Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob

10/30/06 – Webster Hall with Luke

Luke and I saw the presets (who on myspace i didnt care for) and the rapture. the presets were easily the highlight of the night. the boys were so terribly cute, and aussie 🙂 they had adorable accents, but what i really liked was the energy on the stage. they were so into the show and clearly were having the best time. it was awesome. i mean the energy radiated through the crowd. in ways it reminded me of the guys in the jaxx. one of them was all over the stage, dancing, singing, walking to the edge of the stage where you could just nearly touch him. the drummer was awesome, and also having a great time. they really pumped up the crowd for the rapture, which is what any opening band should do. and they clearly acknowledged how psyched they were to be playing with them. always awesome! So they bring the crowd to this soaring high, everyone dancing, getting really into music.

So The Rapture comes on nearly 30 mins later. And while they were not necessarily bad, they just didnt have the same energy as the presets. The guys looked so terribly young, and it just seemed a bit awkward for them. The bassist needs a bit of help. The sax was so terribly out-of-tune it was awful. And I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to sound that bad, but I sure hope not. The lead guitar just didn’t seem to fit in. As a whole the band didn’t seem to fit together. While some of the songs were definitely catchy and the crowd seemed to be enjoying it, there was just something missing. It seemed the band themselves didn’t feed off of each other’s energy. And energy is something that was really needed. Needless to say about 30-40 mins into the set I went off wandering to another bar in Webster Hall. They were playing better music down there than the show itself. Not long after the crowd started seeping in downstairs. What was more disappointing – while the show was not cheap – the show was barely an hour long. I guess I expect more from bands when I am paying the bigger bucks. Would I recommend them, not in the least. Now the Presets on the other hand. A definite go-see! They are making The Rapture better then they are.