I could bore you all with the story of The Get Up Kids. To save us all a long and in-depth paragraph about the band's career, they are 5 incredibly passionate pop-punkers from Kansas. They have inspired many bands in the pop-punk scene today with their amazing album
Something To Write Home About, an album many fans of the scene will argue is one of the best pop-punk albums of the last decade. On the 8th of March 2005, the band decided to call it quits. After 10 years of touring, writing and spending their time with their fans, these legends are calling it a day. And this is how they are thanking their fans...
In a nutshell, this album is 65 minutes of pure anthemic pop-punk. The Get Up Kids ability to combine heartfelt lyrics with riffs which you end up humming along to and keyboard melodies that just make the song that bit further, is a superb gift which is shown in it's entirety on this CD. Maybe Matthew's voice isn't as strong as it could be, but the songs still sound as good as they should.
Another thing I would like to say about this CD is the quality. It sounds like a radio show or something, the tone of the music has been tweaked to perfection and is so clear. You really feel like you could just be there bopping along to their songs.
In the end, this album is a collection of hits and anthems. From the minute you hear him shout "OK, this is called Holiday!" to Matt letting the crowd sing "Come tomorrow I'll be on my way back home" on 'I'm A Loner Dottie, A Rebel', to the second the poetic piano intro to 'I'll Catch You' begins, you have experienced The Get Up Kids who they should be interpreted. The band have been playing these songs for 10 years, and to hear them live is a present I will never forget.
On the other hand though, Matt's voice isn't as strong as it could be and in a lot of places is off-key. It trails off sometimes, especially with the slower songs like 'Campfire Kansas' and 'I'll Catch You'. It could've been a lot better I think, but you are still being treated to 17 songs from one of the best pop-punk bands of the 90's in my opinion.
I suppose The Get Up Kids will always be a band you either love or hate, but whichever you choose, you have to respect their career as musicians. They've given a lot of hope to emotional-writing pop-punk bands, and this live CD proves how well they come off.
