Ra Ra Riot @ Webster Hall

Saturday night I had the privilege to attend the closing show of Ra Ra Riot's headlining tour (now they go on tour with Death Cab). It was their biggest headlining show thus far - it took place at Webster Hall and it sold out. I was so excited for them, and it's been great watching them, and in turn their audience, grow since I first saw them play for a small audience at Studio B in August of 2007.

First up was Jon Moses, who I don't think was originally on the bill based on the fact that I never saw anything with his name on it besides the piece of paper on Webster Hall's front door. In fact, I can't seem to find anything about him anywhere so I'm kind of wondering if he even really exists. He seems like a sweet kid and he played some nice music, though it had a few too many hillbilly-yeehaw moments for my personal tastes, and I felt it distracted from the music because you couldn't help but laugh and most of the music was more somber than that.

Next up was the sexy New Zealand band, Cut Off Your Hands. I have to say, they rocked it. They had enough energy to power all of New York City, and their music had everyone dancing (or at least bopping along, as in some areas it was a bit too crowded to dance). These guys are exactly what all indie dance rock musicians should aspire to be: hot, hip and high-energy. They really nailed it and I know all the teen girls in the audience were drooling all over themselves (not that I wasn't, as well...). I also have to give props to Webster Hall and to Cut Off Your Hands because they took the stage exactly on time, which pretty much never happens.

Still Fond [mp3] (iTunes)

And then Ra Ra Riot came on, looking even more beautiful than usual. I mean, they're a pretty attractive bunch of people, but the girls were all glammed up and lead singer Wes Miles confessed to the audience that they'd all just gotten hair cuts. I can see why they'd want to dress to impress though, what with this being their biggest headlining show thus far. And it was a beautiful show, too. The lighting was beautiful, their music is always beautiful (they played all my favorites, plus a new song!). As I've said before when I've been to their shows, I love how they have fun together on stage. You really get a feel for them not just as band members, but as friends. They smile and laugh, they come nudge each other and play around. It makes you want to be on stage with them and sharing in the good times. It also makes you totally love them as much as they love each other. And this is totally random but I have to say Alexandra Lawn is the hottest cellist I've ever seen (and I'm a straight female). She's just gorgeous and she is the only person I've ever seen make playing the cello seem bad ass and glamorous at the same time - I love that she plays standing up and she can rock out or dance around accordingly.

Ghost Under Rocks [mp3] (iTunes)

More pictures HERE.