The Reputation new song Live at Memorial Union Terrace Madison, WI July 15, 2006 PODCAST EXCLUSIVE!

The first show I saw after moving to Madison almost four years ago was the Reputation playing at the Terrace. They were touring in support of their self-titled debut album, which I'd just found out about after having gotten into Elizabeth Elmore's last band, Sarge, after their break-up. I didn't know anybody here and was just kind of sinking into myself at the time. I got there early and got a seat at the front, from whence I took a bunch of pictures of the band and their opening act, the Beatings, and wrote a love letter that failed.

I've seen them several more times since then, always at free shows at the Memorial Union, and they continue to impress me. Usually the sound is awful, as it often is as these Union shows, but last Saturday's Terrace show sounded great. This new song, presumably from their next record, provided an energetic opening blast. The bombast that they put into their Terrace shows is all the more impressive when you consider that, as Elmore told me after the set, almost nobody there has heard of them or cares that much about the show. Even if it's just for the dozen or so of us who wound up dancing in front of the stage, they always put it all out there.