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Concert Review

Republica
w/ Thin Lizard Dawn & Love In Reverse
The Galaxy Concert Theare in Santa Ana, California
November 20, 1996
Written by Evan Zelig


With their 2 hit singles "Drop Dead Georgous" and the radio friendly "Ready To Go" REPUBLICA stepped into the Galaxy Concert theater in Santa Ana California on a mission. A mission to blow the roof off the place and get people dancing.

Upon arriving at the Galaxy I met up with some friends and went inside to get a seat for the first two opening bands. The first band to take the stage was THIN LIZARD DAWN. A mix of Alterna rock and many other styles of music including a bit of Beach boys style to Oasis. I wasn't too intrested in this band and found their music a bit boring and it showed as only the bands friends seemed to be on the dance floor. As soon as the band began to play their song "Happy" which sounded like a mix of the BEACH BOYS and THE WONDERS from the movie "That Thing You Do" I couldn't stop laughing. the music was so..so...Happy! they played a good 30 minutes and left the stage.

The second band of the evening was LOVE IN REVERSE. A strong mix of Moody Alterna and even a little bit of Goth/Industrial showed alot of talent. I really liked this band and had spoken with their Tour Manager earlier in the evening while I was buying a shirt and some other stuff. My favorite song of theirs would have to be "Supercar". Looking back on their performance I see a strong resemblence to a mix of LOVE AND ROCKETS and new STABBING WESTWARD. LOVE IN REVERSE played a strong 35 minute set which had me wanting to get up and dance.

I headed into the dance floor after the last set and anticpated the arrival of REPUBLICA. Ravers everyone crowded into the pit with their shiny skirts and vinyl boots. I got right up against the stage and waited untill they were finally announced. The crowd went crazy as the band entered the stage. Saffron who I consider one of the most beautiful and talented woman vocalist in the Techno-pop/Brit-pop industry rushed onto the stage with a white tambourine in her hand and ready to play to the crowd. Starting out with the hit "Drop Dead Gorgous" which happens to be my favorite song by them left not one person sitting still. The set continued with songs such as "Out Of The Darkness", "Picture Me", and "Get Off". The song that really got the crowd Pogo'ing up and down was their top radio hit "Ready To Go". Dave Barborossa of the famed bands BOW WOW WOW and ADAM ANT absoloutly rocked on drums. Todd on keyboards and the rest of the band just blew the house down. I loved dancing to this band because they are so interactive with the whole audience. There wasn't one moment where Saffron wasn't shaking hands with people or merely smiling and pointing to someone. I was lucky enough to get a handshake myself during "Get Off".

After the show ended I went down to the lower bar area and waited around to see if the band was going to show up. I met Todd the keyboardist earlier that evening and he signed the album cover for me. As I walked through the lobby I picked up an album plate and they had some really neat posters but unfortunatly somebody had taken them down already. I went for a little stroll back down to the stage and found the band sitting on the stage signing autographs and chatting with whoever was there. I got my stuff and walked up to hopefully try and get some autographs. Everyone signed both my things and I waited for Saffron to come out. Saffron appeared from the backstage area in a moments notice and immediatly sat down to sign for us. That's a class act right there folks. The whole band was VERY nice unlike some other rock stars I've met and I place REPUBLICA number 1 on my list as being the nicest. They never had a problem signing or answer questions for everyone and that is great in my book.

All in All the concert was great! REPUBLICA not only completed their mission of blowing the house down but they didn't even leave ashes from the place. This band definitly has me singing their songs everywhere I go.


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