Ratboys played The Sinclair – 2/28
Chicago’s Ratboys headlined a sold-out Sinclair with support from Florry.
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Ratboys are one of those bands where fans and critics alike seem to hail each successive release as their best yet, and the thing is that everyone’s right about that. The scrappy Chicago crew have consistently leveled up their songwriting across six LPs in the past decade, and last month’s Singin’ to an Empty Chair makes a strong case indeed for being their new high water mark. Colored equally by twang and power-pop crunch and crisply produced by ex-Death Cab For Cutie architect Chris Walla, it’s a record chock full of thoughtful lyricism and subtly infectious hooks. The kind of thing you imagine playing to rave reviews from basically anyone in your life who experiences joy via rock music. Fittingly, a capacity crowd was on hand at The Sinclair last weekend to hear nearly the whole thing performed across the band’s generous set.
Much like their recorded output, Ratboys’ live show is both unassuming and irresistibly charming. Clad in the same Steelers hat she’s been rocking since at least 2018 (I say with admiration, as someone who’s had the same Red Sox cap since 2004), bandleader Julia Steiner shepherded a five-piece iteration of the band through a 90-minute trip, traversing rave-ups like the punchy “Anywhere,” deep cuts (2020’s Printer’s Devil celebrated its 6th birthday the day of the show and got some extra love) and introspective thinkers where the new record really shines. Long-players “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and the smoldering “Burn It Down” both proved late set highlights. The crowd (minus one n’er-do-well who bafflingly objected to Steiner’s anti-ICE comments) hung on every tune, and it was great to see an adoring packed house for a deserving band who’ve been putting in the work on the road for many a year now.
Opening things up – as they did for the Yo La Tengo Hanukkah finale I caught back in December – were Philly’s Florry. Much like that show, I have to imagine they came away with a roomful of new fans. Singer/guitarist Francie Medosch and the rest of the sextet deliver their wah-pedal-fried, ramshackle country-rock with such boundless enthusiasm that it’s hard not to instantly fall under their spell.
Check out galleries from both bands below.
