The Architects
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Album review: The Architects - Live in Los Angeles

It begins with the house lights going down. Then the crowd noise builds with clamoring and cheers. Trumpets swell from nowhere and Spanish guitar fills the room. As the band plugs in the crowd grows louder. Then Brandon Phillips, front man of the Kansas City punk outfit The Architects alerts the masses at Palladium in Los Angeles “here we fucking go.”
Kicking off their set with “Cold Hard Facts,” the opening track from their 2008 release Vice, The Architects make it clear that they do not fuck around live. With bolder and booming vocals and a more deafening drum definition, the accelerated live version of the song launches them headstrong into their straightforward, no-bullshit approach to their music. The seven song set, which features six originals and a solid AC/DC cover featuring My Chemical Romance guitarist Ray Toro, tears through a range of energy and anarchy found only in honest blue collar punk. From the stellar bass lines of “Bastards at the Gate” to the dance punk elements of “Year of the Rat” and “Don’t Call it a Ghetto,” Live in Los Angeles offers a documentary-style shot of why this band remains the hardest working collective in Kansas City. Every single note, drum beat and guitar solo is full tilt and turned up.
Set list:
Cold Hard Facts
Bastards at the Gate
Year of the Rat
Daddy Wore Back
Sin City (AC/DC)
Don’t Call it a Ghetto
Pills
--Joshua Hammond
After stints drumming for both The Afternoons and Jenny Carr and the Waiting List in the Lawrence/Kansas City music scene, Joshua Hammond found his footing as a music journalist, launching the national publication Popwreckoning. After running the show as Editor in Chief for 6 years, Hammond stepped away from the reigns to freelance for other publications like Under The Gun Review and High Voltage Magazine. This shift allowed the adequate amount of time for him to write passionately, allow the Kansas City Royals to break his heart on a daily basis and spoon his cats just enough that they don't shred his vinyl. |
Photos from Apocalypse Meow 5, 11.2 and 11.3.12

This year was the biggest yet for Midwest Music Foundation's Apocalypse Meow benefit—a fundraiser for the musician's emergency health care fund. The event kicked off with a pre-party on Friday, November 3 at Midwestern Musical Co. with Dead Voices and Tiny Horse.
Dead Voices
Tiny Horse
The main event kicked off on Saturday at The Beaumont Club with School of Rock, consisting of more than a handful of tweens and teens masterfully playing covers from bands like Rush, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, and many more. The band's stellar performance set an energetic tone for the rest of the evening, which ranged from acoustic Americana to power pop, surf rock, country, indie rock, and ballistic punk rock.
School of Rock
Amy Farrand
Deco Auto
The Empty Spaces
The Blue Boot Heelers
Clairaudients (formerly The Atlantic)
The Architects

And finally, a big thank you from all of us at Midwest Music Foundation for supporting our fifth year of Meow. We're so very grateful for your support of Kansas City and our musical community!
All photos by Todd Zimmer. Please do not use without permission.
--Michelle Bacon
Artists on Trial: The Architects

By putting out four successful albums, playing national tours like Warped Fest, and delivering gigantic riffs and reverberating rhythms to fans over the past 8 years, The Architects have established themselves as THE rock band of Kansas City. And this year, Midwest Music Foundation is pleased to have this four-piece group headlining Apocalypse Meow this Saturday. Today, we talk with bassist Zach Phillips and get some insight on what the group is up to.
The Deli: Let’s talk about what you have coming up. What can we expect?
The Deli: What does “supporting local music” mean to you?
The Deli: Who are your favorite “local” musicians right now?
The Deli: What bands are you most excited to see at Meow?
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?
The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?
Michelle is editor-in-chief of The Deli - Kansas City. She also has a weekly column with The Kansas City Star and reviews music for Ink. She plays with Deco Auto, Drew Black and Dirty Electric, and Dolls on Fire. Her grandpa has a street in Malaysia named after him. Really. |
On The Beat with Adam Phillips

(Photo by Todd Zimmer)
Nobody in Kansas City—and I mean nobody—hits harder and more precisely than Adam Phillips of The Architects. In anticipation of their upcoming show at Apocalypse Meow next Saturday, we sit down with the drummer and find out more about his technique, his favorite drummers in town, and why Van Halen is better than Van Hagar. Catch the beat right here!
--Michelle Bacon
On The Beat is a weekly Q&A with some of the best drummers in Kansas City. If you'd like to be considered for this interview, please send us an email at kceditor@thedelimagazine.com.