The Rapture Live Review

Thursday night and the weekend has begun in earnest at The Metro for the much anticipated return of The Rapture. In town for Future Music, their intimate sideshows may be the ideal place to sample their tight dance-punk. The New Yorkers seem to provide the soundtrack to any cooler than thou party yet their arrival was far more modest than expected. One by one, each member strolled nonchalantly onstage and you could have mistaken them for roadies until a rhythm evolved into the drawn out introduction to In The Grace Of Your Love.

Never Die Again belatedly got the party started as the track shimmied around percussion, colossal basslines and the odd saxophone solo to which the floor gradually got their sway on. With a smidgen of new material duly delivered they could concentrate on the greatest hits, notably a funky rendition of Pieces Of The People We Love. Gradually the band seemed to be stepping out; Gabriel Andruzzi again swapped his keyboard for the saxophone during Get Myself Into It and got booties shaking. If they needed to turn it down, the understated cool of The Devil impressed with Luke Jenner’s piercing wails returned in fervour.

Again the focus shifted, this time to the bass guitar being wielded as a weapon of mass delirium for Killing. Then to Jenner’s Telecaster for sharp, shrill riffs that invigorated Whoo! Alright, Yeah…Uh Huh, allowing the added percussion to bleed the track into House Of Jealous Lovers. Halfway into their set and those familiar cowbell taps probably came too early to gift the showpiece tune the fanfare it deserved. Dropping their hit arguably let the set to breath allowing for the unshackled breakdown of Olio to fully astound.

By Omar Soliman