When you don't stick with one genre, everyone listens …

On Easter Sunday this past weekend, Denver was gifted the buzzworthy return of Ratatat — one of the most elusive duos in music. We were all stuffed full of Peeps, hardboiled eggs and other Easter goodies when we casually made our way to the relatively calm mezzanine level of the sold-out Ogden Theater. The main floor of the Ogden was too full, wall-to-wall, brimming with anticipation as several roadies did their thing on stage after the opening act, Despot , warmed up the crowd with some super fresh rhymes.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying a concert from the mezzanine of the Ogden, we would highly recommend it. It may not be as intense as being in the middle of the floor, but it does have (somewhat) fresh air and a little thing called personal space — if that’s your thing.

After what seemed like one of the longest intermissions in the history of live music, the cramped and noisy audience was finally brought to a collective climax as Evan Mast and Mike Stroud — the minds behind Ratatat — took stage announced by a massive movie-credit crescendo. The name of the band emblazoned itself on the projector screen and set the tone for a show that was equally stimulating in a visual sense as it was auditory.

What followed was like traveling through a visual wormhole of Internet memes and Atari arcade games set to the soundtrack of an epic '80s movie.

Stroud and Mast ripped through a full-throttle performance of classic Ratatat tracks like “Loud Pipes,” “Wild Cat” and “Neckbrace” — as well as some deeply groovy jam sessions. Even though it was a relatively quiet Sunday night outside on Colfax , the noise and excitement inside the venue felt more like a turned up Friday.

On a side note: One of the coolest things about the Denver music scene is that it’s so diverse and draws such an eclectic crowd of people regardless of who is playing on a given night. Sunday’s show was certainly no exception as all kinds of folks — hippies, yuppies, hip-hop heads, husbands and wives, old, young — gathered to witness the superb musical stylings of Ratatat, which is one of those bands that doesn’t fit neatly into any one of those spoken of genres.

Some of its tracks are more electronic sounding, others a bit more beat oriented and hip-hoppy, and some have more of an alt-rock edge to them. The diversity of its sound and the ability tightrope between genres is what makes it easy for just about anyone to dig on the Ratatat sound (hence the diverse array of party people that made their way out on Sunday).

Of course we were enthralled with the show, but we couldn’t help but notice some highly interesting fashion choices as the season continues to change. Floral and animal-print shirts are clearly a must-have for the up and coming concert season. Teva sandals are apparently still a thing? And the hats — oh all the hats! Baseball caps, Fedoras, top hats, bowler hats, hats with pins on them, hats with feathers — as we move into the summer, it is definitely time to get the hat game tightened up.

On the female side of things, printed tights with outer space, trippy patterns or kittens (or all of those) are still very in. Tattoos of all shapes, sizes and colors are also a hot commodity. However, bras and the backs of shirts were noticeably absent, but we’re always on board with that … for personal comfort of course.

But about 90 minutes after the show began, it came to a saddening close. The crowd, still hooting and hollering about the face-melting encore, continued as the house lights blasted on.

Sunday’s performance did very little to help ease our longing for warmer weather, the end of the semester and summer concerts, but it did help us dance off that Easter feast we had sitting in our gut.

If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and check out Ratatat the next time they swing through town (if they ever do again, this was a rare treat). Whether you’re into hip-hop, rock, alternative, electronic, or combo of genres, you will most certainly be taken for a ride.

– by Joe LaFond