The French Kicks will be hitting the road with Hot Hot Heat on the September 15 in Las Vegas, but they’re playing a couple Midwestern dates on the way out there. Last night, the band visited Chicago for the 10,000th time this year. The Kicks’ set time got pushed back two times while I was there. First, they were to go on at 10:45, then 11:05, then finally, at 11:45, the band took the stage. Needless to say, I was a bit drowsy by that time. It may have been the two bottles of sake I had at dinner, but the old eyelids were growing heavy for sure people. Thankfully, when the band did strap on their gear, they were their normal, energetic, entertaining, and fun selves.
The majority of the Kicks’ set featured new songs. It was the first time I had heard most of them, which was damn cool. Schubas is a great venue for bands to test out their new material. The room is small, and the fans who come in to watch the shows are real fans. The band did, of course, run through some favorites from One Time Bells. “Close To Modern” was better than ever, and “Wrong Side,” “When You Heard You,” and “Right In Time” all rocked like the first time I heard them. Nick, the vocalist, doesn’t play the drums anymore, so you’d think some of the quirkiness of the band may have been lost. You’d be wrong though, because, amazingly enough, Nick has come into his own as a frontman and the band are looking and sounding better than ever. They’ll be touring the whole country this month, so go check them out.
