Converse Rubber Tracks put on another of their monthly(ish) free shows at the Sinclair. This time it was locals Color Channel and world-wides Ra Ra Riot.
Color Channel is a bunch of people and even more percussion instruments.
Their sound is a spacey, synth-inspired, dreamy and washy discoish trip, very reminiscent of local-boys-made-good Bearstronaut, who had opened a Converse show only a few months ago.
The set was completely tight, making a few technical difficulties (crackling cables) toward the beginning songs almost unnoticeable. The two lead singers, Jessica Simes (keyboards) and Jared Connell (guitar) traded off songs, meeting up to harmonize when the mood called for it.
Here’s something interesting about this band, which is that they have a guy with a mixing board on stage. It’s an interesting idea, since I have definitely seen bands where the sound guy they tour with is every bit as integral as some of those on stage, and why not give him some spotlight. He had sunglasses on which, so cool. He was just sort of grooving for most of the set but twisting a knob here and there. I don’t know what effects he was tweaking, but it’s safe to assume he was doing some pretty important stuff.
Most of the five other musicians had a hand in percussion. Connell had a mini-percussion set of bells and tambourines that he would rock out on when his guitar wasn’t needed for a song, he played some conga drums during a song or two, one of the keyboardists had patches that were percussive hits, and oh yeah there was a drummer. Maybe that’s the secret to the Color Channel’s super powers? So much percussion that you can’t help but dance, even though the moody patches and muted guitar make you want to drift off into outer space? Do you think maybe? I do.
Ra Ra Riot is a band that a whole mess of my friends are into and I’ve heard maybe half a song before I got distracted by colors or shapes or something. Sometimes someone wants to show me an awesome band and it’s just not a point in time where I can process getting into a new band and that’s probably what happened here, because I am into this. I didn’t see a merch table for them, but if I had seen their new album I’d probably Ra Ra buy it.
But getting to see these guys at the Sinclair was amazing. First thing to note, they were super loud, definitely not Ra Ra quiet.
Lead singer Wes Miles croons very Morrissey-esque. His voice is similar if a bit higher, sure, but the vocal inflections on the words were the real callback to the Smiths. His showmanship was fantastic, pumping the audience up but always being reserved enough to add the necessary gravity, all the while sporting a blazer with no necktie–it’s possible he didn’t know how to Ra Ra tie it.
The six-piece played their hearts out. No one ever got too serious–guitar and bass were bopping around the whole time, the string duo (each of whom got a turn on the keyboard) was having a blast. Miles even got a chance to fool around in between his belting, at one point putting his arms under guitarist Milo Bonacci’s and flailing them around. They even pulled out a cover of U2’s “Two Hearts Beat As One,” a divisive band to cover right now, but they were having a lot of fun and had, according to Miles, only played it twice before. Might I also say, they all looked fantastic. Do they have access to some secret Ra Ra diet?
There seems to be a bit of context I’m missing as a newcomer. Though the band has only been pumping out music on a national scale for seven years, there is definitely a cult of fans present in many people I know. One friend asked if it was mostly a nostalgia show–somewhat surprising considering they only have three studio albums. Another explained that they started off a lot more baroque-poppy but have fallen the way of so many others and gone into synth-disco. Synth-disco does make more money than thoughtful boroque-pop. They could probably afford to stay at the Ra Ra Hyatt Regency.
The rises and falls, peaks and troughs, were incredibly predictable. I’m obviously the one to benefit from this–showing up at a concert not knowing any of the songs, but being able to rock out in time with the each of the swells. This might be a detractor to somebody getting their new album and hoping for something to throw them for a loop. The microcosm of fans I spoke with seemed a bit disappointed by the synthy path they’ve taken (while still loving the band), but admitted it made for a better show, if a bit less cerebral.
That’s my rundown, which may have been a bit compromised because I was distracted coming up with these awful great rhymes, but at least I’m not gonna Ra Ra deny it.