Siren Festival 2008

"Open your eyes and look around you..."

While some of the other Bobkats went to a different festival, this one had the pleasure of attending the Village Voice sponsored Siren Festival in Coney Island. And while some public transportation issues made it a 3 hour journey from Brooklyn (fuckin' G train), making me miss The Dodos (ahhhhhh!!!), how could one stay bitter on a day filled with such great music? Highlights included Jaguar Love rockin' out, being front row for Steven Malkmus and the Jicks, and seeing Ra Ra Riot finally, but no one topped Islands, who turned a lukewarm sometime listener into a full-fledged fanboy by putting together one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Beginning with "benevolent dictator"/frontman Nick Thornburn singing half of the first song with a silver trashcan over his head, it only got better from there, combining a two-violin attack with hard rock passages, epic marching themes, and some good-time boogying, all of which have made me strongly reconsider their new album, which I had written off after only a few listens. Hmm, maybe I need to see Evil Urges played live to get it...

Enjoy the only good Islands I could find...while this video doesn't come close to the show they put on today, it does have some good antics from their aforementioned dictator. And who doesn't love antics?



(Malkmus photo cred to Nick Scribner)

Tonight in NYC

Today is a great, albeit challenging, day for New Yorkers. Why? Because there are sooo many good shows tonight it's impossible to see everything you'd like to check out. (Un)Fortunately, I've side stepped this problem by leaving town for the weekend, go figure. But seriously, there really is something for everyone tonight. Just check out this list:

Brian Wilson @ Coney Island (FREE)
The Spinto Band and Ra Ra Riot @ Union Hall
James Pants & Peanut Butter Wolf @ Studio B
The Dodo's @ Cake Shop (Shhh, it's a secret)
Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene) @ Mercury Lounge (SOLD OUT)
Girls(!!!) @ Market Hotel
Ted Leo @ Castle Clinton (Battery Park, FREE)
The Fiery Furnaces @ East River Park (FREE)
Demon Rum @ The East India Club
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist @ McCarren Pool
Devlin, XXXchange and The Rapture (DJs) @ Santo's Party House
Yaz @ Terminal 5
DJ Spooky @ Music Hall of Williamsburg


HAVE FUN KIDS!

we saw: Ra Ra Riot

"I Will Wait There For You"

(Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford)
Ra Ra Riot played a free show at 70 Greene St last Thursday. The party was a bizarre mix of wine tasting, art battle and guerilla rock show. Of course, this combination (and the free vino) lends itself to maximum enjoyment. While seeing Ra Ra earlier this Spring at Maxwell's was quite a treat, the 70 Greene show felt more like a college basement show with keg beer, pogo'ing and lots of sweat. It was obvious Ra Ra Riot has experience playing this type of show, as their enthusiasm and all-over-the-place stage (floor) presence had 70 Greene St boiling hot. All in all, a really sweet and fun night. Did I mention free? Gotta love NYC.

tonight: Ra Ra Riot

"Oh Baby"

The other day we got word that Ra Ra Riot would be playing a free show tonight on Greene Street. Peep Going for more info and RSVP details. In other Ra Ra news, the band has finally announced that they are now officially signed to Barsuk Records (former home to Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley and current home of Menomena). The band will release their debut record, The Rhumb Line on August 19th. 'Bout time.

Oh yeah, and apparently that Wes from Ra Ra Riot and Rostam from Vampire Weeekend collaboration as Discovery, which is all bubbling Caribou/tweaky Dntel, is coming out in June.

Shitty vid, but good audio of Ra Ra Riot on Fuel TV

we saw: Ra Ra Riot

"Can you tell I'm losing sleep"

Last night Ra Ra Riot hit up Maxwell's in Hoboken for the only tri-state area appearance on their current tour with The Little Ones. I arrived in time to catch about half of The Little Ones set, a delightful blend of beach pop, sugar pop and all around good times music. I wish I had picked up their brand new EP, Terry Tales and Fallen Gates, as their sound is perfect for bobbing around all happy go lucky in the summer. Mmmm, lemonade.

By the time The Little Ones left the stage, Maxwell's had filled in quite nicely. The show was sold out, and with good reason, as Ra Ra Riot probably won't be playing venues the size of Maxwell's in the coming months. Needless to say, the size of venue couldn't have been a better match for Ra Ra's explosive orchestral pop. After asking the crowd if it was too cold (the air conditioning was cranking), singer Wes Miles vowed to heat the place up. The band did so by cranking into "A Manner to Act." The song, which also has a kick ass remix by RAC, was a great way to kick start the evening started. Following "A Manner To Act," the Syracause bred sextet burst into "Each Year," one of my favorite Ra Ra Riot songs, which, like "A Manner to Act," also boasts a killer remix by RAC. And yes, after "Each Year" the room was significantly warmer.

