On September 21st, 2010, Ra Ra Riot headlined the Bowery Ballroom in New York City for the first time with little known (at the time) fellow Phantogram as their opening act. Wow, how I wish I had 10 bucks and a time machine.
What Ra Ra Riot and I have in common is a past in Syracuse, New York. This is a large reason why I take great pride in them and have for a while. Their success, much like Carmelo Anthony’s and Aaron Sorkin’s, is mine as well. Syracuse was once described as a place where the rapture hit 20 years ago, and I don’t think whoever said that was too far off. So even though Ra Ra Riot was only there for 4 years, they are "ours."
But on June 28th, 2012 they belonged to the only people any band wants to, their few-hundred biggest fans, at The Box on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. For 5 dollars a pop at a venue usually reserved for sexually-charged dance recitals that take place from 1am til dawn, any fan of RaRa Riot who acted fast enough could see their favorite band at the most intimate venue they have played in New York City since that night with Phantogram, almost 2 years ago.
On this night, the opening act (the always-amazing Lissy Trullie) was breathtaking; the crowd was hipsterful, the beer was $8 a bottle and the two girls behind me would not shut the fuck up (how could they afford to get THAT drunk?) Although, they only played a short set, the Ra Ra guys and girls played one of the most well rounded nights I have ever heard from them; this is From me and the 30 Ra Ra diehards I talked to after the gig: it was a fantastic set. – Max Lefkowitz – Read Ryan Henriquez’s 2008 Deli print feature on Ra Ra Riot here.