FLUME LIVE
August 11, 2016 ~ Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
The following ACCOunt consists of my thoughts and opinions on the second of a consecutive four sold-out shows at the Shrine, in the heart of downtown LA by the immensely popular Australian electronic music artist, Flume. The scene was as you would expect, filled with crowds of young college age kids ready to have the night of their lives and dance the night away.
The night began in line outside the venue. Even as I arrived close to an hour early for the door to open, I could already tell this place was going to be packed. The energy of the people around me was high, and there was an obvious excitement in the air. When we were finally granted entrance, we found our places in the open ballroom of a venue and prepared for the first opener, HWLS.
HWLS performed a DJ set that was worthy of being in the position he was in. He got the energy of the crowd up and displayed some creativity in his unique mixes. It definitely was not the highlight of the show and I believe we were all ready for his set to be over just because that also meant being a little closer to seeing Flume, but he did a solid job.
Next came out Vince Staples. Right away it was obvious that about 15% of the crowd was way more excited about this part of the show than the others. He performed about as well as I expected, but did’t wow me. Like most rappers in live concert his vocals were a bit shouty, and his backing tracks at times just felt like they hit play on actual mp3s of his songs and just lowered the volume. But his ability to move around on stage and work the crowd, along with his impressive visuals, and adequate rapping skills made the show fairly fun. He also made a guest appearance later in the show to perform his verses on the song "Smoke & Retribution" and killed it.
Photo by: Tobias Nielsen
NOW ONTO THE GOODSTUFF!@#
Flume’s set began with an intro that was actually about 5 minutes long but felt like an eternity. And while that might sound unappealing, it was honestly one of my favorite parts of the show. The ceiling lights of the venue blasted bright white, and slowly created a surging wave like pattern. These lights along with an epicly loud, trance-like, heart wrenching synthesizer ballad made me feel like I was about to be lifted into Heaven itself.
The intro certainly built the suspense for the beginning of his first song, and the energy never died down after. He played an amazingly well crafted set with a mix of classic hits and new songs of his recent album “SKIN”. He mixed the sounds live and often played his electronic drum kit and kept the beats familiar but refreshing. His transitions between songs were flawless and the entire set felt seamless.
My personal highlights were, “Insane”, “Wall Fuck”, and his remix of Lorde’s “Tennis Court”. He gave the perfect mix of new material whilst still playing the songs everyone knows and loves.
Photo by: Kmeron
The most impressive, and the most important aspect of this show really, is what I think sets Flume apart from most EDM artists these days. And that aspect is how he doesn’t make his show focus only on creating crazy drops for the crowd to go wild to.
Most EDM artists in live concert play the same crap over and over again on loop, always 30 seconds of build, then an ambiguous vocal track, followed by a crazy sounding drop, then repeat. And they try to top themselves each time, making the drop sound crazier and crazier. At a point it stops even sounding like music and you wonder what is going on.
Flume doesn’t do that. He creates real songs with composition, and unique structures, whilst still creating awesome switches and exciting transitions.
Overall I couldn’t have been more impressed, and couldn’t have been happier. I danced the night away and lost myself in the music and lights. I believe the rest of the crowd agreed with me. It was a great night in LA.
9.6/10
IF YOU LIKE FLUME, or really high quality EDM shows, go check out his website, buy his music and find a way to get tickets to see him on tour!
Cover Photo by: Kmeron
