Concert Review: Ra Ra Riot Celebrate Ten Years Of Great Music At Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Ra Ra Riot played Music Hall Of Williamsburg in what seemed to be a giant celebration of “The First Step”. Just three doors down, in what lead singer Wes Miles chuckled is now a J.Crew, a bunch of friends gathered to create a self-titled EP, with hopes that it would take them places. Ten years later they played a sold out – show celebrating that EP that took them around the world. It was a night of full-circle moments where Ra Ra Riot had a crowd of love they accumulated in over 10 years of world tours, four studio albums, and really good indie music.
Ra Ra Riot – Water (Official Video)
It is weird to review Ra Ra Riot’s 10th anniversary show because what could go wrong? NOTHING! The crowd knew every single word to their EP and their later hits, of which the night felt like a magnificent sing-a-long. The readiness of the audience to celebrate and share in Ra Ra Riot’s accomplishment gave the night a generous. gracious feel. We were all happy that a bunch of friends took “The First Step” to a dream, and since, then, have kept on striding. I am convinced that the first step, in any dream, is the hardest because it seems like such an end. Whether you succeed or fail from it, you cannot see beyond it, and thus cannot truly imagine how well you will handle whatever follows; for better or worse. Yet, as you saw Miles sing “Ghost On The Rocks” and “Dying Is Fine” with a sunny confidence and almost Elvis- like swag, you could not imagine that, at one time, he was singing these songs as an opening act or in a bar eager to win-over a crowd, but now he HAS them. What I loved most about his performance is that he just grabbed the mic, and for the rest of the night it was just them. He would sway and dance the microphone like every lady wishes to be moved in a ballroom, and he did it with ease. After all, he and all of Ra Ra Riot are seasoned musicians. They are not the kids wondering about tomorrow, because they are living for today and themselves, which was something felt in the rest of their tracks.
As they progressed from their self-titled EP to their future hits like Binary Mind (from Beta Love) and Absolutely (from Need Your Light), you saw that their progression as musicians was reflective of their progressions as human beings. Their lyrics and sound transformed to ones of ownership and fighting to take reign of your life even when “the fight” feels lost. “Dance With Me”, “Bad Times”, and “I Need Your Light” are from their later studio albums, and each vibrantly play to a sense of resistance and resilience in going for the love you want; either from yourself or someone else. Their initial EP, though sonically bright, had darker undertones in verbosity. Yet, they grew in bigger, “poppier”, and even magical instrumentals/ words that encourage people to take their own first steps towards a dream. Hence, I would see Ra Ra Riot a thousand times again, in concert, because they are excellent, but I do feel that the electricity of that night came from celebrating a few good human beings realizing a great dream. For More Information On Ra Ra Riot Click Here.
