Credit: Søren Solkær Starbird

Hopefully you got to the Black Cat early on Saturday and made plans for after. We knew that the Raveonettes, Denmark’s louder, dirtier answer to Sweden’s Roxette, have a reputation for brevity, but few people were probably expecting to get out of the ‘Cat by around midnight on a Saturday night. To be fair, it wasn’t that their set was particularly short, but with only two bands on the bill, the pair and their band were onstage well before 11, and spent the next 75 minutes or so zipping through a ton of their mostly 3-minutes-and-out songs. So while everyone might have needed to find something to occupy the rest of their Saturday night, it’s doubtful many people were left wanting.

New York rockers Black Acid got things started well, their heavy psychedelic sound providing a fitting, if less melodic, warm-up to the Raveonettes’ set. At the very least Black Acid primed the crowd for volume, as both bands kept the decibel level high all night. And for the Raveonettes, that’s exactly how their music really needs to be heard. If the wall of reverb-soaked sound originating from Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo’s guitars isn’t drowning out your thoughts in the wash of noise, you probably don’t have it cranked loud enough. And despite the Black Cat’s big room being full to the bursting point, crowd noise was never an issue: the band made sure of that.

The set itself was tight and well rehearsed. Saturday was the last show of a month-long stint in the U.S., and the easy rapport of the road was in full display. Even the spaces between songs seemed well-timed and these transitions were effortless and nearly telepathic. What’s really striking about the band, though, is their ability to make so much noise, often sound so dark, and yet still sound so sweet.