To understand how important this may be, consider that the entire music business has traditionally run on danceable music. From the 1950s sock hops to the disco craze and to the acts five years ago like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul, dance drove it all. People used to go to clubs and actually show off their bodies rather than their attitudes.

Hip-hop and bad European XTC-techno has been all we had to go on since the Michael Jackson era and now there may be an alternative. The band's lead singer Saffron oozes sex from every pore as she dances through the set highlighted by the modern rock hit "Ready To Go" and "Bloke."

The lyrics have the angry slant of some punk, but pose a slightlyschizophrenic counterpart with the music, which is bouncy and sensual. It's sort of Sex Pistols meet Blondie, which if you think about it, is a perfect mix.

Saffron, who was born in Nigeria and is Portuguese, Chinese and English, hit the stage running with the opener "Drop Dead Gorgeous" which blends sex and fury, a la Alanis Morissette. Live, the group has twice the energy and power of their RCA debut.

On songs like "Bitch" and the come hither tunes such as "Get Off," she was a whirling dervish -- a mix of the Energizer bunny and an aerobic instructor. The audience didn't know whether to mosh or just have group sex. It resulted in one of the weirdest most pits ever, some participants kissing, others shoving.

The band was started by the two able keyboard players Tim Dorney and Andy Todd, but Saffron makes the band tick, like she did the hearts of most males in the audience. Drummer Dave Barborassa, formerly with Bow Bow Wow and Adam and the Ants also stands out. Republica ultimately walks down their own gangplank in terms ofexecution of the music they define, often sloppy and too anxious. But for now, its enough.