There’s one thing you need to understand when a seasoned band like The Architects makes the trek from Kansas City to play: They know what they are doing. This is apparent in every song they play. They simply take the stage and take care of business. A little bit of interaction with the crowd and building a good set are very important, they know the mixture for this and that is why bands of their stature rarely have an off-night.

The brothers Phillips (Adam, Brandon and Zach) lead this group along with Christopher Meck on additional guitar. Brandon is the fearless leader, gladly sweating far more than his share for his bandmates and cracking wise for PBR fueled audiences. They are a high energy show as most punk bands are. The Architects do tend to give in to melody more than many oi-oi punk bands you may see. The songs are refined and polished before they take them to the live stage and give them their own scrapes and bruises. The Rendezvous is the perfect environment for a band of their ilk, the poster covered walls make for as cozy of stage as bands can want. Brandon consistently referred to “the box” he and the crowd were in, nestled in the back of the bar, making it clear “the box” isn’t a bad thing.

This night at The Rendezvous (one of St. Joseph’s oldest and coolest venues) they would lean on their last two releases, two EPs of 6 songs each released with full comic books. The releases from the last couple years are called “Border Wars Episode I” and “Episode II.” As kick ass as the comic book idea is alone, the music is good too. They power through “Playing In The Snow” and the thunderous “Kickswaggerboom” on their way to a short set with plenty of punch. Sing-along favorites like “Lucky” are always littered in the song list and they indulge in a more punky “Cadillac” as the sweat soaks up the last few dry spots on Brandon Phillips’ shirt. All the while their loud guitars blast from the speakers with several starts and stops, making it hard for anybody to remain flat-footed.

A sure sign their set is about to be done is their pounding cover of AC/DC’s “Sin City” that always goes over well whether the audience is sporting mohawks or kakis. For the time they rule the stage they are unapologetic and obviously in their comfort zones. They can come to St. Joseph and show this town how they do it in Kansas City any day.

The Architects performing live at The Rendezvous in St. Joseph, Missouri on 3/11/16.