Live Review And Photos: Ratatat, 120 Days, Despot (4-10-07) The Loft
Last night, my Ohmpark buddies and I went to the best show I have seen yet at The Loft in Atlanta: Ratatat and 120 Days. Sugarkane dropped this band on me only a few weeks ago, and I have been trying to catch up. I found the crowd at the show to be an uncommon mix of indie hipsters and video-game styled music enthusiasts. I blame this on the venue’s proximity to Georgia Tech; perhaps one of the only ’subculture’ groups in the city with as healthy an addiction to Internet celebrity and fanfare as the indie crowd. Those ‘old-wave’ synths and lo-fi sine waves really get those pencil pushers moving…
Ratatat pull an interesting array of fans together by using their old-school aesthetic to drive their rock star image and still somehow bring a heavy dose of hip-hop into their music. Personally, I love their take on some of the popular trends in music happening today; one being the http://www.8bitpeoples.com type synths. The other, of course, is the pervasive influence of hip-hop culture and how it has become an increasingly central part of mass entertainment culture through the Internet. Ratatat accomplishes a unique intersection of subcultures and styles without becoming confusing or undefined; they have a defined sound.
I had the hardest time explaining to my friend what made Ratatat better than other bands that have latched onto the 8-bit-synth trend/aesthetic (depends how much you scoff/respect it). I hate to say this, but it was the same thing that birthed rock into the mythic proportions it was to consume: the guitar. It makes the entire live show for a band that’s noise-space is 75% synthetic. Other bands have attempted this approach ( http://www.myspace.com/anamanag
I should also mention 120 Days, who put on a great opening set. Probably pretty disappointed with American crowds; piles of guitar effects strung up with the analog synths proved these guys could play the trendiest dance club as easily as a a rock and roll dive. I was very impressed and ran home to check them out; I think most of the crowd was surprised.
Note from BiggieC: Ichuda got to the show after Despot was on. I personally enjoyed him very much. I was stoked to see he could rap without a hype man or DJ. His best song was “Get Rich or Try Dying.”
Also I’d like to thank Catherine for granting me a photo pass.
(Click for larger photos)
- Posted by Eric Guenther on April 12, 2007 at 1:11 am
