Concert review: Ratatat, E*Rock, and Panther at the Granada (September 16)

by Treavor Knox

Evan Mast and Mike Stroud, also known as Ratatat, don’t sing. The Brooklyn-based duo don’t recite poetry over their music either. Good riddance. However, what they do is fuse hip hop beats with spectacular acrobatic guitar riffs as well as a satisfying amount of the blips and glips of electronica. And they do it well.

As was seen and heard at the Granada Theater Tuesday night, Sept. 16. Ratatat’s visit to Dallas was highly anticipated; so much that tickets were sold out in advance and there still were numerous last-minute stragglers hoping to get in to see Ratatat perform. Unfortunately for them the Granada was packed with enthusiastic and eager fans of all shapes, sizes and ages ranging from budding cool teenagers to still cool thirty-somethings waiting to see Ratatat. But they were in for a crash course on electronica by experiencing the good and not-quite-there-yet opening acts, E*Rock and Panther.

E*Rock (not to be confused with “ewok,” although both have curious appearances) is best described as a multi-disciplinary artist as well as electronic musician that uses the layering effect to create intricate beats and compositions all powered by his Macbook. He lead the night with a solid performance; however, in a peculiar fashion with sunglasses atop a black cloth fastened by a bandana. Many audience members saw this dress code as questionable, but when the music started everyone caught on that this E*Rock guy was all about having a great time.

Although it had its entertaining moments, Panther’s performance was lost on many, even nearing heckling status. Their lack of complete success was mainly due to vocalist’s Charlie Salas Humara’s unorthodox singing and dancing style. What saved them from total annihilation by the audience was the music itself, which featured Brazilian rhythms and other world music.

As for the headlining duo, there was no doubt in their ability to perform the set and more specifically, favorites like the jangling “Mirando”, which featured a video montage of the movie Predator; the epic and roaring “Wildcat; and the fan favorite “Seventeen Years”, which you may have heard in J.J. Abrams’ hit movie Cloverfield. Ratatat was tantalizing and although some of the audience tried to resist, they could not stop the urge to dance.

Most Ratatat shows are sold out, but if you can’t wait to see them on their next US tour, they’ll be in Tulsa at the Marquee on Thursday, September 18. The Granada will be welcoming Cut Copy and the Presets on September 30.

As a side note to the girl at the show who loves Pegasus News, we love you, too.

This article was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.

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