Man, everything about The Rapture is fun fun fun! Plain and simple, feeling good is their straight-up agenda. It’s in their name, it’s in their lyrics, it’s in their sound, it’s in who they chose to open and it’s for goddamned sure in their live shows.
The clarity of the band’s intentions means everyone shows up ready, willing and eager to stomp the shit out of the floor. It’s in the air before the lights go down—everyone in the place has agreed to fun. That’s not to say the crowd gives it up easily, they still make the boys earn it, but it’s this symbiotic build to frenzy that makes the night so amazing. If you happen to find yourself at a Rapture show not having fun, then there’s something going on with you, and you really need to take a look at. I don’t mean this in terms of musical taste or whether a Freddy Krueger shirt, gold chain and a saxophone turns you off or on, but just in terns of being open to the mood of the room.
The tour-ending show at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles Monday night was no exception. The night started with The Presets, authors of Beams—one of the most listenable albums of the year. Hailing from Australia, the country leading the fluorescent assault on the world, The Presets threw up a show that both rivals and complimented the headliners. Thrashing into it with “Girl (You Chew My Mind Up)†and ending with “I Go Hard, I Go Home,†the song titles tell you more about the set than anything I could try and come up with.
Then came The Rapture. Pulling equally from Pieces of the People We Love and Echoes as well one or two off the Out of the Races EP, they had the room sweaty by the fourth song. It was at this point Luke Jenner made like his guitar was a riffle and started snipping members of the audience. This was a bit confusing but I figure he was picking off the few people not shaking ass, the ones who inspire the “just stand there like this†indictments in W.A.Y.U.H.
