ra ra riot

Letterman to cellist Alexandra Lawn: "What is that thing?"

Syracuse, NY-based chamber poppers Ra Ra Riot made their Letterman debut last night, performing "Can You Tell" from their first full-length album, The Rhumb Line. Eggs and I saw them in Houston recently and fell in love with their onstage enthusiasm and infectious melodies. I sorta wish they'd played one of their more energetic songs, but "Can You Tell" is lovely and they sounded great.

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

Ra Ra Riot stopped in at Cactus Music & Record Ranch in Houston, TX for an in-store performance on Saturday, October 4, and Cereal dropped by to give the Syracuse, NY-based sextet a listen. The energetic short set they delivered was an appetizing taste of what was to come later that evening at Rudyard's Pub.

Check out photos and a video from Ra Ra Riot's in-store performance after the jump