Republic of Loose were a bit late taking to the stage at their Academy show, but thankfully the floor had filled up by the time they opened with ‘Aaagh’. It still took a few songs to get the crowd going. Mick Pyro, looking decidedly Jesus-like with his luscious long locks (though I don’t think Jesus ever wore Chinese silk shirts) delivered great vocals as always, but seemed to be holding back on his usual infectious energy. It wasn’t until the fourth song in, ‘23 Things I Don’t Like’, that ROL perked up and the crowd finally got on side, jumping and dancing to beat the band (well, not quite).
After a bit of banter with the crowd, Pyro launched into a great rendition of ‘You Know It’, holding a competition with the crowd to find the best falsetto singer of the night; later, during ‘How Is Your Brain’, Pyro and bassist Benjamin Loose’s unique grooving proved that, yes indeed, they were the best shakers. The playground-chant chorus of ‘The Man’ and the filthy lyrics and funky beats of ‘Break’ drove everyone wild, and Orla La’s vocals shone.
The highlight of the night was, of course, ‘Comeback Girl’, where Pyro was determined to bring down the house, yelling “Will yez all jump or something!” at the crowd before launching into an impromptu rap in the smoothest Jamaican/Corkonian accent I have ever heard (and I’ve heard a few in my time). He then conducted a demographic study, separating the girls from the guys by encouraging them to make orgasmic yells. By the time he returned to the refrains of ‘Comeback Girl’, the crowd were eating out of his hands and everyone in the house was dancing, setting the scene nicely for an infectious rendition of ‘The Steady Song.’ ROL ended the night with a jamming encore, as each member of the band performed a fantastic solo.
It may have got off to a slow start, but Republic of Loose came through as always. I’ll definitely be checking out the other gigs of their Academy residency.