Cowbells and disco-rock dancin’

The Rapture
The Guvernment – 10.27.06
Rating: 9/10

Disco-punk, dance rock, disco-rock; whatever you want to call it seems to be a short-lived, dying genre in today’s rock scene. The birth of this stripped down garage disco rock saw the rise and fall of bands like Radio 4, LCD Soundsystem, and the Moving Units. Somewhere in the middle, The Rapture rose to the top with their bare-bones version of punky disco that got even the most pretentious of the indie-hipsters shaking their Asses. While supporting their second full-length release “Pieces of the People We Love”, Friday night marked their triumphant return to Toronto where they played an early show at the Guvernment Nightclub. Unfortunately the night began with the absence of supporting electro-pop act The Presets. Due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’, the duo did not show up, putting extra pressure on The Rapture to step up their game and get the crowd moving.

At 7:45pm, our boys hit the stage to the tune of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up” blaring over the house speakers and the massive applause from the anticipating and surprisingly drunk crowd. The Rapture got right into it with the second track from their debut LP, “Heaven”, leading the crowd through an energized countdown to the chaotic melody of sheering guitars, disco bass-lines and of course, lots of cowbell. They continued to quickly work through their catalogue pulling out their newest hits “Get Myself Into It” and “Pieces of People We Love” within the first few tracks, all of which showcased Luke Jenner’s wailing high-pitched chants and the rest of the band’s grooved out version of modern disco.

Much to the audience’s pleasure, The Rapture sounded amazingly tight carrying us through their 80-minute set. Somewhere in the middle, bass player Gabriel Andruzzi grabbed the mic and sarcastically kudos the absent Presets on their ‘amazing set’. Clearly disenchanted, he told them to ‘go F#$@ themselves’ and dedicated the next song – their massive 2004 hit ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ – to the M.I.A. Parisian duo. With the opening charged-up drum break, the dance floor immediately broke out into a sweaty frenzy of rave and rock kids alike all moshing and displaying their funkiest moves on the floor at the Guvernment. It was clear that these boys from New York knew how to get a party started, even if it was at 8:30 on a Friday night. Undoubtedly enjoying themselves, they worked through the rest of their upbeat set playing fan favourites such as “I Need Your Love”, “The Devil”, and their ode to alcohol “Sister Saviour”. They ended off their set with their newest release “Whoo Alright Yeah Uh Huh” breaking down the song into a massive sing along with the audience shouting;

‘People don’t dance no more; they just stand around like this, they cross their arms, they stare you down, they drink, the moan, they dis’

Throughout all the shouting, four-to-the-floor drum breaks, and rolling bass lines, The Rapture played one of the most fun and exciting concerts I’ve ever been to in this city. Finally, a Toronto rock audience was able to put their egos aside and just dance like idiots for a single night. The Rapture’s Friday night show proved that even though the careers of many disco-punk bands never spanned further than one album, this particular New York foursome still have much to offer the world of Rock n’ Roll. “I need more cowbell baby!!!”

Reviewed by: Craig Hill

3 comments October 30th, 2006