Seeing My Goodness at KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood event in Ballard affirmed two simple things: that highly intense rock music is still my favorite, and that this duo reigns as the unparalleled Kings of Gritty in that genre here in Seattle.

My relationship with the band started skeptically, when I thought they were just Black Keys wannabe’s, but that feeling was soon put to rest when the first My Goodness show I saw left me sweat-soaked and high out of my mind with adrenaline from jumping and thrashing around for 45 minutes (I also hit my head pretty solidly on a monitor). Since then it’s been their self-titled album in my speakers day in and day out, and in time I’ve realized that the thing that separates them from TBK’s is the intensity with which they attack each and every song, as opposed to The Black Keys’ more dynamic approach. It’s always super fun and always super heavy, and has been known to leave me with that feeling of primal intensity (think about how David must have felt beating Goliath, it’s probably very similar to that).

On Friday, May 18th, less than 24 hours after returning from a week in Europe opening for We Are Augustines, My Goodness hopped up onto the stage raring with big grins and kicked off the set with their biggest hit to date “C’mon Doll.” Within minutes, the crowd from the back sections of Burgass Place Park filed up close, symbiotically feeding the band the energy needed to make 2 o’clock in the afternoon feel like 11 at night. A huge factor in what made this show special was the band’s genuine gratitude and stoke for the day and all the people who came out to support them. That kind of stage recognition opens the door for the listener to feel like they’re contributing to the magic and success that is unfolding in front of them and is a powerful force in bringing people back show after show.

I will say that this wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen the band, though. A few of their tunes sounded a little sloppy around the edges, but I’m willing to cut them some slack due to their recent travels and no doubt lack of sleep. After ripping through other tracks off their album, My Goodness let us in on a few of their newer tunes, and while their signature rock style was there just the same, I felt like the two numbers lacked a sort of catchiness, something that their first record is riddled with. Admittedly, it was only a first listen, and will in no way deter me from catching them again or being excited for their next release.

One last thing about the show: at the end, lead singer Joel Schneider came to the edge of the stage with a box and asked someone to hand out its contents. I swooped in, receiving a handshake from Joel, opened the box and turned toward the twenty or so people who were looking to get their hands on what I had. The next 30 seconds were kind of terrifying. I was bombarded by the mob of people, all reaching in for a copy of the limited edition marble red vinyl, ripping them from both my hands and the box, and from each other for that matter. It all seems pretty ridiculous, but I wasn’t above falling to the ground in the fetal position to reserve a copy for myself.

My Goodness plays next on June 16th at Neumos. Check out their tunes “C’mon Doll,” “I’ve Got A Notion” and “Lost In The Soul” on our randomly-generate music player.

The band’s first full-length, self-titled album gets a  “RAWK” out of the “R – RAWKD” scale.

Check out the video I took of “C’mon Doll”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMSW7dYr1cs&list=LL7Rl_Iq6OhnFrBG_NlYkTXQ&feature=mh_lolz