On April 2, alternative rock band The Mowgli’s performed at The Midland theater as a part of the Kids in Love tour, titled after the album of the same name. Opening for The Mowgli’s were rock bands Hippocampus and Night Riots, both of which performed energetic sets to pump up the crowd.

The Mowgli’s didn’t take the stage until nearly 10 pm, but the lengthy setlist the band played made it worth the wait. To kick off the concert, they played the title track to the new album and followed it up with “Emily,” a well-loved song among fans of the band. They played a few more old favorites from the album Waiting for the Dawn, which helped to boost the energy of the audience, especially as singer/guitarist Colin Dieden ventured out into the crowd during the performance of “Say It, Just Say It.”

While the audience was very responsive to some of the new songs, such as “Through the Dark” and “I’m Good,” which were released as singles from Kids in Love prior to the concert, this wasn’t the case when other new songs were played. It would seem that this problem was caused by the fact that Kids in Love wasn’t released until April 14. Although it was certainly a unique experience to get to hear The Mowgli’s perform new tracks live nearly two weeks before the rest of the world heard the songs, it did create an awkward lull in the energy from the crowd because many of these unfamiliar songs were played consecutively, leaving the audience to try and process the new tracks rather than enjoying the experience of hearing favorite songs performed live.

Regardless of this issue with the setlist, it was touching to hear members of the band exclaim how much they enjoy playing shows in Kansas City, a sentiment that is probably genuine considering the fact that Dieden is a local who graduated from BV Northwest. At one point, he even pointed out that “Crowds like this one make it so . . . easy to come home,” and he had his younger brother come out onstage to play guitar during the enthusiastic performance of “San Francisco.”

All in all, the Kids in Love show was a fun experience from a band that feeds well off of the energy of the crowd. At the point where The Mowgli’s played 19 songs, it’s hard to have complaints about the length of the setlist; however, some more consideration about spacing out new songs would have helped to enhance the experience for a crowd that didn’t have the chance to become familiar with the new album beforehand.