UPDATED: April 12, 2011, 1:01 a.m.

CORRECTION: In this article and headline, the last time Ra Ra Riot played in Syracuse was misstated. Ra Ra Riot performed at Funk ‘n Waffles and The Sound Garden in August 2010. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.

As soon as the doors of Westcott Theater opened at 7 p.m. Thursday, a snaking line of fans streamed into the dimly lit venue. Inside, a crowd flocked around the merchandise table in a far corner, sifting through a cluttered collection of headliner Ra Ra Riot T-shirts and CDs, including the band’s second studio album, ‘The Orchard.’ Released last August, that album was one of the reasons for the band’s current seven-date tour.

It’s been five years since indie-rock band Ra Ra Riot first played house shows around Syracuse University, but as guitarist Milo Bonacci said in an interview before the show, there’s nothing better than coming back to where the band staked its roots.

‘There’s definitely nostalgia, but it’s exciting,’ said Bonacci. ‘It’s a bit strange to be coming back to Syracuse, where we formed as a band and where we grew up. Every time we’ve come back, there have been fewer and fewer people still here that we know.’

The last time Ra Ra Riot played a hometown show was in March 2009.

As show time neared, fans hustled to the stage to get prime viewing spots for the band.

Before the main event, folk group Northbound Traveling Minstrel Jug Band casually stepped onstage, rollicking into its bluesy set list as the crowd swayed along noncommittally.

However, when singer Aaron Gittleman asked the crowd, ‘Who’s ready for some Ra Ra Riot?’ during one of the band’s few breaks in playing, fans broke into a booming round of applause.

After a quick sound check, the two lead singers of Generationals strapped on their guitars and played several songs from their most recent alternative rock album, ‘Actor-Caster.’ The band declared it would be accompanying Ra Ra Riot on its upcoming tour dates.

Freshman Mirrah Stoller first found out about the band’s ties to Syracuse from a professor in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries. The professor mentioned that Bonacci had majored in architecture at SU before the band began touring.

‘In a sense, Ra Ra’s the big pride, joy and success story of the SU alternative music scene here,’ Stoller said.  

During the prolonged break between Generationals’ set and Ra Ra Riot’s entrance, anticipation peaked as fans stood around, anxiously awaiting the headliner.

Just a few minutes after 10 p.m., lead singer Wes Miles ambled onto the stage. He waved to the fans who huddled around the stage after a three-hour wait for the band’s set, comprised mainly of songs from its two full-length albums, ‘The Rhumb Line’ and its more recent ‘The Orchard.’ Once all of the band members walked onstage, chatting among themselves and tuning their equipment, Miles forcibly took hold of the microphone and began a spirited set.

Everything from Alexandra Lawn’s unorthodoxly hollowed-out cello to Rebecca Zeller’s glitter-spangled violin to the band members’ generally quirky stage presence conveyed their unique brand of indie pop. The swaying audience erupted with cheers as Lawn set down her instrument, pushed dark strands of her wild hair out of her eyes and picked up the microphone during ‘You and I Know,’ the only song in the band’s catalogue on which she is the lead singer, leaving Miles to tickle the ivories on the keyboard.

For new fans like freshman French major Emily Gilson, it was well worth the wait to see the band for the first time.

‘It was high energy, yet not too frenzied to make me feel worn out by the end of it,’ Gilson said. ‘They played a good mix of old and new songs, and besides going deaf from standing by the speaker, the atmosphere was pretty great!’

Miles repeatedly thanked the large crowd for coming to the show and supporting the band as he caught his breath between songs, his curly hair all over the place due to his frenetic dancing.

The hourlong set got the sea of fans to sing and dance along, peaking with a singles-heavy run of ‘Can You Tell,’ ‘Boy’ and, from the band’s newest extended play record, ‘Too Dramatic.’ The crowd, including Stoller, ecstatically enjoyed hearing the band play some fan favorites.

‘I was in a distant mind-land, dancing with epic joy when they played ‘Boy,” said Stoller. ‘And I knew that ‘Ghosts Under Rocks’ had really rockin’ potential in a live setting. I was super psyched to hear both!’

After an abrupt end to the set, Miles set the microphone back in its stand and, with one last heartfelt goodbye, nonchalantly strolled off the stage with his bandmates. Following a brief spell of stunned silence, the entire venue swelled with a rousing chant of ‘one more song!’

The exclamations hit a crescendo, and one by one, the band members walked back onstage, with one last trick up their sleeves. After a spirited first song of a two-track encore, Miles quieted the crowd to introduce the band’s last song of the night with a personal anecdote.

‘Does anyone live off campus?’ Miles asked the crowd, to which several students enthusiastically shouted.

‘Does anyone live on Clarendon Street?’ The audience died down, with only a half-hearted response.

‘How about 211 Clarendon?’Only a few fans yelled back in the subdued venue, anticipating the band’s closing number.

‘That’s where the magic was first made for us. It’s where we wrote this first song. Hope you guys enjoy it,’ said Miles, before closing his eyes and launching into the band’s hit single ‘Dying is Fine,’a fitting end for a show that brought Ra Ra Riot back to its humble roots.

ervanrhe@syr.edu

Published on April 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman