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.

In my pursuit to go to more concerts in DC, I found out that Ra Ra Riot is playing here next week (thank you City Paper), and in my quest to garner that ticket, I discovered on Monday that The Walkmen were going to be in town the very next night! I hadn’t been to the 9:30 club since high school, and why on earth had I stayed away so long? Fantastic sound in a beautiful space. Granted, paying $7 to drink beer out of a red solo cup is not exactly the dream, but paying $15 to see two phenomenal bands surely must be. Here We Go Magic opened for The Walkmen last night to a packed house.

Here We Go Magic, a dash of pop-y wonderfulness, let their songs build and build and build until the point of bursting. Sometimes I wonder how it’s possible to sense so much sound. I hadn’t heard that much of their stuff, only the tracks that Epsilon recommended, and those two, “Fangela” and “Only Pieces”, were definitely my favorites out of the set. Taking it past the neat recordings, they drifted and swelled until I almost forgot that I had been listening to the same song for what seemed like ten minutes (in the best way!). They sweetly paved the way, but The Walkmen truly ruled the show.

“It’s good to be home”, the lead singer of The Walkmen declared, and there’s nothing like seeing a band on their home turf (all of them save one went to high school in DC!). I’d forgotten how much I love The Walkmen, and they put on a damn good show. It also didn’t hurt that they were playing the most beautiful guitars. They had a horn section (featuring the frontman’s wife, how cute) that really heated things up, and added a much appreciated punch to several songs. They delighted us with new material, which is as blissful as the old. There was so much passion in every single performer, the drummer and a fierce triangle player instantly come to mind, and are one of the few bands that I think outdo their recordings live. I always think that encores are a little bit silly, we’ll all pretend that you’re gone, but you always come back. This time was well worth the wait, however, as The Walkmen reeled us back in with not one, but three more songs, including “The Rat”, “When I used to go out, I would know everyone that I saw. Now I go out alone, if I go out at all” , high school memories came flooding back. Hands down the best show I’ve seen in the past couple of months, and if they’re coming your way, don’t think, just go.

The Walkmen – In the New Year
The Walkmen – The Rat