Across a sea of scantily clad teenage girls in neon spandex, desperate screams for beer and ecstasy float through the crowd. This was the first sold out Bowery Presents venue with virtually no line at the bar. Immediately after ordering the first drink a kid wearing jean shorts and an American flag headband approaches asking if we would buy him a beer. After saying "no" to the beer offer, and also informing him we didn't know where to score any ecstasy, he goes back to chewing on a glow stick. The first of the nights three acts takes the stage.
Comprised of Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege, on vocals; and Noah Bernstien (aka. Dan Summers), this Philadelphia based Hip hop duo Chiddy Bang has been described "a hipsters wet dream". Anamege showed aesthetically pleasing vocals with impressive control live. What was disappointing were the two played almost entirely to a back track on Berntiens Macbook.
As the two cruised through their very liberally sampled catalog featuring the likes of Radiohead, Passion Pit, and MGMT, to name a few. Their mass popularity among the hipster youth becomes abundantly clear and very easy to understand. The crowed erupts to the familiarity of MGMT's "Kids", as the two arrive at their break out hit "Opposite of Adults". Two girls in matching face makeup, and borrowed Jane Fonda aerobic fashions start making out with a gangly boy significantly shorter, and significantly less physically developed (though I assume roughly around the same grade, possibly juniors).
Waiting for RJD2 to take the stage, conversations begin among the small minority of the +21's. "Could it be that we have the same musical maturity as this spandex teen orgy?" The realization that the event was a fund raiser promoted by Brobible.com , began to solve the age mystery; the crowd was not a representation of the music, it was a representation of Brobible's demographic. RJD2 (Ramble John "RJ" Krohn) walks out behind a mass assortment of turntables.
To our ears, his live audio and visuals were not what he deserves as an artist. Treated as almost a half-time show, it was as if the light and sound techs turned him down and walked away. Bouncing around 5 turntables, RJD2 was the only artist playing primarily on vinyl (For this, at the least, the man should earn a few lasers).
Doing what DJ's are meant to do, layering a wide range of various samples, he proved himself as a craftsman. Covering a solid collection his work, RJD2 kept a good energy going (even with the light and sound handicap) playing crowd favorites from his original "Deadringer" album, and a personal favorite, "Ghostwriter".
During the break for Pretty Lights, we began to wonder if the promoters skimped on the lighting for the show, this would prove rather disappointing considering the headliner, "Pretty Lights". Eventually a loud base speaker began to rumble, then thousands of blinding LED lights begin to fuse with hundreds of multi-colored lasers.
Pretty Lights is mainly one producer, Derek Vincent Smith, who when playing live is accompanied by drummer, Cory Eberhard. The two do their job, create a sensory mind fuck leaving the crowd with only one option, to dance.
Words By Adam Johnson
Pictures By Giacomo Fortunato
Many more pictures at the HAD Archive
1 comments:
review was dead on, from RJD2 not getting any love for sound/lights, to underage crowd taking drugs for their first time
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