In Concert Archive

Saturday, 17 September 2011 12:52

Alert! The Milk Carton Kids were Spotted in Chicago! Featured

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The Milk Carton Kids, consisting of Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, may only be similar to their name because their bios are virtually impossible to come across and know. I can tell you they are from LA, though, but probably would not buy one darn earring for a whopping $75,000 like LA area born and raised, Kim Kardashian, even if they did have that much dough.

During shows at Shubbas in Chicago with some old farts, I have been accustomed to rubbing elbows, boobies, booties, as well as, the likelihood of all other imaginable body parts. But, it was not a claustrophobe's nightmare a few nights ago, the venue had chairs and tables nicely set up for an evening of laid-back performing arts.
I found The Milk Carton Kids on stage right on time, and Joey Ryan had the audience cracking up at a drop of a dime.

 

While they were playing, I could not detect any flaws or wrongs. It was mainly intriguing how Ryan and Pattengale's singing voices sounded so delicate and in perfect harmony, like one singer actually, in many of their songs. I swear to you I had not taken any hits off of any bongs!

The Milk Carton Kids can also sing and play very loudly and infectiously rowdy. And, Ryan and Pattengale merely use their voices and acoustic guitars, that are not electronically tampered with or made cloudy.

The two attractive young guys exhibit seductive fingering of their instruments, during their performance of Americana, back-porch, flannel-folk arrangements. The Milk Carton Kid's heavily relatable lyrics about love can, additionally, make people's entireties transcend deeply into their tunes and onstage movements.

Plus, in breaks of playing, Ryan and Pattengale's shockingly blunt, non-politically correct and dry humor delivery, with natural comedic timing, proved they could also do well at Professional Comedy. Even if they did not have at least 98 percent of the audience laughing, and from their bellies, their music alone still would have made for a positively highly entertaining evening.

After having already just seen what to me, was the art of performing at its' best, during The Milk Carton Kid's second encore, Ryan asked the the crowd "Any requests?"

 

Members of the audience shouted out many, and the probably exhausted from traveling Ryan and Pattengale, played every single one and still whole-heartedly.

 

The Milk Carton Kids are clearly people pleasers and work hardy, for they also invited the audience to speak with them after the show and to party.

 

I approached two girls in the crowd, and Jean said "The show was phenomenal--great chemistry and stage presence," and Suzanne conveyed "The music made my toes tap, my heart swoon, and the banter made me laugh out loud."

So, I suggest people be on the lookout for The Milk Carton Kid's whereabouts, because you do not want to miss your chance to catch them! Also, it is recommended people buy The Milk Carton Kid's live album "Prologue," which is a fusion of each Ryan and Pattengale's solo material, and it is a rare gem.

Please visit: themilkcartonkids.com for info on their tour dates and albums. Oh, and The Milk Carton Kid's have so generously made some of their songs free to download from there!

 

 

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