Robert DeLong, Atlas Genius co-headline Madrid for rock rave in unfortunately intimate show
Madrid gig Monday Oct. 7, 2024 with co-headliners Robert DeLong and Atlas Genius. // Photo by Brock Wilbur
Monday night saw one of the season’s best rock shows his Midtown KC. Unfortunately, a tremendous trifecta of circumstances aligned to result in The Pitch‘s staff being some of the only people in attendance. A Chiefs game against New Orleans, a surprise Royals playoff game, and the Main Street construction that has made parking/reaching the front door of the Madrid nearly impossible… just a real triangle of (understandable) distractions. The result was catching two headlining dance-rock acts that have sold out similar (or larger) venues in the past, playing for a church-basement-punk-show number of people.
After an extensive interview with Robert DeLong, it was easy for us to get extremely hyped for this gig. We’d say that more of you should’ve read the piece and come out to join us, but it’s hard to ignore the validity of what the rest of KC’s Monday night plans turned into. For those of us who came out, we caught a barnburner meant for a full room, shared in an almost annoyingly intimate space. And the artists themselves turned in the exact same energy and thrill they brought to a much larger crowd the night after in Denver. So. No love was lost between the city and these performers. Bless them for not even calling attention to the stark turnout, and instead just delivering on hit after hit.
Madrid gig Monday Oct. 7, 2024 with co-headliners Robert DeLong and Atlas Genius. // Photo by Brock Wilbur
Normal Behaviour opened the night with a set of 90s grunge power mixed with 70s guitar-heavy riffs. The young Australian rockers paved the way for slightly older Australian rockers, Atlas Genius, to kick the night off properly.
Opening with “Stockholm” and progressing immediately in the single “If So,” A.G. made it clear that they’d be bringing their all to the smaller gathering. Their digital delay ping-pong of guitar riffs and syncopated rhythms brought a tightness act that proved to be just as tight as their studio recordings. Early in the show, they leaned in on the co-headlining element of the night, by inviting DeLong to join them on stage for auxiliary percussion for “Falling So Hard”—the kind of musical collaboration that more shared tours should dabble in.
Near the end of their full-length set, The Geniuses tore into a surprise cover of “You Spin Me Round Like a Record,” originally performed by Dead or Alive. The track highlighted how much Keith Jeffery can nail the U2-ness of both a Bono and an Edge at the same time. A great set from a killer act, wrapping perfectly on hit “Trojans.”
Madrid gig Monday Oct. 7, 2024 with co-headliners Robert DeLong and Atlas Genius. // Photo by Brock Wilbur
DeLong brought his signature elaborate looped, multi-instrumentalist, lead singer/swinger energy, bouncing erratically across the stage to layer his dubstep and dance rock anthems. Tracks like “Global Concepts” and “Long Way Down” were delivered as always, with the frosted frontman dabbling in filters and devices, including Wii-motes and bashing laser lights to control arpeggiators. Joined on stage only by a live drummer, the duet made a meal out of older cuts like “Jealousy” and extended breakdown jams on stand-outs like “Don’t Wait Up” and “Favorite Color is Blue.” In what we’d hoped might elevate some of the new tracks off the just-released PLAYLIST of DOOM, songs like “soft boy” seemed to be seeking their live footing. It’s perhaps an unfair expectation, as the artist has grown and the new songs bring a confidence and control of songsmithing that doesn’t require the gimmick-adjacent hijinks of his older work. While the PoD works came out just fine, it’s perhaps worth appreciating that DeLong can just perform a really great song, straightforward and without bouncing around like a cartoon rockstar,
A gorgeous tour among true musical companions that, next time, will not be competing against a trifecta of higher city-wide priorities. Any other stop on this tour would be lucky to catch an evening like this.
Robert DeLong setlist
GOD 1.9
Global Concepts
Don’t Wait Up
Own Worst Enemy
Jealousy
soft boy
SLOWLY
PLAYLIST of DOOM
Religious Views
Happy
Long Way Down
Favorite Color Is Blue
Atlas Genius setlist
Stockholm
If So
Nobody Loves Like You
Falling So Hard (guest percussion Robert DeLong)
Centered On You
When the Night Is Over
Back Seat
You Spin Me Round Like a Record (Dead of Alive cover)
Molecules
Trojans
Madrid gig Monday Oct. 7, 2024 with co-headliners Robert DeLong and Atlas Genius. // Photo by Brock Wilbur
