Concert review: The NC-bred band with the silly-seeming name notches a big win at home
It would almost certainly be an understatement to say that the past three years have been a roller coaster for Rainbow Kitten Surprise, the alt-indie-rock band out of Boone with the silly-seeming name.
In early 2022, lead singer Ela Melo came out as transgender, declaring she’d found her “authentic self.”
In May 2023, the band announced one of its members (later revealed to be Melo) was “in a medical crisis,” and that “to make sure they have the time to get the proper treatment” RKS would step away from the road for the rest of the year.
Then, as Rainbow Kitten Surprise prepared to end the hiatus this past March, Charlie Holt — its bassist since the original members came together at Appalachian State University a decade ago — was asked to leave. According to RKS’s Instagram post at the time, in the process of doing so, “the band seriously contemplated calling it quits.”
So it was no doubt a triumphant moment for Melo and Rainbow Kitten Surprise on Friday night, when they walked back out on stage at Spectrum Center for their two-song encore, clothed in Charlotte Hornets gear, to be welcomed by the screams of 8, 9, perhaps even close to 10,000 fans.
To some extent, the night marked how far RKS has come in the past couple years, but in a broader sense the headlining gig at Charlotte’s largest indoor venue also underscored how far the band’s come in the past several.
“Being back in Charlotte brings back a lotta memories for me, and for us,” Melo said a little less than a third of the way into the show. “I played my first show here at The Evening Muse. At, like, an open-mic night ... it was cool. It was cool.
“Never would have dreamed this, though.”
NoDa’s Evening Muse, for those keeping score at home, has a capacity of about 120 people. And NoDa’s Evening Muse name, for what it’s worth, was invoked on Friday night not once, but three times.
After opener The Brook & The Bluff cranked out a rollicking cover of Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Up Around the Bend,” the Birmingham, Ala.-based rock band’s lead singer, Joseph Settine, shook his head. “We’ve played the Evening Muse here three times,” he told the crowd, his voice tinged with awe. “And to be here in the arena where the f------, like, Hornets play — after playing Evening Muse and coming all the way up — it’s just really surreal.”
Settine proved a daffy but affable frontman, and clearly unafraid to put a little boogie into yacht-rock-ish fivesome’s loosey-goosey 43 minute set.
But the night belonged to Melo.
Resplendent in a gauzy, frilly red dress cut high in the front, low in the back, and ideal for her ballerina-esque twirls, she breathed urgency and emotion into a 25-song set that touched on all four of Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s albums. She worked up a healthy sweat early on and stayed slickened, busting moves that evoked a knocky-knees style and ’80s aerobics classes, leaping off risers, falling to the ground and writhing around on it.
Melo did take time out to acknowledge the concert’s pay-per-view livestream, created as a fundraiser for Hurricane Helene-related relief efforts.
“It’s crazy what’s happening, but I’m sure this state is gonna rebuild. Sooner rather than later, and better rather than anything else. ... It’s hard right now, and, I mean, seeing (the old App State music club) Legends underwater ... seeing King Street flooded ... it’s on everybody’s hearts and minds.”
“I just pray,” she said. “I just pray.”
But other than that break, Melo prioritized filling their 102 minutes of stage time with song. And vocally, she sounded studio-ready, whether she was belting during “Superstar,” purring during “SVO,” or rapping at the top of “Sickset.”
Meanwhile, despite this being a rather different group of players than the one that last performed in Charlotte five years ago — with touring bassist Maddie Bouton in Holt’s old spot and Atticus Forbes filling in on drums for Jess Haney (out on paternity leave) — fans couldn’t have been blamed for being a bit skeptical.
Any skepticism, however, quickly melted away.
The subs were not simply sufficient but rather sublime, blending with music director/keyboardist Drew Long, lead guitarist Ethan Goodpaster and rhythm guitarist Darrick “Bozzy” Keller to create a sound that veered beautifully from downbeat folk- and goth-rock to uptempo dance- and punk-rock.
Goodpaster, incidentally, may have been the standout here. His multiple solos included a barnburner during “Run,” the final song before the encore, when he used an overturned beer bottle as a guitar slide as drops of suds dripped out of the opening.
RKS closed 10 minutes later, leaving the stage in their Hornets jackets and jerseys, Melo’s farewell — “We love you, we love you, a thousand times” — echoing off the rafters of the largest Charlotte venue it’s ever played.
After all they’ve been through, to say they were just happy to be here also would almost certainly be an understatement.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s setlist
1. “Devil Like Me”
2. “Cocaine Jesus”
3. “Holy War”
4. “SVO”
5. “Fever Pitch”
6. “Hide”
7. “Hot Pink Ice Cube”
8. “Work Out”
9. “First Class”
10. “Drop Stop Roll”
11. “When It Lands”
12. “Sickset”
13. “Wasted”
14. “Cold Love”
15. “Lady Lie”
16. “Goodnight Chicago”
17. “Our Song”
18. “Lucky”
19. “Meticulous”
20. “Painkillers”
21. “Matchbox”
22. “Superstar”
23. “Run”
Encore:
24. “Thanks for Coming”
25. “It’s Called: Freefall”
This story was originally published October 26, 2024 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Concert review: The NC-bred band with the silly-seeming name notches a big win at home."
