Miami Riot Band

Miami Horror proves disco isn't a lost cause, but rather a cause for celebration

Disco. Nashville. There's two nouns you're not likely to see in the same sentence. One wouldn't be out of line for thinking the two were mutually exclusive. One would, however, be wrong — but we can't blame one for thinking that. Superficially, Nashville doesn't come across as a disco sort of town — blame all the neon cowboy-boot signs — and disco's history as a panethnic, pansexual celebration of personal freedom doesn't quite jive with country music's history as the blond-haired, blue-eyed heteronormative version of "Real America." On the surface, modern dance music's paterfamilias and the home of Music Row should have nothing to do with each other.

But like most things in modern Music City, the tourist brochures are misleading, the old mores are, um, more or less abandoned, and the traditional barriers between musical forms have been torn down — this city loves itself some disco! No, seriously, I've seen it in person — in the flesh, if you will — and I'll bet you've seen it, too. We're not about to give Larry Levan a plaque on the Walk of Fame, but I've definitely seen crusty old rockers in East Nashville dive bars pump their drunken fists and bust out the full-body head-nod to Bombers' super-deep disco classic "Don't Stop the Music." I've seen a pack of internationally acclaimed indie-folkies shake it something serious to Gino Soccio's "Dancer," and you can't play "Ring My Bell" in this town without the looming threat of a riot breaking out.

And that's just listening to the classics outside of a traditional club environment — modern disco is even more of a mover and shaker, and an even more important part of this city's nightlife landscape. Y2K — the weekly Saturday dance party at 12th & Porter — is arguably the biggest, most respected party in the city, drawing hundreds of people every week, and one might even go so far as to say its success is the result of DJ/Y2K mastermind Coach's unbeatable ear for the latest and greatest in funky four-on-the-floor sounds. Monthlies like Vital — presented by blogger-philanthropists Vitalic Noise — and new hot bands like Cherub have dipped their buckets in the disco stream with great success, and Nashville's burgeoning hip-hop scene isn't afraid to bust out the mirror ball when the mood strikes. In other words, disco is in the air and on the sound system all across the city.

Which is why a good turnout for Australian disco-pop quartet Miami Horror at Mercy Lounge is an actual possibility — listening to records is all well and good, but there's nothing like a live band to get the blood pumping. While the Horror began as the solo remix endeavor of producer Benjamin Plant, cranking out some of the best remixes of the Naughty Aughties — it takes a lot to improve on Stardust's ultra-mega-super-classic "Music Sounds Better With You," but damn it if Plant didn't pull it off — Miami Horror circa now is a full-on, full-band funk phenomenon. Pulling as much influence from the classic synth sounds of Soccio and Giorgio Moroder's '70s work as it does from the angularity of early '80s New Wave and electro, the coquettish allure of Hi-NRG and the propulsive, organic grooves of early house music, Miami Horror is a disco nerd's wet dream.

The Miami Hurricane » Ra Ra Riot shakes up SoFla

Alexandra Lawn, the cellist from Ra Ra Riot, dances with her instrument mid-concert at Culture Room Monday night, March 7. The band is touring after their second album was released in 2010. The Luyas, a Canadian band, opened the show, which drew fans from all over south Florida. This was the farthest south the six-member band from Syracuse, NY, has ever performed.Brittney Bomnin//Art Director

Amid the Middle Eastern décor and the smell of herbs at Fort Lauderdale’s The Culture Room, I sleepily stood on the second-floor HiBar ready to discover a semi-underground indie rock band on a school night.

But Ra Ra Riot’s first concert in South Florida definitely kept me wide awake.

Following the opening act, Canadian electro-pop ensemble The Luyas, Ra Ra Riot took the stage two hours after doors opened. And it was well worth the wait.

Ra Ra Riot was founded on the campus of Syracuse University in 2006 and recently released their newest album “The Orchard,” which the band wrote in a peach orchard while living on a New York farm.

On Monday night, the vivacious Ra Ra Riot instantly got the room jumping with the drum-pumping “Massachusetts,” just one of the new album’s many hits. Heads were bopping and The Culture Room was alive with movement to Ra Ra Riot’s upbeat tempo. Even band member Mathieu Santos was rocking like a robot with his bass. “Boy,” the band’s last song before an encore, had the crowd clapping along, evidence of Ra Ra Riot’s great connection with their audience.

The band kept the energy high throughout with vocalist Wes Miles’ passionate riffs and intense trills from violinist Rebecca Zeller and cellist Alexandra Lawn, especially during “Do You Remember,” a softer number.

As the emotion escalated during “You and I Know,” Lawn, who was previously on the keyboard, turned up the passion as she took the microphone with an incredible vocal range.

The most impressive part of Ra Ra Riot live was undoubtedly their versatility on stage. The band’s alternative genre itself seems a mixed breed, with hints of folk, ‘80s pop and adult contemporary. And the band, too, is filled with variety. With two girls and four guys, a unique string section and revolving singers and keyboardists, Ra Ra Riot was constantly dancing and shifting roles on the stage.

Although Ra Ra Riot may seem similar to the motley beneath the indie umbrella (namely to the band’s friends in Vampire Weekend), their show was moving- not just physically- and made the group’s premiere in South Florida simply a great time.

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