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Republic of Loose
Carlow
March 2007Loose gigs are never going to be particularly tight or necessarily go exactly according to plan, but that’s part of their charm, and it’s always a party to which everyone is invited. Mic stands will get knocked over, band members may bump into each other, Mick may mix up the lyrics (as happened on “Shame” in Carlow), but they possess a great ability to laugh at themselves and have the audience laughing along with them.
It’s interesting to notice the difference between a Republic of Loose gig in Dublin and one down the country. In Dublin they’re playing to an audience many of whom would have been with them from back in the early days in Doran’s, and would be familiar with songs from their first album, This is the Tomb of the Juice, whereas outside of Dublin people would be familiar with the songs that got more airplay from their second album, Aagh!, and their set list (probably wisely) tends to reflect that. An excellent support set from Kildare band Kill City Defectors (watch this space!) was unfortunately relatively sparsely attended – more’s the pity, as the audience will probably be kicking themselves soon for missing it if talent and the ability to produce danceable songs is anything to go by. By the time Republic of Loose were about to go on stage, though, the Music Factory in Carlow had filled up, and before the guys even took to the stage the audience were going mental at them messing behind a screen to the left of the stage.
Within moments of starting the first song of their set the dance floor was packed, and people were singing along at the top of their voice to tunes from Aagh! including “Shame”, “The Idiots”, “The Translation”, “Break!”, “Greedy”, “Mary Caine”, “Comeback Girl”, “Somebody Screamed” and crowd-pleaser “You Know It”. This is the Tomb of the Juice got a look in with “Kiodin Man”, “Girl I’m Gonna Fuck You Up” and “Hold Up”, which always seems to get a crowd anywhere jumping around and giving it their best dance moves. The band have all the tricks to getting the crowd to give them back more energy than anyone could have expected, as well, with Mick asking the already-dancing crowd “Are you with us or what?”. They never seem to be short of surprises, either – after earning a well-deserved encore, they treated the audience to a Justin Timberlake cover no one could have predicted. Entertainers in the best sense of the word, they’re a band not to be missed.
Republic of Loose will be playing the Village in Dublin on the 27th and 28th of April. Tickets are available now from the WAV box office, the Sound Cellar and Road Records.
Lisa Rooks