all words and photos: Mike Danko
Ra Ra Rasputin
Ra Ra have put in quite a bit of time in DC venues and continue to draw to draw out a crowd. When a band hits that first note that the crowd eagerly awaits setting the tone for the set one can predict how the evening will turn out. Imagine tuning in to a sold out mid-season Redskins game 6 minutes into the first quarter and getting the feeling that you didn't miss a dramatic kick off because the excitement level at the event is comparable to having coffee and cake with a bunch of elderly German women on a Tuesday afternoon. And you say to yourself "...Well. At least my beer is cold..."
The Ra Ra troop took the stage as if they had just pulled themselves away from the sofa watching a rerun of an episode of Burn Notice and sort of moseyed their way somewhere into a song. Meanwhile a chattering audience pondering another run to the bar didn't seem notice the ensemble take the stage. It had to have been by the third tune that Anna uttered the words "...Oh, yeah. Thank you for coming out tonight..."
Shortly after a slow start, their songs gained more momentum and sure enough the crowd recognized this and showed their appreciation by swinging their hips and shifting their heels. Ra Ra Rasputin turned into Ra Ra Rockrockin and were showing everyone how to do it Irish wake style. Kicking things up into full gear they slammed through their last few songs setting a good tone for the next act.
Real Estate
Real Estate stepped onto a nice empty stage and started into a set that set lasted like a 35 minute long version of Nada Surf's Fruit Fly. Maybe it was the shift from the previous band's dancy groovy tunes to shoe gazer music that threw me off. Plus I was anticipating Love Is All, who sound closer to Ra Ra. Perhaps the approach of sit back and relax to Real Estate would have made them go down a little bit easier. Taking a closer look at the band what they were wearing was eye candy enough. The lead singer looked like someone who had parents who were into Nirvana and Weezer and taught him to press his shirt. On bass you have some dude who looks like the homeless caddy from Happy Gilmore with a really cool hat. His beard had me contemplating making out with him after the show. The other dude on guitar looked like your average newspaper circulation driver who would always talk about his aspirations of becoming a staff photographer. After 20 minutes of playing they started to get vocal about their home city. "...We're from New Jersey..." NO SHIT! The first glimpses of these dudes gave me the impression that they would sound like something from the 90's (which they did) with little hint of the best thing to have come out of the 80's -- Faith No More.
Love Is All
Now to go back to what everyone had come to the Black Cat to see. Tonight the crowd wanted to dance and rock out. And that is exactly what Love Is All delivered. Laying down some vital tunes like Talk Talk Talk Talk and Aging Had Never Been His Friend this bunch was guaranteed to keep the crowd moving for the rest of the night. One question went unanswered: Is there some sort of sponsorship from CASIO? Anyone taking inventory of all the CASIO keyboards and watches they toted on stage one could find at Walmart will detect that the group is going for the crappy sound image. The two in use keyboards were identical all the way down the strips of red electrical tape used to hold together Josephine's instrument. My guess is she needed it to match her 80's hand-me-down t-shirt.
The whole joint turned into a dance party that burned like a California forest fire. The band didn't have to put much effort into their songs because the crowd knew how to step up the party in the tight quarters of the Black Cat's Backstage.
Previously in Live DC:
- 2/13: LiveDC: George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic @ 930 Club
- 2/13: LiveDC: Veronica Falls/ Brilliant Colors @ Black Cat
- 2/13: LIVE DC: Steve Aoki/ Datsik/ Alvin Risk @ Fillmore
- 2/13: LiveDC: The Darkness @ 930 Club
- 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
- 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
- 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
God loves a cheerful giver.
Love Is All was great, as always, but the photogs at this show were VERY intrusive and annoying. A pair of them, right up front, huge cameras and flashes, snapping away constantly, right in the band's face, for the ENTIRE set. Josephine even asked them to back off at one point, which they did ... for maybe 30 seconds. I understand people like to take pictures and all that, but a little more tact would be nice.
I'm shocked to hear that, Mike is usually very courteous, he plans his shot from the sidelines, then gets in and gets out - you sure it was him?
No idea. Like I said, there were two of them. The one on stage right was far less annoying, the one on stage left -- yikes. Out of control. Like, standing on stage at a couple points. WTF? The combo made it especially frustrating. All them damn flashes is distracting. I'm just a simple person whose eyes are naturally drawn to bright lights, I can't help it, y'know??