I've wanted to do a write up on Mankind Is Obsolete for about two and a half years now. I had a shot in 2004, but let's not get into that. But leave it up to the Key Club gain to satisfy my concert fix. I've seen MKIO so many times and each time I wonder, "Why the hell are they not signed to a label?!" They've got two self-produced, self-recorded, self-promoted, self-everything albums and they've got a killer sound. Not to mention they are super grounded people who feel like your buddies who live down the street. Seriously, to the labels out there, be smart, offer these guys, and girl... hi Natasha, a deal. They definitely deserve it dammit!
So as I get to the Key Club, I see Jon (drums) talking to someone. He sees me and we chat until I can't take the cold and go inside. I went downstairs to go to the bathroom and to see if there was anything interesting going on. While I'm down there, I get in touch with Ernie (Manrique) and we hang out and talk a bit. Mark (guitar) walks out and it must have been a while because that guy grew such a mane on his head. I told him that if he grew a mustache with that chin beard he would look like Jesus. He then said, "That's what my dad told me". We stayed down there for a while, talked to Natasha (vocals), I saw Gordon (bass) running around and then we went back upstairs because they were ready to go on.
The lead singer Jenna of band Rue came up on stage and introduced them. Rounding out the band was Brian on keyboards and new-comer to the line up was Scott on second guitar. They started off their set with "Awake". It's a newer song they're putting on their next album. It started off soft and Scott let out some eerie feedback. As soon as the song really starts, it pounds you, and since their all so energetic on stage they add so much more. The next song up was "Victory". They just finished up filming the video for it to which me and a bunch of other fans were asked to join in and it's in post-production now. Next was "Scab". Yeah, can I say that I can't wait for the new album. "Troubled Dreams" was the next song and is also new. It was a hauntingly emotional and strong song. I can't describe it more because I need to hear it again. The fifth song was their most popular, "Still Right Here". It's an up-tempo song with some great high hats. It's easy to see why it's the favorite of the crowd. After that came "Someone Like You". It's a fast-paced song with a strong chorus. Natasha and Gordon belted out the lyrics "so thank you for your little show/ you were makes me know what's real/ to not become someone like you". Both Gordon and I were surprised at the fact that he didn't go completely insane on the stage like he has other nights. Way to sustain yourself there Gordon. The one who did do a lot of flying around was Scott. He definitely loves being in this band.
Lucky number seven of the night was "Puppet". It's one of those songs that gets everyone ramped up. Natasha passed the mic on over to former member Nathan Throwbridge and had a lot of the audience frenzied. It's great when a band interacts with their fans. Their last song of the evening was a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Terrible Lie". I was a bit distressed at the fact that most of the audience didn't know what song it was. I really enjoyed that cover. I've seen them perform it before and it's always a pleasant surprise. They also do a great cover of Rammstein's "Engel". Of all of their shows I've been to, I can honestly say that, so far, this is the most energetic and it seemed like they were having such a great time up there.
It was a pleasant evening albeit it very cold, but I had a good time. After, a bunch of us were invited to grab something to eat with most of the members of MKIO. We all sat around talking about random things that included music, computers and cats. There was good music, interesting new friends and some fun conversation about different things that night. Mankind Is Obsolete is my deal and I love them the more I see them.
