Review ! Black Kids @ The Social (Orlando) 09.20.08

It’s been almost a year since I’ve been to the social, my attention diverted to club acts and Djs. It felt nostalgic and new at the same time, nice to see the place still packed beyond capacity, no one dancing, just like the good old days of music. My friend and I stood there, at the edge of the stage, reminiscing over the waiting periods between bands, watching the stage hands set up for Black Kids.

They bring out halogen lights, pink and blue and a silver glitter drum set with hot pink lettering. We Stand there fascinated at the guy in the flamingo print shirt and horn rimmed glasses, fine tuning the sound. As I watched the set come together, I sensed my anticipation growing as the crowd danced along to Jackson 5, Run DMC, filler music. But then the lights drop, and you see the band file onto the stage. They take their positions, and when the lights come back on, there is Reggie Youngblood, in all his black kid glory. Big hair, tight pants, stage presence.

The big halogens flickering on and off behind them, I held my breath. After spending so much reading so much hype for the darling little feature I did, I was genuinely curious to see if the black kids would live up to the hype. And sure enough, it became clear, quickly enough, that they had been doing this for a while. On the road for the majority of their careers, Black Kids were, by the time of their Orlando show, tenured performers, keen to the audience’s needs and expectations. Hell, there was even a birthday chant midway through the performance, and the whole audience helped the band honor a crew member before slices of cake were spread throughout the crown packed into the Social. All in all, the show was void any big fiasco exhibit of grandeur that most larger scale performances have, there were no fancy lights, just four halogen sticks and the house lights, there were no fancy instruments, just drums, guitars and keyboards and the world’s smallest maraca. But here was a band that stood defiant to the expectations set for them, here was a band dripping with sweat midway through an 11 song set, dancing barefoot onstage, here was a band out to have fun, give out fun, and make fun. Now, we just to see how long it lasts.

All in all, the show was void of any big fiasco exhibit of grandeur that most larger scale performances have, there were no fancy lights, just four halogen sticks and the house lights, there were no fancy instruments, just drums, guitars and keyboards and the world’s smallest maraca. But here was a band that stood defiant to the expectations set for them, here was a band dripping with sweat midway through an 11 song set, dancing barefoot onstage, here was a band out to have fun, give out fun, and make fun. Now, we just to see how long it lasts.