Wes Miles’ magnificent voice echoed throughout The El Rey last night as the venue and Moheak warmly welcomed Ra Ra Riot back to Los Angeles alongside LA natives Papa, and The Submarines. Within the hour of opening its doors, the art deco theater was packed with those lucky enough to grab a ticket for the sold-out show. The crowd was buzzing with great expectations and feel-good vibes were bouncing around inside before the bands even began playing. Boy, was the crowd in for a hump day treat like no other!
The curtains finally rose around 8:20 pm, revealing the first opening band, Papa. I’d never encountered Papa before but instantly became a fan as soon as they began playing. ‘Papa’ is an entirely appropriate band name considering how their very presence warmly directed the crowd to listen, and to listen well. The crowd listened very well as they swayed with their easygoing intros and grooved through to a sundry of spikes in volume and energy throughout the set.Their band completely drenches you in a sunny, all-embracing sound that feels so familiar, yet culminates into something new altogether. Their music is an ambiguous shape of 90′s alternative reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel, with touches of reverb and distortion. The sound really juxtaposes well against drummer/singer Darren Weiss’ honest vocals.
The Submarines began their set shortly after and carried on the bright atmosphere emanating through the theater. The Submarines’ high energy flowed through the audience as lead singer, Blake Hazard, bounced around onstage with her saccharine vocals and occasional xylophone accompaniment. Jazzy undertones appeared here and there as twinkling electronics weaved throughout the instrumentals effortlessly.
About two hours after the doors opened, Ra Ra Riot finally took the stage. The crowd instantly lit up as soon as the curtains rose. People in the crowd screamed phrases of adulation as they opened with an explosive energy that radiated throughout their whole set. The first thing I noticed was Rebecca Zeller’s bejeweled violin; the delicacy of the strings in Ra Ra Riot’s instrumentals have always complemented their rolling drums and guitar licks. As they welcomed the Calder Quartet to play along to “The Orchard,” I noticed a devoted fan to my right talking excitedly about the band to her friend. She then continued to sing every word to every song the rest of the night. The band was even more dynamic and charismatic than on video and played an enjoyable mix of newer and older songs. The show concluded with Miles high-fiving everybody in the front row before playing “Dying Is Fine.”
If you didn’t get a chance to see them last night, you’re out of luck because you’ll have to wait ’til they go on tour again; their upcoming dates are all sold out! Don’t cry too hard, you can experience last night vicariously through the photos Moheak snapped below.
Chad Yanagisawa Photography
Released from their third album, Fragrant World, Yeasayer has released their second tune “Longevity”, which so far has us impressed. Out August 21 on Secretly Canadian, the song already has an “official vignette” of the track created by Yoshi Sodeoka. For tour dates and more details about the band, check out .
The follow up video for M83′s “Midnight City” has just been released, and there’s no better song to sequel this awesome narrative than with “Reunion”. We’re starting to see why the band named their album “Hurry Up We’re Dreaming”, with a back story that everyone once lusted for when they were young. Directed by Fleur & Manu, there’s epicness and childhood nostalgia all over.
