What happens when you put blaring beats, bass, birds, a bust of Beethoven and a barrel's worth of blue ribbon into one room? You get the sublime experience that is Ratatat, who played to a sold-out crowd at the Jefferson Theater this past Sunday. The New York-based duo took the stage after West Coast's Bobby Birdman and East Coast's Dom opened up to an antsy crowd. Known for their fusion of electronic sound, catchy pop hooks and hip-hop beats, Ratatat kept the audience in a constant trance of movement.
On tour following the release of LP4, the group's newest album, Ratatat continues to deliver a sound that walks the musical line between relaxation and dance - one that's as wobbly as a failed sobriety test. Completely instrumental, Mike Stroud (guitar) and Evan Mast (bass/producer) complemented each other on stage by weaving between steady musicality and driven, high-energy hooks.
LP4's sound is a continuation of an earlier album, LP3, and both actually were recorded during the same sessions. So what makes this album any different, and what was up with the birds and Beethoven? For starters, LP4, although a successful continuation of their old sound, derives from a mixture of the synthesized with the orchestral. A self-described "weirder" sound, Ratatat matched music with image through the centerpiece of their concert: a three-piece projector set. The main projector spat images onto a standard screen in the back of the stage while the two secondary projectors shot out onto large translucent panels at both ends of front stage. What was projected? To call it "trippy" would be a gross understatement. Random assortments of birds (the de facto theme of LP4), body parts, old music videos, champagne and sparks littered the main screen while Greek statues, Beethoven's head, gyrating necklaces and the generally indescribable rotated out of sync with each other on the side screens. The duo made frequent appearances on the side screens, appearing in Baroque costumes slowly mimicking their own music with 18th-century analog instruments.
Remaining virtually silent throughout the entire concert with the exception of a few "hellos" and "thank-yous," Ratatat had no problem letting the music do the talking. Complemented by a standard, in-sync, low-key light show, Stroud and Mast kept the crowd active and begging for more. Their encore song, "Seventeen Years," got even the most straightlaced of attendees to lose their voices.
Having recently produced songs with Kid Cudi and MGMT, as well as two self-released rap remixes, Ratatat knows what keeps the crowd moving and what falters. To spice things up between songs, they even began drumming. Always ecstatic on stage without trying too hard, Ratatat's stage composure is the epitome of cool. While by no means rock stars, Mast and Stroud hypnotized the Jefferson Theater for a little more than an hour. It's difficult to imagine how a sound could be so mellow and energetic simultaneously, but that's exactly what Ratatat is - the very best of contradictions.
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