Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up Tavern

photos by Allyson Ta, review by Rick Hoffpauer

Ra Ra Riot electrified the crowd at the Belly Up Tavern this past Sunday night. The quintet adorned the stage, clad in all white in promotion of their mid-summer release, Superbloom, which was carefully titled for the 2017 California desert wildflower Super Bloom. Lead singer Wes Miles opened the show with “Absolutely,” from their 2016 album Need Your Light to a crowd that was eager to keep moving after guest band Bayonne kicked off the night with their pure pop lucidity and countless layers and melodic loops. Mathieu Santos slayed the bass with unbridled enthusiasm that was nothing short of special. The band went on the play fan favorites, “Bad Times,” “Dance with Me,” and “When I Dream,” and also melodic sounds from the new album including, “Flowers,” “Bad to Worse,” and “Belladonna.” Rebecca Zeller played her bedazzled violin all night while a wind machine kept her cool on stage. Wes busted out the ukulele and performed an acoustic, stripped down version of “Can You Tell” and “Winter ’05,” which had the crowd swaying. Kenny Bernard was flawless on drums as he maintained the rhythm and kept the band on time. Guitar player Milo Bonacci, was, for some reason, not with the band tonight.

The soft closing song was “Water,” arguably the band’s biggest hit to date from 2016—which drew roars from the crowd. After a two-song encore, the band closed the show with the last song on Superbloom, “A Check For Daniel,” which had comical expressions and accompanying vocals from Mathieu (bassist). Aside from minor sound glitches that had the tech crew on the floor mid-show making adjustments, the intimate feeling of the venue was amazing. I certainly hope more indie bands take a lesson from Ra Ra Riot and make an appeal to their true fans by playing to them in small settings where they can connect better with the band, such as the Belly Up Tavern.

With Ra Ra Riot, the music is just wildly captivating. With having past experience collaborating with Rostam, the band has musically challenged themselves with lauded success and have shown their place on the live stage with such confidence. Solana Beach was just one of the many stops on their intimate, small venue US tour before they embark on a European leg of their tour in December.

Ra Ra Riot’s show at the Belly Up was a stellar performance I won’t soon forget.