I was a little apprehensive watching The Dark Circles set up their gear on the Brick’s stage last night. The five-piece loaded in two guitars, bass, drums, a couple of Korgs and a Roland Juno-D, and by the end of their sound check, I wasn’t sure if there was going to be room on stage for the performers themselves. There can be a very fine line between quality and crap when it comes to integrating keyboards into the usual rock band set-up, and incorporating three versions of the instruments that, when in the wrong hands, can be known to produce some of the cheesiest synth sounds in the history of recorded music means the possibility becomes even stronger.

Thankfully, from the very first song, The Dark Circles proved they knew better. The group launched into a set that was built around a type of Midwestern despair tinged with a Romanticism that brought to mind a transplanted, time-traveling version of the Cure, raised on Cheap Trick and the Replacements instead of Siouxsie and Roxy Music. The guitars stayed angular and functionally simple, while both the drums and bass kept the chunky rhythms propulsive. Even the keys were kept as accentuating elements and not showcase items. All of this added up to a cohesive whole. Plus, singer Byron Huhmann smoked while singing, which is always cool.

I talked with bassist Andrew Turner a little bit afterwards, and he indicated the group is heading into the studio to record a new album in the coming months. While the line-up for the Dark Circles might constitute something of a local supergroup, it’s safe to say these guys have managed to capitalize on their individual talents while at the same time becoming a solid, focused unit. I’m interested in seeing how the new release turns out after doing an A/B comparison between tracks on their release from a few years ago and their live show at the Brick. It seems as if they are a much more confident unit now, and have grown into refining their sound. With the collection of players in the group, The Dark Circles should continue to move forward.

Out of everything the Dark Circles did on stage, the one thing they absolutely nailed was saying that we’d probably not be seeing the headlining band for the evening, Brooklyn’s Tigercity, in this small of a venue again anytime soon. When the four-piece took the stage after a quick breakdown, it became clear why.

Tigercity played the Brick back in early December, and it was obvious that there had been a major connection from both sides of the stage that night, as the audience this time around was full of people yelling out the next song’s title based on just the first few notes. Anyone who hadn’t caught the band’s December set (me included) wasn’t going to miss out this time around though. In a set that could only be called a perfect early 80’s blue-eyed soul set reminiscent of the very best of say, Hall & Oates or Simply Red mixed with equal parts of a self-stylized take on the disco-post punk era and the more organic house music labels like Naked Music, Tigercity quite simply slayed it. This stuff would sound just as appropriate in an indie film’s summer-fun montage as it would in a classic Larry Levan Paradise Garage set.

Bill Gillim’s falsetto never rang wrong or insincerely, while guitarist Andrew Brady disappeared behind a mop of hair, stroking out disco rhythms. Bassist Joel Ford served as more of a lead instrument, shaping out low-end lines between drummer Aynsley Powell’s tom-heavy sequences; both were tailor-made for lock-groove run-outs. A collection of keyboards (including the classic DX-7) and other electronics rounded out the group’s rig.

By the end of Tigercity’s roughly-hour set, everyone in the front of the Brick was dancing, even the indie-uniformed kids best known for standing around apathetically. The rhythm was just too much to fight, and unlike a lot of other bands who are doing a similar take on this sound, there was nothing forced about Tigercity – everything came out of them and into us just so easily.

Fresh off of an appearance at SXSW and heading to Chicago and then back home, this is a group that’s going to be successful. No argument about whether they deserve it or not – the sheer amount of fun they’re having on stage translates immediately to the audience. If the indie kids somehow find a way not to like it, no worry – their parents will still love it. And when the indie kids get a little older and more mature, they’ll love it too.

What struck me the most after listening to the group’s only recorded output, the Pretend Not to Love ep, is how much Tigercity sounds like what would normally be an AOR solo singer – maybe a late-weeks American Idol reject – fronting a set of highly-paid but anonymous session musicians, an act that is hoping to capitalize off of a quick fame turnaround for a high first-week’s sales and then mall appearances for the next five years. You know what? That is not an insult. These guys sound slick. Again, Hall & Oates slick. Big budget, pyrotechnics, mid-set costume-change slick. Pop music slick. It’s the sort of sound that is absolutely great once you give up thinking every record you listen to has to sound like everyone in the band has seven broken fingers each and are recording to an RCA boombox with a built-in mic to be enjoyable. It’s impressive that these four guys from Brooklyn are pulling this off, and it was an absolute treat to spend a Wednesday night sharing the experience with everyone else at the Brick.

Also – a note to any label considering picking these guys up – vinyl, please.

We’ve been big fans of Doby Watson ever since “discovering” him on a split EP with fellow Tract Records group Grumpy Bear a couple of years ago. It was a welcome surprise at the time to find out he was from Kansas City, and over the past couple of years, we’ve struck up a fairly good friendship. Like us, Doby is always on the lookout for new and interesting venues around town, so we followed his lead down to the Skinless Gallery to check the place out and catch his set.

Located at around 18th & Oak (across from Grinders), the gallery is an intimate – but not cramped – room with a functional stage, adjustable room and performance lighting, and, when cleared of the comfortable chairs which were spread around the middle of the room tonight, would have more than enough room to accommodate a decent turn-out.

Doby took the stage around 8:15 and proceeded though a roughly thirty minute set largely comprised of covers of songs about friendship and relationships originally by Manipulator Alligator, Parsen, and others from the closely-knit KC acoustic/folk scene.

Collin Rausch (who I’ve just deduced is the cousin of local bluegrass player, former Disc Traders and Recycled Sounds counter-jockey, and all-around great person Kasey Rausch) from the Abracadabras rounded out the night with a set of acoustic songs, including a few from his day-job band after it was clear that the night’s other performer, Brother Bird, wasn’t going to show.

The best part of the evening, though, was spent chatting with the guys who operate the gallery, Zac and Ben, about their plans for the space. Both have a wide range of tastes in everything from religion to music to, of course, art, and are absolutely full of motivation to do whatever it takes for as many people as possible to get the most out of their opportunity, and if you really think about it, that’s fairly rare these days.

The Skinless is a relatively new gallery in the Crossroads district, but with a little luck, it’ll have a growing presence not only in the Kansas City art district, but in the local music scene as well. They’ve got an ambitious line-up of acts coming up over the next few months, and are already thinking about long-term plans to keep the momentum moving forward.

Here’s some video of Doby’s set at Skinless shot and edited by Zac Eubank:

Doby Watson plays at Skinless Productions Gallery from Zac Eubank on Vimeo.