Before the show started, Kaitlin, our
delightful photographer, and myself were discussing how some music is
less accessible. She cited Snoop Dogg a la the 1990s with his murder
scandal. “I'd rather get murdered by Snoop Dogg than punched
by Chris Brown now-that guy is just a joke.” Other than being born
in the 80s, Kaitlin showed the manufacturing of “celebrities” in
current media are left emitting the same bland aftertaste. Those
that refuse to be formed by hype machines pay a steep price for
keeping their soul—radios are reluctant to play them and success
means surviving on the fickle waves of the indie and college radio
seas.
Ra Ra Riot has proved to be a name to
know, producing a blend of pop and rock that assaults but not
insults. They Syracuse-formed band could be a cousin of Los
Campasinos!, what with their girl on violins and cellos and angsty
but catchy tunes. Wes Miles sported an amazingly pink shirt to sing
in, while the bejeweled violin made it seem that Rebecca Zeller was
sometimes snuggling a misshapen disco ball. There really isn't a good
reason Ra Ra Riot hasn't had more success, they're catchy songs and
aloof stage presence are not foreign to an audience—where they
differ is the thought and execution of the music (in that they do
both). Playing to a small crowd, the band played a full set and I had
to remind myself a few times that this wasn't even the main event.
Seafarers worth their salt know !!! as
the dance-party of a band with a funny name. Though hipsters don't
enjoy looking vulnerable, it is worth it to explain the punctuation
(if one doesn't know it is pronounce 'chk chk chk') for they are put
out solid albums and amazing shows. During the first song, the
vocalist Nic Offer hopped off the stage and went dancing with
audience members. This delighted and terrified the girls near me; but
when a good looking fellow wearing skivvies starts to dance with you,
it is your American duty to dance right back. With his curly locks,
stinky tee shirt, undies and loafers, Offer didn't treat Eugene like
a lame tour stop,
more like we were a crowd of VIPs who got to hang with the band.
After the initial jam, a general sense
of giddiness set into the crowd. A guy I would have considered a
'bro' or the 'I never dance' type fully busted some moves in front of
his friends who were clearly stunned. But the guy didn't care because
no valid human would stand still during “Californiyeah”! The
night solidified for me just how good their album Thr!!!ler is, and
thanks to Offer's instructions, I'll be working in my jazz hands
whenever I hear my favorite song from the album, “Even When the
Water's Cold.” It was also good to see Mario Andreoni get love from
Offer and the audience, he's definitely the coolest cucumber on stage
but is responsible for the most hip shakes. !!! may not be breaking
into the top 40 any time soon (though I would support that), but in
the wide open sea of music, they are on the best party boat afloat.
2 comments:
Was a great show, it's awesome to get bands coming to Eugene rather than skipping up on the way to Portland.
That was such a friggin great show! My feet hurt from dancing but it was so worth it :)
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