Concert review: Ratboys w/ villagerrr | 03.24.26, Off Broadway (with photo gallery)

Photo of Julia Steiner of Ratboys by Laura Jerele

Somehow, on a random Tuesday night at Off Broadway, it seemed like everyone in St. Louis collectively decided yeah…this is the show to go to. Wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder, that kind of packed where you just commit to your spot and hope for the best! 

Villagerrr has a twangy, quiet, shoegaze-minus-haze vibe that is straight-up genuine. They said they hauled it in all the way from Ohio for this slot, which honestly makes sense because they played like a band that actually wanted to be there, being very intent and focused. They were super chill, but not sleepy, and catchy without being too bouncy and poppy. Their songs had that easy, mellow pull where I just kind of locked in and intently watched, and really enjoyed them. No haze, no hiding behind mood lighting, just out there in full view letting the songs breathe. And yeah, if they had gone heavy on atmosphere you could start tossing out those shoegaze band comparisons, but they didn’t need the assist. It was simple and it worked. I enjoyed them a ton, proof positive that you always need to get to the show early enough to see the opener and discover new music.

Then Ratboys came out and immediately flipped the whole room on its head to super high energy. Also, still not over the name. Not even a little bit accurate. Not even close. But whatever, because from the jump they were on and the packed crowd was massively into it. 

Vocalist Julia Steiner had an easy way of making everything feel kind of loose and conversational (instead of just performing at you) and the rest of the band just locked in around that. She lacks all rock star “look at me” vibes and simply performs! They ripped through staples like “Elvis Is in the Freezer,” “Go Outside,” and ended the show with “Black Earth, WI,” and every bit of the show was really good energy and really good music with a hint of twang and a lot of punch. And I loved that they showed love for our city, spoke for immigrants, for equality, and for fighting authoritarians.  Thanks, St. Louis, for showing up and packing Off Broadway for a great show and giving good energy right back, I have no doubt they’ll be making a tour stop much sooner.* | Laura Jerele

* Editor’s note: As luck would have it, they’ll be back on August 21st, opening for Jesse Welles at The Pageant. More info here.