Author:
Dear Editor,
I was disappointed to find Riley Kimball’s review of Ratatat’s Sept. 10 show glaring back at me as I sat down to sip my “abysmal” Marketplace coffee yesterday. That little word I’ve just used (plus a few others) is what drove me to write this letter.
When I saw Ratatat in July, Panther wasn’t one of the opening acts. But based on the numerous other times I’ve seen him perform (as both headliner and opener, with and without his new tag along drummer), I can say without a doubt that Mr. Kimball utterly missed the point.
Here’s some information Mr. Kimball clearly didn’t research before writing his review: Panther, nee Charlie Salas-Humaras, is a much beloved Portland musician who combines underlying beats with intelligent lyricism that he spouts off at breakneck speeds, occasionally accompanied by wails and always by a truly-embarrassing-yet-liberating solo dance routine. These aspects make up fantastic performances and tracks that get inextricably stuck in your head. Perhaps Charlie was having an off night. But was his set abysmal? Doubtful.
Ratatat’s success in the past few months is well-deserved-the result of hard work and a drive to redefine listeners’ music standards. This success, however, seems to have ironically altered their audience’s composition. These revolutionizing darlings of independent music, if Mr. Kimball is to be believed, have lost their once open-eared show attendees to close-minded “heckling” ones. Standing in that Sept. 10 audience sounds more abysmal than anything else in the article’s scenario.
People seem to have forgotten that music that rejects set ideas of sing-song harmony and formality is not a bad thing. I think it’s about time we remember.
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