Going to last night’s Ra Ra Riot / Princeton show made me feel old, and that’s saying something coming from a youngin’ like myself. Who knew they were so popular with the kids these days? I think it was all the more evident when considered in contrast with The Walkmen show last week. We walked for what seemed like ages through the surprisingly chilly introduction to October, landing just in time for Princeton’s set.

I had never heard/heard of Princeton before, but it didn’t take me long to realize that it wasn’t going to work between us. Don’t get me wrong, they’re beautiful musicians, at some points the word “dazzling” ran through my mind, but those points only occurred during instrumental interludes. There is something to be said for forming a band and sticking together no matter what, but for the benefit of everyone, their lead singer needs to step down from the mic. His voice is too intense (described by a friend as Dave Matthews-eqsue) for their melodies, and really harshed my mellow. He makes an excellent lead guitarist, but their band could be phenomenal if they had a different vocalist, preferably female, or even if they were just an instrumental group.

I’ve loved Ra Ra Riot ever since I saw them in that small Vermont town, and The Rhumb Line blew my mind for a good couple of months. However seeing them last night, things were different. Maybe it was that the venue was too big and I missed that initial intimacy. That being said, their set was flawlessly performed, and everyone was in to it, which was nice. They are remarkably true to their recordings, but I was hoping for a little bit more. This may sound like a lukewarm review, but in reality it was a very good concert. Maybe I’m making unfair comparisons between younger and older bands, but after last week’s concert, the bar is set a little higher.

Left the show and moved on to All Killer! No Filler!, the new “ALL KILLER is a monthly event curated for the purpose of uniting the urban and alternative dance and social communities, bringing musical talent from all over the city together in the same room, to celebrate the musical diversity within this city.” Thrown in part by The Glass House, a burgeoning DC lifestyle blog/magazine that I am honored to be a part of. The music played while everyone was just standing around was killer, but after standing since 2:30pm (and admittedly partying way too hard the night before at ESL‘s reggae night), I couldn’t hold out for much longer. To my dismay I had to leave early (lame!), but am very very excited for next month’s party.