Music Forecast 1.16-1.22: Tennis, Red Kate, In Rooms, and more
Bummer
Kansas City’s Bummer is composed of three dudes barely out of high school. That doesn’t mean the band isn’t able to inspire thrashing mosh pits and wall-shaking noise. Bummer’s October-released four-song EP, Milk, isn’t just aggressive — it’s a sludgy, fuming battle cry, one that incites listeners to join the cause and charge with them. If Milk is the debut, it’s terrifying to imagine what’s next for the young band and what sort of fresh rebellion it will unleash on the city. Here’s hoping that the Riot Room is still standing after tonight’s show. With Sundiver and Coward.
Friday, January 17, at the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)
Tennis
Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, the husband-wife duo comprising Tennis, are already picture-perfect — the kind of couple you find yourself watching enviously at a cozy brunch spot while they trade tender smiles over gooseberry pancakes or something. The Denver band has so far made dreamy, beachworthy, 1970s-inspired pop reflecting that nauseating honeymoon vibe. But on Tennis’ November-released EP, Small Sound, the energy has changed ever so slightly. Lead singer Moore works the album’s five songs like a woman in a little black dress at a high-end cocktail party. She saunters smoothly over lush ’70s organ notes on “Mean Streets,” flirts coyly on “Timothy,” becomes the envy of the dance floor on “Cured of Youth,” gives us a dark-corner moment of intimacy on “Dimming Light,” and leaves a mess of intoxicated hearts in her wake by the end of the groovy “100 Lovers.” If you’re not already keen on Tennis, now would be the time to start playing.
Saturday, January 18, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)
Red Kate
Listening to Kansas City’s Red Kate is like getting knocked out and waking up at a grimy rock festival in 1975. In August, the band released its most recent full-length, When the Troubles Come, a beastly collection of 11 songs that have lead singer L. Ron Drunkard charging through heavy guitar riffs and propulsive drum work. Though Red Kate may seem like a good, old-fashioned rock-and-roll band, it has a definite punk slant. When the Troubles Come is mostly an anti-government record — it’s fun to sing along to the songs, but Red Kate also encourages a little thoughtful rebellion. Local female-fronted punk band the Bad Ideas and Minneapolis rock band Nato Coles are also on deck to ensure a loud night at the Replay.
Saturday, January 18, at the Replay Lounge (946 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-749-7676)
Panic at the Disco
Sin City’s Panic at the Disco lifted the title for its latest full-length from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die is a sort of homage to that most enticing American destination for bad decisions and worse consequences. The songs on Too Weird possess all the dramatic energy of a gaudy Vegas show and, like so many before them, fall prey to the easy trappings of standardized pop music. It’s hard to tell exactly what Panic at the Disco was going for this time — the unimaginative and over-produced Too Weird suggests Top 40 power pop, but it’s unlikely that longtime fans of the Vegas band will much care.
Sunday, January 19, at the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665)
In Rooms
Folk-pop band In Rooms is prepared to bring some much needed warmth to how these January temperatures have you feeling. On the group’s August-released EP, The Night Has Come, husband-wife team Heather and Nick Leo blend a variety of musical influences with a decidedly Latin flair. The horn-heavy refrain of “Dove” is a delightful ode to cumbia. And were its lyrics not in English, the album opener, “Sweet Pretty,” would pass for a bossa nova classic. Heather Leo’s vocals bounce airily around the tracks, sometimes carried merrily along by a reggae beat. Forget Kansas City — In Rooms takes you on a spicy tour of the Southern Hemisphere, from breezy Brazilian beaches to sweltering Colombian discothèques. Not bad for a band from Des Moines.
Monday, January 20, at Czar (1531 Grand, 816-421-0300)
