07.27.2025: Rainbow Kitten Surprise @ Beak & Skiff w/s/g Petey USA

While rainbows would have been on the nose for a band calling itself Rainbow Kitten Surprise (aka RKS), thankfully the rain that drenched the first half of the day was long gone by the time the crowds arrived at Beak & Skiff . Thank god it had, because had it not, the sellout crowd would have churned that place into a mud pit to rival Woodstock. Sadly, the early rains seemingly also did nothing to temper the heat. It was hot, and the sun was still very much up when Petey USA took the stage.

Poor Petey was broiled by full sun for his whole set, with no shade to be found on stage, though he did have shades. He informed the crowd, it was his first time wearing sunglasses on stage. While it may dial back the intimacy of the show, no one could blame him, he was facing right into the sun for the whole 8 song set. It was well received by the crowd and wasn't over burdened by banter.

His stage banter echoed the humor of his music videos and shorts: endearing and kind of awkward, and even a little bit educational. He made mention that the word "idyllic" doesn't come from "ideal" though he stopped shy of explaining it's origins. Overall, Petey comes off seeming very much like an everyman thrust onto the stage, and not a cocky swaggering rocker. It's unclear if it's a character he's playing (like The Weekend) or if he's genuinely shy or uncomfortable on stage.

It should be noted that in spite of having multiple cashiers, this show featured the longest and most persistent merch line I've seen at Beak & Skiff, stretching dozens of people deep from before Petey took the stage and lasting almost to the end of the night. To RKS's credit, they were prepared and stocked up accordingly. It seemed like they didn't run out of any products or sizes.

The size of the sold out crowd, heat, and lack of shade did seem to contribute to a higher than average number of people getting checked out by EMTs, who thankfully were stationed near the stage and quick to respond when summoned. I never saw an ambulance depart so I suspect most people were either dehydrated or had over consumed.

While there weren't rainbows, there was at least one surprise. While the sellout crowd, with many many people wearing merch from RKS likely knew what to expect, a man seated in front of me was brought to the show blind as a present, having not heard a single note of what to expect. He was simply blown away, in particular by lead singer Ela Melo's voice, exclaiming "She has the voice of an angel!"

Their set was just non-stop energy and all about the music. The staging was clean. There were no screens, no sets, no props. Just lit lines radiating from the RKS logo, like a modernized/sleek dance club from Tron. There was nearly no banter. Just song after song after song. The band seemed to enjoy being on stage together, dancing and feeding off one another's energy, and only got better as the sun went down. During one of the rare moments of banter, Elo said the band agreed they would only keep making music while it was fun for them. Given the chemistry on stage and their playing roughly 25 songs, it sure seemed like they were very much having fun, and the crowd was right there with them.

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