Kid:Nap:Kin and Julius C @ The Village Underground

Last night I went to the Village Underground to see Julius C. I missed the opening bands because I worked late, but I got there just in time to catch Kid:Nap:Kin. This was also their New York CD release party for their new album "Hush Now..." A 3-piece band from Boston, they were a high energy rock band with a hint of metal. I really liked lead singer Dan's voice. He sang in falsetto a lot but he actually pulled it off quite well, which is hard to do. And bass player Jamila was badass. I don't know why, but female bass players seem to always be so cool. Drummer Pat was good, and they had some great complex rhythms in some of their songs. Honestly I expected not to like them because metal-esque music isn't one of my favorite genres, but I found myself really getting into it. Their music is much more melodic than most metal, and they had a hint of funk at times. I suppose they aren't really all that metal-esque, besides the scream-singing. "Hush Now..." is a strong album. It's got a great energy. I can totally see myself popping this into the CD player of my car and speeding down the freeway, rocking out. If I had a car that is. I'm not much of a head-banger but I can't seem to help it listening to this album. My favorite track is the slightly funkier Hush Now.

Julius C was great as usual. I was extra close this time, which was fun. I could've reached out and touched them if I wanted to - some people did and even got on stage at the end. And as always, Julius C fans are awesome and high energy without being rowdy. They played a few new songs, and they departed from the usual - playing one ballad featuring only the lead singer Jay and guitar player Kate (Jay said they wanted to try something without a funky bass line) and one instrumental (and funky) song with the rest of the band and without Jay and Kate. The songs were good, although I have to say that I hope Julius C continues to keep funk in most of their songs because that's part of why I love them so much. One thing I should alert you to: if you join their mailing list on their website, you get free exclusive downloads. I highly recommend it.

Some pictures (even more here). I brought my crappy camera because I was going to a party afterwards. Oh well.

There was a little smoke for a bit and that seemed to upset my camera

I love that Kid:Nap:Kin are rocking out in the background

And some mp3s for you to sample:

The Hush [mp3] - Kid:Nap:Kin - "Hush Now..."
Mama Says [mp3] - Julius C - Live in Montreal

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