Not a tremendous amount changed in 2007, when the Hurricane closed and the Riot Room rose from its mentholated ashes. The address carried on as a scuzzy dive, where up-and-coming local acts could cut their teeth. Prominent national acts rarely stopped by. But this past year, something interesting happened: Young indie bands on the ascendant started popping up on the Riot Room calendar. Thank Electric City, the venue's in-house booking company that has brought us, over the past six months,Toro Y Moi, Titus Andronicus, Del the Funky Homosapien, Cults, the War on Drugs and Asobi Seksu. There's still the whiff of yesteryear (or its trash) if you tilt your head the wrong way, and it's still impossible to get a drink at the circular bar on a busy night. But let's not get picky about ambience when bands that used to skip KC on the drive between Lawrence and Columbia have started stopping at the Riot Room.
