Last Friday night, the Syracuse indie rock band Ra Ra Riot played an energetic show to a packed Water Street Music Hall in Rochester alongside bands So Many Dynamos and Cut Off Your Hands.
After an hour-long delay, four-piece rock band from St. Louis, So Many Dynamos, took the stage in place of the originally scheduled band, Pashion Pit, who cancelled for unknown reasons.
So Many Dynamos played a short set to open the show, although the set length hindered the quality of the performance. Many of their songs such as "Search Party" and "Glaciers" often featured three of the four members of the band harmonizing over heavy guitar riffs and erratic keyboard strums.
The next opening group was Cut Off Your Hands, an indie pop outfit all the way from New Zealand. Like So Many Dynamos, Cut Off Your Hands played a short set but did not fail to impress the crowd. The band members made use of the small space they had on stage, jumping around, clapping and encouraging the crowd to interact, which they gladly did.
Finally, much to the satisfaction of the seemingly restless audience members, Ra Ra Riot took the stage, invigorated by thunderous applause and screams.
Ra Ra Riot kicked off their set with "St. Peter's Day Festival," the third song off their debut album The Rhumb Line. The band proceeded to play every song off this album as the show progressed, as well as a few other random tracks.
Guitarist Milo Bonacci spoke about how the shows have changed for the band since releasing The Rhumb Line last August: "There has been an increasing attendance at shows, and a greater percentage of people singing along … it's very exciting to see the development!"
His observations definitely held true at this show. Feeding off the band's high energy and exhilarating performance, most of the audience danced and sang along throughout the entirety of the concert.
Bonacci went on to say that although one of his favorite places to play was San Francisco because of the tendency of audiences there not to be "too reserved or self-conscious," the band always enjoys playing shows in upstate New York. "The crowds are always really good, whether or not they're even aware we're from that area."
Ra Ra Riot ended the show with the three well-known songs, "Can You Tell," "Too Too Too Fast" and "Dying is Fine," as well as a one-song encore. Bonacci could not thank the crowd enough for being there. He even invited people to come back and say "hello" where they were selling T-shirts and CDs at the back of the venue.
Concertgoers looking for an exciting and high-energy show should definitely check out Ra Ra Riot. The group's catchy songs are only made more enjoyable by their kindness toward and appreciation of their fans.