One of a kind
One of the most exciting new bands to come across my radar over the past couple years, I’ve been following Athens, GA’s Reptar since sometime last year when a friend passed along their Myspace (remember Myspace?) link along with a few of their tracks from a roughly-mixed EP that included “Context Clues,” “Houseboat Babies,” “Phonetics” and a nasty mic-check freestyle (I take you to the grocery store and teach you a little bit/about buying organic groceries and s***). Despite it sounding like a rough basement house party mix, I was so blown away by their novel sound that I immediately started nagging all my like-minded friends to pay attention to this funky-dancin’-dinosaur-band-that-could. Luckily, big-shot producer mastermind Ben Allen (Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion)) also took notice and produced their recently released EP Oblangle, Fizz Y’all. In addition to that, the foreign music press is already paying close attention, as NME ranked Reptar @ #4 out of their Top 50 Best New Artists of 2011. No small feat for a little band that sprouted from the Classic City not too long ago.
This year, in addition to releasing the critically-acclaimed EP, things are happening fast for Reptar, who snagged summer dates at the Governor’s Ball, Lollapalooza and ACL before getting an opening slot on a lengthy and diversely intriguing tour with Foster the People and Cults. Last Friday, I finally got the chance to the band at ACL and the set actually far exceeded my lofty expectations (for a brief review of that show, go here). The show felt like diving headlong into a labyrinthine adventure play that weaved elements of psychedelia, dance-punk and synth-y bomb tracks into their emphatic and highly theatrical performance. Nary an un-danceable moment to be found – definitely one of those shows where you look up after 45 minutes and have to quickly shake yourself to bring the headspace back to level. Definitely served as the official Blast Off moment of ACL. Click the link to watch the newly-released “Natural Bridge” video and continue on for the band’s tour dates, which includes a show tonight in Nashville at the Soundland Next Big Nashville festival.
Reptar – Blastoff from Ross Brubeck on Vimeo.
Tour Dates
September 22 — Next Big Nashville, Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN
September 23 – The National – Richmond, VA *^
September 26 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC *
September 27 — Terminal 5 — New York, NY * ^
September 28 — Terminal 5 — New York, NY *^
September 29 – House of Blues – Boston, MA *^
October 01 – Sound Academy – Toronto, ON *^
October 02 – Lifestyle Communities Pavilion – Columbus, OH *^
October 04 – Vogue Theater – Indianapolis, IN *^
October 05 — Riviera Theatre — Chicago, IL *^
October 06 – Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN *^
October 07 — The Aquarium — Fargo, ND
October 09 — Showbox at the Market — Seattle, WA *^
October 10 — Commodore Ballroom — Vancouver, BC *^
October 12 — Roseland Theatre — Portland, OR *^
October 13 — Fillmore — San Francisco, CA *
October 14 — Fillmore — San Francisco, CA *
October 15 — Wiltern Theatre — Los Angeles, CA *^
October 18 — Wiltern Theatre — Los Angeles, CA *^
October 19 — SOMA — San Diego, CA *
October 20 — The Pool at the Cosmopolitan — Las Vegas, NV *
October 22 — Deep Roots Festival — Milledgeville, GA
October 23 – Metro — Chicago, IL **
October 24 – High Noon Saloon — Madison, WI **
October 27 – The Waiting Room — Omaha, NE **
October 28 – Marquis Theatre — Denver, CO **
October 29 — Urban Lounge — Salt Lake City, UT **
November 01 – Harlow’s — Sacramento, CA **
November 02 – The Fillmore — San Francisco, CA **
November 03 – Soho Music Club — Santa Barbara, CA **
November 04 – The Music Box at Fonda — Hollywood, CA **
November 05 – The Cresent Ballroom — Phoenix, AZ **
November 06 — Sol at Santa Fe Brewing Company – Santa Fe, NM
November 08 – The Loft — Dallas, TX **
November 09 – Mohawk — Austin, TX **
November 10 – Fitzgerald’s — Houston, TX **
November 11 – Spanish Moon — Baton Rouge, LA **
November 12 – WorkPlay Theatre — Birmingham, AL **
November 13 – The Masquerade — Atlanta, GA **
* w/ Foster the People
^ w/ Cults
** w/ Phantogram
