Meet Phil Beck, quite possibly the biggest Get Up Kids fan in history. He is from Kansas and is currently living in Lincoln, NE. When I received the new Get Up Kids live record and considered reviewing it, I knew there was no way to write this review without talking about Phil. The following are excerpts from actual emails I have received from Phil in the last 2 weeks (some grammar and punctuation have been corrected to protect..well..Phil. He can’t type, but most of this is straight up exactly from the emails), and this is my review…


“I know the new record is out today, Live at the Granada. I got alot more drunk at that show than I wanted to. I need to go pick up a copy but will probably have to wait till next Tuesday. Man, I have been to a lot of GUKs shows. I can’t believe the show on July 2nd will be the last but they have definitely changed my life for the better that is for sure! The very first song I heard from them performed live was Holiday off of Something to Write Home About and that was it, opening up for Green Day in January of 2001 at Hale Arena in Kansas City, and I was hooked. I seen them with Weezer in March of 2001 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, man was a fantastic show, probably the second best show I have ever been too, then I seen them with the Appleseed Cast and the Anniversary, that was probably my favorite GUKs show cause I sat next to the lead singer of Ruskabank, and sat with a few guys in Ultimate Fakebook, and it was right after they released Eudora, man I could go on and on.

I have seen the Get Up Kids 7 times, Reggie and the Full Effect 2 times and the New Amsterdams twice, which the second time I got to talk to Matt Pryor after the show, and ended up showing him my skillet and my van tattoos, pretty much dedicated to the Get Up Kids, and all they have done. I seen a Get Up Kids video on Fuse tv the other day and pretty much spazzed out and called my friend adam and told him.

Man I can’t wait till the last Get Up Kids show, they announced a show in Lawrence right before the last show, but I think I will just go to the one in KC, my friend John Gapp is going with me, and what is funny he looks JUST like Conor Oberst. I give him shit all the time about being bright eyes and all, its pretty funny. The new Get Up Kids record… all I have to say is WOW! It’s absolutely fantastic. For several reasons do I think its fantastic- when I first heard the record, the first thing you hear is Matt Pryor saying "Hey, here we go", and I knew from that point on it was gonna rock, even though I knew what it was going to be like considering I was at the show, but I was a little drunk, ok I am lying I was really really drunk and don’t really remember the last bit of the show, but I get to experience it over and over now and see what I missed out on! They play stuff from the Red Letter Day and Woodson EP's, to the new record Guilt Show, and alot in between, the only stuff they didn’t play was songs off Eudora, which its a complete cover album, but they play songs from Something to Write Home About and Four Minute Mile, and even my favorite album of all time On A Wire. I am so excited to go to that show on July 2nd which is less than a month away from now. Later phil beck man”

Phil rules…and I think you can take it from him, the biggest GUKs fan in history, that the new album Live @ The Granada Theater is a kick ass album. Go buy it bitches.