Kid Chocolate shook the foundation Friday night with high-energy pretty-boy punk and sunny surf pop, making the band the star of the latest installation of the Brown Concert Agency Speakeasy Sessions.
But Kid Chocolate is, in the words of BCA Speakeasy Co-chair Raillan Brooks '13, a "known quantity." No one is surprised when they rock the house — that's just what they do.
The band received its fair share of adulation in other publications. It's high time to cede a little bit of their glow to other talent.
And what talent there was. Sydney Island '15 and David Lee '15 of We Should Worry and Audrey Fox '12 of Mz. Kitty in particular deserve praise as both musicians and performers.
Island, We Should Worry's keyboardist and accordionist, is a sweet-voiced lyrical powerhouse. The band — a folksy family-style affair self-characterized as a mix of Mumford & Sons and the Mountain Goats — shone on a piece Island wrote and fronted that she described as about "a guy named Joe who sits in the middle of the lake and purifies water with a hand pump." The song, by turns touching and tongue-in-cheek, showcased Island's prodigious pipes, which the band could benefit from featuring more prominently on other tracks. Frontman Ben Resnik '15 undoubtedly has more than his fair share of guitar chops but pales in comparison to Island vocally.
Violinist Lee joined the audience for an intimate solo piece on banjo called "The Sea Monster." Lee clearly has a talent for songwriting, and his voice — soft, clear and lilting — calls to mind Sufjan Stevens' solo work.
Fox and her smoky-voiced goth-punk allure front Mz. Kitty, a group squarely in the tradition of '90s gritty-girly bands Hole and Bikini Kill. Their lyrics are simple and to the point: "(Expletive) you / Why don't you call me back? / I waited at the bar for an hour and a half," Fox and backing vocalist Katie Barnwell '12 sing on "Strawberry." But the true joy of seeing the band is watching Fox work the crowd. She's got the requisite in-your-face attitude down pat. Even when she took backseat to Barnwell's vocals, she grooved on rhythm guitar like she knew the crowd was watching her.
And that's maybe the greatest failing of both Mz. Kitty and We Should Worry. Both bands have yet to come together as bands — they're still a collection of soloists (quietly, perhaps subconsciously) battling for the spotlight. This is an affliction that plagues student bands and young musicians in general. No doubt both groups, if they choose to stick together, can eventually overcome it. In the meantime, they're characterized by great enthusiasm, great energy and, ultimately, great artistry.
Friday's concert concluded with a performance by DJ 48 Lizards who mashed beats for a quiet crowd, many of whom departed after the expectedly rousing Kid Chocolate.
