A Fool on His Back! Ratatat Shred like Lohan’s Twat at Poplife

You may have heard that Ratatat is sonically influenced by hip hop beats, Brooklyn electro and ascending video game levels, but their show in Miami on Saturday drew aesthetics from a nice lineage of rock: AC/DC’s back-bending guitar stance; acid punch bathing a white sheet a la early Pink Floyd; hipster rock’s jeans du jour; and the unkempt long hair of Hype!-era Washington.
Words: Kyle Munzenrieder / ignore Magazine

The only missing piece from this referential puzzle was a charismatic front man. Ratatat doesn’t have nor need one. Said back-bending guitarist Mike Stroud sort of filled the gap, with E*vax on bass, along with a requisite touring keyboardist. They unleashed live versions of the smooth, emotively conflicted instrumental butter heard on last year’s Classics, an ignore staple, as well as a newer track that went nameless.

The venue, Post (usually in caps) – a Coral Gables restaurant anchoring a strip mall and Poplife's latest, if somewhat mildly received, home base – isn't the ideal live venue, but it's reliable, and the crowd was into the show. A highlight worth tacking on: opener Despot, a friend/rapper claiming Queens, joining Ratatat for a bit of on-stage calisthenics [he’s the guy in the USA attire].