickback promotion in spanish: both hilarious and fluently eloquent!
All in all, I felt I entered a high-end garage when hearing the Cold Fronts and The Kickback. Both carried excellent musicianship, but held an underground feeling. Like you were running through tunnels with lights of sound to guide you. Click here for more information on Cold Fronts and click here for more on the Kickback.
