Show Pics: RBSS January ’15 @ Red7 (1/22)

I really do appreciate what Red Bull Sound Select is doing for locals. By selecting local acts to open for a touring group or a local mainstay, charging a cheap cover that involves getting there early, several bands are getting a few more eyes than a normal show. This, of course, is a pet peeve of ours; the venues and booking people go out of their way to get you a good lineup for your show-going dollar so get there to see the openers, geez.

The latest edition had an act form Dallas call Dark Rooms, local faves Orthy and was headlined by Slow Magic to bring the crowd. In fact, I was quite surprised by the masses there to see Slow Magic. There just might be something to this whole EDM fad. Heh.

Plenty of pics and more thoughts to follow…

I had a chance to chat with Daniel of Dark Rooms after their set. He has been playing violin since he was three. With this, his music has a depth to it. Interestingly, the more digital songs were stronger, think Active Child with out all the falsetto and more of the beats, but some tracks were more R&B and quite honestly fell a bit flat for me. I’ll have to review the band’s catalog to see if it was just a matter of environment, but I will certainly stay on top of Dark Rooms despite their being from Dallas, yech. Kidding.

Orthy just got done in the studio. Not all of the new stuff wasn’t ready for a live set. Unfortunate for us, but the songs we know and love sounded great, perhaps a bit reworked as is common as bands evolve. We got a small sampling of the new. I’m ready. We’re ready.

Slow Magic has a few songs I love. he has a lot of songs I don’t. …but the kids dig it. The mask is a cool visual, but every instance of MacBook set up was just a bit too much of a distraction as limited visibility prompted a very deliberate and long-lasting breaks in crowd interaction. The live set is “live” by the added drumming played along to the tracks on the laptop. The kids loved it as evidenced by a trip with a floor tom into the crowd mid-song prompting a dance circle. Great merch and branding, there were lit masks for sale and Red Bull added masks with prismatic sheets for a little added light show. Good times.