Chromeo’s Frequent
Flyer tour landed in Asheville, NC on October 2nd 2014, bestowing a
heavy dose of FUNK on all that were there.
The Funkloardz came out in full force and left the Orange Peel scorched
from their blistering performance. I’ve
watched a lot of Chromeo performances on YouTube so I was coming in with high
expectations, but I had no idea how mind-blowing the performance would be. All I can say is that I left with a crater
between my shoulders.
I showed up
fairly early to ensure a spot at the front of the stage. (BTW - you know it's going to be a great show when you see signs plastered all over the place saying something to the effect of, "Warning Strobes Used Heavily During The Show") Being about the 10th person in line, it was no problem getting up front. Once my ticket was scanned and I was able to
get to the stage, everyone was crammed on Dave 1’s side of the stage, which was
fine with me because that left a gaping hole right in front of Pee Thugg’s rig
of synth juiciness.
Warm up
Over the
years it’s become second nature to me to have an ear tuned to the music that is
playing while the crowd is funneling in and waiting for the band. I’ve never had such an incredible connection
to the music playing over the loud speakers like I did at this concert. It was literally a mirror copy of my Pandora Chromeo
channel that I’ve built over the last few years. It was eerie.
When I walked in, Ray Parker Jr “For Those Who Like To Groove” was
jamming over the PA. Being the music nerd that I am, I look at this group of
kids next to me and say something about Ray Parker…only to be met with
crickets. Anyway, this is an important,
overlooked element to a concert that most people miss. I’ve
always felt like if I were in a band, I would put a lot of time and effort into
the playlist before and after the show for my fans and Chromeo does not
disappoint here. Some of the other notable tunes we were
jamming to before the concert were: Evelyn Champagne King “I’m In Love, Mary
Jane Girls “In My House”, Midnight Star “No Parking On The Dance Floor”,
Klymaxx “Meeting In The Ladies Room”– it was all there – and it set the mood
beautifully. I mean, how can you not
be ready for Chromeo to come out after you’ve just been boogying to "Bad Mama
Jama"???
Wave racer came
on sometime after nine o’clock or so and really left much to be desired. For the powerhouse that Chromeo is, I was a
bit surprised by this pick for an opening act.
To me, a supporting act is there to engage the crowd and warm them up
for the headliner. I don’t think Wave
Racer looked up at the crowd but 3 or 4 times through his set. He mostly just danced up there while he was triggering
everything, looking down at his gear and waving his arms to the drumbeats. His set lacked any real variety for my taste…his
music all seemed to melt together into one song that would go from the edge of dubstep
to typical remix type stuff. Looking
back at the crowd, I tried to gauge whether they were digging him or not, and it
seemed to be hit or miss, but the crowd was more than generous and polite with
applause at the right times. To sum it
up – Wave Racer’s performance didn’t inspire me to want to buy his music or
read up on him when I got home and was a bit of a disappointment.
After Wave Racer
finished his set, the music coming over the PA picked up in pace while the crew
tore down his gear and started prepping Chromeo’s setup. There’s nothing more exciting than the
eagerness that sets in as you watch the crew tear down the opening act’s gear
and perform that one last sound check for the headliner. You know it’s close to go-time and the
element of anticipation just jacks you up.
The crew left a couple of black sheets over the portion of Dave 1 and
Pee’s rig that faced the audience. I’d
never seen that before and now that I think about it – it left a nice little
element of suspense.
When the
lights finally went dark it was fantastic.
Members of the crew walked on stage and plucked the 2 remaining black sheets to reveal the final pieces of the rigs – which left the two complete setups
standing there in front of giant mirrors.
The smoke machines had been running so the ambience that was created was
spot on for the show. On
one side you have Dave 1’s rig with his mic stand, lap top, Chrome plated synth,
etc. and on the other you have Pee’s rig – complete with three legs of a square
full of synths with the focal actually being the Synthesizers.com system he
has facing the crowd (his back is facing the crowd when he plays it) all with the backdrop of some giant mirrors. I felt like I was looking at the set of Solid Gold or something!
There is something so sexy about the blinking
lights on the .com synth that screams for your attention – it’s tough to
explain unless you see it live. You may
not be into synthesizers or even know what one is – but when you see the red
LEDs blinking all over the modular synth it just sucks you in and hypnotizes
you; it’s a wicked visual effect – and with the chrome set up it just magnifies
the coolness by a thousand percent.
If you’ve ever seen Emerson, Lake, and Palmer live (Or just Keith
Emerson’s Moog in the flesh) – you know what I’m talking about. It’s absolutely magical, leaving you in synth
ecstasy as you are sucked in to all of the blinking lights, sea of knobs, and wires. Pee’s system obviously
isn’t as massive as Keith’s, but the .com system 22 does the job. The blinking lights of the oscillators and envelopes
added such a dramatic effect as everything sat there in the dark – it was just
wicked. BRAVO boys.
After
you’re left all giddy looking at synth heaven blinking at you under darkness,
the light show starts to a storm sound track. The moment it starts – you’re done. You know right then and there it’s going to
be a kick ass show. If you’re not
grinning ear to ear after that starts, there is something wrong with you. It’s tough to describe the feeling once you
see that, but Chromeo basically owns you at that point until the end of the
show. Score one more for the Montreal duo.
