Rah Rah @ Rancho Relaxo
By: Anne-Marie Bissada
The tightly-squeezed crowd that gathered around the stage at Rancho Relaxo in anticipation of Rah Rah's performance was a mix of frat boys, waifs balancing on stiletto heels, boys in plaid lumberjack shirts, girls out for fun and parents taking a night off. In short, they represented a varied assemblage of music lovers.
After draping a few sound boxes in sequined purple and green cloth, the group was ready to go. They jumped into their first song without a word spoken to the audience. A few heads from the large crowd began to nod in unison to the dancey beat. After their second song, "Tentacles", Samra finally spoke to the crowd, quickly introducing them. Marshall's hair reminded me a bit of a Ken doll, as it stayed perfectly in place when swept to one side. At one point, Kristina, who plays the fiddle and performs vocals, switched to her accordion. It was then that I developed a slight crush on the band, as my heart tends to skip a beat when I hear a well-played accordion; and that's what they've got, woven into their cutesy yet sophisticated sounding songs.
They continued to belt out tune after tune, laughing and enjoying themselves more up on stage then the crowd did below. It's not that their performance didn't convey a fun-loving and animated feel; it did. In fact, I spent the entire show trying not to break out into a dance while others kept up their head nodding and knee-jerking. But the crowd did manage to break into cheers when a song about Regina, Saskatchewan was played, and finally began to move about when they played the last song, "My Guarantee": a mix of country-folk and with a hint of pop and beats to make you move and swing your arms.
