CLEVELAND, OH- It’s been 45 years since the McDonald brothers (Jeff and Steven) played their first show as Redd Kross. To commemorate this milestone, the band has many treats in store for fans this year, including the release of a new double album on June 28, 2024, and two retrospective projects. One is a book titled “Now You’re One of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross,” written by the McDonald brothers with Dan Epstein, to be released in October. The other is an excellent, recently completed documentary called “Born Innocent” (named after their first album), which has been making the festival rounds, showing just how far ahead of their time Redd Kross was. The band set out on tour to support these projects, making a stop at the Ace of Cups in Columbus, OH, seemingly aiming to showcase songs from their extensive catalog and bring all the frivolities the band is known for.
Melvins drummer and current Redd Kross drummer, Dale Crover, served as the opening act, playing songs from his albums and providing DJ sets before and between sets. He performed passionately for a 45-minute set, just him and his acoustic guitar, captivating the audience with his original music. He even took a moment to comment that he liked my shirt.
After a very short intermission, the band burst on stage, dressed like a mixture of Rush and the psychedelic era of the Beatles, but in white with bright-colored splatters across their outfits. They wasted no time breaking into their 20-plus song set. It was like watching a big show on an intimate stage. They used every inch of that tiny stage to bring fans into their world, serving up a well-balanced set from their catalog. From the opening song, “Switchblade Sister,” it was evident that they meant business… and that business is rock and roll.
With Jeff and Steve trading off lead vocals throughout the set, they showcased songs that display their influences, from punk to a little grunge, to some psychedelia, the Beatles, and even 1970s KISS. They are thoroughly entertaining and excellent musicians. There is a rawness that is both practiced and calculated, like they got rid of what wasn’t needed, leaving only what served the song.
The brothers, along with Crover and guitarist Jason Shapiro, are incredibly funny and super fun on stage. They throw out standard rock poses as they play, poking fun at each other throughout the set, roasting each other, and even their own music. At one point, Crover broke into Ringo Starr’s drum solo from “Abbey Road’s” “The End.”* Their set was filled with more recent tracks like “Candy Colored Catastrophe,” “I’ll Take Your Word for It,” “Stunt Queen,” and 2012’s “Stay Away From Downtown,” showing the band’s pop chops are as strong as ever. But at the set’s midpoint, they began going through their classic era in reverse chronological order, with songs from “Phase Shifter,” “Neurotica,” and their debut album, winding down the main set with the 1984 classic “Linda Blair,” which was extended with some comically big rock riffing. They returned for an extended encore, which included covers from The Osmonds and KISS’s “Deuce,” delivered with equal parts reverence and irony. Steve introduced “Deuce” as the first song performed by the first band he ever saw in concert — KISS at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles in early 1976, to which he was escorted by “my big brother,” Jeff. My consensus is that Redd Kross is a super fun band to see live, never taking themselves too seriously but playing like the seasoned pros they are. The American leg of the tour has ended but will resume with a European leg from October to November 2024.
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LIVE CLIPS
