Republica w/ Trampolene – The Garage: Live Review

By Graham Hilling on 30th September 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Republica return to play live again after last years cancelled dates, was it worth the wait?

We’ve waited over a year from the original scheduled date for this gig. It was cancelled from its original September 2024 date. So, there is definitely an air of expectation and even some nostalgia in the air as I make my way to the Garage this evening.

TRAMPOLENE

It’s an early start this evening and as I arrive I can already here the support this evening, Trampolene, bashing out music in the main area at the venue. For some reason, I’ve never seen Trampolene before, despite some pretty decent support slots in their 12 year history. Haling from Wales and fronted by the exuberant Jack Jones, they have also had a fair bit of success headlining themselves.

Jones is like the perfect front man, he’s loud, in your face, full of energy and ever present. Bouncing around the stage from one side to another. The music is brash and solidly grounded in guitar based indie rock. Wayne Thomas on bass and Mr Williams on drums create a stable platform to layer on the guitar elements.

COMMANDING THE STAGE

As I’ve said, Jack Jones commands the stage from beginning to end, this is a man who knows how to work an audience, he manages to have have a relationship with the audience from the get-go, chatting and connecting effortlessly. At one point he manages to get his shirt caught in the mic stand, rather than it becoming an annoyance he has a good laugh about it, at one point he loses a shoe, which ends up in the crowd, only to be returned at the end of the set!

Songs like No Love, No Kisses showcase some impressive songwriting but it is in this live environment where they really come alive. The volume is cranked right up (it is ALWAYS loud in the Garage to be honest) and it is also clear that there are quite a few Trampolene fans in the crowd. The general reception is super positive and each song is greeted with roars and cheers!

The short set is closed up with Alcohol Kiss and the final element is Mr Williams emerging from behind his drumkit to do a cartwheel (apparently this is usual practice at Trampolene gigs!). The stage is barely big enough to hold the band and two drumkits but he does manage it, although in doing so he does take out some of the mics on the Republica kit at the same time!

REPUBLICA

There is a brief pause before the lights go down and Republica take to the stage. This is a brand new Republica in many respects. Ever present Saffron is joined by Maxine Cahill on guitar, Joe Norris on bass and keys and Steven Hewitt on drums. There is no doubt that Saffron is front and centre stage, with Hewitt hidden at the back of the stage behind a fairly large kit and Norris pushed to the side behind his synths, leaving Saffron and Cahill as the main focus.

The venue is not stuffed to capacity but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in enthusiasm. Fans span generations, buzzing with anticipation for a band that helped define the late ’90s with their genre-blending sound of techno-pop, punk rock, and electronica. Roars and applause greet the band as they launch into one of their oldest songs, Bloke. Memories from many years ago flood back; funny how the lyrics to these old songs just appear on your lips when you least expect them! Saffron looks incredibly happy to be performing live again and moves around the stage with some gusto. She chats to the audience informally, “You having a good evening!?“, “Let’s have it!” etc. The audience reacts as expected!

FROM RUSH HOUR WITH LOVE

From Rush Hour With Love continues in the same vein, with the audience bouncing around and singing at the tops of their voces. In addition to the obvious nostalgia, it is evident how good these songs are. They all have killer choruses that beg to be sung along with. The sound is huge, although some initial issues with very loud playback are eventually sorted, balancing playback with live performance well after a few songs. I doubt many people noticed but it was a tad annoying.

Out Of The Darkness is another classic, and very well received. Saffron chats away between songs, sometimes going off on tangents, sometimes off mic. She always looks overjoyed to be on stage though. Cahill is bashing out the riffs with some gusto and also clearly also enjoying herself.

Drop Dead Gorgeous and Picture Me follow in quick succession, many more opportunities to sing along with the great choruses in both of these songs and the crowd take full advantage of this. The sound is raw and real. Christiana Obey in particular benefits from this, with the song taking on an unexpected heavy air and drive, they should re-record it like this!

STILL THRIVING

We then get New York which takes the band in a slightly different direction. While the newer material doesn’t quite resonate like the older songs, it brings an additional dimension to the live performance and breaks the set up.

Hallelujah and Roller Skates (a song I’ve never heard before) follow. We’re back to Ready to Go for the final song of the set and much crowd participation with this classic Republica anthem. The crowd erupts, singing every word with arms raised and feet stomping. Republica leave the stage for a brief period to catch their breath but return to much applause.

Saffron has a chat with a guy at the front of the stage wearing a Betty Boo T shirt, she still looks like she is thriving in a live environment although the inter song chat is starting to become a little less coherent as the evening progresses! The encore is an opportunity to try out some new material and we get three new songs here – ARTIF Light, Glittering and Together. These show the direction of travel for Republica and while definitely an evolution they still retain the essence that made Republica great in the 90’s, catchy hooks , excellent choruses. It remains to be seen how they stand up against the multitude of classics from the first 2 albums.

TIGHT & LOUD SOUND

Throughout, the band are tight and the sound is great and really loud! As I’ve said, this evening Republica have a very raw, stripped down sound, not really like the finished recordings on the albums, this just adds to the overall live experience and in my book makes the whole evening more edgy. Saffron’s vocals shine, as does the song writing.

Finishing, predictably, with Holly, it sets the room alight and is a fitting end to the set. Republica are joined on stage by the Trampolene boys and there is a general party feel, everyone jumping and hugging on the now crowded stage.

Republica’s performance has been a masterclass in longevity and charisma. They didn’t just play the classic songs from the 90’s – they reignited and re-invented them with a rawness that brought them totally alive. The Garage proved the perfect venue for this intimate yet explosive gig, and fans were reminded of why Republica were, and, indeed, still are, “Ready to Go”. Cheesy but true – classic stuff!