The Way We Get By: Halloween at the Hi-Tone

After driving past the Hi-Tone on my way to the grocery several weeks ago, I decided that I had to go to a show there. I'd only heard good things about it, and I'm in love with the intimate adventures that are dive bar shows, so after trolling their calendar for October, Ra Ra Riot it was. Admittedly, I wasn't very familiar with their music, but I liked the few songs that I knew, and it only cost $12! So I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity to experience the Hi-Tone for the first time and to get to know Ra Ra Riot a little better.

While Ra Ra Riot didn't go on until about 11, I'm really glad I got there early. If I hadn't I would have missed out on the hidden gem that is Yellow Ostrich. Never heard of them? I hadn't either. But that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying their set. In honor of Halloween, the band dressed as zombies and played covers of The Zombies, in addition to some of their own material. Of their originals, "Whale" stood out above the rest. Frontman Alex Schaaf looped his voice into several harmonies, weaving a beautifully layered backdrop for the rest of the song. Equally impressive was bassist Jon Natchez's ability to play an assortment of different horns--all while wearing a mask, of course. And all this for only about 15 people! That takes chutzpah. I wish I had taken some pictures or videos. As soon as I have some money in my pocket, I'll be buying Yellow Ostrich's album. Check them out here: http://www.yellowostrich.com/

Delicate Steve was the other opening act. They were more or less a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band, and while they had great energy and even had audience members sing some RHCP lyrics, I was left a little underwhelmed. There was no original character to their covers. They did, however, play their entire set in their underwear...

And finally, it's 11. It's time for Ra Ra Riot, and the Hi-Tone is much more crowded than it was a few hours ago. Not ignoring Halloween, the band comes out fully costumed--a chicken suit for Wes Miles, were-wolf mask for Mathieu Santos, a gorilla suit for Milo Bonacci, cow suit for Kenny Bernard, and wings for both Alexandra Lawn and Rebecca Zeller. Their set was a great time...and it didn't hurt that I got to enjoy basically the entire show about 4 feet from the stage. The band was all energy and didn't tire throughout their set--an impressive feat for some of those costumes. Not only that, but each band member plays several different instruments, so the group was constantly shuffling around, taking turns on the mic and switching up instruments. "Ghost Under Rocks" and "Too Too Too Fast" were high points of Ra Ra Riot's set--the crowd thrived off of the band's spirit. The only low points were those stupid dinosaur kids you see in the first picture (and about half of them after that). They somehow managed to get in almost every shot! Also my camera frequently refused to focus, especially on the videos. But Ra Ra Riot's dynamic performance more than made up for that. Plus, before their encore, Miles threw candy out into the crowd...and then played with the candy bucket on his head.