Any way you slice it, Romans got lucky at the Jan. 16 Galaxy Hut gig. “We didn’t play all that well, but Rah Bras were unbelievable,” said drummer and reedy vocalist Brent Burton (ex-Urb.Elec.Admin). Along with bassist Joe Halladay (ex-Economic) and guitarist Suzanne Clarke (ex-playing in her basement), the scattered, noisy trio, which did have an off night, played its fourth-ever show, opening up one of the most enjoyable evenings D.C. rock has seen in a long time. Headlining were Richmond’s increasingly extraordinary Rah Bras (who’ve released one EP on local indie label Lovitt Records). They’ve blown minds combining operatic vocals, a thunderous rhythm section, and No/New Wave keyboards while fearlessly covering the occasional contemporary soul hit. A genuinely stunned and grateful Rah Bras singer Marie Bethel remarked, “I’ve been going to D.C. shows for years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” Although Romans don’t have any shows set in stone for next month yet, they will be playing on Third Rail Radio on Feb. 21 on 88.1 FM, WMUC, the University of Maryland student station. The show is available via Real Audio for folks outside of College Park. (Joe Gross)