Ra Ra Riot, Walter Meego @ Rudyard's Pub

I don't often walk into a show completely unfamiliar with the bands that I'm about to experience. Since it is such a rare occasion, whenever it does happen it always seems somewhat exhilarating. I think the last occurrence was with Yeasayer's mind-blowing set at Walter's back in February. This time it was upstate New Yorkers Ra Ra Riot that escaped my notice before coming to town. Support act Walter Meego provided an extra dose of newness to the evening with an energy-abundant set to start our night out.

Read more about the show after the jump

Several friends had described Ra Ra Riot's sound as a mix between Canadian collective Arcade Fire and Boston Ivy-leaguers Vampire Weekend. I was sold by that description, and went into the night expecting something that turned out to be not too far off from the final product. Walter Meego was a brand new name to me completely. We were not sure what to expect, besides overhearing some random person sitting near us equating them to MGMT. Hell, I didn't even know if 'Walter Meego' was an actual name of a single person, or if it was just a group's chosen moniker. After grabbing a few Lone Stars, we headed towards the front of the venue to see who or what was about to start playing for us.

Walter Meego, from Chicago, turned out to be a three-piece unit that base themselves in very danceable electronic beats with vocal, keyboard and guitar work added on top. This formula has grown in popularity over the past few years, with bands like MGMT and Hot Chip adding their own flair to the style. Walter Meego did, in fact, sound an awful lot like MGMT, with their vocal delivery pulling in that distinction. Justin Sconza (vocals, guitar and keys) and Colin Yarck (beats, keys) are the main contributors to the band, while Andrew Berhardt (guitar, bass) joins the duo on the road for most of their gigs. On this particular night, they didn't deviate from the track too often, but the spirited beats, and layered rhythms they created provided a nice soundtrack for my heightening buzz. They made the sizeable Rudyard's crowd start to move their feet before the night's main event, Ra Ra Riot, took the stage.

Andrew Bernhardt - Walter Meego

Colin Yarck - Walter Meego

Justin Sconza - Walter Meego

Soon after the guys in Walter Meego cleared their gear, Ra Ra Riot were on stage, ready to begin their headlining set. This six-piece group from Syracuse have been garnering major buzz in the blogosphere and music magazines. Spin recently featured the band, and they have also been traveling the world performing for packed houses. Living in Houston, we are fortunate enough to see smaller shows, so, even though Rudyard's was packed, it was still quite intimate.

They opened their set with several lively numbers that highlighted each different instrumentalist for their specific talents. Standing above the rest was vocalist Wes Miles, who reminded me of some of the scene's most respected singers; Win Butler (Arcade Fire), Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), and Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn and John) come to mind. Hailing from upstate New York, it is obvious that it is not the burgeoning Brooklyn hipster scene that is influencing these kids as much as the Canadian indie-pop that has flooded the blog lines over the last few years. The addition of the string section, consisting of both of the band's female members, Alexandra Lawn on cello and Rebecca Zeller on violin, made me wonder if these kids were actually from Montreal. Their distinct sound on songs like "Each Year," "Run My Mouth" and "Too Too Too Fast" made for a vibrant night of very listenable pop music that even had the most stubborn fan (the guy wearing a shirt featuring a picture of Obama turned upside down with the words NOPE branded across the top) dancing along. The highlight of the set was a quality version of new song "Ghost Under Rocks," which expanded further upon their performance of the song at their Cactus Music in-store earlier in the day.

I went to this show blind, and walked out a fan. Neither Walter Meego nor Ra Ra Riot failed to impress me. It was a nice mix of different indie-rock styles with the guys in Walter Meego taking more a dance approach, while Ra Ra Riot served us a major helping of chamber pop. I would like to see Ra Ra Riot after a few more years to see how much they can progress without destroying their overall sound. After writing new material, and advancing their skills on the road, they should turn into a remarkable live act.

For a fun set of bouncy-yet-danceable grooves, I give Walter Meego 7.2/10 yolks.

For living up to all of their recent hype, I give Ra Ra Riot 7.9/10 yolks.

Check out more photos and video.

-Eggs