The Get Up Kids, Double Door, Chicago, Illinois

It was my second time seeing emo/punk band The Get Up Kids, the first being a couple years ago at Riot Fest 2014. Though I wasn’t really much of a fan during their heyday in the late 90s and early aughts, I became a fan because some friends were planning to attend their Riot Fest set. Before the festival, the band announced that they would be playing Something to Write Home About (2000) in full. I listened that album quite a bit in advance of the show and really enjoyed it and their performance, though I hadn’t expanded my appreciation of them much in the past couple years. So I arrived at the venue hoping to hear as much of that same album as possible. I was also excited to see The Get Up Kids in a club setting. As an added bonus, it would be my first visit to the Double Door, a beloved bar/venue in Wicker Park. Though we only showed up as the opening band was finishing its set, we were able to slide up the side along the bar and secure a very good spot for the show.

The band was celebrating its twentieth anniversary, so there were a handful of casual references to the experience of growing old and what was happening in the 90’s when they were getting started. While retaining their punkish vibe (at least on nights out), the older crowd could no doubt relate to days of youth long past. I was pleased to get to hear a handful of the songs that I knew from Sometime to Write Home About plus a handful of others that I enjoyed even though I didn’t recognize. However, I had had my fill by the end of their main set. Not wanting to battle the crowd to get to the main door, I bypassed a rope and snuck out the side door. As I exited, I gave a brief hello to a few of the band members as they were prepping for the encore.

Setlist:
Coming Clean
I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Holiday
Woodson
Overdue
Mass Pike
Action & Action
Valentine
Forgive and Forget
No Love
Off the Wagon
Campfire Kansas
Red Letter Day
Don't Hate Me
I'll Catch You
Encore:
Close to Me [The Cure cover]
Beer for Breakfast [The Replacements cover]
Ten Minutes