REVIEW: Hurray for the Riff Raff Are Electrifying at Lark Hall
09/15 @ Lark Hall, Albany
Photos by Debi Gustafson
“Hurray for the Riff Raff delivered all the best things that indie folk has to offer in spades with musical complexity, heartfelt lyrics, and a message of social justice that is sorely needed in the trying times we currently live in.”
Monday night gets a bad break when it comes to entertainment. As presumably everyone’s least favorite day of the week, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would tell you it’s something they’re eagerly looking forward to. However, that’s exactly where I found myself last Monday evening as I walked down Lark street anticipating my first time seeing Hurray for the Riff Raff. Coming through Albany on their way down to perform at New York City’s Summer Stage at Central Park (where they opened for Soccer Mommy on an epic bill), they were wrapping up a tour for their last album, 2024’s The Past is Still Alive, which featured contributions from Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy.
It was surprisingly happening for a Monday as I passed by The Eleven, with people soaking in some entertainment and pre-gaming with drinks in the lounge before heading upstairs for the show. As the crowd began to file into the hall, Marcus Drake took the stage to open things up. In a fun twist, he was also the drummer of Hurray for the Riff Raff and opened the show with what we learned was his first solo set in over eight years. While providing the percussion for the headlining band, his own percussion would come courtesy of some preset loops with other backing tracks produced from a Macbook. The juxtaposition of somewhat poppy loops and backing vocals combined with acoustic guitar and a breathy, almost talk-singing vocal delivery mixed to create something rife with midwest emo while combining elements of indie folk. It created a dreamy and lo-fi feel at times, and on his closing song “The Grind” he tackled the mundane insanity of corporate work with vigorous electric guitar, demonstrating excellent technical chops and some impressive finger tapping to yield a more chaotic energy.
After a brief intermission, Drake returned with the rest of the band, sans guitarist/vocalist Alynda Segarra, and they took their places on stage to the tune of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”; during the first verse, Segarra joined their bandmates onstage to a pop from the crowd that seemed to stretch from the foot of the stage all the way to the back of Lark Hall. The band launched triumphantly into “Alibi”, the lead track from The Past is Still Alive, setting the tone immediately and following it up with “Hawkmoon” for an upbeat indie folk bop that had the entire building swaying and humming along. The electric guitar and bass added a dreamy, reverb-laden quality that brought softer alternative and heartland rock into the equation, combining with the Americana influences for a dynamic but familiar sound. If there’s a genre called Americana Punk, Hurray for the Riff Raff are it.
Segarra’s vocals soared as pure and powerful as they do on the record. It was a truly powerful performance, and the slide guitar solo at the end of “Buffalo” sent the song off into the stratosphere. This was followed by a performance of their recent single “Pyramid Scheme”, a rebuttal to the presence of AI in art and music. They thanked the audience for showing up to support art made by living, breathing human beings. The set drew to a close with “The World is Dangerous”, a slow song about love in the face of a daunting and uncertain future.
The band left the stage briefly, but we all know the drill—the crowd continued to shower the band with adoring applause, and soon enough they returned for an encore. “We don’t get up here enough, so thank you all for coming out,” Segarra told the crowd. “I just met Joan Osborne recently, and whoa… so here’s her song that I love.” With that, the band launched into a cathartic version of “One of Us” that included a full throated singalong from the crowd on every chorus.
After that, Segarra addressed the crowd once more. “So, here’s the deal… I’ve been a little depressed lately, and I didn’t think I’d be up for doing ‘Pa’lante’ tonight. But, I know there’s at least one person in here who really wants to hear it.” The mention of their Puerto Rican Pride anthem from 2017’s The Navigator—which has come to serve as an urgent, resonant call to action in the age of ICE—drew a roar of enthusiasm from the crowd. “I mean, you’re waving the flag right in front of me! So here goes, but I might need you guys to help out a little.” The performance was poignant, heartfelt, and powerful, and the outro’s refrain of the Latino command to move forward was cathartic… reminding us all to endure and remain true to ourselves no matter how dark the world around us can seem at times.
It was a euphoric ending to a triumphant performance. Hurray for the Riff Raff delivered all the best things that indie folk has to offer in spades with musical complexity, heartfelt lyrics, and a message of social justice that is sorely needed in the trying times we currently live in. As we were leaving Lark Hall and venturing off into the night, we did so in the spirit of “Pa’lante”: to move forward and onward.
