The Rapture brings in the Friday night crowd at Webster Hall
Mother Nature's grey skies and continuous pelting of rain was not enough to stop The Rapture from performing an electrifying show at Webster Hall. The New York-based dance-punk outfit was eager to showcase their material that had been in the works for the last five years, hoping to prove they were well worth the wait.
Opening for The Rapture was the eccentric Ian Svenonius with his current project, Chain and the Gang. Donning a yellow suit with a backing band clad in jail outfits and morose facades, Svenonius attempted to warm up the crowd with his awkward singing-talking style, going back and forth with his call girl, both repeating the word "yeah" until it had lost its meaning. Unfortunately for C&TG, the sparse crowd radiated an uncomfortable vibe towards Svenonius' antics.
After Chain and the Gang took its leave an hour too late, a wave of soaking wet spectators entered the Hall, squishing everyone together and reducing the breathing space to that of an inch. All were bright-eyed and eager, nervously swaying and shaking, hoping for The Rapture to make their jaws drop. When the blue lights dimmed, the members lingered out cooly, one by one, to their respective instruments. Beginning with the eerie keyboard beat affiliated with "In The Grace Of Your Love," the titular song to their recent album, the band smoothly layered their parts one on top of another, building the suspense to Luke Jenner's whiny droll guitar riff. After dropping the first line, laced with a slight tinge of falsetto, a surge of cacophonous approval vibrated throughout the crowd.
The Rapture kept the excitement at its peak during each song, never faltering in their intensity. From skin-vibrating bass on "The Devil" to Jenner's wailing during "Killing", he threw down every vocal with all he had. Each song melded with the previous one perfectly, creating a continuous stream of auditory bliss that made everyone dance. What had started out as a simple concert had transformed itself into a colossal dance party. Even Jenner wanted to be a part of the action, and did so by his stage diving into the crowd during "Echoes," three times. After his final dive, Jenner hopped back on stage, shook hands with a few in the front row, and got right back to his awkward hop-skipping dancing while strumming the guitar riffs.
Right after finishing the initial setlist, The Rapture said their good-byes and made way to the exit. Already sweat inundated and exhausted, the crowd clapped and hollered for more, everyone attempting to coax the band back out for an encore. The Rapture had just made it up the stairs, but the members raced down and were back in their places, diving straight into the two-song closer with the highly energetic "Sail Away." Before the final song, Luke decided to reveal his emotional side to the crowd by announcing his wife's birthday, as well as their 10th wedding anniversary, and dedicated the night to her. Ending with the slow and jazzy "It Takes Time to Be a Man," the crowd was left with a tranquil mindset, more than satisfied with the time spent in the Rapture's musical heaven.
Matthew Levine is a contributing writer. Email him at music@nyunews.com
