There’s a certain level of sweet I can take when it comes to music, and Ra Ra Riot rides that line between chocolate pie and sticky toffee pudding, but that level of sweetness always makes for a rather joyful live performance full of adorable banter, loving stage presence, and gracious thank-yous. Playing to a sold-out crowd on Thursday, Ra Ra Riot brought along Silverlake, California natives Pepper Rabbit and Givers, who hail from Lafayette, Louisiana.
As Pepper Rabbit set up their gear, the stage was inexplicably full of equipment – four drumkits, enough speakers for a show much larger than Neumo’s, several keyboards, and a clarinet.
A clarinet?
Yes, a clarinet.
What I quite liked about Pepper Rabbit was the impeccable use of the loop pedal, which in the first song made the clarinet this underlying hint of something you don’t often hear in indie rock. I’ve heard plenty of brass and strings before, but not a lot of woodwinds, and it sounded really cool. The loop pedal made Pepper Rabbit definitely sound like more than three people up on stage, which can often get monotonous without some clever mixing.
Along with the clarinet, we were also given the treat of the ukulele, but not in a cheesy Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole way. The ukulele was plugged in, and added an interesting charm to the music, which already had plenty of complexity. Think of it as avant garde folk, and you’ll get a sense of Pepper Rabbit’s sound. Or better yet, you can go check out their MySpace page.
After Pepper Rabbit was done with their set, they cleared out whatever gear they had to make room for Givers. It was funny seeing the various members of the band and the Neumo’s employees trying to maneuver themselves over the guitars and hi-hats. Lead guitarist Taylor Guarisco was quite friendly to me and my friend Lori who were holding our spots up front to have a perfect view for photos. It’s always nice when bands appreciate what we do.
This band – I’ll tell you – they’re intense. If I could come up with another word to describe their live performance, I would, but intense was the first thing I said after the show on Thursday. With Guarisco’s eyes pointing to the sky and his tongue never staying in his mouth and percussionist Tif Lamson‘s frantic beating of the drums and fervent belting of the lyrics, you’d think that Givers was leading a religious revival rather than a rock concert.
Givers definitely brought the southern passion to their Afro-beat folk rock, and at times I thought Guarisco would break the strings on his old and weathered Gibson acoustic guitar. It seriously looked like one that blues musicians would have played back in the 60s – it was that used. The crowd was so into it that I was afraid they’d upstaged the headliners, but shouldn’t it always be the goal of any band to be the best of the night, even they aren’t the headliners?
It sure seemed like Givers did that. I mean, not only did Lamson basically shred the ukulele, but during the infectious “Up Up Up,” the flute made an appearance. For a little insight on how good they actually were, you can take a listen HERE. I mean, the recordings are great, but still nothing compared to their live show. If this was their first time in Seattle, I can only imagine what it would be like to see them in their hometown.
After we were thoroughly mystified by Givers’ psychedelic Afro-pop, Ra Ra Riot and the Neumo’s employees virtually cleared the stage. It was convenient though, because that way no equipment would be blocking our view from getting good photos.
Ra Ra Riot walked on stage to the heavy rock song of an introduction, and started off the show with a rather odd choice, “Massachusetts,” a song that starts out slow and gets exceedingly more energetic throughout the song. I would have preferred something with a little more pep to start out with, like “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” but after that, they picked up the energy.
On to “Run My Mouth,” which instantly called for a sing-along with all the teenage girls shoved up front with me. Seriously, these kids were reacting to Ra Ra Riot like they were Hansen back in 1998. Wow, that shows how old I am.
It was nice to hear at least one song off their first EP, “Each Year,” but although I was hoping for the punky “A Manner to Act,” which they played in Portland back in September when I saw them. A couple of the highlights included lead singer Wes Miles crooning on “Do You Remember,” “Kansai,” and when cellist Alexandra Dawn took the mic for a particularly passionate rendition of “You and I Know.”
The lovely singing from Miles and Dawn were held strong by the smooth strings of violinist Rebecca Zeller, the peppy rhythm by bassist Mathieu Santos and drummer Gabriel Duquette, and the infallible melody from guitarist Milo Bonacci. Their synergy on stage made for some particularly cute moments, when Miles went around and rubbed Santos’ and Bonacci’s heads, and nearing the end when he jabbed at Bonacci with the mic.
I’ll tell you, there is nothing unpleasant about this band.
Finishing out their regular set with their first single off The Orchard, “Boy,” and another of my favorites off the album, “Too Dramatic,” they left the stage after graciously thanking both Pepper Rabbit and Givers for coming on tour with them. And as soon as they went down the stage behind the stage at Neumo’s, all the crazed fangirls standing behind me screamed so loud I almost regretted not bringing earplugs this time.
But since we’d seen the set list and one song in particular was missing from their set so far, Ra Ra Riot predictably stepped back on stage for the encore of the phenomenal “Ghosts Under Rocks,” and “Dying is Fine.” And when those songs were over, Miles ran across the front of the stage to give all the people surrounding me high fives. I ducked down to let the girls behind me get their high fives, in which they responded like Hansen fangirls, “oh my god he TOUCHED ME!”
Not to sound jaded or anything, but after having seen so many bands, I find that so hilarious. “I’m never washing this hand again!”
But I guess I have no room to talk, because I used to be that way. And I can imagine, if I’d seen Ra Ra Riot when I was 16, I’d have reacted the same way.
