Phoenix, AZ – When you walk into any concert, you expect the murmur of the crowd and the hussle and bussle of fans settling for the show. This time was different. When you walked into The Van Buren, the first thing that caught your ear was the rhythmic sounds of DJ PBDY giving the crowd a taste of what is it come. Banging beats with a dub step groove gave the crowd a heavy appetizer of quality music.
As the set begins and ends, he introduces a young female lo-fi singer named Salami Rose Joe Louis, whom elegant voice softens the pallet of the crowd, guiding their head banging to a soothing swaying that makes sure the crowd isn’t to overwhelmed for what’s to come. She enchants the crowd to the next set, a band with a lead keyboardist who put the crowd on a medium level of electric funk, only to have the main act himself – Flying Lotus – appear on the D.J tables and raise the medium funk to high Funkadelic. Jamming back to back with the band and nothing but enthusiasm on their faces, the crowd picked up on the vibes that were being projected and started to get hyped for the main show.
As Flying Lotus preps for his show, getting his mind ready for his spotlight, you can see the chill professional excitement in his smile. He enters the stage and the place goes wild! The atmosphere and crowd is thick with excitement. He starts off his show with a video visual of children dressed as dogs. They play and frolic to the beats and cause mayhem in this tiny space, but come to a calm quiet as an old dog in a wheelchair appears. Projected on seemingly worn and raggedy face, he explains his life, government conspiracy and how things are around the world. Then, with a boom, the screen suggests to the audience to put their 3D glasses on. The show begins with fiery and electrical visuals that flow with the beats that he’s mixing and mastering. Playing with the crowd’s vibes, he goes up and down with the beats, banging out explosive rhythms to chill rhythms, making sure the atmosphere is his own personal plaything.
After a set, he gives the audience a little face to face and interacts with them. Smiling and enjoying the vibes, he makes jokes and talks about anime, letting the crowd settle while giving them a two-minute break from explosive vibes. He invites up the band leader, Brandon Coleman a.k.a SpaceTalker, and lets the crowd knows who he really is and what he means to him. With the vibe changed from banging beats to banging funk, the two jam out together one last time, telling the crowd to make a circle and dance the night away.
After the show, Flying Lotus comes down from the stage and interacts with the fans on a personal level, showing love and signing merchandise all the while keeping things professional and casual as possible. He answered questions about his favorite Dragon Ball Z character, Vegeta, and his favorite ice cream, Rocky Road. The show was fun, electrifying and different, exactly what his fan base is comprised of. I haven’t seen such a humble entertainer in a while and this was definitely a humbling experience.
PHOTO GALLERY
Show Date: 9/18/2019
