Ratatat @ The Regency Ballroom 8/3/2015

An announcement for the sold-out Ratatat show at The Regency Ballroom on July 31st came from the band early that morning alerting ticket holders that the their tour bus broke down so the show had to be re-scheduled.  Fans were understandably bummed that the Friday night show got moved to that following Monday night but they were actually really lucky that Ratatat was able to reschedule so quick. The Brooklyn based band had an open slot on their tour and their bus was repaired and en route to SF over the weekend! I for one would rather go to a show any night of the week than have to
wait weeks or even months to see a show that had to be rescheduled.

Ratatat @ The Regency Ballroom 8/3/2015
Photo by Marc Fong

Flashy  riffs wafted from the guitar of Mike Stroud as "Pricks of Brightness" as  luminous bass from Evan Mast steadily blended in with rhythmic drum machine beats filling the room with  euphoric rocktronica sound. Huge, hanging pieces of plexiglass which bookended the stage (the same ones they had the last time they played in SF aft The Warfield a few years back) were used to project cool holographic images and a wild array of color-changing lasers, blinding lights and pulsating strobes,  amplified the experience of Ratatat's live performance.

Ratatat @ The Regency Ballroom 8/3/2015
Photo by Marc Fong

The crowd joyfully cheered at the top of each song of the well balanced set which covered all five albums and included: "Loud Pipes", "Kennedy", "Grape Juice City", "Falcon Job". Of course the room roared real loud with applause for "Wildcat", the bands most well known single which surprisingly wasn't saved for the end of the show.

Ratatat @ The Regency Ballroom 8/3/2015
Photo by Marc Fong

Ratatat is known for exploring the avenues of electronica, taking it to unexpected places with rock driven instrumentals. The two musicians poured their passion into their work on stage, delivering a high quality show of their multi-faceted sound.

 Sweaty, smiling fans peacefully danced to the crafty, hypnotic electro-indie with only a few, welcomed interruptions of "thank yous" from Stroud and Mast between songs on Friday night, giving them more time to churn out tunes for fans to enjoy.




Sweet, chill, retro surf-rock melodies of "Supreme", washed over the crowd cooly as they transitioned to the end of the show but the dance party wasn't over yet. The room erupted in a controlled craziness, for the high and low tempos of the last song of the regular set "Seventeen Years".

The two song encore included the swirling, adrenaline pumping, breakdown/buildup riddled "Shempi" off 2008's LP,  which again sent fans into a little, happy feet frenzy. 

It was definitely anything but a mundane Monday and as fans spilled out of the venue it was clear to see that some might be hurting at work the next day, but everyone there knew  it was well worth it!