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Until Saturday night, Kansas City hadn't heard from the Republic Tigers in a while -- about 8 or 9 months, as the band recounted at its show at the RecordBar. And we hadn't heard a steady catalog of new songs in even longer: After the band debuted Keep Color in 2008 on Chop Shop Records -- the source for the hit "Buildings And Mountains" -- the Tigers had basically been coasting on its wave of success. Not any more.
The Tigers debuted a slew of new material at the RecordBar on Saturday in honor of the venue's fifth anniversary. (Valient Thorr, Field Music and a whole treasure trove of local goodness played the venue's four-day celebration.)
On the RecordBar's killer Saturday night lineup, I missed the acoustic serenading of Jenny Carr by a hair, and slipped into the bar just as Making Movies -- Kansas City's favorite salsa-flavored indie rock act -- had finished up its sound check. The fury of the band's fist-pumping anthem "Libertad" and the intensity of "Tormenta" are always on point (as the gray-haired dancing super-fan in the front row would have attested to). A short set, complete with bursts of fiery congo and popping drum solos, was a perfect primer for what was to come.
Next up: Lawrence's Cowboy Indian Bear, playing its second show with its new member, singer-songwriter Katlyn Conroy. (This was when the Drunk Girl In White made her first appearance of the night. Clad in a white, Russian fur hat in the front row, this inebriated fan was wearing dark gloves and a knee-length coat in the packed pit of the RecordBar's floor. As Cowboy Indian Bear began to warm up, she began balancing her snow-white clutch on the tip of her finger, and dangling it with the serenity of a yoga move to the music, right over the band's speakers. "Clutch," said Marty Hillard, acknowledging the girl. "Yes.")
But, back to the band. Ahem. Conroy's willowy vocals filled out the band's live sound seamlessly. It makes sense: Conroy had appeared on CIB's records before (like the band's recent Each Other All the Time.) It was a flawless addition to an already talented act, and proved what we've all been suspecting for a while: CIB just keeps getting better, man. (A new song, complete with a slick, slinky bass-line, helped strengthen the theory.)
After a meticulous sound-check and the efforts of several stressed-out roadies with flashlights in their mouths, the Republic Tigers' set began about 15 minutes after midnight. "It's been a while," said frontman Kenn Jankowski. "Get some exercise!"
While the Tigers debuted a bunch of new songs (six?), they called out two songs that they're releasing to radio stations next week. "I dunno if they'll play them or not," said Jankowski. (We're betting the answer is yes.) The first song, "Merry Make It," doesn't have the eerie beauty of "Buildings and Mountains," but it's a much more euphoric version of the Tigers' winning trademark: foot-tapping beats, chunky bassline, and layered, longing harmonies.
The other song that the Tigers singled out as radio-friendly, "Lonely As I Was," sounds like the disco-rock of the early aughts. A wobbly punk chant in the middle of the song provided a hard edge in the Tigers' tunnel of sound.
Whether it's the light show or the production, the Tigers' show feels huge: sprawling, filled-out, thumping, encompassing. (And that goes for the genres they're tapping, too.) The band's new material feels a bit more firmly sketched than earlier efforts. These hooks aren't accidents; they're formulated to draw in a crowd on the first listen. Purpose is a good thing.
"That, and 'Merry Make It' will be on the new EP that
Paul Malinowski is mixing," said Jankowski. "And it sounds way better than
Keep Color, in my opinion."
There's more where that came from, sang the Tigers. We hope so.
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The Republic Tigers' set list
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