Concert Review! Ra Ra Riot!

Boston has been good to me this year. Last year, I was slightly disappointed with many of the bands that came through.  Last weekend at the Middle East I was able to see Ra Ra Riot which was one of the most energetic concerts I've ever been too.  It was quite Epic. I have never seen someone rock out so hard with a cello in my life. Go see them if you get the chance.  

First the two opening bands, the Morning Benders and Walter Meego. 

If you picture Vampire Weekend with an asian lead singer and another asian bass player who doesn't dress up to the oxford prep level as much as the other band members, you have the Morning Benders. They choose keys instead of strings which adds a poppier sound but not in a bad way. The vocals also come off as folksy sometimes but again with a poppin groove. These guys are definitely worth a listen. Not to mention they are from Cali which is cool in itself. I'm usually disappointed by openers but these guys definitely held their own.

Walter Meego played second but honestly didn't really catch my attention. They did an electro 80's-ish rock thingy where the three band members switched between instruments and mixing boards with electronic things. They were definitely dancier than Morning Benders and Ra Ra Riot but the sound was too loud and I really couldn't make out much of nuances of their songs. It was just some pounding beat. Now that I'm listening to a track of their myspace it sounds waaaay better. Sadly that happens often with incompetent sound crews and bands that just don't know better. I also couldn't get a good picture of them so you can just look at them on myspace. 

Finally Ra Ra Riot. If you take anything from this post, go see Ra Ra Riot. They put on a amazing live show. The whole band keeps energy up like its no ones business. With a band like this the balance of sound is the key to the show. The strings can't get drowned out by the drums. The vocals need to be heard. Needless to say this was no problem for the New York rockers. Check the pics. Chicks rocking out with string instruments = sexy.  Though the pictures are kinda on the blurry side (the show was that good) you can still see the sexiness. I already gave you a taste of their music so I'll throw a remix they did of a Tokyo Police Club song. And I think I have a live track of theirs somewhere on my computer. 

Leave comments and let me know what you think of the musak people. I'm seriously just guessing whats good. Let me know what you like. It helps.

The Morning Benders - Waiting For The War

The Morning Benders - I Was Wrong

Walter Meego - Forever

Walter Meego - Girls

Tokyo Police Club - Juno (Ra Ra Riot/Andrew Maury Remix)

Ra Ra Riot - Oh La (Live)