LIVE REVIEW: Kidstreet / Young Empires / Nightbox at Starlight, Waterloo ON

I’ve heard a lot about Kidstreet’s reputation as a live act over the past year. All I heard about was how much energy they brought and how much fun their shows were. This past Wednesday I finally got to check them out for myself and they certainly lived up to the hype.

I got to the show shortly after doors opened and the crowd was sparse to say the least. I guess Wednesday isn’t a very popular night to go out and see a show even though it’s a popular night to be out at the campus bar. It’s too bad really, because anyone who wasn’t there certainly missed out.

The two openers for the night were Nightbox and Young Empires. Both bands played a similar style of synthy dance rock. It seemed kind of difficult to get the crowd into both of their sets just because there weren’t a ton of people there. Despite the lack of an excited crowd, I thought both of them did an awesome job. They really fit the mould of the show, which was an all out dance party. It was fairly apparent that this whole night was just about having fun and I think these two bands managed to pump a good deal of enjoyment into the crowd. I’d definitely see either of these bands again if the opportunity presented itself.

Before Kidstreet came on I was skeptical that they’d be able to get the crowd going any more than it already was because of the absence of people there. It’s not like the crowd was bad at all, but I didn’t feel any kind of electricity resonating throughout the room. It turned out I was wrong though, I was in store for one of the more memorable performances I’ve ever seen.

Right from the start of their set, the local sibling trio was fantastic. When Cliff Snyder wasn’t busy playing a synth he was jumping around the stage like a lunatic enticing the crowd to jump and dance along with him. It was kind of interesting, he almost played the same role as a hype man would in a hip-hop group except it was in en electro pop kind of setting.

The thing that impressed me the most about Kidstreet was just the completely raw energy that they gave off. They had a club that was maybe full of only 100 people dancing around and hanging onto their every movement, myself included. Any band that can make me jump around and dance like a crazy person deserves some attention.

The band played lots of the more upbeat songs off of their recently released debut album Fuh Yeah and their previously released X EP. They also played a couple of new songs that I though were great. The first new one was kind of a slow epic burner. It almost reminded me of something M83 would put out except the song was a little bit more upbeat. The second new song they played was just really cold and industrial, I loved it. It was really nice to hear Kidstreet go in completely different directions these two new songs, I love it when a band just keeps me guessing all the time.

I’m so glad this band is local to me. The thought of getting to see them multiple times in the next few years already has me excited. I’d advise anyone who likes to have fun to go see Kidstreet as well, you shouldn’t be disappointed. I haven’t felt the kind of “concert high” that I did after this show since I first started going to concerts, it’s a nice feeling to have.

You can follow me on Twitter @Mark__Gillis

This video is from a show Kidstreet did at Starlight a few months ago.