school night: ra ra riot @ kimmel center

best school night outing: ra ra riot @ nyu's kimmel center. i'm not a student, but i do pretend to be one to get $10 tickets. :) thanks mollie for getting me and saki tickets for this nyu affair.

we were lucky to survive with our hearing intact after the set by a place to bury strangers. i'm not the type of gal that wears ear plugs, but i sure wish i had some last night. anyhoot, saki and i were able to burrow through the sea of extremely tall nyu undergrads to get a nice spot in the middle. saki got this nice snap of wes crooning on her iphone. i forgot my camera. boo on shar. we realized that we saw cellist alex in the crowd walking by us pre-show because she was wearing a very interesting outfit complete with sequined black mini.

ra ra riot covered most, if not, all of the rhumb line. ending with my fav, dying is fine. here is a video of them in paris performing a take away show.


RaRaRiot - Dying is fine - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

slb: ra ra riot and the antlers

belated concert venue: gilman opera house at bam. shar was wowed by the grandeur of the space. i've been to bam cafe, but not the opera house. i was more than happy to have my first time at the venue be for the antlers and ra ra riot. i'd seen both the bands before, but tonight's gig was a whole other monster.

when peter, darby and mike hit the stage, it was a stark contrast to the cozy nature in which i saw them last time. the acoustics in the venue were suited the crescendo of melodious cacophony.
that's an oxymoron, but it's really the right description for it. the applause throughout prompted peter to say how he was going to miss brooklyn when they leave in a few days. awwww, we'll miss you too. they'll be in my hometown on monday. hey home friends, go see the antlers at the warfield. you won't be sorry. peter will have you at his falsetto.

ra ra riot was suited to play an opera house with alexandra and rebecca on electric cello and violin. in fact, they were joined on stage with additional strings and horns. the gang played a ton from the rhumb line, like "can you tell", "ghosts under rocks", and "oh la". during my fav "dying is fine", wes doled out high fives across the audience hugging the stage. they also played three new tunes from their forthcoming album due out this summer. the sextet was in fine form and looking forward to more new tunes.

ra ra riot at celebrate brooklyn

best last hurrah: ra ra riot closed out the last free concert at prospect park. it was my first time seeing them outdoors. saw them previous here and there. was a lil bittersweet because saki was not with me. she introed me to wes and gang. in her stead was denise, another saki convert and ol' high school bud. shar was dancing along especially to "ghost under rocks", "oh la" and "everest". the encore, however was sing along time as wes declared we are going to have some fun. he barreled into a cover of steve winwood's "valerie". they closed with my fav "dying is fine". great tunes, awesome setting, and good friends (mike, jen, sue, denise, marco and fadi). perfect brooklyn summer memory of 2011.

first listen: ra ra riot

shar's psyched for this new goodness. going to see the r3 gang at end of the road. will compare to ny gigs. will be missing my ra ra super fan saki though.

antlers in paris

wunderlust moment of anticipation: antlers on avenue parmentier, paris. it was just a few months ago when shar saw antlers at soundfix during cmj and i'm psyched to see them next month with ra ra riot for the sounds like brooklyn music fest at bam. stumbled upon this gem and it's reminding me of a similar vid, also produced by la blogotheque, of tallest man on earth in the music inn.

i love the way the production was described by its director nat:

To film The Antlers, you have to protect them, wrap them in a cocoon, roll up the bedclothes, close the doors, silence the outside world. It’s a sweet and affabable music that only hatches when it’s swaddled and protected, taking the time to unfold itself slowly.

The Antlers - Shiva - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

shar hearts daytrotter

required listening: best of daytrotter 2010. the kids at daytrotter have complied the best tracks from their stellar sessions of last year. daytrotter introduced me to tennis and dale earnhart jr. jr. last year and shar is forever thankful. the compilation includes others like beach house, local natives, and ra ra riot. if that wasn't enough, they have also posted a reader's choice selection.