The band ran through a set culled mostly from last years eponymous EP, however, like cellist Allie mentioned to us a few weeks back, many of the arrangements were fresh and unpredictable. While the entire band was in fine form, I couldn't help but be transfixed on violinist Becca Zeller (a Ridgewood, NJ native), who is arguably one of the most enigmatic performers I've seen in recent times. A compliment of the highest regard as the last couple shows we've seen have all featured some incredibly dynamic performers (Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Van Pierszalowski of Port O'Brien).

Other highlights included the John Pike penned "St. Peter's Day Festival" (what a great sing-a-long), Kate Bush's "Suspended In Gaffa" and the set closer, and Ra Ra Riot's signature tune, "Dying Is Fine." After a few minutes of rapturous applause and "SU" chants, the band broke into "Hounds of Love," their second Kate Bush cover of the evening. A damn good ending to damn good evening.

Ra Ra Riot- St. Peter's Day Festival

Ra Ra Riot- Each Year (RAC remix)

interview: Ra Ra Riot

"Nevermind what your daughter is taught in school"

Today we start a new feature on the Bobka where we chat with some of our favorite artist's about music, life and whatever the hell else pops into what's left of our mangled brains. For our inaugural interview we caught up with Allie from Ra Ra Riot about the bands recent trip to SXSW, recording their first album and what the rest of the year holds in store for the Ra Ra's.

CB: You just got back from playing a ton of shows at SXSW, any highlights?

RRR: It was all pretty much a highlight. The weather was glorious. It was a good time.

CB: Catch any bands you’ve been meaning to see?

RRR: Yeah, I saw The Whip, The Virgins, who we toured with, they're friends. Tokyo Police Club, White Denim…they’re awesome, soo good.

CB: How many shows did you end up playing?

RRR: 7 in 4 days. 3 the first day, 2 on Saturday and a couple in between.

CB: Rumor has it you recorded another Daytrotter down there?

RRR: Yeah, we did, but it’s not finished. We’re going to go back in and finish it sometime soon.

CB: You played a show at the magnificent Red Rocks last summer. Are there any dream venues you’d like to play, or favorites you’ve played?

RRR: I don’t really know a lot about venues, but I’d love to play Red Rocks again. We played in Iceland at Iceland Airwaves and I’d love to play there again. It’s in Reykjavik and it’s amazing. I think we’d all love to go to Japan, but we’re pretty happy wherever we go.

CB: For recording I know you use an acoustic cello, have you ever toured with it?

RRR: Haha. No, I would never tour with the acoustic. When we started touring I got the electric just cause it is a huge relief. Plus, performance wise, it can go loud, it doesn’t feed back, it’s resilient. Not a hassle at all. Just performing with the electric is easier, lower maintenance, and you can move around quite a bit more.

CB: The band just finished recording an album at Bear Creek Studio in Washington, which seems like an ideal place to record an album (see pics). Besides the fact that a lot of great bands have been recorded there (Built to Spill, Soundgarden, Clapton, Mountain Goats), is there any reason you chose Bear Creek?

RRR: You know it was kind of a vibe thing. We went there and messed around and met Ryan and really hit it off with him. Then we stayed there on tour for a night a couple months ago, and it was like ‘wow if we could make a record here that would just be amazing’ and so that’s pretty much how it worked out.

CB: Did you have most of the songs written before going into the studio or did you pen some there?

RRR: Well, we did it in two sessions. And we pretty much had everything done before we got there. Then we added a couple more songs the second session but we only worked out one song there, the rest we worked on in Frenchtown, NJ at Wes’s house.

CB: Does the album have a title yet?

RRR: I think so, but we're gonna sit on it for a week and make sure we still like it.

CB: Songs tend to evolve on tour, are there any in particular that have evolved in the live setting?

RRR: Mostly just tempos. Sometimes we play certain songs a lot faster or a lot slower, depending on the setting. In terms of arrangements we’ve changed a lot of our older songs .

CB: Can we expect to hear any of those new arrangements on the new record?

RRR: There are a couple.

CB: Which ones?

RRR: I’m not gonna tell!

CB: Have you settled on a label yet or are you going to self release ?

RRR: We’re working it out with labels in the US now, but we still don’t have one in the US. Everywhere else we’re on V2. So that stuff will start picking up in a little while. I think probably within the next month it’ll be a bit clearer.

