Ra Ra Riot - Water Rats, London
In preparation of the release in the UK of their debut album “The Rhumb Line” in late September, the highly enjoyable sextet from Syracuse, New York popped over to play four gigs in four days.
Sadly Ra Ra Riot only played London dates on this occasion and a busy Water Rats, the second gig of the four, saw an excellent performance of melodic mix of pop and indie, all complete with a violin and a cello! Having been described as a happier version of Arcade Fire, it surely can’t be long till more people catch on to just how good Ra Ra Riot are live.
Full of high energy, fun interaction with the crowd and a great stage presence, even if the stage seemed a bit small for all of them it did not stop vocalist Wesley Miles and bassists Mathieu Santos dancing around all the time. Kicking off with a song which is not on the album “A Manner To Act” the crowd were soon dancing away and continued to do so all throughout the set as the band played all the tracks off the album finishing the set off brilliantly with excellent 'Ghosts Under Rocks' and 'Dying is Fine'.
Then what appeared to be an impromptu encore then ensued as the crowd, including some who had travelled over from America to see the band, demanded more. Lets hope Ra Ra Riot return soon after the release of The Rhumb Line with a full tour, even if it is nice to have this band all to ourselves here in the capital.