Anyone who read my Natural History show review knows I've been frustrated at my inability to dance at a shows for awhile now due to the typical lameness of an audience too hip to do more than nod their heads to the beat. When I found out the dance-punk glory of the Rapture would be making its way through the midwest supporting BRMC, I thought this might be my chance to temporarily escape the boredom of the indie rock audience and break out the long-dormant dance moves. After some initial concern, these hopes were more than met as Luke Jenner and Co. took us all to new heights of audience participation and complete satisfaction.

We made our way into the Rave just as the Rapture began their set. The majority of shows I've seen at the Rave have been overcrowded and unpleasant; this night proved to be a pleasant surprise as not even half of the venue was full, giving us plenty of space and a great view of the band. The first three songs were totally unrecognizable to me, meaning they were probably either new or from an older EP. While the songs were good and made excellent use of the Rapture's trademark cowbell, none of them really inspired me to start breaking down quite yet. Meanwhile, the majority of the audience seemed to be waiting in patient anticipation for the band to give us the spastic exuberance we were hoping for.

Finally, the Rapture headed into Echoes territory with "Heaven," one of my favorite tracks off the album. It was at about this point I realized I wasn't sure I even remembered HOW to dance, and I knew I'd have to ease into the process a little more slowly than I'd expected. The rest of the audience seemed to share my sensibility, as we all sort of cautiously began to sway to the beats. The warm-up continued with "Olio," and I worried that I might not have it in me to dance the way I'd hoped I could. The band itself, however, held nothing back in jumping around the stage, especially the aforementioned cowbell player who didn't have much else to do than whack the cowbell and thrash around like a maniac (though he did pick up an occasional saxophone). I could only hope that soon those of us in the audience would feel free to fully join them in their enthusiasm.

That moment soon came when the Rapture gave up their live drums in favor of the electronic beats and launched into an absolutely stellar and totally thrilling version of "I Need Your Love." This song was the definite turning point of the show, where suddenly all pretense was lost as everyone in the crowd proceeded to go crazy, myself included. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Even better, the majority of the audience members were absolutely awful dancers, which isn't surprising considering how little we indie-lovers get to practice; regardless, it just added to the atmosphere of total, unadulterated fun that pervaded the Rave on this Easter Sunday night. From that point on, the energy never let up as the Rapture continued to throttle us with their unreserved dance fever. After more Echoes standouts such as "Sister Savior" and "Killing" (a listening experience that isn't complete without screaming along: "1, 2, 3, 4, get that fucker out the dooooooooooooor!"), The Rapture finally wrapped things up with the inevitable closer, "House of Jealous Lovers," leaving me filled with both exhaustion and total elation at what proved to be an incredible musical experience.

Sometime afterwards, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the stage, but there was no reason to stay after the aural and physical onslaught of the Rapture's set. I went home satisfied with the knowledge that I'd finally danced at a show, and confident it would happen again soon.