CONCERT REVIEW : The Rapture - Live at the Rex Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA 2/3/2007

Back in 2004, the dance punk music scene was in full swing. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing a band that took ferocious guitar licks combined with a disco back-beat that was able to get rave kids, indie college young adults, and aging hipsters on the same dance-floor getting down to their funky sound.

Fast forward a couple of years. The music scene has shifted up, down, and all around. But like any change in music, the pretenders fade away and the truly talented ones stand the test of time. And while a number of the once upbeat rockers like the Liars and Bloc Party have made shifts in the way the sound, The Rapture have continued on their path of creating their brand of raw, electronic, post-punk that keeps the dance floor bumping. And their show at Pittsburgh's Rex Theatre on February 3rd was a perfect example of just that

On that freezing winter night, the club was packed with a diverse group of music lovers ready to dance their freezing chills away. As the band took the stage, bassist/vocalist Mattie Safer took the stage and proclaimed "...we're ready to get down with you guys tonight". From their, the band kicked off with their first ever single, "Out of the Races on Onto the Tracks" and as singer/guitarist Luke Jenner repeatedly screams the word "shake", the audience did just that for the next 90 minutes.

The set-list covered the majority of their last two releases (2003's Echoes and 2006's Pieces of the People We Love respectively), both of which went over quite well to the pleasure of the crowd. From Jenner's vocal wailing on "Echoes" to Mattie's sing-a-long on "W.A.Y.U.H.", Gabriel Andruzzi's saxophone boogie on "Killing" and Vito Roccoforte's disco drumroll on "Sister Savior", the Rapture was able combine the sum of their parts to create a sound that was impossible to resist.

After the band took a quick encore break, the boys came out to perform "Do Gon Do It" and "First Gear", two standout tracks from their latest album. After that, they put down their instruments and pick on their keyboards, drum machines and kicked out "Olio". The Kraftwerk inspired tune was a wonderful to bring the energy level down while still keeping with the killer groove the band had built throughout the evening.

The Rapture have really done something quite wonderful here. They have found a way to move forward with their music, while staying true their roots and giving their audience exactly what they want; an all out dance party for everyone to enjoy.