Show One - Brooklyn NY One of my constant laments is I never get to see bands play live anymore like I did in the 80's. Reasons are many and varied, from the fact that not as many tour as they used to, when they do they often don't play remotely near me and having a kid I either can't take her or can't get a sitter to stay till 3 am when we'd return. In the 6 years this site has been up I've seen 3 shows: The Ocean Blue/Barcelona/Trembling Blue Stars triple bill, Ivy and Sondre Lerche. Just recently I was lucky enough to add Annabella to that list, but it's still pathetically short. So when we saw the Acid House Kings and Legends were coming for the first time ever, we "made hay while the sun shined". We went to see the show in Brooklyn first. On that night it was just me and Tim as my wife was still getting over an illness and it was not an all ages show so my kid couldn't come. Of course neither he nor I bothered to make sure where it was were were going and I was confused and was thinking it was their NYC date we were going to see, not Brooklyn. So we hit Manhatten which is at a standstill. Why? The Italians won the world cup and were out in force celebrating and reducing traffic to a crawl. After about 20 minutes of getting noplace we asked a likely looking young fellow where north 6th street was. He didn't know. Then Tim said we were looking for the club called North 6....."Oh yeah" he goes, "That's over on.... north 6th!" "But that's over in Williamsburg, you have to cross the bridge....." So over we go, Tim misses his exit and we get lost again. We stop another guy and he doesn't know where north 6th is either. So we then ask him about club North 6. "Oh yeah," he says, I know that place, it's on.......north 6th!" (I kid you not) We eventually do find it, and while it looked like there wouldn't be much of a crowd it did sort of fill up by nights end. But still, I wouldn't guess more than 100 bodies which Tim and I both considered to be a tragedy. The opener was Don Lennon, "the lo-fi singer who's catchier than herpes" who Tim thought was swedish because he bought one of his singles thru Delicious Goldfish and he sings a track on the recent AHK EP. Well, turns out he's not. He's an endearing nerd from Massachusetts who now lives in NYC and was very charming live. We bought a copy of his latest album and I'll review it some time soon. He was amazed Tim owned his single too which was a bit funny. Next up was the Ivy League who I had heard of I think but knew nothing about. They were a bit like an american version of Kings Of Convenience, which was also quite nice in it's own right. So far the night was going pretty well, and on top of it the sound while not the best I've gotten live was at least good. Up to this point I was still hiding. I had already spotted Johan on the street coming in, and I saw everyone inside once we got there, but they were all busy talking to people so I laid low. After the Ivy League however we wandered over and Tim asked Johan a question, and after he answered him Tim shoved him in my direction and I don't know what he thought was going to happen. In talking to him last year I told him my kid hated the mustache he grew (which was now gone, and his hair short again) and he told me the moustache was THE indie look of the year. So I asked him where his moustache was, I thought it was THE indie look of the year. That didn't tip him off, as he just laughed and said no, that was last years look. So then I told him who I was, and he took it better than I thought :^ ) and actually grabbed his brother by the arm and pulled him over. The background music was a bit loud and they were busy, so I didn't get to talk a whole lot but it was nice. Needless to say both bands were simply incredible live. One of the things that stuck out was the guy they had playing bass, who was very charming and incredibly into his playing. Another high note was when the AHK pulled up Don Lennon to sing a song with them he apparently didn't know as he had to sing it while reading lyrics scribbled on a cocktail napkin. It was adorable. Sadly, I didn't take a camera along that night. But before we left I said we'd most likely see them in Philly, and hopefully we'd have the whole crew because it was an all ages show. Niklas looked confused at that term and I said "Anyone can come because they don't serve alcohol" at which his visage noticably sank. Show Two - Philadelphia PA This was held at a place called the Kensington South Forum. Neither Tim or I had ever heard of it and it is very far off the beaten path of where shows even happen in that city. Just getting there required us to drive thru some of the most desolate and nasty parts of philly and frankly I'd have been more comfortable in Baghdad. Fortunately it's actual neighborhood wasn't too bad and we got to park right next to the building 20 feet around the corner. We no sooner had done this and walked in front when a minivan pulled right up and out piled the Kings. I mentioned to Niklas the night before that I had felt bad because when I interviewed them a few years ago and he said he was soon to be married I promised him a wedding gift which never got sent. He forgot, but I didn't. So I brought along a gift I had made that's too confusing to describe. (It's a PA German "nasty box") We also gave Johan an Indiespinzone T-Shirt. They invited us in with them before the doors were even open so we accepted. Then disaster struck. I applaud the efforts of the owners to try to make a place like this for bands, and to book bands like this to play, but please, do it when you're ready. This was essentially a reclaimed old industrial building and the "hall" was a room about 55 feet by 20 feet with NO lighting, NO stage and almost NO electrical outlets. And when I say no lighting, what I really mean is there were essentially no lights. The only lighting in the ENTIRE room were 2 floodlights attached back to back right over the band. The back one illuminated a staircase to nowhere and the forward one blinded everyone. It was so bad when the show started someone had to climb up and unscrew them, and hang a swag lamp. Here's the room on the left looking towards the stairs where the bands were, and on the right the swag lamp, the only illumination in the entire room. ... Even worse, as there was no gear the whole gig was thru their monitors sitting on folding chairs. Because of this or the fact that everything was plugged into one outlet like the movie "A Christmas Story" (see pic below) there were terrible problems. Feedback, shocks and just awful sound in general. Quite possibly it was one of the worst sounding concerts I've ever attended. