ATP! Live Review: We The Kings Misericordia University Dallas, PA (4/25/2014)

We The Kings take the stage with a burst of energy, opening with “Queen of Hearts” from their latest album, Somewhere, Somehow. With a catwalk to walk out into the crowd of fans, front man Travis Clark takes full advantage and dances down it to greet everyone.

This is a bit of a special show as the band is celebrating Travis’ birthday weekend. He thanks everyone for coming out to what he calls “the biggest birthday party I’ve ever had!” Midway through the show, the crowd starts serenading him with “Happy Birthday,” putting a big smile on his face.

The band command the stage with an amazing amount of energy. Every member is running around, switching sides of the stage and climbing on the speakers. Travis’ vocals aren’t the absolute best but he makes up for it with enthusiasm and showing that he’s definitely giving it his all when he belts out the songs.

They play a nice mix of older favorites like “Skyway Avenue” and a bunch off of Somewhere, Somehow. They throw in a funky cover of the beginning of “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye; Travis leading in with saying there’s a tension in the room that “might be a little bit sexual.” They also play a passionate cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle,” which the band say was a big inspiration to getting them started.

Overall, they’re a great band to see. They interact with the crowd frequently, trying to touch as many hands and make eye contact with as many people as they can. At one point, Travis gets on his knees on the catwalk and lets a lucky fan help play his guitar. Aside from the extremely young girls squealing like they just caught a glimpse of Justin Bieber, it was one awesome night.

Lauren Jones