Review & photos by Rachel Jablonski
Certain brands of cat food were recalled last week due to poisons that
were somehow contaminating pet food supplies. Cats were dying from this
outbreak which was eventually identified as a problem originating in
manufacturing plants. This recent event seems to be a great analogy
for another feline related entity – Canada’s Kittie. Founders
of the band, the Lander sisters, plagued with line-up changes and label
discrepancies over and over again, refuse to be poisoned by obstacles
and have avoided dying out of the metal music scene many times over.
Venturing to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kittie performed at the Reverb in support of their latest release, Funeral For Yesterday on their own newly formed label called Kiss of… I mean X of Infamy Records. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Hopefully I don’t get sued by Kiss Catalog Ltd., the owner of trademarks relating to the band KISS, whose attorneys issued a cease-and-desist letter to Kittie forcing them to change the name of their label from “Kiss” to “X.” KISS seems to continually stick their lengthy tongues out at the world, taking legal action to protect the use of their precious name, which just so happens to be a rather common word. Pathetic.
Overcoming this obstacle as well, Kittie has moved forth with two
new members joining the band. Bassist Trish Doan, the replacement for
Jennifer Arroyo now in the band Suicide City, as well as new guitarist
Tara McLeod connect with the Lander sisters for a stage presence that
can’t be touched – literally.
“Don’t you dare touch her again or I’ll kick your ass!” Kittie’s tour manager warned as he came on stage when a kid up front apparently reached for guitarist McLeod. Though this incident did not seem to faze the guitarist, the kid quickly left the front row and headed to the back of the venue to listen to the rest of the band’s set.
Consisting mostly of songs off of Funeral For Yesterday, the 15 song set also included the band's hit "What I Always Wanted" and the title track off of their Oracle release, a melody of songs from Spit including "Spit," "Charlotte," and "Brackish," and a couple of songs off Until the End. The show was a hit for the sold out crowd in Cedar Falls as Kittie once again claws their way into the metal music scene.