Tapes n’ Tapes blew into The Firebird on August 21 and lit up the sweating crowd with an 18-song set, a tour de-force that rocked from top to bottom.

As soon as guitarist and vocalist, Josh Grier, sauntered onstage and told the audience that The Firebird’s air conditioners were down, a collective sigh was uttered. Despite this, the band powered through the soupish heat to deliver a show that was not only unencumbered by the oppressive temperature of the sardine-packed venue, but also rather propelled by it.

Tapes n’ Tapes crushed into “10 Gallon Ascots,” a fan favorite on the band’s 2006 debut, ‘The Loon.’ The song swung from its lazy, sweet, nigh lilting verse to its drum-punched, head-clattering chorus packed full with heavy staccato bass. The crowd chewed each morsel as they wiped their brows and clapped. “Headshock” featured wondrous fidelity, with its thumping bass, guitar jangle, and hearty, yelped vocals.

“Cowbell” opened to cheers with its fat bass note pulls that segued into the bop, bop, bop of the snare drum and Josh Grier’s maniacal, “I’ve been a better lover with your mother.” The audience took zero umbrage and probably whole-heartedly agreed. The crowd exploded when Tapes n’ Tapes busted into the opening chords of “Conquest,” a single off 2008’s ‘Walk It Off.’ The crowd rocked along, wiped their faces with their T-shirts or camisoles, hiked up their jeans, ripped off their oppressive plaid and bled their love into the music. The heat became a catalyst for community.

Tapes n’ Tapes battled on through the heat with extraordinary energy and professionalism.  “Hang Them All” jolted the crowd with stair-running bass lines, drum rolls and disco perfection of its question-riddled chorus. “Omaha” was the quiet center of the set and offered gentle piano, whispered vocals and a heart-sleeved ethos. The crowd swayed and sang, “I’ve been waiting awhile,” and evidently they had, and their enraptured eyes sealed it.

The set rolled on with “Outro,” “Time Of Songs,” and “Just Drums,” which featured stutter-stop guitar, thick-as-icing bass, pirate laughs amidst the singing, and a heady build that rendered fuzzed guitar work and a crashing drum crescendo.

“Jakov’s Suite” found multi-instrumentalist, Matt Kretzman, climbing on one of the amps and leaping over front man, Josh Grier, at the song’s intense high-water mark. The drenched and dripping, Tapes n’ Tapes shut down the evening with fan favorite “Insistor.” The song barreled ahead with a heavier than normal, faster drum line and swirled nicely into its epic chorus filled with yelps, Dracula keys, and clobbering, marching bass work. Midway, the whole thing swelled from whispered vocals into Josh screaming “Ahhhhh!” as the song pimple-exploded and showered the audience with syrup-thick, dirty, good-old fashioned rock and roll.

When the song clasped shut, Tapes n’ Tapes raked their arms over their foreheads and thwacked a salty dollop of sweat where they had been rocking and departed for the dressing room, but not before copious and gracious thanks to the audience.

Tapes n’ Tapes rocked without air conditioning in a way few bands can. Rather than whining about the stifling heat like brown-eye-plugged prima donnas, they harnessed the gloppy rainforest energy and churned out a set that every audience member lapped up like butterflies suck sweat. Get out and see Tapes n’ Tapes. And oh yeah, make sure to grab their newest record when it drops (they hope) near the end of 2010.