Wildfire Reviews: Ra Ra Riot rock out the Cracker Factory despite awkward openers, B+

Above: Ra Ra Riot perform at the Cracker Factory in Geneva, NY on Saturday, April 9th, 2016

In a city where not a lot of concerts happen, Ra Ra Riot intended to change all of that this past Saturday night. The indie rock group rocked out the Cracker Factory in Geneva, NY to a pumped up crowd inside the abandoned building.
Although there's been some recent member changes over the past few years, Ra Ra Riot is still very much the same. They still carry amazing energy live. Wes's voice is better then ever, and although the rest of the group is still great, he stands out more then anyone else. Of course, the others members all did their own thing while still successfully blending themselves in well with the group as whole. It was great to still see original member Rebecca Zeller having fun and playing the violin more powerful then ever before.

However, even as great as Ra Ra Riot were, they barely made things up for the rest of the experience at the Cracker Factory. The factory is interesting venue to see a concert, and it was a special night for the city of Geneva and the band. However, any music junkee could tell the people there do not go out and see many live shows.

The crowd was a very interesting mixture of younger indie kids and older adults, with an equal amount of both male and females in attendance. They surprisingly gave each band their devoted attention, and nearly every one in the place was dancing and moving to opener PWR BTTM, despite their awkward presence. Musically, PWR BTTM has room for improvement, but it was the way they acted themselves that really was a turn off watching their set. Aside from those particular things, it was an emotional night for the opener, as the crowd was really excited throughout their set and the group even played several extra songs longer then scheduled.

Despite the first two groups lacking musical influence and taste, Ra Ra Riot made up for it. Everyone in the crowd clapped and cheered the musicians on the incredible smalls stage. It was clear the band wasn't backing down from anything, from the first song to the last.
There was only one negative thing about Ra Ra Riot's performance at the Cracker Factory and that was how short their set was. Granted the concert did last until 11:30, but the band could have easily played a little longer and throw in some rare tunes they haven't played in a while, especially for being the last date on their tour.

Other then that, the band performed exceptionally well, and surprisingly the sound was great for their performance at the Cracker Factory.
It was an emotional concert for everyone, as it was Ra Ra Riot's last show on their recent tour and being in their home based area of Upstate New York. But, the energetic crowd Saturday night showed that the band has devoted fans that will go with them wherever they go.

B+

Setlist for Ra Ra Riot on Saturday, April 9th, 2016

1) Too Too Fast

2) Binary Mind

3) Every time I'm ready to Hug

4) oh, La

5) Foreign Lovers

6) Suckers

7) Beta Lov

8) Can you tell

9) Bad Times

10) Dance with me