Tapes n' Tapes

TnT's Josh Grier (Photo By Mary Sledd)

Tapes n' Tapes

Stubb's, June 13

Thank God for air conditioning, because without it, the triple-digit cook out generated by this indie rock triple threat at a sold-out Stubb's indoors show Tuesday night might have caused the 350 people inside to collapse from heatstroke. Kicking off the triple bill was L.A.'s Cold War Kids, who wed the organic quirkiness of Devendra Banhart to the grungy garage clang of the White Stripes and turn it into weird Americana gold. Copenhagen's Figurines delivered a near-perfect set culled from their recent release, Skeleton (The Control Group), the fair-haired quartet's skittery upbeat winning over the crowd. The same throng sweated together for Tapes n' Tapes, reveling in the high-energy antics of the Minneapolis quartet as they herked and jerked through the bulk of their debut album, The Loon. Singer Josh Grier and company kicked things off with "Just Drums," a punky number sodden with attitude that showcases drummer Jeremy Hanson's considerable chops. Where this same number had been a subdued affair at the group's Waterloo in-store earlier in the day, the boys had clearly eaten their Wheaties in the interim. The crowd sang along to the jagged strains of "Insistor" and "Cowbell," while nodding compliantly along to the druggy "Manitoba" and "The Iliad." Grier regaled the house with an amusing story about his white, white flesh while repairing a broken guitar string, then launched the band into the remainder of their blistering set. At the end of the well-paced evening – 45-minute sets with 15-minute changeovers – there simply wasn't a weak link on the night's bill, and that's pretty damn cool.