Remembering The Get Up Kids

So Matt Pryor, the lead singer of Track Nine favorites The New Amsterdams just released his first solo album of his long and storied career. I've given it a few spins so far, and it hearkens back to his earlier New Amsterdams stuff. It's him, a guitar, some harmonies, and some slight production...very bare bones, very listenable, and quintessential Matt Pryor.

However, I'm not sure I can really say that it's 'quintessential' Pryor considering the New Amsterdams really began as a side project for all the songs that got thrown out by his first band, The Get Up Kids. Back in the late 90's, the TGUK were arguably the one and only band that really brought the genre 'emo' to the forefront. With Pryor straining his voice over songs about heartbreak and being 'so close', TGUK released 4 full-length albums over 10 years of pioneering the indie scene. In fact, back in 2005 Alec and I ended up road-tripping it to Kansas City to catch their last show ever. It was definitely sad...but it's great to see that the members are still making music.

Here are my three most memorable songs that they played at their final show in Kansas City.

The Get Up Kids - Don't Hate Me (from Four Minute Mile)
Right before this song Pryor mentioned that they had played it at every show they had ever done...except one. And that show sucked.

The Get Up Kids - Walking On a Wire (from On A Wire)
I felt that this was the most powerful song the entire night. It's simple and a little bit out there, but Pryor really gave it everything he had on the vocals during the show. It felt to me like he should have been utterly exhausted after putting all the emotion he did into singing it for the last time.

The Get Up Kids - Holiday (from Something to Write Home About)
This was obviously a crowd favorite from their 'arguably' best CD. Everyone went nuts when that first guitar slide was played, and the crowd didn't stop getting sweaty until the last note.