The bass dropped. The beat paused. Faint blue and red neon lights cut through the jet black theater. Everything became slow motion as the audience held their breath. Breaking the silence, a DJ yelled out “This is dedicated to all the people who like FILTHY FUCKING BASS!” The beat kicked in and the crowd went ape shit to an amazing dub-step electro remix of the White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army”. The Glitch Mob was officially in the house. They came back to their old LA stomping grounds for the final stop of their summer tour, hosted at Club Nokia, and the crowd ate it up.
Clad in plain black button-up shirts and skinny tie, the trio (Ooah, Boreta and edIT) played their dub/glitch/rock/rap hybrids to an enthusiastically packed house. Club Nokia was alight with deafening crowd participation from ravers and rockers alike, with everyone ready to have a good time. The huge party was half standing room and half assigned seating, but everyone was dancing. \
Along with the audience’s bright glow sticks, LED gloves and glowing cellphones, the Mob had their own Daft Punk inspired, rhythm-synchronized light show surrounding each of their raised platform counsels. The backdrop behind them glowed like a kaleidoscope, split into geometric panels. Each DJ danced to the beat, spinning turntables, playing V drums, Lemur touch-screen beat machines, MIDI controllers, laptops and other technological goodies.
Apart from occasionally hyping the crowd, the trio didn’t speak much and never really revealed heir faces during the show, appearing more like caricatured silhouettes than human. Attempting to spice up the show, two modern dancers grooved on stage and an aerial dancer folded herself in and out of a silk harness while hoisted into the air. Although talented, there were too few of them to bring additional dimension to the show. However, surprise guest Swan, singing on their collaborated song, “Between Two Points” was a definite hit, as were the trio’s drum machine solos.
Paying homage to their Californian roots, the Mob performed their song “Westcoast Rocks” with samples like Dr. Dre and Tupac’s “California Love” and Dr. Dre’s “Xplosive”. Other songs had A capella samples of Jay Z, Lil’ Wayne and others woven into their neck-snapping beats. Paying homage to their rock roots, they slayed the audience with a remix of TV On the Radio’s “Red Dress.”
With a three song encore, they closed the night with their current single, “We Can Make The World Stop,” accompanied by aerial dancer. Their eponymous EP is now available on iTunes.
Photos by Brett Padelford
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