The Get Up Kids
Middle East Night Club
Boston, Ma
11/8/98
text & photos: Seth Butler
The get up kids from Kansas
City, Missouri headlined at the Middle East this fall. If you haven't heard of this band
it's probably the only good thing to come out of the Bible Belt in the last ten years.
They are a straight edge band who takes the drugs out of sex and drugs and rock 'n roll.
Their music is fit into the catagory of a little known indy tangent called emo. You can
figure out what that stands for.
If you like hard driving anthems and energized riffs with a somewhat
homesick melancholie undertone this band is for you. If I could say but one thing it is
that they are passionate about their music. So if your looking for indy rock mixed with a
little punk derivative this just might be the ticket. Check out their latest album on
doghouse records 4 Minute Mile, which will be followed by a new release that is in the
works.
The show itself was a little weird. One of the most diverse crowds I have seen in a while.
There was a mix of hip hoppers, goths, teeny boppers, and a few punks stewn throughout the
audience. This is normal to see such diversity in and around Boston as it is a music
epicenter for the east coast.
The Middle East itself
is always reknowned for having a sick schedule of bands throughout the year. This was my
first time to see a show there, and I tell you I will be frequenting that local for a few
years to come. The energy level during that entire Sunday night was more than I expected
for the little known lineup that played that night. Amazingly enough only one person was
actually hurt on the dancefloor, sadly though it was a girl who got kicked in the face by
some steel toe. When will people learn how to have fun without ruining someone elses?
I will leave you with that question in mind.