CB: Any plans for the summer?

RRR: Probably going to be a lot of festival stuff. Probably not in the US since were doing that right now. Most likely festivals in Europe.

If your bumming around Europe this summer be sure to catch Ra Ra Riot at one of those ridiculous festivals they throw over there. If not, don't worry, they're currently touring the states and probably coming to a town near you. We'll be catching them at Maxwell's on 4/23. Get your tickets now, they're going fast. Click HERE for dates.

Ra Ra Riot- Suspended in Gaffa (Daytrotter)
Ra Ra Riot- St. Peter's Day Festival (Daytrotter)
Ra Ra Riot- Each Year (Daytrotter)

Sunday Brunch: Muxtape

Missing XL-II's like whoa

Dura sent me a link to Muxtape the other morning. It's pretty sweet, so I figured we'd make an inaugural mux. Think of it as a belated St. Patrick's day present, from us to you. No theme here, just a few randoms I've been enjoying and threw together. Expect this to change over the coming weeks. Without further adieu, our first muxtape.

Hello Blue Roses- My Shadow Falls
Dr. Dog- Heart it Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover)
Ra Ra Riot- St. Peter's Day Festival (Daytrotter session)
Peter and the Wolf- Better Days
The War on Drugs- Buenos Aires Beach
Sera Cahoone- Only as Long as the Day
Radiohead- Unravel
Mindbenders- Groovy Kind of Love
Silver Jews- Black and Brown Blues
Arthur Russell- A Little Lost
Fleet Foxes- He Doesn't Know Why
Port O'Brien- I Woke Up Today

Make your own Muxtape here

R.I.P John Pike

We recently received some upsetting news about John Pike, drummer for the Syracuse septet Ra Ra Riot. After disapearing Friday night after the band's show at the Living Room in Providence, R.I., John's body was found in the ocean near Fairhaven, Mass. Ra Ra Riot was one of the first bands we featured on our site. Their three song demo has been one of my favorite listens for almost a year, partly because of the ferocious enegry of Pike's drumming. John will be seriously missed. Our deepest regards to the Ra Ra and Pike families as they struggle to cope with this tragedy.

Ra Ra Riot Live in Boston ("Can You Tell" & "Hounds of Love")

Nu Musik: Ra Ra Riot

"Dying is fine, but maybe..."



Ra Ra Riot

Festivals like Austin's SXSW and New York's CMJ Music Marathon are notorious breeding grounds for unsigned musicians turned "celebrity overnight"(twista), having launched relatively unknown acts like theArcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to instant indie rock stardom. Regardless of whether or not you are lucky enough to make the trip, there are so many music snobs with Wi-Fi access covering the events that you can live vicariously through one of the jounralists who ran amuck in New York racing by subway between Brooklyn and the Village or vomiting up BBQ in Austin between sets at the infamous Emo's.

With that in mind, let's raise the all important. Who was the "it" band? Who launched a thousand emails and got a million myspace hits? And, more importantly, who got the Pitchfork love??? Know doubt the big hit of CMJ was the Norweigan goth-electro group The Knife As for SXSW, I'm not too sure, although Austinite's Ghostland Observatory , Voxtrot , and Peter and the Wolf have all been showered with love and street cred from the blogosphere.

PopMatters feature on the daily showcases highlighted a cello infused rock band from the city that brought us the Carrier Dome and Carmello Anthony, Syracuse. Affectionately known as 'Cuse, the college town in Upstate New York isn't exactly known for its indie rock output. Bluntly put, 'Cuse is no Brooklyn or Portland. Ra Ra Riot, a six piece made up of the standard guitar, keys, bass, drums with a dash of violin and cello for good orchestral measure. The PopMatters article gave Ra Ra Riot one of their honored "Where did these guys come from?!" titles after catching one of their six showcases, which they booked on the strength of a three song demo. I got a hold of the afore mentioned demo and was immediately impressed. Think a more animated, poppier sounding Arcade Fire (huge cello sound) . While the band has yet to become the envy of thrift store shoppers around the world, we hear at the Bobka agree with those over at PopMatters. Ra Ra Riot are the real deal, and if they keep writing songs like "Can You Tell" and "Dying is Fine," another standout from the demo, they are sure to be on everyone's "Bands to Watch list." Really don't know much about these guys except that they just released their first self-titled EP, which features a few of the tracks from the demo. Download "Can You Tell" below.

Ra Ra Riot- Can You Tell
Ra Ra Riot website