Bag Raiders @ The Parish

Bag Raiders were given a heroes welcome as they assumed the stage at the Parish on Friday night. It was their first time playing in Austin, which is hard to believe given their popularity with their first and only self-titled release, Bag Raiders, in 2010. The electro-dance duo oscillated between their established hits from 2010 and their new upcoming album, igniting body-heat blasting dance party.

Plastic Plates were served as the opening act, and while their songs are great through headphones, their live set is virtually non-existent. Bag Raiders assumed the stage, smiling at each other, probably wondering how one album, and for many, one song, earned them a fan base this large to play too.

The first couple of songs were encouraging signs of vitality from their upcoming album, with “Waterfalls” and “Vapour Trails.” The opening bass lines of “So Demanding” are perfectly perfunctory and addictively dance-centric.

The show really picked up with the duo’s slow build anthem “Golden Wings” that exploded into glimmering synths and beautiful soundscapes. “Not Over” has a confectioned hook that inspires fancy footwork, and “Snake Charmer” is an exotic and entrancing synthfest.

“Way Back Home” can easily be considered the group’s best song as it melds new wave, 90’s dance, and power pop. While “Sunlight” uses the band’s falsetto to a high-note degree that gets every moving fast!

“Way Back Home” – Bag Raiders

Before ending the show, the band played a throwback song that was responsible for getting the group on the map, the turbocharged “Fun Punch.” It seemed that half of the crowd was waiting the entire concert for the Bag Raider’s signature track, “Shooting Stars.”   The audience left everything on the packed and humid dance floor, while the Bag Raider’s looked at the crowd and then each other in amazement.

The realization was obvious, these Aussie electro-wizards had an untapped resource of fans deep in the capitol of Texas.