December 22nd was a spectacular night for music in Washington, DC, as The Atlantis hosted Kendall Street Company, supported by Litz. The U Street Corridor was unusually quiet due to a Christmas exodus - all except the musical energy radiating from The Atlantis as these two powerhouse DMV bands debuted at DC's newest venue.

Litz, hailing from Frederick, Maryland, took to the triangular stage just a few minutes shy of 8 PM, wanting to maximize every minute of their funktronica set this evening. Starting with a blank canvas, Litz started with some good old-fashioned rock and roll music before segueing into the sax-forward funk music they are known for. What started as a simmering pot of musical energy began to boil over as the band continued to crank up the energy in the room. With Logan Litz's echoing bass, Austin Litz's sax roaring, Nick Thrasher's thunderous drumming, Logan Litz's booming bass, and Dan Gallerman's soaring guitar solos, the venue quickly filled with waves of energy coming off the crowd as they vibed collectively with the band. After waves of solos by Gallerman and extended talkbox moments by Austin Litz, the band left the stage at 9 PM to a roaring ovation and appreciation for a full hour of music. If you have yet to see Litz perform live, we highly recommend seeing this funktronica stalwart.

Headlining the evening was Charlottesville's very own Kendall Street Company. The Company is Louis Smith (Rhythm Guitar/Lead Vox), Brian Roy (Bass), Ryan Wood (Drums), Ben Laderberg (Lead Guitar), and Jake Vanaman (Saxophone/Keys), and this genre-fluid, eclectic rock ensemble is well-known for crowd participation, off-the-cuff comedic bits, and incredible jams. In the ten years since the band formed, the band has performed at hundreds of venues across the country and has simultaneously delighted thousands of fans with appearances at festivals including The Ramble Festival, 4848 Festival, Peach Festival,  Floydfest, and Hulaween, to name a few.  

Tonight's performance would bookend their 2023 DC appearances, having performed next door at the 9:30 Club in January. This Atlantis appearance would provide an intimate backdrop for the band to perform in front of 450 fans. This evening, the band came to The Atlantis with a clear mission: bring another raucous and unique performance and continue winning over and delighting new fans.

As the band took to the stage, they waved to many audience members, including many longtime fans, friends, and family members. Despite this being a DC performance, it felt like half of Richmond and Charlottesville made the trek up to DC for this performance.

The band would continue their magnificent performance with a jam-filled version of "Telephone," only to be surpassed as the audience erupted with excitement as Vanaman's saxophone pierced the venue with the opening notes of "Marty Song." Afterward, the band delved into a hilarious version of "Gloria" by Them as Smith enjoyed playful and entertaining banter with bassist Brian Roy. They entertained the audience with stories of Christmas ornaments to place on their tree intertwined inside this timeless classic. Continuing their newfound Christmas theme, the band performed a 1973 deep-track "Truckin' Trees for Christmas" by Red Simpson.  

The band would then delve into a monster, "Sidetracked," which came in just over 17 minutes. Midway through, the band threw in a humorous homage to the late James Brown by having Louis Smith direct drummer Ryan Wood as they counted off somewhat random, if not odd, number drum counts like 17 and 11 until they resumed their all-out funky dance party. This masterpiece showed the band's brilliance and why they should be headlining larger clubs. This seventeen-minute musical journey would pave the way for the performance finale. Bassist Brian Roy would hand Smith his bass and performed "Sports" before ending their set with "Aged White Cheddar," a stellar "Funk Cat," and concluding with a crowd favorite, "Wasted."

As the encore began, The Company could not help but continue with their joyous onstage high jinks by introducing the band Sauerkraut who was none other than Kendall Street Company's German-alter-ego performing a comical and sonic "Cats In Ze Haus."

Kendall Street Company's performance showed that while they are brilliant in their festival appearances, they truly shine when given the time to explore all the corners and crevices of their songs with the time to improvise and find new ways to delight their fans.  

If you have yet to see Kendall Street Company, we highly recommend seeing them when they come to a stage near you. We look forward to their many festival and venue appearances in the months and years to come.