On record, Ratatat comes off as almost lounge music for a new generation, mixing electronics with live instruments.
Live though, they become an entirely different beast. Sure, it still remains the two members (bassist Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud), but the dance portion of the band's formula is played up. They had the sold-out crowd moving for the entirety of their 75-minute set, with pre-programmed beats and music augmenting their live guitars, keyboards and percussion.
While on record, the band is all about the future, in concert it is about the past...by means of the future. The screen behind them had videos projected onto it the entire night, ranging from men talking to the Paul Simon video for "You Can Call Me Al" (with Chevy Chase)...and they were all set on fire. Ratatat was paying tribute to the past in its own way.The band spent most of its set performing a soundtrack for the background images, but as the show went on, it became all about them. Stroud is an incredible guitarist to watch (again, recalling the tone and style of Joe Satriani), especially as he used every square inch of the stage to dance, jump or bend over backwards.
Ratatat drew equally from all three of their albums, with the most highlights coming from their debut album. Still, "Wildcat" from their second album, Classics, and "Mirando" from LP3 sounded great.
As the night went on, it got more intense. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands, and they knew it. The songs got faster, more energetic, and much louder (in the balcony, I was able to feel the ground shake).
I couldn't resist the inkling that this band would work just as well as a metal band as I watched Stroud and Mast played. They are proficient enough on their instruments to do it. Ah well, maybe next time, but the thought stayed with me.
The band's encore only stepped up the intensity. Closing the show with "Seventeen Years," the audience kept dancing, just as they had the entire show.
Opening act Think About Life was a pleasant treat. While the three-piece Canadian group relied a bit too much on programmed beats (especially since they had a drummer), they had a lot of energy, and frontman Martin Cesar led it well.
While the band's music was based around the early 80s new wave style, they also added in hip-hop, funk and orchestral pop in the mix. Even if it was a little bit derivative, they had enough energy to make it fresh and entirely their own.
Despot was a different story altogether. While the New York rapper started off okay (I won't even warrant a "starting off strong"), it quickly became tiresome. His beats sounded like they were Atmosphere throwaways, and not in the good sense. Sure, "Get Rich or Try Dying" (which has been featured on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim), was entertaining, but that doesn't make up for the rest of the set. The rhymes became more forced, as if he was trying to strech it out as much as he could to fill time.
Note: While Illinois Hi-Fi did make arrangements to photograph, the band prohibited cameras at the show (this should not be read as a criticism. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to cover such a show for our first time).
