Citizen King reigns supreme at party celebrating big-label
debut
It's good to be the King.
Hometown lads Citizen King celebrated the release of their Warner Bros.
debut "Mobile Estates" at the Modjeska Theatre on Saturday with
about 1000 loyal subjects, several sporting CK T-shirts dating back to
when Matt Sims and his fellow Citizens were playing' in east side basements.
Arriving on stage to the theme from "Laverne and Shirley"
- doubly appropriate for the native Milwaukeeans given its "We're
gonna make our dreams come true!" vow - the eclec-tic rockers opened
with "Under the Influence" and stuck almost exclu-sively to "Mobile
Estates" material during their hour-plus set.
Led by singer-rapper-bassist Sims, the band did an admirable job of
recapturing the album's overall jaunty, light-funk feel. To re-create the
multilayered album note for note onstage would have been a Sisyphean task,
and the band wisely opted for a looser but equally engaging reworking of
the material.
Highlights included "Safety Pin" with an unhinged, punkish
feel to it, and a gentle rendition of "Closed for the Weekend."
Better Days (And the Bottom drops Out)," with a radio-friendly
hook remi-niscent of Sugar Ray, and turntablist Malcolm Michiles' scratching
solo on "The Milky Way" also got big pops from I the crowd.
Drummer Dj Brooks shone throughout the evening, his deft beatwoork
anchoring the sonic chaos stirred up by Micheles and keyboardist Dave Cooley.
But Kristian Riley's guitar was smothered in the mix for the first half
of the show-a shame, because the six-stringer adds an earthy touch to the
bead's heavily sampled sound.
Throughout the set, Sims switched back and forth between his polar
opposite stage personalities: a quick-fire reapper with something to prove
and a singer more laid-back than a Barcalounger at full tilt. Whi1e the
raps boosted the energy level on songs such as "Saltbag Spill"
his slacker-stoner singing fell flat, literally, in a number of places,
including "Jalopy Style."
Sound problems and slippery spots aside, Citizen King was still playing
with the home field advantage. They could do no wrong in the eyes of the
fans there to wish them bon voyage on their tour, which heads to Missouri
next. Native Milwaukeen
Scott Seefeldt, 24, was just one of several in the crowd who already
have "Mobile Estates" on heavy rotation at home.
"The Album sounds great," Seefeldt said. "They're using
a lot more mixing and heavier beats. I think they needed that."
Seefeldt's friend, Sarah Lynch, 21, wasn't so sure.
"It's a good show, but I don't like their new stuff," Lynch
said. "It's not them. It's too mainstream."
Both longtime fans whooped with delight, however, when the band broke
into "Pitiful Men,"an earlier Citizen tune that didn’t make it
on to "Mobile Estates," for the encore.
Gemma Tarlach