Concert Review: Ra Ra Riot, December 2nd, Ritchie Coliseum

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Concert Review: Ra Ra Riot, December 2nd, Ritchie Coliseum

Posted on

5 Dec 2011

by

halley

There was nothing promising about the Ra Ra Riot show at the University of Maryland’s Ritchie Coliseum on December 2nd. I didn’t really know the band well. The commute from DC to College Park (the ‘burbs) was going to be a mess. I was going to be surrounded by undergrads (no offense, undergrads).

BUT: people I adore (aka my sister) like the band; tickets were $7; they had come through DC a few weeks before and sold out for over $20; I had three friends willing to go.

Why not?

And, despite all the potential pitfalls of the unfamiliar band and the horrendous commute, it was well worth it.

The trek out to College Park was pretty epic (and included my friends and me walking a lonely, dark, semi-terrifying mile down the dark dark sidewalks of Avenue 1 as well as taking a taxi whose driver did not believe in pedestrian right-of-way or watching the road as he drove) but we got to the Coliseum a good seven minutes before doors closed and Ra Ra Riot took the stage. Our seven minute head start allowed us to see the last seven minutes of the opener, Logic, which proved to be a hard core rap band. Their sound was so abrasive (they must have dropped the mother-f**ker bomb at least 50 times in those seven minutes) my friends and I were literally a little nervous we had been duped into coming to a concert for some little-known college rap band called Ra Ra Riot – I’ve never seen such an incongruous opener-headliner pair. You never know what you’ll get!

Thankfully, after Logic’s members cleared the stage… a cello appeared (albeit, a super funky cello – all electric with no body – just frame). I instantly relaxed. Ra Ra Riot’s 6 members took the stage in all their hipster glory. The lead singer was incredible. His voice is just so distinctive and melodious – and always always on pitch. The band played for over an hour and he sounded just as good at the end as he did at the beginning. The cellist also did a solo, which was a cool change in pace. The band really rocked out with a great stage set-up (very cool vertical colored lights) and a great set, including “Too Dramatic” (my favorite), “Run My Mouth,” “Each Year” and an incredible encore ending with “Dying is Fine.”

Ra Ra Riot – Too Dramatic by Arts & Crafts

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