Kid Congos into Cleveland!

Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds
9/29/06 Cleveland, OH @ the Beachland Ballroom

Kid Congo is the shit… period. If you don't know who he is… brush up on your musical history, since he's been a member of some of the coolest fucking bands in the world (IE Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, The Gun Club, Knoxville Girls, Botanica, Angels of Light, Khan, Die Haut, etc etc). Now I think about it, he was a member of those aforementioned bands when they released their best shit… it couldn't be a coincidence! He obviously has the ability to bring out the best in his colleagues. He's also very recognizable… he's distinct! He's a very flamboyant dandy who's mostly run with predominantly hetero bands… yet he's just as macho as the rest of them!

Kid Congo graced Cleveland for a night of rocking, and thankfully… my fat ass witnessed it. He played at the Beachland here in Cleveland, which seems to be the venue with the most diversity in town, but is unfortunately located in a shitty area… the musicians who play there must think Cleveland is a fucking dump (which they aren't too far off the mark with that assumption) if that's their introduction to the city. The crowd was small (which was due to poor promotion and the hipsturds being at whatever the fuck else that was going on in town that night) but that was fine for the handful of diehards in the audience. There were 2 opening bands (that sucked so fucking bad, I am not even going to say who the hell they were, but let's just say they were so bad, I was tempted to leave before Kid's performance!) I'm glad I didn't… because Kid Congo rocked! Not just 'rocked' in the general sense… he really fucking rocks! He's not all attitude and no substance… he was fun to photograph due to being so animated! He didn't stand there and strum with the "I'm-so-fucking-cool"-rocker stance... he gave the audience some realness! His body language totally reminds me of how Ray Davies used to be onstage... rousing and quirky, with charisma shooting out of his ass! The effeminate mannerisms combined with the look of just having a good time, makes Kid come across as being the life of any party! Plus he has a giant grin like a Cheshire cat! Well groomed and dressed… well rehearsed too. His band are good musicians, but would probably be a boring band if he wasn't front and center (he's just such a ham, you can't take your eyes off of him for a minute). He did a ton of stuff off of his new album "Philosophy and Underwear" (which I picked up at the show, Kid was selling 2 CD's, and I asked him which one he'd suggest because I could only afford 1) and pulled a surprise out of his ass, and that being "Sex Beat" by his old band The Gun Club. I had a great fucking time (aside to the 2+ hours of shitty opening bands) because Kid knows what the fuck he's doing… he's been around long enough how could he not! It's good to see him running his own show instead of being the guitarist in the back since he's got a lot to give! If Kid Congos into your town go see him, fool!

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