It’s 100°F in Coney Island, New York City, yet my friends and I (drenched in sweat) are clamouring to get even closer to the stage in front of us and even cozier with the flock of moccasin boots-and-American-Apparel-clad crowd surrounding us. The setting?The Siren Music Festival, a free annual concert held on two platforms amidst roller coasters and hot dog stands in a dilapidated amusement park. Each year, it attracts a crowd primarily of the intellectual hipster variety (though there are definitely exceptions, including the man standing next to me shrieking, “Drink beer!”).

To be perfectly honest, I have actually only listened to three or four of the fourteen booked bands prior to the festival, so I’m forced to mimic the eager expectancy of those around me as I gaze up at the stage to see who would play next. A good friend of mine and die-hard fan leans over to tell me animatedly that he once almost met the “gorgeous” cellist while walking to a different show months ago. Hmm, a cellist in a rock band–interesting.

Ra Ra Riot takes the stage, and without even knowing what hit me, I’m swept into a blissful dancing tizzy. The stage resembles some sort of public rave party with a neon yellow bass, a star-shaped tambourine, red-framed Risky Business sunglasses, and six extremely good-looking musicians. After a few poppy but swelling songs that kept everyone on their toes, Wes Miles’ haunting vocals to “Ghost Under Rocks” struck my ears with a feeling of invincibility, and I was sold. For a band who has yet to release a full-length album, Ra Ra Riot has certainly made a name for themselves. If you’re yearning for indie rock with something more, or even chamber music with a twist, your thirst will certainly be quenched by this sextet. They’ve even managed to take an E. E. Cummings poem and turn it into their single, “Dying Is Fine”. Their first album, The Rhumb Line, drops August 19^th.

Image courtesy of Ra Ra Riot

Filed under: Music