Shots Fired rocks the Riot Room, April 22

Last night at Riot Room, I caught the newly re-formed KC rock outfit Shots Fired play for the second time, and I’ve concluded that the reunion is a real gift to the scene. Or at least to all the fans whose hearts cracked when the band dissolved a couple of years ago. Shots Fired played last night after a melodic set by Lucky Graves and some dirty Southern rock from Thunder Eagle. The vibe last night was similar to the band’s reunion show last month at Record Bar — the band slammed through its loud, emo-rock songs, the crowd sang along to every word and everyone had fun. One or two songs in, frontman Zachary Aaron announced that the band was sick of the old shit and the rest of the set would be all new songs. Unless I missed something, however, that seems to have been a joke. The most gripping tracks from Shots Fired’s 2004 self-titled album, including “Celebration” and “Ragdoll” — followed. As I’ve said before, those chugging guitars, furious drums and bitter imagery still hold up and sound fresh. But I really can’t wait to hear some new Shots.