Ra Ra Riot: Concert Review

Band: Ra Ra Riot Openers: Yellow Ostrich and Delicate Steve

Date: November 11, 2011

Location: The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA

Yeah! I finally saw a concert last night! on 11/11/11. Such a lucky day! =D

Preconceived Thoughts of the Band: I got introduced to Ra Ra Riot by a friend of mine back freshman year in college (same band that introduced me to Fleet Foxes and countless others.) I totally fell in love with their album. It had warm, full string sound in all their songs which is definitely a plus for me. Can You Tell? and Too Too Too Fast are the big winners in the album. Their sophomore album "The Orchard" didn't do too much for me. It was a lot slower than their first and it wasn't as catchy as their first. The only song that I can get off from that album is  Too Dramatic for inside jokes only. 

What Actually Happened?! (BITCH SPOILER ALERT!!!): 2 days prior to the concert, I get this wicked ear ache, and I start hearing this faint ring in my ear. Scared out of my mind, I get to cowell and do a walk-in. I explain my situation and as the doctor looks in my ear, she tells me there's a build up of gross stuff in my ear. She advised me to take some ear medication to get rid of the build up. Freaking out that I might lose my hearing, I buy some ear plugs just in case.

We get to San Francisco around 7:40 thinking that doors opened at 7 and show starts at 8. When we actually get to the venue we see people still outside. I get my ticket from will call and when I read it, it said that doors opened at 8 and show started at 9. We wait in the rain for about 20 mins until we get in. We get to the very front. It's the closest I've been to the stage. The "barrier" were actual tables. I was a foot away to the stage. I could touch the monitors. 

The fact that the concert was starting late AND that I found out that two openers (Delicate Steve and Yellow Ostrich) were going to play pissed me off. Ra Ra Riot was going to start off really late. Therefore I would have been going home late. What annoyed me more (but that's totally my bad) is that I had to do a morning presentation at like 10 am. I was going to get like 6 hours of sleep.

The crowd was somewhat annoying as well. There were two girls next to me talking about their "indie cred" who say that anymore?! She was naming all these bands out of the top of her head. The only thing I could hear her say was that she didn't like The Strokes. As soon as she said that, the new Strokes song started playing. She was like "Wow! this is really good! I wonder who this is?" I turn around and I just said "It's The Strokes" All of a sudden her face changed and just says "OO Yeah! Ugg I hate his voice..." uugggg seriously?!

Security was pretty tight about not recording or taking pictures of the groups so I just took fast snapshots and then I put it away. Yellow Ostrich came on first. They had a lot of band instruments on stage so I expected some Beirut influences, but I was wrong, but not disappointed. The first song sounded very tribal, with minimal guitar chords while the other member of the group started switching instruments back and forth. They were a breed of Givers and The Dodos. I like the use of loop with their voices and instruments. It made the song cacophonous but it all resolved in the end. I enjoyed their performance a lot!

Delicate Steve came up with a bang! Steve, the lead guitarist just starts shredding through the song. It also had a tribal feel to it too. There were a lot yelling and some lyrics here and there. They had a tribal feel as well. It sounded like Explosions in the Sky guitar sounds, Anamanaguchi's intensity and Giver/The Dodos drumming style. It sounded amazing none the less. When they started playing the melodica, I became a believer.

Finally! Around 10:40, Ra Ra Riot show up! An audience member told my friend that Ra Ra Riot had canceled the last 4 concerts. They came out full of energy!! Too Too Too Fast was first on their set lit and everyone just started dancing. His voice sounded fine through out the set. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. The singer was interacting with the audience, making them sing the chorus (which they were ALL out of key). It was great! At the end of the encore he starting giving hi 5's to the audience, in which I touched his hand. Before the end the of their encore, I was really interested in getting the set list. After they were done with Dying is Fine, the violin playing started ripping the set list. I reached my hand with 5 other begging to give it to me. She looked at me, smiled and gave it to me! I couldn't believe it! My first concert set list!! I jam it in my peacoat and head for the exit. That was insanely fun! Luckiest day ever?! sure why not.


Set List -
Too Too Too Fast
St. Peter's Day Festival
Too Dramatic
Kansai
Winter '05
You And I Know
Can You Tell
Shadow Casting
Foolish
Oh La
Do You Remember
Saccharan And The War
Boy
Encore -
The Orchard
Dying Is Fine


Verdict - I enjoyed it a lot! It was my first time at the venue and it was great. Ra Ra Riot was worth the wait. Yellow Ostrich and Delicate Steve were great as well! Hopefully They will go far into their careers! It had a great tour package. I loved the openers. I'll consider getting their music. Sucks that I had the ear problem prior to the concert, but now I'm considering using them every time I go to a concert. It did get rid of a lot of the high end but I need my hearing.


Bitch Rate - 1.5/5