Whether it be getting their name out there in the streets via bootleg-type remixes to the hip-hop community, or just jamming out their psychedelic guitars to serve up a hot party, Ratatat has been doing it several ways. These two guys have been continuing to gain a strong fan base through their tours, guitars and wild remixes/mixtapes. The hippie-ish duo of Ratatat, otherwise known as Evan Mast and Mike Stroud, hit up Chicago for the second time in as many months for the tail end of their tour with epic-styled electronic rockers Junior Boys and Mouse on Mars. This time they filled the dancehall-flavored Logan Square Auditorium with their jammy guitars, funked up basslines and drum machined ratatats (syncopated). If it weren’t for the wide dimensions of the auditorium, which makes a lot of the music bounce off the walls and reverb back at you, the sound in there would be sharper. Nonetheless, this up and coming venue has been attracting many bands and DJ’s that come through Chicago. The lights on the ceiling may do it. Ratatat however, set the mood with their tripped out visual projections and guitar treats for this Halloween weekend in Chicago.
Playing most tracks off of their self-titled debut CD/LP (out now on Beggars/XL Recordings), and a few from their Audio Dregs line, Ratatat would fluctuate from a uptempo’d dance song like “Seventeen Years”, all the way to a mellowed out cut of “El Pico”, which is that chilled little tune some of you may have heard on the menu screen of The Player .052. Ratatat is definitely blowing up though with “Seventeen Years”, a guitar driven, dance infused song that just gets you grooving and whiling out. They even took the time to set up a photography/creativity contest for their fans on the XL Recordings website to see who can cut out the most clever little Ratatat figures and paste them in the best background or setting.
These two set the party well, and also show you the softer side of themselves with track like “Spanish Armada.” Check them out next time they come to your town for both a visual offering of Ratatat art, and their signature Ratatat sound. Or check out the CD and/or cop that mixtape for all those bootleg tunes.
Source: Sergio Flores
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