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. While still on the street, after giving out the presents I introduced my family. I think they liked that Shannon was as hip as she was, and I told them that since they didn't have Don Lennon, if they wanted she could help tonight as she knows the lyrics to the Loveninjas "You Can Keep Your Love" by heart which AHK had been covering on tour. To her horror, they liked the idea. It was then that the bass player asked me "So, you like the Loveninjas?" to which I replied yes. When the opening band Brown Recluse Sings came on we didn't go in. The room was a typical philly setting: Interminably hot and humid and with the awful sound we opted to stand in the cooler entrance hallway where air was at least moving. I saw the bass player walking around so I went up and asked him which band he was in, already knowing the answer, and he confirmed "the Loveninjas". The way he asked me on the street, I already knew. He then drug me in the room with the rest of them and we talked for a while about a lot of stuff. The funniest part was they are incredibly modest, but I told them how truly brilliant they all were and that (grabbing the bass players little finger) said there was more talent in it than in any chart topping rap star, whereupon Johan told him "See Tor, I told you to use that finger more". The only other oddity was having to use my house key to open a Heinekin for Niklas as he didn't have an opener. Between it and a filing cabinet the job got done. (and like all rock stars they found their alcohol) We eventually came out and they started setting up for the legends. I was talking to the drummer about the heat and humidity and told him if he thought this was bad, the worst part was it was going to stay like this until mid september. He looked at me in horror and said "I could never live here." I never got his name but he was a real nice kid, very happy especially when playing. As for the heat and humidity, they said it was worse in Philly than it even was in the south where they started, and I don't doubt it. You must live it to believe it. I told Niklas he should be used to it with all those saunas, and he said with a smile I had them confused with Finns, who apparently are big on that. The following are some shots of the Legends. Incredibly, it makes it look like the room was lit and you could see things. You couldn't. The last doctored pic is a close approximation of how dark it was and what it really looked like. It wasn't dark over the drummer because he had the light right over him which was not making him any happier given the heat in the place. Still, they were a remarkably good natured bunch of people considering the circumstances. We had also been giving Tim crap all night because I have often said he looks a lot like Kirk Douglas, and with his hair back with the heat he really did last night. I even asked the guitarist with the Legends if he thought so and he said yes. Mouse over the pic below and see.... It took a little while for AHK to get going, the sound problems kept happening and Niklas was getting shocks thru his mike, but they soldiered thru.... You'll also note they have a penchant for playing in bare feet. I assume because of the heat, because they kept their shoes on in NYC. Then about half way thru it happened. Niklas said they were getting too old and needed some help and they waved for Shannon to join them, and to my relief and great joy she did. Here's Niklas explaining it and Julia giving her the "fist of power". If only it was really this bright in the room I would have filmed it as my digital camera can take movies but it was so dark it would have been all black. Then they started up and she didn't panic. She didn't dance as much as I'd hoped but she sang it all the way thru and didn't slip up once that I heard. Still, that must have been a hell of a lot for a 9 year old to endure. If you're not familiar with the song (shame on you) you can download their cover of it here. It was simply the most magical moment of the night, and I think for the band and crowd too as they cheered her off the "stage" when the song was over. People were even cheering her as we left at the end of the night. I told her what an absolutely magical opportunity it was, and I think she sort of gets it. As her father the aging hipster I can say now that after seeing my kid sing with the Acid House Kings all I need is to see the Flyers win one more stanley cup and I can die in peace. After the show we went back in their room with them and talked for a while and said our goodbyes. I hope they decide to return again one day and that more people get to meet them. They were "genuine" in a way that's hard to describe, and it was so nice after listening to this band for 10 years now to finally meet what I figured would forever be just pictures. I think all of us will carry this experience with us for some time, and we'll never forget the new friends we made.