A Polar Vortex Wasn’t Going to Stop Good Kid’s First Kansas City Show
February 19th, 2025 - Kansas City, MO
At 7pm when the doors of the Truman opened, it was a balmy 2 degrees with a Feels Like of -11 but that didn’t scare fans of the indie rock band Good Kid. This particular bill seemed to draw more of a younger crowd, as I saw more people with x’s on their hands and cans of soda rather than stamps & alcohol. By the time the show started more than 3/4ths of the venue had been filled up with fans excitedly waiting for the show to start.
The first of the two band bill was alternative/ indie rock group PhoneBoy. The audience loved them immediately and the energy carried throughout the entire set. They played a set withp songs spanning their entire discography, opening with “Hey Kid!” & “1987” from their self titled album Phoneboy. Tracks from the 2023 album Moving Out were sandwiched in between the new singles, “Better Than You” & “I Look Alive” off of the bands upcoming album Heartbreak Designer, (out April 25th, 2025.)
In addition to the excellent vibes and easily enjoyable music, Phoneboy brought their own little bit of chaos to the Chaos Tour. In between songs throughout their set wacky trivia with even weirder prizes was the game. At one point someone received a laminated dollar bill and what I’m pretty sure was the guitarist's laminated drivers license.
Around 9 p.m. Good Kid took the stage. After a brief countdown on the LED screens on stage, the band came out one by one to raucous applause by the audience.
Good Kid opened with “No Time to Explain” off of 2023 EP Good Kid 3. The setlist included songs from their four EP’s, a cover of Laufey’s “From the Start”, and a brand new song that you’re only able to hear on tour for right now- “Staying Warm.”
Good Kid called this the Chaos Tour and they were correct. The antics started when guitarist Jacob Tsafatinos showed the crowd his setlist frozen solid in a block of ice because yes, it really was that cold outside. If you follow the band on Instagram you’ve probably seen the Wheel of Chaos. Featuring potential outcomes of: Shanty, Beyblade Battle, Go Home, or the spot on the wheel that garnered an absolutely explosive reaction from the audience, Miku. The second fans saw the Hatsune Miku option on the wheel, the venue erupted in cheers and laughter. The band brought up a member of the audience, notably on crutches, to do the honor of spinning the Wheel of Chaos. The wheel landed on “shanty” and vocalist Nick Frosst delivered, singing the entirety of “Rattlin’ Bog” and then some.
The last surprise of the evening wasn’t planned however. Due to the absolutely overwhelming response by the audience to the possibility of a Miku sighting, Jacob played the back half of their set dressed up as the infamous vocaloid.
Good Kid is a band I wasn’t extremely familiar with going into the show but I left the venue with the setlist saved in a Spotify playlist and a newfound appreciation for the twinkly guitar, beautiful vocals, and the infectious energy of everyone on that stage throughout the evening. A few of my personal favorite tracks from the evening included “Open Up” & “Better Than You” by Phoneboy and “Orbit” & “Second Rate Town” by Good Kid. All the goofy antics during the show were such a fun touch and added some variety to the roughly hour long set. If this tour comes through your city I 100% recommend you try and attend.
