There are two ways to begin this post:
1) I could beat the drum (… again) about the importance of early set times on weekdays for nerds like me or
2) We could play a game.
Seeing as I’ve achieved my first purpose through that straw-man intro, let’s play a game…
2 truths and a lie about RAC’s Andre Allen:
We owe a promotional cereal box toy for Andre Allen’s musical talents.
Andre failed music theory at college.
You can go to an RAC concert and NOT dance.
If you guessed the last was a lie, you are correct! RAC actually put on a fab-o-lous show that had me literally jumping, wiggling, and air-borne despite my determination to be grumpy at the post-midnight bedtime I knew I was setting myself up for. RAC took the stage with his adorable entourage at 11:06 and LAUNCHED into his “Something Good Can Work” Two Door Cinema Club remix with no ado. The crowd (including myself) immediately erupted and the group didn’t lose momentum from there. They regaled the packed club with many of his fan favorites, including “Houdini” from Foster the People and “Let Go.” Excellent excellent show, even for those of us past the “party animal” phase of life.
In addition, this review would not be complete without a shout out to Prides, RAC’s opener. The Glasgow-based trio put on a delightful performance, full of fun accents, skinny jeans, and keyboard hip thrusts you have to see to believe. The trio’s single, The Seeds you Sow, is a great track, although I also really loved their Out of the Blue song as well.
(Side stories, taken from the 9:30 Club website:
One morning at age 15, André sat down for breakfast, opened up a cereal box and inside was a promotional CD for a simple music production program called eJay. He started using it immediately!
After failing music theory in Greenville (he hated scales), André hatched a plan to create what would become RAC by emailing many labels/bands/artists for remix opportunities (“I probably annoyed a lot of people,” he admits.) The Shins’ manager finally responded to one of André’s many emails, giving him his first big break — the “Sleeping Lessons” remix.)
