Nashville for Free

this was as close as I could get

Apparently I completely underestimated the size of Magic Kids’ fan base.

I haven’t been to a Grimey’s in-store in awhile, but I certainly don’t think I’ve ever been to one where they store was filled to capacity, but that was the situation with Magic Kids.

I rolled into Grimey’s at exactly 6 o’clock worried that I’d miss the first part of their set, but was pretty confident that I’d at least get a decent spot. I was wrong on both counts. First of all my spot wasn’t great at all. I could barely even see the band! Also, they didn’t get started until about 6:30, at which point I was a little grumpy, a little tired, and feeling really hot.

All those nasty feelings (except maybe the overheating) melted away when Magic Kids started playing. God, those are some awesome pop songs. Their main influence is obviously 1960s pop like the Beach Boys (how many times have you heard that this year) but they feel less like imitators and more like the real deal. I’ll be damned if I didn’t feel like getting my groove on right there in the middle of the store. Sadly, I didn’t really have that much space to move around.

The band played for about 30 minutes, which is about the same as when they opened for Girls last fall, but I enjoyed them way more this time around (despite not being able to see them at all). It makes me wish I’d gone down to Memphis the other week to see them play a real show with the Memphis Youth Orchestra last week. Next time, next time.

Man, hopefully the next time will be soon. I hear they’ll be at The End in November!

-Emily

Let me introduce you to Magic Kids. They’re from Memphis, they named their album, which came out this past Tuesday Memphis, and they’re poppy soda-shop bliss.

If you were at the Girls show at Exit/In this past winter you probably saw Magic Kids and either thought “what the hell?” or “THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!” I was at the Girls show and, though I was a little confused, thought they put on a pretty solid set.

It’s remarkably hard to find any background on this band, but I can tell you that it features members of The Barbaras and Girls of the Gravitron. I can also tell you that they’re just one of the many critically acclaimed bands on True Panther Sounds, the label that brought us Girls, Delorean, Glasser, and a bunch of other bands that I’ve fallen in love with over the past year. I also know that their taste in clothes is questionable and that their pop hooks are undeniably catchy.

Yeah, you know what, Magic Kids are a little difficult to describe. You should probably just go see them.

This will be the only show they’re playing in Nashville, so don’t miss it. The in-store will be at Grimey’s on Monday, August 30th at 6pm. See you there!

-Emily