Monday night was a perfect night for a concert at Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park. It was a cooler night that warmed up quickly once the concert began and fans couldn’t help but jump and dance around. Attendees were dressed in a wide range of outfits from casual wear to party dresses, and many handed out friendship bracelets with the names of their favorite songs.
Alternative-indie artist Medium Build, stage name for Nicholas Carpenter, opened for Rainbow Kitten Surprise on the opening night of the Love Hate Music Box tour. He played a relatively chill set but managed to engage the crowd and had many excited for the night ahead by the time he finished. Later, RKS vocalist Ela Melo would make a joke about the name of the venue, noting that Medium Build (who she referred to just as “Nicholas”) always sounded “ever-wise” when he spoke.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise took the stage shortly after 9pm, with singer Melo wearing a gorgeous flowing red dress and all members of the band wearing at least accents of red as well. With it being the opening night of the tour for their newest album, as well as this being the first show in Indianapolis after two past dates were canceled, energy was incredibly high right off the bat as RKS opened with “Devil Like Me,” a popular hit off their 2013 album “Seven + Mary” and immediately went next into “Cocaine Jesus.”
RKS as a whole looked a little different than times that Indy fans may have seen them in the past. For starters, singer Ela Melo came out as a transgender woman in March 2022. Since then, RKS fans have seen her truly grow into herself, becoming more and more confident on stage, noted many times on Reddit by fans who saw the band earlier in 2024. In Indianapolis on Monday night, she absolutely glowed with energy, and after the first song, a fan in the pit yelled, “I love you, Ela!” and the entire stadium cheered in love and support.
Another change in line-up was the March 2024 departure of bassist Charlie Holt. For this tour, bassist Maddie Bouton is filling the role. Drummer Jess Haney was also absent as he’s away on paternity leave, and Atticus Forbes played the drums in his absence.
RKS played many of their most popular songs from their various older albums, including “Wasted,” “Cold Love,” and the slower “Painkillers.” They also played many songs from their newest album, “Love Hate Music Box,” and included the live debut of two new songs: “Finalist” and “Lucky.”
They ended their main set with “Run” off the self-titled album “RKS,” and then came out for their encore to play “When It Lands” and “It’s Called: Freefall” (both off of their 2018 album “How To: Friend, Love, Freefall). “It’s Called: Freefall” is by far one of RKS’s most popular songs, telling a tale of a person making a deal with the devil that evokes themes of depression, sacrifice, and loneliness – dark themes for anyone to end a show on, but perfectly in line with the serious nature of many of this band’s songs.
Overall, Rainbow Kitten Surprise put on an incredible show for Indianapolis on the most perfect night for a late-summer concert. It was an excellent start to their new tour and is sure to only be the beginning of an amazing autumn for this beloved band.