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Your
first live experience with the Cat Empire is sure to be
a memorable one.
This is one of the few bands out there that can literally
make the floor of the Bowery Ballroom move. So many people
jumping up and down simultaneously, the fans can feel the
dance floor bending underneath them. This Latin infused
party rock band from Australia is rising to power at incredible
speeds. |
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It’s
interesting that this band has no guitar player. It’s
drums, bass, keys, trumpet, percussion and a DJ spinning and
scratching. The percussionist and trumpet player are both
charismatic front men with strong voices to match. The trumpet
and keyboard players are the lead soloists, and they are ready
and able to amuse the most skeptical of audiences. This distinctly
adds to the overall experience of the Cat Empire. Their songs
can be catchy, danceable, or just plain old fun. They never
play a “go-to-the-bar” ballad; it’s all
party, all the time. |
Studio
recordings are a little different for this band. How do
you capture the atmosphere of a dance party on a recording?
On their most recent album, Two Shoes, you can feel the
beat and rhythm at all moments, but it still leaves something
small to be desired. That small something you can only understand
from seeing them live, because the album is really wonderful.
Reminiscent of Santana (only without the lead guitar), the
Cat Empire is morphing their version of pop music into something
that takes its influence from the most fun latin-salsa-meringue
songs you’ve ever heard. Upon first listen to any
of their recordings, you can tell how much fun it would
be to see this band.
If
you listen to a studio recording first, you will love this
band all the more when you see them. If you listen to it
after seeing them, you will only want to see them again.
It’s really a win-win situation. |
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