Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor hail will keep them from delivering... Ok, no I'm not talking about the post office and I'm not talking about mail. But the four guys of Innerpartysystem did drive through the first Colorado blizzard of 2009 in order to get to Kansas City to deliver their insane music. It took them 10 hours longer than normal, but by the time the clock struck 6pm, three of the four bands on the PacTour had made it to our fair (and only wet) city. The night would be filled with the likes of Eye Alaska, P.O.S. and headliners Saosin, but it was truly IPS that brought me out.

Last Valentine's Day I first witnessed the pure spectacle of the Innerpartysystem show and was instantly a fan. Previously I knew about only one song. However, since that night, their self-titled album has yet to leave my car. This summer they took the road with the Warped Tour and of course that was a set that I did not miss. But as any fan knows, their music really needs the comfort of a moderate-sized, dark venue in order to fully be experienced. The recent winter night was just that setting.

The unfortunate circumstances that the weather created caused the band to cut their set a song short. In the end though, even 20 minutes of IPS is worth the risk, the effort, and the money. With merely a single full length to play from the set is never very long, but with the level of intensity used, anyone can see why. Riddled through the 30 minutes were moments like "Die Tonight Live Forever," "Last Night In Brooklyn" and, naturally, their huge hit "Don't Stop." All songs that take movie grade programming, incredible guitar work, precision drums and some enchantingly powerful vocals to the next level of music performance. But to mix it up even a bit more, the boys threw in a few new numbers.

Ok, so the numbers weren't actually new, they were just new to the set. The first was one that according to Kris (guitar) came from the early years, roughly Download EP maybe? Regardless of its birth, the song "Radio Live Transmission" (at least that's what I believe to be the name) was like a breath of fresh electronic-mind-blowing-infused air. When you love a band to the point of knowing all the words, it's a real treat to hear a new song, its takes your mind and shakes it up a bit. The other recent addition to the half hour of mayhem was the one song that gets stuck on constant repeat in my car. "This Town Your Grave" is by far an absolute favorite. The beauty of this song is two-fold really. The beginning is fairly simple. A good bass beat, a touch of quick tempo all underneath Patrick's subtle vocals. Give the song about, oh, 2 minutes and 12 seconds and you better stand back, because this song will explode! When I mentioned intensity before, this is why. The force at which this song comes at you is the strongest I've ever felt. Next you're given a few moments of rest, while the beat slows down, but it's not long before everything goes completely chaotic again. For those non-head bangers, this will convert you. And for the wallflowers, you will be uncontrollably drawn into the middle of the floor as your body tries to figure out why it can't stop moving. After chatting with the band post-show, it was apparent that I was not the only one who fancied this particular song.

After a 30 minute IPS experience, you are left exhausted, mind-blown and in awe. How music like this comes out of the brains of these four guys, no one will ever know. But for everyone's sake, I hope that it will never stop. The road was dangerous for the Tour to get to us, though I'm pretty sure KC showed the bands that they were more than grateful for their efforts.

-Rachel Fredrickson

Innerpartysystem
w/ Saosin, Eye Alaska and P.O.S.
November 15th, 2009
The Beaumont Club
Kansas City, MO

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