As hot bands go, few are more fiery than NYC funk-punkers the Rapture; their ìHouse of Jealous Loversî single (DFA records) is the dirty disco anthem of the summer from house clubs to basement rock parties, and the UK press salivates ever more with every prospective release. Last weekend the boys officially entered the ranks of NYC rock royalty by headlining the Labor Day Weekend edition of the legendary Motherfucker party at Club Shelter. Motherfucker parties are serious, no-hold barred debauchery, so right there the Rapture boys had a leg up ñ but given the huge lines outside, front man Luke Jenner and his boys had a lot to live up to.
Taking the stage haircuts first, Jenner, bassist Matt Safer, drummer Vito Roccoforte and a saxophonist/percussionist (whose name couldnít be turned up in an extensive google search) proceeded to get down and dirty from the jump. Jenner is a screamer par excellence ñ and though his vocals were low in the mix, everyone in the packed room got the picture; thereís no artifice here, just raw power. The energy was palpable ñ Saferís liquid bass lines rumbling below Roccoforteís hissing hi hats and the sax skronk of the unknown member, who managed to look hilariously like a manic bastard of Ben Stiller and Bjorn Borg ñ curly fro strapped in by a white sweatband. ìHouse of Jealous Loversî was a predictable highlight, with the whole of Williamsburg singing along ñ but the Raptureís live show presented a more varied look at the band that the gangbusting single; they move easily from straight funk pieces into instrumental interludes that recall the depth and scope of War-era U2, but can just as quickly roil into a fierce free-jazz meltdown as they did to end the set. To surmise? Motherfucker! – that was great.
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Source: Ben Dietz
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