Not that it ever really stopped me in medical school, but having some more free time on my hands these days has certainly revived the ol' concert calender. It's been quite fruitful so far with great shows by Grizzly Bear (at the oldest synagogue in DC, no less!), the Silver Jews, and Cut Copy. But, in the past few days I've gone to two shows that stand out as nothing less then remarkable.
Sunday night, I ventured out to the Black Cat to see Ra Ra Riot, a band that released their first LP
The Rhumb Line a few months back to very positive reviews. It's a record that I have returned to again and again recently (almost as much as the new Okkervil River record,
The Stand Ins) for it's sound that is nothing short of joyous. The band is clearly grounded by the dual stringed attack of the cello and violin which certainly lends a great deal of emotional depth to the band's sound. The lead singer sounds eerily similar to Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend, to which Ra Ra Riot has been compared to numerous times by the press.
After suffering through what only could be described as ridiculous noise (the opening band, Walter Meego), Ra Ra Riot came on stage, and I was immediately struck by how young they looked. They could not be any more than a year or two out of college (the band met at Syracuse) and they launched into their first song, jumping around onstage, smiles on their faces, singing along (a la Arcade Fire). They were exuberant. They were clearly enjoying themselves and seemed enamored by the fact that they were playing for such a large crowd and were being broadcast on NPR, no less!
I stood there watching the show and couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was like to see a band like REM straight out of college, touring off of their first record. Not that I'm making any comparisons to REM's sound, but there's something about Ra Ra Riot that leads me to believe that this band has something special. Maybe it was their energy on stage or maybe it's the strength of their album, but I really hope it works out for these guys. They've been through a lot (they lost their drummer to an apparent drowning accident recently) and seem to have drawn a lot of their energy from out of that tragedy.
They closed the show with a song that might be a new tune...at the very least, it's not off of their record. But, it was a great closing song that got the crowd dancing, and should be a sign of only good things to come.
You can listen to a recording of the show on npr's website here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95519776
Now, last night, I went to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at a TINY venue in DC called DC9. Apparently, CYHSY decided to play a series of shows at small clubs in Baltimore, DC, and Philly. There were probably around 150 people at the show (for reference, the set up was similar to the Earl, but maybe a third of the size) and we were definitely crammed in, fighting to get as close as possible to the band who were practically on the same level as us.
And they rocked. Maybe it was the size or how close we were to the band, but I've seen these guys two times previously, and they never sounded as loud and strong as they did last night. I can only describe it as what I assume early hardcore punk shows were like - when the music was so loud and propulsive that it drew the crowd into moving and dancing. During songs like Yellow Country Teeth and Tidal Wave of Young Blood, everyone was moving and going crazy...you could seriously feel the floor shaking.
They also played about 6 new songs, which all sounded really strong. Though I enjoyed their last record,
Some Loud Thunder, the album was generally weak compared to their self-titled debut. But, I'm so excited now for the new record. Though, talking to the bass player after the show, we learned that they haven't begun recording the new record, so who knows how long it will be before it comes out. But, if it sounds anything like last night, it's sure to be awesome.
And awesome is what we aim for.
