Live music review: Emo originals Cap n Jazz played Mohawk last Monday

November 24, 2025 Case Cockrell 927 Views Cap n Jazz, crowd surfing, Emo, indie pop, indie punk, indie rock, Kinsella brothers, live music, mohawk, Nate Kinsella, punk rock, Review, Tom Kinsella

The Midwest Emo Kinsella dynasty feels everlasting in 2025. For this outing, the emo originals Cap’n Jazz made their way to Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District last Monday (November 17) night to assert a legacy that proved undeniable for an endless gauntlet of bands that came after them. Frontman Tim Kinsella, guitarist Nate Kinsella, and drummer Mike Kinsella remain a staying force within their niche. With all the records between them, the music has never halted, with over 35 years of nonstop creativity and touring. With bands like Owls, American Football, Joan of Arc, Owen, and many more making up their rotation of projects throughout the last few decades, the Kinsellas feel like they can’t miss.

Opening the show from Madison, Wisconsin was 90s trio Rainer Maria. With poetic lyricism inspired by its namesake, poet Rainer Maria Rilke, the group has been quietly making its mark in the world of emo indie rock since 1995. Like their headlining counterparts, their onstage energy shows few signs of aging with their eruptive presence. During the sole opener slot, vocalist and bassist Caithlin De Marrais shared their memories of Austin past and present. “You’ve changed a lot, Austin.” The city showed up in droves for the Monday night Mohawk mayhem, mimicking a completely packed venue in the vein of Jack White’s Red River appearance last Fall. With an undeniably prolific stint in the 1990s, the Wisconsin band showed that their songs still speak volumes of astronomical proportion.

The clock had just crossed 9 p.m. when Cap’n Jazz took the reins, one that was met with immediate raucous behavior from a beyond-anticipatory weeknight Jazz legion. To say the crowd and band’s enthusiasm was wall-busting would be an understatement. When an abrasive treble-charged guitar strum began, the rest of the Cap’n Jazz company emerged, along with a wired-up vocalist Kinsella, who, without missing a beat, stagedove into the packed swarm with a microphone in hand, ready to deliver an onslaught of cuts from their sparse, yet highly influential catalogue of tunes. With stage elements that included a French horn, a tambourine that made for a game of catch between Kinsella and the audience, and endless bouts of crowdsurfing, it became increasingly evident that the emo forefathers still take on the task handedly on Monday evening at the iconic Austin venue.

The setlist consisted of every track off Jazz’s only LP before their initial dissolution, Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We’ve Slipped On, and Egg Shells We’ve Tippy Toed Over (Aka Shmap’n Shmazz for short). For an album that ended up being the mere beginning for the Kinsella family, the body of work has been a centerpiece for emo fans of all age groups and a source of infinite influence for what feels like thousands of bands that took after them.

The set also featured a selection from Tim’s also beloved outlet, Owls, in the form of “For Nate’s Brother Whose Name I Never Knew or Can’t Remember.” The attendees appeared to know every word of this one, too. After an hour barrage of audience members singing every word and somersaults off the Mohawk stage and other related activities, the Chicago quartet launched into an off-the-cuff rendition of “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath as an homage to the recently departed Ozzy Osbourne. It went better than expected. Those Iommi guitar licks can be hard to nail.

For the encore, Cap’n Jazz reached into the deepcut bag for their cover of “Take On Me” by A-ha off their Analphabetapolothology compilation. With no keyboard in sight, this one was beautifully crafted with guitars and nothing but. This run of shows is limited for the Kinsella-led outfit, and judging by the hearsay around the Red River stronghold, could be the last for a “Very long time or ever.”