DC ROCK CLUB
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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Concert Preview: Ra Ra Riot, Jukebox The Ghost, These United States

"We see dead people"

When I saw that Jukebox The Ghost (JTG) was going on after These United States (TUS), I thought it was a misprint. TUS has been around longer, received far more press, put out more music, and toured extensively. In contrast, JTG is fresh out of college (GW, thank you very little) and have only one EP under their belt (or in their pants….whatever. Shut Up. Wait, who am I talking to? Parentheticals are awesome).

Well, after listening to both JTG and TUS, I now see why JTG is higher up on the bill. The songs are pure pop-rock fun. They're heavy on the happy vibe. I'm a positive sort of guy so I like that. Certain moments seem goofy or even a little twee but overall the songs have a upbeat party feel (translation: you can dance to it). There's a certain showmanship in the music that makes me think they'll be an amusing live band. The best example is "Hold It In". Go their site, listen to it, and tell me you don't enjoy it too.

Of course, These United States are no slouches themselves. They receive airplay at our favorite radio station (WOXY) for good reason. We tend to blow off the opening band but I hope we'll make an exception on Friday.

Finally, Ra Ra Riot. They're from Syracuse and have an indie pop/jangly rock sound we're all used to by now. They kind of remind me of Tokyo Police Club meets Arcade Fire meets Vampire Weekend meets your Mom. Yeah, that's about right. I'm a little skeptical on these guys but word on the street is they play high energy shows that leaves the crowd wanting more. We'll be the judge of that...

6 comments:

Jimbromski said...

This might be a good show. Sorry, I meant, TMBAGS.

I forgot about These US, as you said I've heard them on the radio too and they weren't bad. They had a UK tour diary up on DCist that was somewhat interesting.

So the only band I know nothing about is the headliner.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait until you see JTG live - you'll be even more impressed. They were an opener for another band we saw here in Charlotte and they deserve to be the headliner. They're all great musicians too and they have a contagious blast on stage.

Jimbromski said...

^^^^^^^^^^^excellent, been a while since I've gone to a new band/good show.

I'm taking a stand, no more fucking TLAs, from now on we spell everything out and abbreviate nothing.

TLA=three-letter acronym

sacklunch said...

I just listened to "Hold it In" (twice), great tune. I thought I had heard it before, and I noticed it was song of the week or something on WOXY. I likey.

Anonymous said...

"high energy live show" is very often code for "their songs kinda suck." i don't know if it pertains to ra ra riot, just sayin', is all.

Jumbo Slice said...

Good point DM. I'm a little skeptical on Ra Ra Riot. Lots of sites (I won't mention any in particular) RAVE about bands that are actually very mediocre.