Ra Ra Riot @ KCLSU

It's sad that my first real gig in 2009 was in mid-February. It's just as sad that I had never been to King's College Student Union before, even though I have been working at King's for four years... It is a very nice venue, small and cosy, but still with a decent bar and pretty good sound. I especially recommend stopping at the Waterfront bar two floors below, for a drink at student prices and an amazing view on the Thames!

The first supporting act (whose name I failed to catch) was OK, they sounded a bit like Sigur Ros except in English. And more boring. Nothing worth noticing.
The second band was called The Answering Machine. Pretty lame name if you ask me (but then again, so is Ra Ra Riot). They were very uneven: Some songs had obvious punk influences, and these were rubbish. But they also had a couple of songs that were darker and more reflective, which didn't sound bad at all. Their stage performance wasn't amazing though, so they may end up like The Cure (i.e. from Punk losers to Goth geniuses) but I doubt it.

Finally, Ra Ra Riot; I had discovered them supporting Editors at Brixton Academy, and had enjoyed their show enough to remember their name. The strings section definitely make their music sound unique, think the bounciness of Franz Ferdinand with the arrangements of Arcade Fire. The singer has a sweet voice but is full of energy, and in the end it makes a really good show. Some of the songs can really stand by themselves, I will definitely get the album.

There are better pictures of the gig here; and my crappy recording of one song below: