Auto-tuning, kaleidolooping, 808s - since so much music today is more processed than a cheeseburger from the Golden Arches, seeing a gig where the band is better live than on your iPod is more than just refreshing, its cathartic. This I came to feel during the Ra Ra Riot show last night at the belligerently hip Bowery club, The Box. The band had more than just energy and stage presence, they put out a sound that filled the room in a way that something from Pioneer or Bang & Olufsen can't ever replicate.
The Thrillcall backed show kicked off with a performance by Lissy Trullie that, for lack of better term, kicked ass. The waif like singer-song played a fiery set that didn't just warm up the crowd, it sent the audience into a frenzy. By the time she left the stage and the lights went up, the crowd had almost doubled in size.
After purchasing an Amstel Light that I am now paying off on an installment plan, I fought my way back through the crowd. After taking the stage, Wes Miles said that the show would have to be a brief but that it'd be great. It was in fact the best quickie of my life. The band played with a passion and verve that is lost on Compact Discs or MP3s. Miles belted into the microphone while Rebecca Zeller played so intensely, the hairs in her bowstring frayed and snapped. I think it was "Boy" that got the crowd into singing along, but by that I time I was too taken in to realize that there were other people around me. Though the band didn't have time for an encore, I left satisfied. Their live performance was so zealous and passionate, I needed a comedown cigarette after it was all over.
