Gravity Kills and Republica dance their way into a good time at Numbers

by Cheryl Luedke

Editor in Chief

After a line formed and the doors opened 25 minutes late Tuesday at Numbers, the crowd was ready to see Gravity Kills.

But when Love in Reverse opened up the show, nary a soul moved to the beat of the three-man band's music. The group must have played its worst song first, I thought. But the rest of them were also pretty bad.

The headache-inducing music of Love in Reverse never seemed to change rhythm, and every song sounded the same.

A little peeved at the unresponsive audience, lead singer Mike Ferentino said, "Thank you, land of the living dead," and later, "You can dance if you want to."

Even then, no one moved except to sit down or get a drink. Audience members were overheard saying, "This band really sucks."

Finally, 45 minutes later, everyone cheered for the end of Love in Reverse's set. And then the show began.

Energetic. That is the best way to describe Republica lead singer Saffron, who bounced onstage and charmed the audience with her exotic accent, seductive smile and bitchy attitude as she sang "Picture Me" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous."

Saffron didn't just sing to the audience - she sang at the audience. Her techno-pop-dance music had people crowd-surfing and pogoing, and everyone was "Ready To Go" (to quote a Republica song title) without a doubt.

Saffron urged the crowd to dance and "get sweaty." Who could refuse with this chic punkster jumping around with energy that wouldn't stop?

After a set of only 40 minutes, people seemed sad to see Republica exit the stage. But Gravity Kills came on and did not disappoint.

All the favorites were there: "Guilty," "Blame" and "Enough." Lead singer Jeff Scheel even played a few lines of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" in his raspy twang.

And of course there was Doug Firley, donning the traditional fur hat and twisting and turning on his swivel keyboard.

Gravity Kills' loud and heavy dance music was welcomed by all.

The awesome foursome got almost an hour of play time. I'm guilty of wanting more. Any waiting through a boring first band paid off in the end.