Words by Elie Reiss
As the electronic music scene is becoming more saturated than ever, The Glitch Mob’s originality and use of technology has fans filling up their shows throughout the country. The trio has developed quite the reputation through the years for stellar live performances and have continued to push their on-stage production to new heights. Their stage and visual tech wizardry is designed by the visionary Martin Phillips at Bionic League (whose work includes live performance experience design for Daft Punk, Kanye West, Deadmau5, Kaskade). They also enlisted the music tech masterminds, roboticists, and hackers at Name the Machine to create an innovative and completely unique performance technology platform. Among the myriad innovations unveiled on the tour is custom-built technology that lets the band trigger samples in real-time, and play them like live riffs, infusing their electronic music performance with improvisation, and the energy and drama of a live rock show.
The Glitch Mob played two sets at Coachella with raving reviews from fans and critics alike as their new visual setup is a spectacle to be seen. Coming off this all-star performances in the desert, The Glitch Mob continued on their musical-conquest of the west coast as they had a special two-night stop at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium. The show began with a bass heavy version of “Drive It Like You Stole It.” This song really flexed the muscles of what their sound system was capable of and what to expect of the night going forward.
Their beat pad consoles were lit up in a matching bright red which emphasized the violet in the Fillmore’s chandeliers while their massive drums’ color matched the background screen which gave a star trek-esque feel throughout the show. It felt as if The Glitch Mob was able to control the crowd in the same way they beat their massive alien drums and strummed their beat pads, although it did not seem as if they did as much on stage compared to the years when they were a group of five with founding member, Kraddy, and former member, Kitty-D. The two left the group over “creative differences” leaving the current Glitch Mob to consist of edIT (Edward Ma), Boreta (Justin Boreta) and Ooah (Josh Mayer). Nonetheless, the new live drumming gave an epic element to the show that made the crowd unable to look away.
Their set was an appropriate, balanced array of old tracks and fresh material. Tracks like “Animus Vox” and “Fortune Days” from their 2010 album Drink the Sea were brought together with less known songs from their new album, Love Death Immortality. As Love Death Immortality enters it’s third month in circulation, the album continues to receive recognition and prestigious-reviews from critics around the globe. The highly-anticipated sophomore LP debuted at #13 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart and was named #1 Independent Albums, #1 Dance/Electronic Albums, and #4 Digital Albums on each of the respective charts. The most notable song from this album is their heavy remix of their widely popular “West Coast Rock” which added a way to hook longtime fans and bring in new ones as well. With the second leg of their tour about to begin and their loyal fan-base (known as “The Mob”) growing bigger each day, The Glitch Mob are well on their way to becoming a household name.
http://youtu.be/Jv8JzKcGX-A
