REVIEW :: A Night with Kinch at The Firebird

Monday night I decided to take another trip to the Firebird to soak in the music of Kinch. I found this group randomly as I was checking Firebird's website to see who was coming to St. Louis. The name Kinch caught my eye and my ears.

The night started of with local band Equal Squeeze. This young band reminds me of a garage punk rock band. You can hear teenage angst escaping out of the lead singers mouth. Especially when the band song a song about being seventeen. Kudos to Equal Squeeze for doing a nice cover of Newfound Glory's, “My Friends Over You.” Which I did sing along to, don't judge me folks.

Arizona based rock group, Kinch, took the stage after Equal Squeeze. Kinch is one of those groups that's okay with not being lumped into one genre. To me, they had a Brit-Pop type of style. However, Kinch plugged in their equipment, sound checked their instruments and cranked out a loud rock n' roll set. Andrew, the lead singer, told me “they like to play it loud.”

They started their set off with “All I Done,” a nice toe-tapping, body swaying song. A couple songs later, Andrew sat down at his Yamaha CP piano and belted out “Fare Forward” and  “Tie Me Lightly.” If you like Weezer's “Buddy Holly” song then you should definitely check out “Tie Me Lightly.”

The one thing I did like about the group was the way the band would pick out their next song. Watching closely, I could see ques that helped the band figure out what song will be played next. Think of Tom Brady calling audibles and the Patriots responding like-wise.

As I was talking with Andrew, I got the feeling that these guys were just a laid back group that played for the love of music and not money. If you go to the band's website, there are free downloads of their albums. Not many band are willing to give out their music for free. I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for underground bands that are trying to make it in the music business.

If you enjoy great vocals and agree that rock should be played loud, then Kinch is the band for you. Matter of fact check them out anyway.

SETLIST:
1.  All I Done
2.  Evelyn
3.  45 Minutes
4.  Fare Forward
5.  Tie Me Lightly
6.  Once I Was A Main Sail
7.  The Economic Chastisement
8.  John Adams
9.  Carolina Cannonball
10. Making Out in the Library