Live Review + Photos: Poolside & slenderbodies at The Wiltern

Devan Jackson January 30th, 2024 - 10:00 AM

Poolside and slenderbodies’ performance at The Wiltern delivered a gratifying night for their supporters both new and old. The best way to summarize this experience is to say it was a dance party full of love. At the start of the night, the crowd slowly filed into the venue group by group–with individuals seemingly in their 20s and 30s making up most of the audience. The atmosphere was very lively with pre-concert chatter floating throughout the room. In retrospect, The Wiltern was a great venue choice for the two groups given its multi-level standing tiers paired with an option to sit up top on the balcony. So for those who wanted to dance, they could take advantage of the standing option. While those who wanted to vibe-out could enjoy the ambience and view in a more comfortable manner.

At 8 p.m., slenderbodies took the stage, high-pitched screams could be heard across the venue. From these reactions alone, it was easy to foretell the quality of the coming performance. slenderbodies kicked off their set with a few clouds of smoke rolling across the stage with two purple spotlights dancing to the rhythm of “Gray.” In total the group played a 45 minute set encompassing about 13 songs. The group took an acoustic route for this performance–including two guitars, one drum, and an occasional backing track–which cultivated a chill, floaty, and relaxing energy.

In a few of the pieces, the two vocalists created a beautiful harmony which was like a kiss to the ears. As they played each song, the passion and emotion for each and every lyric could be felt from the stage. Overall, the musicality of this group was quite impressive, and it was easy to see why Poolside invited them on tour. Once slenderbodies ended their set with “Belong,” an encore chant from the crowd awakened with: “What bodies do we like? Slender. Bodies. Slender! Bodies!”

However, instead of a 14th song from slenderbodies, Poolside graced the stage at around 9:30 p.m. At this point in the performance, the venue was completely full and there was a notable shift in the audience demographic–now skewing a bit older. At the start of their set, the entire venue went black as a few red spotlights struck the stage. In the thick of this anticipation, a saxophonist accompanied by a drummer played a soulful solo. After a few measures, a synth was added, and one by one other instruments were layered in. Poolside decided to kick off the night with “Abandoned Tunnel,” a great choice. Their set was a 1.5 hour dance party which included 12 scheduled songs and 3 encore pieces.

It was quite amazing to hear how well they could replicate their recorded songs live without any backing tracks. For each of the pieces, they had creative ways of recreating certain sounds or melodies. For example, the drummer doubled up on two instruments for one song, playing both the kit and xylophone. Another member, could be seen cycling through the saxophone, cowbell, guitar, and synth throughout the set. These are just a few examples, as every member wore multiple instrumental hats. The set design was perfectly orchestrated to match the music with the utilization of a mini light show unique to each piece. In one song, there was a light effect that created a disoriented state for the audience, using alternating red and blurred blue lights. For this show to be the biggest show Poolside has ever played, it was a really great one.

Setlist:

slenderbodies