On a street where many of today’s big name bands got their start, the rich history of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles includes renowned venues such as The Viper Room, Whiskey-A-Go-Go, Rainbow, The Roxy and The Key Club. A diverse mix of people with different ages, races, and scenes wander the street in search of some catchy tunes or huddle together in groups, feverishly smoking their cigarettes while the long line of people waiting outside of the Key Club begin to trickle inside. The concert goers represent an eclectic mix of different types of fans internationally, not unlike the musical stylings of Electric Six.
By the time Electric Six’s tour mates and opening act, The Constellations of Atlanta, Georgia, went on, the venue was packed. It becomes immediately apparent why this band was selected to team up with Six during opening song “Felicia,” which demonstrates their own take on Electric Six’s unique style. The Constellations make use of blues rhythms, funky licks, hip-hop kicks, and electric keys to form a psychedelic blend of high energy rock ‘n roll that the audience devoured. With even more members than Electric Six, these eight guys proceeded to obliterate genres in their way as they clapped, stomped, cowbelled, and rapped to dancey rhythms. With the recent release of their debut album, After Hours, and the ability to bring down a house during a live performance, it will be interesting to see where this band goes from here.
Electric Six took the stage to a thunderous applause and got out of the gates with some songs from their new album, Zodiac. These unfamiliar jams, while well executed into their set, were not received well by fans, who promptly stopped dancing to stare on. f course, they nailed all of their classics, spreading out their fan pleasers throughout the night, such as “Gay Bar,” “Fire” and “Dance Commander,” which they saved for the final encore. It was the consensus of concert goers that they were only present for a handful of songs they knew, and that the band was entirely hit and miss.
Something you can’t ignore about an Electric Six performance is Valentine’s ability to feed off of the crowd’s energy, like a groovy rhythm vampire. Their stage presence consisted of an onslaught of violent, sexy, and random thrashing about as they jumped immediately from one song to another with hardly a breath in between. Their iconic sense of silly and crude humor easily made its way through the venue, essentially bringing everyone onto the same esoteric page. Love or hate their music, one sure thing is that Electric Six knows how to put on a rock ‘n roll show.
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