Ra Ra Riot has created, in my opinion, one of the best albums of 2008. The Rhumb Line is full of wonderfully written lyrics and songs that can evoke every type of emotion yet still make you want to dance in your automobile while you are stuck in traffic. The past few years for Ra Ra Riot have been a rollercoaster and they have received much attention for the tragic passing of their drummer and songwriter, John Pike. But they decided to keep going and seemed to go even stronger with their signing to amazing Seattle based record label, Barsuk and the release of The Rhumb Line. The album includes new versions of songs that had been released on their self-titled EP, new favorites such as “Too Too Too Fast”, and even a Kate Bush cover of “Suspended in Gaffa”. The band, made up of Wes Miles, Alexandra Lawn, Rebecca Zeller, Milo Bonacci, Mathieu Santos, and current drummer Gabriel Duquette, have been touring in support of the new album for the last few months and even appeared for late night talk show hosts like David Letterman and Conan O’ Brien.
On an extremely chilly Friday night in Nashville, I got the chance to see Ra Ra Riot perform and see if the live reviews I had been reading about their show had been true. In support of the band was Princeton and So Many Dynamos, who both put on a good show and were fantastic openers for the band. There was a good turn out of people at Exit/In when Ra Ra Riot took the stage. They started the show with “Each Year” and everything sounded immaculate. Wes Miles’ vocals sound perfect next to Alexandra Lawn’s cello and Rebecca Zeller’s violin. The band played all of the Rhumb Line and EP favorite, “A Manner to Act”. They had amazing stage presence and they all looked like they were having a great time. One aspect that adds so much to their show is how they commingle on the stage and are constantly moving around. After leaving the stage, the crowd cheered for an encore, and the band definitely delivered with an epic cover of Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love”. Ra Ra Riot’s live show is phenomenal, and if they come to your town, I highly suggest you go see them for yourself.
Before the show I had the chance to interview the lovely Alexandra Lawn who plays cello for the band. When asked about how they got involved with Barsuk, she said their manager contacted them and they came out when the band was recording in Seattle. “Ever since then we’ve been one happy family with them,” said Alexandra. I asked why they did new recordings of the songs that had already appeared on the EP, and Alexandra said they “wanted a cohesive album” and, “I think some of those songs had matured during the live shows”. Alexandra has been playing the cello since she was three years old and lists classical musicians as her main musical influences. When asked to describe Ra Ra Riot’s sound, she chose the word, “rich”, and said, “It plays back to the really good pop music, and what pop music used to be about, like the Beatles, The Police, and U2”. She has loved getting to travel and see the United States while on tour, and says “Oh, La” is one of her favorite songs to play live. She lists current tour mates, Princeton and So Many Dynamos, as some of her favorite bands to tour with, along with The Virgins, Tokyo Police Club, and Vampire Weekend, saying, “They are all just really fun, great people, and great bands”. As for Ra Ra Riot’s future plans, she said, “Keep on doing what we’re doing, I think, as long as we’re still having fun, then we’re going to keep doing this as hard as we can.” Also, Alexandra lists Britney Spears, hot fries, and rain boots as guilty pleasures and loves to spend time with her dogs when she is not touring.
On an extremely chilly Friday night in Nashville, I got the chance to see Ra Ra Riot perform and see if the live reviews I had been reading about their show had been true. In support of the band was Princeton and So Many Dynamos, who both put on a good show and were fantastic openers for the band. There was a good turn out of people at Exit/In when Ra Ra Riot took the stage. They started the show with “Each Year” and everything sounded immaculate. Wes Miles’ vocals sound perfect next to Alexandra Lawn’s cello and Rebecca Zeller’s violin. The band played all of the Rhumb Line and EP favorite, “A Manner to Act”. They had amazing stage presence and they all looked like they were having a great time. One aspect that adds so much to their show is how they commingle on the stage and are constantly moving around. After leaving the stage, the crowd cheered for an encore, and the band definitely delivered with an epic cover of Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love”. Ra Ra Riot’s live show is phenomenal, and if they come to your town, I highly suggest you go see them for yourself.
Before the show I had the chance to interview the lovely Alexandra Lawn who plays cello for the band. When asked about how they got involved with Barsuk, she said their manager contacted them and they came out when the band was recording in Seattle. “Ever since then we’ve been one happy family with them,” said Alexandra. I asked why they did new recordings of the songs that had already appeared on the EP, and Alexandra said they “wanted a cohesive album” and, “I think some of those songs had matured during the live shows”. Alexandra has been playing the cello since she was three years old and lists classical musicians as her main musical influences. When asked to describe Ra Ra Riot’s sound, she chose the word, “rich”, and said, “It plays back to the really good pop music, and what pop music used to be about, like the Beatles, The Police, and U2”. She has loved getting to travel and see the United States while on tour, and says “Oh, La” is one of her favorite songs to play live. She lists current tour mates, Princeton and So Many Dynamos, as some of her favorite bands to tour with, along with The Virgins, Tokyo Police Club, and Vampire Weekend, saying, “They are all just really fun, great people, and great bands”. As for Ra Ra Riot’s future plans, she said, “Keep on doing what we’re doing, I think, as long as we’re still having fun, then we’re going to keep doing this as hard as we can.” Also, Alexandra lists Britney Spears, hot fries, and rain boots as guilty pleasures and loves to spend time with her dogs when she is not touring.
1 comment:
Missed the show, I'll have to check them out next time.
Thanks for the post.
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