Asking people to stay up late on a school night is never an easy sell. The Metro closes early and most of the city just isn’t hardwired to run on such a schedule. However, The Rapture not only played to a packed U Street Music Hall at their 11:30 p.m. start time on Sunday night, but they made the venue jump.
The Rapture’s fanbase is nothing if not, well, rapt. Their most recent release, In The Grace of Your Love, has been out for maybe a week, but the crowd knew every word to the new songs and sang the choruses to songs like “How Deep Is Your Love” with the same fervor that they did for old favorites like “House of Jealous Lovers”. The crowd even knew to yell out a “Welcome Home!” to their touring bassist, Harris Klahr, formerly of Q and not U.
“The two coolest members of the band are from D.C.,” quipped Luke Jenner early in the show. The other local member, multi-instrumentalist Gabe Andruzzi not only made a bid for coolest member of the band, but for coolest touring musician, period. His face remained expressionless, but his feet belied his unflappable demeanor. The fancy footwork that accompanied his saxophone solos would put D.C. United to shame and he continued dancing even as he returned to his spot behind the keyboards.
He also provided the early impetus for the utter madness that ensued. Opener “Sail Away”, while highlighting the machine-like precision of drummer Vito Roccoforte, also showcased a smoother and less frenetic sound, the sound of a dance act that’s trying to keep its groove while still becoming adults. Andruzzi (whose parents were in attendance) showed that this growth did not equal a loss of energy. After his solo from Pieces of the People We Love standout “Gonna Get Myself Into It”, the band and crowd stayed at an unrelenting pogoing pace as the band ripped through their hits from 2003’s Echoes and 2006’s Pieces of the People We Love.
The energy flowed in both directions. The more excitable the crowd became, the more Luke Jenner relaxed. This culminated in a fan jumping up onstage and giving him a hug and Jenner singing half of Echoes opener “Olio” from on top of the crowd.
“You know how to make a man feel really really good,” said Jenner before their encore with an air of choked up gratitude. The feeling was clearly mutual.
