Something Like Sound

Two weeks ago we ran a music review about an up-and-coming music act from Syracuse, New York, named Ra Ra Riot.

Coincidentally, Ra Ra Riot happened to be playing in Denver this last week. Their new album The Rhumb Line, recently released on Barsuk Records, has received excellent reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine and has potential to make this band the next big thing.

The Hi-Dive, a self-proclaimed “Indie Rock Bar,” is a cozy venue buried in the heart of southern Denver. What the venue lacked in size, it made up for in sound. Not only was the show well mixed, but also comfortably loud.

The first opening act, Pepi Ginsberg, was smooth and original. Her songs told stories about a variety of topics, including tides and escaped convicts. Inventive lyrics, coupled with Ginsberg’s distinct voice, made for an enjoyable opener.

Following Ginsberg was the experimental-electro-pop group Walter Meego. Armed with a plethora of vintage synthesizers, effects pedals, and drum machines, Walter Meego got the entire venue moving and dancing. They played with intensity and did not stop between songs.

Finally it was time for the headliner: Ra Ra Riot. Somehow the entire six-member band fit on the small stage and did not injure each other during the course of the night. As soon as their set started, they jumped right in to some of their most upbeat numbers. After playing through about three songs, they finally stopped to introduce themselves and then continued right on through their set.

Ra Ra Riot is still a fairly new band on the indie-pop music scene, and this was evident in the choice of set list. While most bands could go back years into their repertoire, Ra Ra Riot only has an EP and a newly released album of material. This fact, however, did not hamper the group as they played through almost every song they have released. Some of the highlights included a stunning rendition of “Winter ’05,” “Dying Is Fine,” “Ghost Under Rocks,” and my personal favorite “Too Too Too Fast” (which was performed with a good mix of synthesizer). Their recordings really do not do them justice, because the heavy hitting dance-beat drumming was really more prominent during their live set.

As their set came to a close, the crowd would not stop cheering. “Alright, we’ll save you the trouble of going off stage then coming back on again,” said singer Wes Miles. After a quick encore the night was over.