A few months back a friend of mine had two tickets to see some band I'd never heard of. I'm always game for new music and I hadn't seen the kid for a while so I decided to tag along. Luckily my friend has exquisite taste in music and as he said himself, "this band is about to hit it big." The second Ra Ra Riot stepped on stage I was excited: a) I have an inexplicable love of stringed instruments and b) I have an inconsolable jones for geek musicians...Rivers Cuomo...*shudder*and the guitarist definitely fits the bill. Needless to say, I haven't been able to stop listening to them since.
I know I'm not the only Ra Ra Riot fan, but for those of you haven't quite reached stalker status, here's the break down: Ra Ra Riot hails from Syracuse, New York, and consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, cellist Alexandra Lawn, violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Gabriel Duquette.
Now, before I go on to talk about the actual music, I need to get something off of my chest. I love to see a good band play live; I like it even better when a good band is even better live. Ra Ra Riot is energetic and captivating on stage. The whole band is enthusiastic and looks to be genuinely enjoying each other's company and the music they're making. That said, though I absolutely love the way Alexandra Lawn sways back and forth with her cello, I have to say-- dammit Alexandra I want you to be hotter. Don't get me wrong, the girl is sick on the cello and she's got a slammen' bod but jesus christ I don't want to see you dancing around in an f'ing romper.
Observe:
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As you can see, not only are they impractical, they are named after an article of children's clothing. So please, I beg you, wear some normal clothes. I wont even bitch about a checked scarf and/or cons, just leave the romper at home.
Back to the music--
The band didn't form until 2006, but In 2007, they made their first appearance at South by Southwest. Despite a pretty horrific set back, the band's original drummer John Ryan Pike drowned in 2007, Ra Ra Riot released their debut album The Rhumb Line on Barsuk Records in 2008.
The band are currently on tour with Death Cab for Cutie & Cold War Kids until July 31, 2009 and have released a few new live video recordings and are tweeting occassionally @RaRaRiot.
My Suggestion
Get your hands on everything you can find; here's something to whet your appetit:
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