The Show
Before I get into the setlist highlights, one thing
I think is important to point out is how amazing the actual performance
is. Forget the music for one second and
just concentrate on the actual show – because that is what Dave and Pee give
you, a freakin’ show. Their chemistry
can be seen a mile away, they’re professional, WELL REHEARSED, and man, can
they control a crowd. I can only imagine
the amount of work that has gone into the show because they make everything
look so effortless. Chromeo has not
forgotten that you paid your hard earned money to be there and they deliver
every penny’s worth...and then some.
The Gear
This was an analog lover’s dream. It’s not often that you get to see a modular
synth (A synth where you actually have to use patch points to make a sound) so I
have to give Pee Thugg much credit for bringing that beast on the road. You just can’t dial up sounds with stored
patches on that thing – so I appreciate the effort of programming patches that
are manageable to switch back and forth to on that system. Dave 1 had a Korg MS 20 that he used on
“Sexy Socialite and that’s all I could make out on his side of the stage. Rounding out Pee’s rig was a Minimoog Voyager
(Analog), Yamaha DX100 used to drive the tone for the Talkbox, and a Nord with
something triggering samples sitting on top. With
regards to Pee’s Synthesizers.com system, there were a few modules I couldn’t
find online like one with the Key (A, E, D) displayed at the top of the module – other
than that it seemed to be the standard system 22 (Possibly set up with a duophonic
patch because I saw him playing two notes at a time on a song).
The Setlist / Highlights
The set list included everything from
old to new and everything in between – any Chromeo fan wouldn’t be disappointed
by the setlist. Some of the highlights
for me were:
“Somethingood”
This song epitomizes the
dynamic element that Chromeo brings to the show. Just about midway through the song they add a
filter to the backing track so it sounds like there are giant pillows over the
PA speakers – and then they remove it and the song just hits you like a ton of
bricks with so much energy. It’s one of the many wow moments in the concert for me. It brought a huge smile to my face - I love
the detail here by the guys.
“Sexy Socialite”
For me, one of the best
songs of the night because…a.) I love this song and b.) They brought the synths
out in full force on this one. When the
song goes into the break right before the rap Dave 1 and Pee turn their backs
to each other and start rocking on their respective synths. (Dave on a Korg MS 20 and Pee on his Minimoog). When Dave hits the bass notes and Pee Plays
his bit you suddenly feel something you hadn’t throughout the concert and it
was glorious. It’s a prime example once
again on how you can literally FEEL the difference between samples, tracks,
virtual analog, and real analog synths.
I literally stuck my arms out as if I was feeling the first rays of
light from the sun in the morning – as said above…it was glorious. I know that sounds nerdy, but again, it
creates this dynamic element in the show that adds another layer of depth to
the performance as you feel the contrast from the backing tracks and the analog
bass. I don’t expect most people to
notice it, but for those of us that do…Thank you.
“Jealous (I Ain’t With It)”
You know you have a hit
on your hands when everyone in the crowd has their arms out and first two
fingers up, as Dave is about to sing, “Back in 2011….”. The crowd went nuts over this one as
expected.
“Over Your Shoulder”
They really set the mood
here by changing the color of the stage from white to red on this song. This song screams 70’s laid-back funk and
they colored the stage to paint the picture perfectly. Check off another element to the show, adding
another layer of depth. Dave asks all
the ladies to get up on a guy’s shoulders for this song. Security was freaking out and telling
everyone to get down. It’s here though,
where Chromeo puts on a clinic on how to cement rapport with the crowd. If Dave didn’t already have the crowd in his
hands, he did after this. Dave yells at
security saying “This is MY show don’t tell them to get down.” Then yells out to the crowd, “Don’t listen to
them – get back up - you’re not going to get into trouble...” What a way to get the crowd on your side.
“Frequent Flyer”
Once again you have Dave
leading the audience, giving them instruction to participate by screaming, “Higher,
higher” and pumping their fists. I love
how interactive he was with the audience; it makes for a really enjoyable
experience.
“Mammas Boy”
Pee Thugg starts this song off without the backing
track and is playing the Wurli part with Dave singing over him with no backing
track. The thing I noticed is that Pee hurried
the pace of the song without the track, but once the track kicked in, the song
settled back into its grove. The reason
they start without the backing track is that they keep stopping and working the
crowd over getting them to scream and cheer before they start in with a
verse. They do this a couple of times
before the track kicks in – but it highlights another prime example of their
ability to engage and work the crowd.
The Magic Of Chromeo
Plain and simple the magic of Chromeo resides in their
ability to own a room. I mean really own
it. They are true maestros conducting the
crowd to engage in their every wish. Any
band that wants an object lesson on how to work a crowd over should go see a
Chromeo concert. Between all of the
different dynamic elements of sight, sound, and the physical experience of
analog vibrating through your body – Dave 1 and Pee Thugg will blow your head
off.
Time and
time again with great bands I always find that videos, or even CDs can’t quite
capture the magic of actually being at a live performance. Chromeo is no exception to the rule. These guys are absolute pros and their show
is a well-oiled machine. You could take
someone who has never heard of Chromeo to this concert and they will be
entertained. Again – even if they don’t
like the music, they will be entertained by the show that is put on by Chromeo.
Not many bands can do that. At
around $30, this is the BEST value for the money of any show I’ve seen in a
while. Do yourself a favor, if you’re
into having a great time and dancing your ass off, buy a ticket to a Chromeo
show before they are sold out in your area.
Thanks for Reading
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