I’m on a streak! I’ve seen a few great bands in the big city over the past couple of years and last August was a humdinger! I hadn’t been to the Empty Bottle in years and hadn’t seen Shiner since the 90s! They have a different drummer (since the last time I saw them) and an additional guitarist, but the core is the same and they sounded phenomenal!

Back in the early 90s, bands like Hum and Weezer were turning the gain up to 11 while not caving in to the previous decade’s rock star trappings. They sounded superhuman but looked like you or me. I think this is why grunge became a thing – mascara and Aqua Net were replaced with flannels and jeans. If you wanted to go the extra mile, you could do the work and grow your hair long.

Shiner seemed like regular dudes, a power trio (at the time) from Kansas City who seemed to find ways to add or boost the low end of their songs. There was nothing lacking from the highs or mids, mind you, but they might have been early to understand the potential range of the new digital tools and media at the time. (Compact disks, or CDs for you young’uns.)

The recordings matched pretty well how they sounded live, which was massive. Not lumbering, but agile and adroit. Time signatures were sometimes odd, but while they were heavy and playing challenging compositions, there was always this feeling of groove.

So, back to the present – the fellas in Shiner moved on to other projects in the early 2000s but did play a reunion sometime around 2012. (I missed that, although I heard about it.) Then, recently, they released a whole new record and did a tour. I missed the Chicago dates, but I was also not completely out of my COVID hibernation phase. Earlier this year, I saw a couple fantastic bands live (Kowloon Walled City and Part Chimp) and started getting itchy for more. Turns out Shiner was about to tour again. Perfect!

I also hadn’t been to Empty Bottle since the early aughts, so it was nice to get back there, too. The show was great on all levels, including sound. Even with the bottom-heavy signature Shiner sound, it was mixed to perfection. Kudos to the band and the house sound crew!

Anyhow, they just remastered their debut album and it sounds fantastic. I’ve listened to it a million times and I’m hearing different stuff with the new mix. If you’re not familiar with Shiner, you’re in for a treat!

Check out the full audio album here: https://shinerkc.bandcamp.com/album/splay-2024