The Kilograms: A Metric Fuckload of Awesome …

When I sat to write a little about the weekend, I wasn't sure what this post would be about— One of three or four things or a combo of some or just all of them because they all have strings that connect to each other but apparently those aren't ready to come out of my head yet. 

• Balancing the current and contemplating the future course of life
• Reflections on past life choices decisions
• Bands I'm very into recently - the Kilograms with a concert I just saw & Joker's Republic with a new album

But hey, I also realize HOW LONG it's been since I posted here, so briefly, after reading my last post from …many months ago: Neuropsych testing revealed ASD and ADHD, as well as reinforcing the cPTSD, depression/anxiety etc that were already on the books…  and a perceptual reasoning index around O_O. 

For a range of reasons, the rest of 2024 was fucking horrible on average, and that was even before November happened. But what came out of tonight's writing/ processing was not about that. It was about the Kilograms, one of my favorite new bands (made out of people from not-so-new bands), whom I just saw perform live for the 5th time yesterday (10/18/2025) in Cambridge, MA at the Middle East Downstairs.

First, let me get this out of the way, with a little bit of embarrassment that I didn't figure it out myself: The band name comes from the two elements that kicked off the chain-reaction in forming this band, Sammy K and Joe G - KGs. It gave me a metric ounce of ridiculous joy in learning this.

I've been listening to their first full album Beliefs and Thieves frequently since it was released this past Spring (in addition to their previous releases since they first did a thing in 2023).  It's a brilliant listen, and some days perfect for repeating. Each and every song is good & solid, several are fucking excellent, and a few are super fucking stellar. There's not an ounce of filler here. What's it sound like? Well, let's start with a base of good ol' rock & roll, flavor it with ska and/or punk, and/or reggae, and/or blues - mix & match, not quite ALL in EACH song. But with varying levels & degrees of specific flavors. And it all works as an album and it's JUST SO FUCKING GOOD. (Sorry. My MFA crit skillz are on the shelf right now, in favor of the actual painting I'm doing lately.  ;) )

I highly recommend you give it a listen or three. Go to your streaming service of choice and take it on a test drive, and if you like it, buy it. If you're the vinyl type, enjoy the temptation of limited edition splatters & test presses & all. And check out their debut EP & in-between release, which are absolute must-listens, too. 

But more than that, I highly recommend you GO SEE THEM, if they come within a reasonable drive for you. That's where that synergy really makes itself known. 
​

Lorelei from last night. Not the first song I've ever heard by that name, but these days it's my favorite one. 

So, Saturday 10/18 was my 5th time seeing the Kilograms perform live. The first was when I WON a ticket to Supernova Ska Festival 2024. The next chance I got was October 2024, in Boston with Big D and the Kids Table— the same day that one of my other special interests had an event, but I managed to pull it off and pulled a few other friends along with me. The next was at Space Ballroom in New Haven, December 2024 with Spring-Heeled Jack, Mephiskapheles, and also 9th Wave with my friend Phred on drums, omg how cool was that? Then there was a lull for opportunities (during which the album was released), until this past Wednesday at Scottish Dave's, where CT-SKA hosts so many shows and I just wish the venue were closer to my area of CT (near Hartford)…and had AC for the heat waves. I don't mind getting sweaty at a show, but good grief, that one very hot & humid summer's day show I saw there made my hot flashes feel like a breezy beach. And I lived in Savannah for 2+ years.  ;)  If you read this, Scottish Dave, it's meant with great love and gratitude for all the hospitality.  

Anyway… The most recent show was at the Middle East with the Pietasters, the Doped-Up Dollies, Raging Nathans, Cuidado. All in all a very memorable night, but the Kilograms absolutely stole it. 

There is a shared sincerity, integrity, and passion with this group that is a joy to see and an inspiration to feel, particularly in these weird-ass modern dark ages. 

They're outstanding accomplished musicians bringing their unique experiences to create a new, unusual, and excellent experience, overflowing with soul and heart and hella creative chemistry. And they're also all-around good people who will post a public invite to a pre-show meet & greet and start conversations with folks. Between songs they'll also tell all the radical right hater-types (fascists, racists, homophobes, transphobes, sexists, etc…) to GTFO, and remind you to Support Trans Kids. REALLY good people. <3 

So, if you get a chance, GO SEE THEM. Maybe you'll see Sammy K's FCK NZS guitar (it didn't make it past the first song in the most recent show due to technical difficulties). You'll definitely see Jay Duckworth bouncing all over the stage. And if you look close enough you'll see Joe still wears the beaded friendship bracelet our friend Caiti gave him at Supernova Ska Festival 2024 (she made one for me, too. It's says "SKA*CAT" and some of beads GLOW IN THE DARK which is a ridiculous love of mine, so it gives me SO MUCH JOY and I wear it to every show!). I wouldn't expect to see Joe TIE HIS SHOE during a song & hardly miss an important beat, but every show has it's delightful surprises.  O_O

So anyway, I love these guys and their music. Someone please fix the still-scrambled white matter connections that used to make it less hard for me to socialize with people I don't yet know!  I would like to converse more, and be more clued in to cues in a timely manner. 

I need more practice, or something. 

Of course, I might fare better if sizable events from my different special interests would spread themselves out more across the calendar. This happened last year, too, with the Big D & the Kids Table / The Kilograms show the same day as the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. 

So this Saturday despite my best efforts and doing pretty well for a few weeks, there wasn't enough brain space to pre-load all the New England Horror Writer content while leaving enough free for my ska-punk Bosstones buddies conversations (but I did get, like, MANY names right, if slightly delayed. That's a win!).  So brain did a little bit of each, which I fear wasn't quite enough to come off as less than a little weird in both environments.  ;)   But moderately weird is better than really really weird, right? I think most folks who know me a bit "get it" and hopefully don't mind so much.

ANYWAY: Favorite songs (out of all, not just Beliefs & Thieves) include but are NOT limited to:

Can't be Beat 
Drop that Guff
Beliefs & Thieves
The Hoodie Song
Faith & Love
No Reaction *
Lean on Sheena **
I'm gonna stop now because I'm on the verge of just listing ALL their songs

* If you're enjoying the rabbit hole so far, check out Joe Gittleman's solo title that helped get me through that terrible 2024, Hold Up, ** as well as his other non-Bosstones band, Avoid One Thing. 

So much musicianship, skill, heart, and soul here. Check it out.